Caught!

Claire keeps us busy with her new-found mobility. A few weeks ago I kept my camera close by and snapped some shots of her getting into things she supposed to stay out of. Testing those boundaries! :) We know now that she understands "No," and she usually will stop what she's doing - although she like to try to just wait until you're not watching her anymore to return to what she was doing. On this day, she...

...examined the diaper bag and my work bag,

and the entertainment center,

and the cubby with the cable and DVD boxes (the lights are so tempting!).

She also tasted the piano bench...

...and checked out the new pedals on the piano.

Busy day!

Last weekend..

...before Claire turns one! She made the most of it. On Saturday we had lunch with my friend Kelly and her family. Kelly was in my sorority pledge class and we recently reconnected. She and her husband have a little boy, Luke, who is 20 months old and a bundle of energy. He kept Claire entertained - she just laughed as he ran around, climbed furniture, threw balls, etc. She was enthralled!

That afternoon she discovered a new walker - our kitchen chairs. I was folding laundry in the living room keeping an eye on her as she crawled around under the table. She pulled up on one of the chairs, and I watched as she pushed it all the way across the kitchen and back. She was very proud of herself!

On Sunday we met with our small group and went to church, and then we got ready for a visit from a photographer. I found someone who is offering good rates as she builds her portfolio, and we had her come take some pictures of Claire for her birthday. Before she arrived we got in one last chair picture before her birthday and read for awhile. She's still a little more interested in touching and trying to eat her books than just looking and listening, but we're working on that. :)

After her pictures, I got this sweet shot of Claire and her daddy. Two more days until the big milestone!

Tuckered out

Claire fell asleep on the way home from school on Monday (and it's only about a 5 minute drive to our house). She was still asleep when I carried her in, and I needed to change clothes, so I just laid her on the floor for a what I thought would be just a minute. She slept for over 20 minutes and would've gone longer if I hadn't woken her up to eat dinner. Who knew our floor was so comfortable?!?

I just loved how she had that little hiney sticking up in the air. This is a frequent sleeping position - I'll never understand how she finds this position comfortable, but it's always good for bringing smiles to the Mommy's face.

Monday also brought our first biting incident. They called Robert that morning and said that another child had bitten Claire on the arm, but it didn't break the skin. They iced it down and gave her lots of extra attention, and they said she only cried for a minute. When I picked her up her teacher felt so bad, but I told her I'd felt like it was inevitable at some point. I'd heard lots of stories about biting at the toddler stage. If you look closely in the pictures below (or click on the picture to enlarge it), you can see the mark on her left wrist. Hopefully it won't happen again, but she handled it like a champ.

Play Date!

Our friend Todd and his family were in town this weekend from Dallas. Todd's wife was helping with a bridal shower, so while she was busy he and their daughter Kendall came to our house for lunch and to play. Kendall is a few months older than Claire, and they played so well together. The biggest hit was the push wagon. We took them upstairs with the wagon where there is plenty of room. I couldn't even begin to count how many trips that wagon made across the playroom. Kendall pushed Claire, Claire pushed Kendall, each one was pushed by the daddies...over and over. It was adorable.

A lot of the time Claire was totally entertained just by sitting and watching Kendall. We wonder if this is what she does a lot at daycare. We all had such a good afternoon and hope that they visit again soon!

School Picnic

On Friday Claire's school had an "environmental picnic." All of the classes ate lunch outside so that they could turn off the lights in the school and save energy. Parents were invited so Robert and I were able to go. Claire ate her lunch and then crashed mid-bottle. They only take one nap in her class (from around 12:30 - 2:30), and she is wiped out by naptime. It was a treat for all of us to be able to be together during a week day, and I enjoyed seeing how her teachers handle feeding lunch to several early toddlers at one time.

Visitors

Last weekend Ma and Bob came to visit for a few days. We all enjoyed our visit, especially Claire. She loved the extra attention!

On Saturday we had brunch at a little place in Boerne that is known for their fabulous pastries (they really are delicious) and then walked around Main Street exploring some of the shops. On Sunday we went to church, and Aunt Carol came up from Corpus for lunch and to visit that afternoon.

