3 Months

My baby is 3 months old!  Today I packed away all her newborn clothes and it made me a little sad.  Before we know it she will be going to college and then choosing my nursing home.  Hopefully she will remember the mother who selflessly cleaned her clogged tear duct 345,675,921 times a day and choose one with private bathrooms.

Pretty 3-month baby.  She is gigantic.

At 3 months Clara.....
---Arches her back and sticks out her rear when she stretches.  She also makes fists and stretches her arms and scrunches up her little face.  It's adorable.

---Sleeps for 6 or 7 hour straight at least a few times a week.  She's even done a couple 8 hour stretches.

Mama and baby napping.  I love when she puts her hand on my cheek.

---Continues to love being around people

Clara wears a bib most of the day most days because of her little spitting problem.  It makes it so I only have to change her outfit twice instead of 14 times.

---Went swimming for the first time in Banff

Her swimsuit won't stay on her skinny little butt.  I don't think I have ever experienced that personally.

---Is awake and alert most of the day

Many of my best Clara shots are taken in her carseat.  She loves it and she holds still, definite recipe for photo success.

---Gets the biggest smile on her face whenever we put her in her carseat.  Little Miss likes to be on the go.

"Where are we going, Mom?  Is it Costco, I love Costco!"

---Wears size 1 diapers and size 0-3 or 3 month clothes.  And some 3-6 month clothes that are too big, but summery and I am worried it will be too cold  by the time they fit her.  So I put her in them anyways.  Mother of the year, right here.

---Is Erik's little buddy.  We are going out of town next week and Erik is staying behind to work.  I think it's going to kill him for her to be away that long.  

---Has way longer eyelashes than I do.  They kind of sprung up out of nowhere this month.

---Enjoys her vibrating bouncer best

I wish this picture was in better focus because she has the cutest little look on her face.  My friend Heather made her a bunch of burp cloths, and they're soft and just the right size for her to cuddle with.  She loves them. 

---Is very chatty.  This is adorable at 1:00 pm, and less so at 1:00 am

---Went to cheer camp with me and rocked it like a pro

This is what happens when I leave Erik alone with her

---Has very pretty, shiny eyes

---Is working on rolling over, but not there yet

I always put her to sleep on her back, like a good mother. When I come to check on her, she's always like this.

---Still spits all over everything.  We burp her on top of the hardwood because it's so much easier to clean than the carpet.   Erik has gotten very proficient at cleaning spit-up off of microfiber.

Hey Bright Eyes

---Will nap anywhere.  Swing, carseat, floor, snuggling, you name it. 

---Enjoys Barry Manilow's Copa Cabana and the entire soundtrack to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat

We love this little girl so much.  I am loving this baby stage and feel like it is flying by way too quickly!  Come visit us before it passes. 

Nina's Visit

Nina was here most of the month of July, and it was wonderful.  It was almost a realization of my dream of having a lady's maid, Downton Abbey style. We had so much fun, and the extra help with Clara was great.  Nina went on trek with my stake, traveled to Banff with us, and dragged me through a 5k, among other things

This was the picture I sent to my mom from the airport to prove Nina got here safe

Nina Beena holding Clara for the first time

We cooked....

Or tried to....

Nina in Banff

Shanna and Erik in Banff

Yummy food in Banff

Whitewater rafting.  It was a little chilly.

Taking Clara swimming

We look happy, but we actually both had colds the day of the race.  Nina had to drag me the last mile, and we definitely got passed by grandmas and 6-year-olds

Nina has grown up a lot in the past year or so.  One thing I really appreciated was how positive Nina was during her whole stay.  It was a great example for me, especially since I tend to get a little snappy when I don't get enough sleep.  She is also fun to be around because Nina does everything full-out.  I want her to move here, but since I don't foresee that happening, all I can do is look forward to next summer. 

Family Visit 2013

We have a wonderful life here.  We have a great neighborhood, home, job, and baby, and I enjoy living near Erik's family.  With that said, I hate not living by family.  I am so jealous of my friends who get to hang out with their moms and sisters all the time, and my house would be 1,000,000 times cuter if I could engage my dad in slave labor more frequently.  It's probably not a huge shock that I get super excited whenever my family comes to visit, which thus far has been every summer for 3 or 4 days.  This year I was especially excited because my dad and my brother hadn't met Clara yet.  It felt weird to have a child my dad had never even seen.  We had a wonderful time, and when they left I cried like I had just found out Parenthood had been cancelled.

The biggest reason that they came on this particular week is that last Sunday Erik gave Clara her baby blessing.  Erik did a wonderful job and delivered a beautiful blessing.  Afterwards we had some friends and family over for a small lunch. I ordered 2 6-foot-subs from Walmart, which proved to be about 2.5 times too much sandwich.  Whoops.  Clara wore the same blessing dress that Nina and I wore, but I can't say that she particularly enjoyed wearing it.

My dad-project this summer was a garage door makeover where we put hardware and fake windows up.  This was a relatively simple project, especially if you were me and basically sat on the driveway and watched my dad do it.  In that case, it was an extremely simple project.  Our garage door sticks out quite a ways in front of our house, so I feel like it made a huge impact to spruce it up a bit.  We also made him hang a heavy picture in our bathroom and fix our fence.  My dad really knows how to vacation.

I didn't take a before picture.  Just think of a boring, ugly, plain white garage and then be impressed with how much cuter it is now. 

We also hung out at the lake.  I went tubing for the first time since giving birth, and was a little nervous about it.  This didn't stop Erik from throwing me off the tube.  I guess he forgot who controls how much sleep he gets at night and the fact that the whole forgive/forget concept is lost on me.

We did lots of other stuff too.  My parents babysat Clara while Nina and I did our runs and while we went to the movies.  The girls did a coconut oil hair mask, which made my hair soft and shiny, but also a little greasy.  We watched 17 Miracles to help Nina prepare for Trek, which only reinforced that I would have been the worst pioneer ever.  Seriously, I would have just gone into the woods and waited to die, but I digress.  Having my family visit and having all the people I love most so close to me is my favorite week of the year.  I am bummed that they are gone, but glad to have Nina with me for a couple more weeks, and excited to come to Idaho in August. In the meantime, I am just trying to figure out an app that would enable my dad to complete home improvement projects for me via facetime.  When I get it figured out I'm totally buying myself lipo-suction with my earnings.

Sweet Nona and baby

Coconut oil hair masks.  Not all that amazing, Pinterest lied.

Clara would like to point out that their visit was not all kicks and giggles