No matter your choice, be sure to VOTE!

Claire went to the polls (with Mommy & Daddy) on Wednesday and got this sweet sticker:

Even though she won't be eligible to cast her own vote in a Presidential election until 2028, she did help Daddy with his selections. The early voting location we went to was pretty busy - we got there around 11:20 and stood in line for about 40 minutes. It's great to see such a big turnout, and it was fun to go as a family.

Anniversary #2

Today is our wedding anniversary. I have so many wonderful memories of that day - the perfect weather, getting ready with my friends, feeling excited but not nervous or anxious, the door of the Mansion opening just before I walked down the aisle with my dad, seeing Robert at the end of the aisle, the meaningful ceremony, our first dance, being in a room with so many people who support us. I mainly remember the overwhelming feeling of love - for each other, for family, and for friends.

Pumpkin Patch

Claire and I went to the pumpkin patch in Bracken (just north of SA) on Thursday. What a cute little bug among the pumpkins! We were able to get a few pictures together, too, courtesy of a nice family that was there with their baby boy who was a month younger than Claire.

A New Record

We are VERY fortunate to have a baby who likes to sleep. Claire started sleeping through the night at around 6 weeks, which is extremely early. Since then we've only had to get up with her a handful of times. She normally goes to bed around 8:30 or 9 and gets up between 6 & 7. Lately we've had some days where she's slept until 7:15 or so. This morning I woke up a little before 7 and decided to go ahead and get her bottle ready, expecting to hear her at any minute. When I hadn't heard anything by 7:20, I went in to check on her. Still breathing and still sleeping. :) She ended up sleeping until about 7:40, so she slept for 11 hours last night. Awesome!

First Visit to the State Fair

Last weekend we went to Dallas for the State Fair. Robert and I go every year and were looking forward to introducing Claire to Big Tex. We figured she would enjoy looking around, but we were pleasantly surprised by how much she seemed to enjoy it, especially looking at the animals. A few of the things we saw:

Sand sculpture (this year's had an Egyptian theme in honor of the King Tut exhibit at the DMA)

Turkeys

Lambs and baby goats

Baby camel


A hungry lion

Cotton candy

Fletcher's Corny Dogs (Mommy and Daddy each had one - maybe next year, Claire!)

Big Tex and his new yellow shirt!

The fair wiped her out - she fell asleep chewing on Monkeys.

We stayed with Ma and Bob.

We also visited Great-Granddad and Great-Grandmommy, but forgot to take a picture with them. On Sunday we enjoyed visiting our former church, Northwest Bible, and had lunch with the two families who led our small group. It was a packed weekend, and we're looking forward to going back soon.

Six Month Check-up

Claire had her 6 Month Well Baby visit with the pediatrician on Monday. Her latest stats were:

Weight - 14 lbs., 1 oz.

Length - 25 3/8 inches

She's in the 5th percentile for both height and weight. This office uses a different chart than the one in Dallas which put her in the 25th percentile. She was in the same percentile at her visit with the new pedi a month ago, so the doctor was okay with her growth. She's just little!

As part of the visit she got four shots, two in each leg. One was a flu shot, and she'll have to go back in a month for a booster. She had a rough day, but I was able to be with her most of the day. She was pretty tired, and when she wasn't sleeping she wanted to be held. I tried to put her in her Exersaucer for a few minutes so I could get a couple of things done, but that didn't last long.

Her butterfly rattle seemed to help for a little while, though.

We've been keeping up with her chair pictures - here is her 27 Week picture from last Tuesday.

And her 28 Week picture from this week.

I was having a hard time getting her to stay still long enough to get a picture. She's just so curious about everything now - it's so fun watching her examine things, although I'm having to be more watchful of little hand grabbing things they're not supposed to. She grabbed an onion ring off of Robert's plate a few days ago and almost got it to her mouth before we caught her - too early for fried foods!

TX/OU Game

I dressed Claire in one of her many UT onesies in honor of her Daddy for the Texas/OU game. She wasn't too happy about it at first...

...but she seemed to enjoy watching the game!

Tagged

I was tagged by BB to show the 4th picture in the 4th folder of the My Pictures file on my computer. BB is a friend of Lindsay's, and I recently started reading her blog after Lindsay put us in touch to discuss gliders. We quickly moved on to talking about other baby gear, and it appears we both have a passion for research and finding the perfect gear for our daughters (she is excitedly expecting a baby girl this spring).

Since I'm a folder person and have folders within folders, I'm posting the 4th picture in the 4th folder (Christmas 2005) of the 4th folder (2005) in My Pictures. Got it? :)

This is a picture of my dad unwrapping his present from Robert - a cordless drill set. This was the first Christmas Robert and I were together - we started dating in July 2005. Robert really thought Dad would enjoy having a cordless drill, and he was absolutely right! I remember Daddy showing it off to everyone who came in the house that Christmas. Dad still loves this set and to this day frequently mentions how much he likes it and how often he uses it. Robert is a great gift-giver - he has a real knack for noticing what people like. Also, when he has a good idea for a gift, he remembers it (unlike me - I get to time to buy a present and think "I know I thought of a great gift...what was it?"). Just one of the many things I love about him - his thoughfulness!

Looking back through the pictures in that file, there were also some other great gifts given and received that Christmas. Mom's TiVo, my VitaMix (which is an important component in Claire's homemade baby food), Dad's wireless projection weather forecaster, and my Tiffany cross necklace from Robert that I'm wearing right now!

What a fun challenge, BB! Thanks for the memories. :)

First Solid Food - Video

First Solid Food - 9.22.08

Claire's first experience with solid food was on 9.22.08. We'd planned to wait until she was about 6 months old in accordance with the current guidelines. During a visit with her new pediatrician about a week prior, he told us that she seemed ready and that we could give it a try anytime. He recommended trying an oatmeal cereal, and I'm trying to give her organic foods as much as possible, so I chose HappyBellies Organic Oatmeal Cereal.

For the first time, I made it a little more watery since we were introducing an entirely new texture. Claire curiously watched me prepare it, and although she was unsure about the spoon, the cereal itself was a hit and a great start to our adventures in solid foods.

Her first time in pictures:

Curious

First taste

"What IS this???"

Pretty good!

All done - it was really exhausting!

Since then, Claire continues to really enjoy the cereal. We also have tried butternut squash and sweet potatoes, and she gobbles those up as well. While she almost always is interested in what we're feeding her, sometimes she's very enthusiastic and dive bombs the spoon before I can get it in her mouth, or just holds her mouth open like a baby bird waiting for momma to drop something in.

I've been using the website wholesomebabyfood.com for food suggestions and preparations. So far it's been so easy and economical, besides the main benefit of knowing Claire is getting something really nutritious without any unnecessary additives. I'm planning to do another post showing the process. It's actually really fun!