6 Months

Happy half-birthday to our biggest blessing!  I was a little weepy on Friday-- I can't  believe how quickly Clara's baby-hood is passing and honestly it makes me panicky.

At 6 months our Clara Jaye:

--Sleeps through the night fairly consistently.  She falls asleep between 8:30 and 9:30 and usually wakes up between 7:00 and 8:00

--Can sit unassisted for about 30 seconds.  I don't know if she topples over after that because she loses her balance or because she gets bored.

--Has a fake high-pitched cry that she uses when nothing is wrong, she just doesn't feel like she's getting enough attention

--Puts everything in her mouth.  It's not uncommon for her to grab your face and try and eat your cheek or chin.  It's like being attacked by a very cute zombie.

--Eats 1-2 tablespoons of rice cereal at bedtime

Look at my big girl hold her own bottle

--Has learned to use rolling as a means of transportation.  She's all over the place these days.

--Was a football for Halloween

--Likes anything cold.  She likes to put her hands and mouth on the window, door frames, my coke, etc.

Clara is a wild girl.  She loves to be upside down and to be swung around. 

--Is not a great napper during the day.  She only sleeps in 20 minute spurts unless I lay down and cuddle her the whole time (twist my arm...)

Clara wears a lot of fur vests these days.  They serve the dual purpose of keeping her warm and making her look like a baby rapper.

--Is very ticklish on her feet, tummy, and neck folds

--Falls asleep in the front carrier most days during piano lessons or cheer practice

--Is increasingly verbal (read: louder) we especially enjoy screams and shrieks as she's learning to use her voice

--Really wants to make the motorboat sound with her lips, but can't quite figure it out

--Has a favorite toy.  It's a stuffed zebra named Moo.

 --Prefers playing on her stomach to playing on her back

--Smiles in her sleep sometimes.  It's so cute it makes me want to die.

It's nice to have someone else around to help with the chores.  This is Clara helping with the laundry.

--Loves to play with tags and balls

--Weighed 15 lbs even at her 6 month appointment.  This put her in the 27th percentile.  She only cried for a minute after her shots and has been doing very well since.

Clara is the best little pal I could ask for.  We have so much fun together, and I am very grateful this November to have such a happy, good natured baby (she's actually fussing as I write this.  But usually...) We are looking forward to Clara's first holiday season. 

5 Months

Sweet Clara is 5 months old! She is so much fun. 

At 5 Months Clara....

---Giggles all the time.  She especially likes being pulled up by her arms and having her feet tickled

I have a cuter, zoomed in version of this picture, but I can't get it off my phone.  So just imagine it zoomed in.  Thanks

---Finally finished off her last box of size 1 diapers and has moved on to size 2

She has perfect skin.  And the cutest little dimpled rear end.  I'm a little obsessed with it.

--Has dark grey eyes.  They are a darker version of Erik’s.  We wondered if they would turn brown like mine, but she is moving out of the stage when they would change.

She still loves her car seat.  She actually sleeps in it overnight, just not strapped in.  When she sleeps in the crib or the pack-n-play she rolls over to the edge and gets stuck and fusses.

--Loves to kick and stand

She also loves to suck her toes.  Yum yum. Also, check out those thighs.

--Has actually regressed a little sleeping.  I need to sleep train her, but I’m not sure what approach to take.  I am definitely open to suggestions/ anecdotal information.

She is definitely wearing a fur vest and pulling it off.  Unfortunately this picture was taken right before she blew out the back of her outfit.

--Had a great visit with her Nona.  My mom has perfected the bottom-pat, pacing method of getting Clara to sleep

This is one of my favorite pictures ever taken.  A Nona and baby sharing a coke. 

--Wears size 3-6 months clothes and 6 month clothes.  All the fall baby outfits are so cute that I can’t stop buying them

We are practicing sitting.  She enjoys her (Aubrie's) Bumbo.

--Loves gadgets. She will be all smiley and cute, but when I go to take a picture she gets too distracted by the phone or the ipad and won’t smile.

She's been into toys this month.  Mostly into eating them, but also hitting them around.