Unfortunately we had to cut the visit a little short when we realized Claire was developing a rash (it looked like a heat rash) and a fever, but we were able to quickly get into the after-hours pediatric clinic a few miles from our house and found out that it was just a viral rash that should go away within a week or so. We also found that she had the beginnings of an ear infection, so we were really glad we took her in. The antibiotic has a bubble gum flavor, so Claire gets excited for medicine time! The poor thing is also cutting a few new teeth, so it's been a rough week for her. She handles it so well though - such a sweet girl.

Yesterday after Claire went to bed we realized that we hadn't done a chair picture in a couple of weeks. She was having trouble going to sleep, so after listening to her play in her crib for awhile we decided we might as well go in and get a picture. This is not-sleepy-although-past-her-bedtime Claire at 50 weeks. That's right - only two weeks until her big day!

I Won!

A few months ago I stumbled on a new blog that has quickly become one of my favorites. The blogger, Brooke, is a former senior art director for Martha Stewart Kids and Martha Stewart Living. Each one of her posts is beautiful and so creative - I especially enjoy her regular posts about the kids' library books and the crafts they make. I really want to borrow the theme she did for her daughter's recent birthday - pink polka dots. How fantastic is this?

Last week she wrote a post about a new sewing book that is coming out - Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. I decided that I wanted to get a copy - I've recently re-taken up sewing and this book seemed to have some interesting projects that I thought I would enjoy. Brooke designed the book and had a giveaway for a free copy. I decided to enter (through commenting on her blog), and I was so surprised to find an e-mail waiting for me this morning saying that my comment was randomly chosen from the over 600 entries. I'm so excited and can't wait to get my book - thanks Brooke!

http://inchmark.squarespace.com/inchmark/2009/3/19/the-lucky-winner.html

Memorable Moments #2

Here are some of my favorite "Memorable Moments" from Claire's teachers last week:

Tuesday
"Claire sat down and listened very well during circle time today!"

Wednesday
"Claire and Addison had a great time playing peek-a-boo together. They sat at opposite ends of the tunnel and just laughed and laughed - very sweet."
-Claire and Addison have become buddies. Addison a few months older - I guess she can show Claire the ropes!

Thursday
"Claire loved playing on the ballet bar today. Every time she pulled up on the bar she saw her reflection and just laughed."

First Birthday Present

Claire's birthday is a few weeks away, and when Nana and Granddaddy came this weekend for a visit they wanted some ideas for a birthday present. While we were out and about on Saturday, we found a great toy store that had a perfect present - a Radio Flyer Walker Wagon. There was one in the store to try out, and Claire pushed it up and down the aisles, laughing and squealing the whole time. They immediately picked up one in a box and headed towards the check-out counter. Dad put it together while she was napping, and she spent most of the afternoon playing with it.

She got comfortable pulling up and walking with it quickly, and on Sunday we took it out the basketball court. She hasn't mastered turning yet, but as long as she has someone to turn her around when she reaches the side she is good to go!

She started getting tired, so we gave her rides in it. The wagon is the perfect size for her, and she loves being able to pick up some speed. Whenever the wagon starts slowing down, she rocks back and forth trying to get it to go again.

So precious! I have some video that I'll try to post later this week to provide the full effect. I have a feeling this toy will get lots of miles put on it over the next few years.

Memorable Moments

At Claire's new school, the teacher write down a "Memorable Moment" each day on her activity report. I love reading little tidbits about her day and thought I'd use the blog to keep a record:

Monday
"Claire loved playing on the ballet bar today. She had a fantastic first day! :)"

Tuesday
"Claire really enjoyed playing with the blocks today. She walked all around the block bin."

Wednesday
"Claire was amazed at finger painting. She touched the paint, looked at her hand and wanted the paint off her hand - too funny!"
- This was her first experience with finger painting. Her paper has very few little blue raindrops on it (this week's theme is "weather") - I'm sure she wondered why her hands were turning colors!