--Watches Baby Einstein a couple times a week.  There’s one part that cracks her up where blue and purple dots swirl around.  In fact, she is watching Baby Einstein as we speak. 

When my mom was here we were at volleyball with the cheerleaders for like 5 hours.  Clara held up best out of all three of us.

--Has started having a tablespoon of rice cereal before bed at night.  There have been some strange diapers as a result. 

This is Erik feeding Clara her first bites of solid food.  She loved it and rocked the spoon.

--Likes having stories read to her as long as they don’t last too long

Erik and Clara at homecoming.  It was a little chilly.  I know that her suit is for a boy, but it's blue and that's one of the school colors.

--Spends a lot of time chilling on her belly

I enjoy counting the chins in this picture

--Won’t wear shoes and pulls her socks off

"Hmmm....should we do the two-for-twenty, mom?"

--Tries to bite everything.  She’s working on a tooth and it makes her want to gnaw

I would like to snuggle this picture.

--Has much lighter hair than she had when she was born.  It’s still pretty short, but super fuzzy and soft and smells yummy

A homecoming close-up.  Clara was ready to go home.

--Likes to watch the wind blow the trees outside the window

I love that sweet face

 Being a mom to a baby is so much more fun than I expected.  We are too busy playing for me to blog much :) Come visit and you can play too. 

4 Months

Clara is 4 months old! I have to say this has been my favorite month so far.  Waking up to her smiles and happy noises is honestly a delight, even when they come a little earlier than I would like.  Here is what I want to remember about Clara at 4 months:

She just had her shots--Poor little band-aid girl

---She can roll over both directions.  She's basically a genius.  Sometimes the little genius gets stuck on her stomach and spits up, and then her head gets to heavy and she plops her face down right in the middle of her own spit up.

Lovely.

---She sleeps through the night about 60% of the time.  The rest of the time she usually only gets up once, at about 5:00.  She still has not slept as consistently well as she did in Boise.

She is a little pointy-chin girl, just like her mama

---She can laugh.  It's the best thing ever.  She likes to be lifted up and down over and over, and her tummy, neck, and feet are ticklish.

I'm just glad she didn't choose this moment to spit-up

So happy girl

---She is in the 21st percentile for length and the 23rd percentile for weight.

---She likes to make the "ooo" sound

I love to dress Clara up. Erik thinks she's cutest in just her diaper.  Our compromise is diaper+ headband

---She wears pretty much every size of clothes at this stage.  She has a few newborn stragglers as well as some 6 month outfits, and everything in between.  The majority of her clothes are 3 month or 0-3 month

Look at that belly.  Beautiful baby chub

---She loves TV.  I'm pretty sure the American Academy of Pediatrics would not approve, but Clara and her dad watch football together every night and Clara is enraptured.

It is getting harder and harder to get good pictures of Miss Clara.  She is smiling more than ever, but she's always moving and has recently become fascinated with my cell phone.

---She went on her first airplane ride and slept the entire time both ways

Smiling at her Nona

---Her fingernails grow so fast and are super sharp.  She scratched her nose this month and made herself bleed and I felt really bad.  She also likes to scratch while she nurses, so that's great.

Sleepy cheer baby.

---She weighs 12 lbs 13 ounces

Take your daughter to work day.  Just kidding.  I was getting my car cleaned and Erik was showing off his multi-tasking skills

---She likes to flirt.  She was making eyes, smiling, and cooing at this really effeminate guy at Subway the other day and he came up and told me she was a "precious cherub from Heaven"

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---She prefers sitting on your lab, facing out to being held like a baby

Silly onesie from Uncle Alex and Auntie Em

---She is starting to be interested in books and toys

Clara LOVED swimming in Boise

---She just barely started teething.  Any advice is welcome.

"what's up"

---She went to her first football game.

This is Clara's buddy Adrienne.  She is a former cheerleader who graduated who has been SO helpful, coming to watch Clara at practices and games.  Clara loves her.

Clara and Al, the mascot.  She loved him less.

We love our Clara!  I'm pretty sure everything I listed is what every baby does at that age, but to us it's all new and exciting.  Being a mom is so fun, I highly recommend it.