Thursday
None (sick)

Friday
"Claire has learned to stand up for herself. If another child takes something from her, she takes it back - go girl!"
- That's my baby. She's tiny, but watch out!

In Like a Lion...

So I just realized that my first post in March is about a lion. "In like a lion, out like a lamb," right? Does this mean that my last post in March should be about sheep?

ROAR!

Claire's favorite toy right now has to be her lion walker. She can pull herself up and start walking with it. With a little encouragement (cheers and/or Puffs), she can walk all the way across the living room and down the long hall to her bedroom with just a little help getting over the molding as she goes through the kitchen (change from carpet to hardwoods and back to carpet). It's pretty far for those little legs, and she will just laugh and squeal the whole time. The lion plays music and sometimes roars, and we all roar along with it and laugh.




I feel like I've been working on this post for a few days now - we had a hectic week. Claire started her new school on Monday, and I think it's going to work out really well. The biggest transition for all of us has been dropping down to one nap (her class naps from 1 -3). She has a great time, but she's been exhausted every day when we pick her up and usually wants a short nap before her usual play, dinner, bath, bottle and bed schedule. She seems to be really enjoying it, though. I called mid-afternoon on Monday to check on her, and her teacher said that Claire is maybe the happiest baby she's ever seen. She said that Claire hadn't cried once. I'm sure there were too many things to explore, new toys to play with and new people to meet.

Things were busy as usual, and then on Thursday I got a call around lunch that Claire was sick. She'd thrown up a couple of times and wasn't feeling well. Robert and I were actually planning to have lunch together and had just made it to the restaurant when I got the call, so Robert left to pick her up and I took off to the office to gather up some things before heading to the house to spend the afternoon with her. When I got home, Robert and Claire were already there, and she was having a great time playing with her Exersaucer. She was fine all afternoon - I think she just had a little bit of an upset tummy and was fine after the upchuck. I didn't get any work done at home, but I was glad we weren't dealing with anything serious and I enjoyed the extra time with her. This is the first time we've been called to pick her up from school, so we had a great run!

47 Weeks

Book Review 2009 - 1

A lot of bloggers I keep up with post reviews of books they've read, and I decided that I wanted to start doing my own reviews. I was a voracious reader growing up and reading is still one of my favorite hobbies. I mainly want to do these reviews to have my own record of books I've read and my thoughts on them at the time.

The first book I completed in 2009 was "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. The book was a birthday gift from my mother in law; she was telling me about it during one of her visits, and I thought it was a book I would enjoy. The book is about Mortenson's quest to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson was an ER nurse and mountain climber, and after a failed attempt to climb K2 he was separated from his guide and stumbled into a village in Pakistan. He was very ill and spent several weeks in this village while they nursed him back to health. To show his gratitude, he promised to return and build the village its first school. That one school built by a grateful nurse evenutally turned into a foundation that has since built over 50 schools.

Reading this book, I was amazed by Mortenson's dedication and the sacrifices he has made in order to give children in another part of the world a chance to get an education. Living in his car, time away from his family, learning about Middle Eastern culture and politics, making contacts (and, inadvertently, several enemies) - there were so many obstacles he faced in order to build these schools, and he always found a way to continue on. The book also offers interesting insights into the people and culture of these countries. There were many stories and lessons in this book that have stayed with me, but one of the things that impacted me the most was Mortenson's belief that one of the best ways to fighting terrorism is to provide access to education and alleviate poverty. The Taliban targets the poor and uneducated, and children who are unable to imagine a better future for themselves are easy prey.

I really enjoyed reading this book - it was a great reminder that one person CAN make a difference.

Crib Fun

This is what I found when I went in to get Claire from her nap on Saturday - such a happy girl!

Cruising

Sorry for going so long between posts - we've had another full week! Lately I feel like Claire changes and develops so much every week. She just started doing a full on crawl week before last, and now she loves to "cruise" - pull up on a piece of furniture, window sill, etc. and walk around holding on to the edge. We've had to move things off the coffee table - they were fully within her reach now! One of the teachers at her school told me that one of Claire's favorite things to do there is to walk around the outside of the Exersaucer playing with each toy. She's also started using her lion as an actual walker and can walk across the living room without any help. We got a video of her "walking" that I'll post soon. I don't think it will be long until we have an independent walker!

Claire's also started trying more to communicate with us. Sometimes her babbles take on the pacing and intonation of actual conversation - so funny. I think she's started saying "Mama" and actually meaning it in reference to me. It just warms my heart - so precious!

Sweet Claire has been a little under the weather the past few days. She's had a runny nose for quite awhile that didn't seem to bother her too much, but she started coughing on Friday and just didn't seem to be getting any better. We took her to the pediatrician on Tuesday and were relieved to find out that she doesn't have anything serious (I was concerned about RSV or bronchitis). The doctor went ahead and lent us a nebulizer to use for breathing treatments twice a day for the next 10 - 12 days. Claire doesn't love the treatments, but she doesn't fight them too terribly. They do seem to help her relax and breathe easier, so it's well worth the effort.

We're leaving for Arlington/Dallas tomorrow afternoon, and I'm excited to visit with some of our friends and family - and visit some of the restaurants we're missing!

Busy, Busy!

Claire has been busy in the past week! She's graduated from sitting and a sort-of modified Army crawl to a full-fledged crawl. She's fairly picky about what she deems worthy of crawling for - the leading contenders are her stacking cups and magazines (they are fun to chew on and tear up!). :) I have to admit to tricking her a little by putting these objects of desire just out of reach, and then moving them further and further away as she starts crawling for them. It's really cute! Mom and Dad visited over the weekend, and she really impressed them with her new trick.

We've also continued working on eating finger foods and transitioning from bottles to cups. She's having a hard time tilting the sippy cup far enough to get any liquid out, and doesn't really want any help. For the past couple of nights we've offered her a straw cup (it has a little valve that reduces some of the spilling), and last night she really seemed to start understanding how to use it. She would take a few bites of her pancake, then reach for the cup. I'd hold it for her so she could get a few sips of her water, then she'd turn back to her pancake until she would indicate she wanted more water. If anyone has suggestions on transitioning from bottles, I'd love to hear them!

Another big change - Claire is going to start at a new school at the beginning of March. She's been doing fine at her current school and always seems to have a good day, but we'd been feeling like she needed a little more stimulation. So, we decided to move her to another school that seems to have a better curriculum (it was my first choice from the beginning, but they didn't have an opening when we moved). Since she's so close to turning 1, they want to go ahead and put her in the 12 - 18 month room rather than having her start in Infants and move over a month later. I was really impressed with what her new class was learning - they sit in chairs at little tables rather than high chairs, nap on mats rather than in cribs, learn signs and new words, do lots of crafts, etc. The lead teacher of the class has a Masters in early childhood development, so I'm really excited that Claire will have such a qualified person watching over her while we're at work.

Claire demonstrating her favorite game - "Bang! Bang!"

Another Milestone

In the past week, Claire has learned how to sit herself up:

You reach for what you want...

...then push yourself back...

...until you're sitting!

We're proud of her, but it has thrown an unexpected kink into the bedtime routine. When teaching her how to get from laying on her tummy to sitting, we didn't really think about the fact that she'd be able to sit herself up in her crib. Rookie mistake. Yesterday morning I woke up when I heard her start babbling and turned on the video monitor to see what she was doing. When I saw her sitting up and grabbing for the front rail of the crib, I dashed down to her room to grab her before she could pull herself up. Robert lowered the crib mattress down to the lowest level, so now if she manages to pull herself up she can't get out...yet...

After we put her to bed last night, we watched her for awhile. She would roll over, sit up, play with lovey, lay down, roll over, sit up, play with lovey, repeat, repeat, repeat... After about 20 minutes we stopped watching her, so I have no idea what time she actually went to sleep. She does seem a little more tired today, though. Hopefully she'll eventually figure out again how to put herself to sleep quickly.

43 Weeks