Food

All the books and web sites suggest waiting until 6 months to introduce food, waiting will ensure that her digestive system is ready for ‘real’ food as well as lessen the likelihood of food allergies. At our 2 month visit Dr. Dan requested that we NOT give Clare any food prior to our next appointment, scheduled for September 7^th at 9:15am, and that we would discuss food then. I’ve been very good about this and want to wait until 6 months, a personal choice that I realize many parents don’t choose. I also would like to make our own baby food, one hippie parenting trait I apparently have.

If I know one thing for sure, it is that Clare is interested in food, very interested. Now, it’s no secret that I like food, and that Jeff is a wonderful cook, so it’s no surprise that she is interested. Recently she has been watching us eat and following the food from our plate to our mouth with her eyes, possibly thinking ‘how do I get some of that?’.

Clare is also almost able to hold her own bottle, if only it weren't so heavy.

So far I’ve stuck to my guns, she hasn’t had any real food, not even water, and I prefer it this way. Jeff has given her a taste of salt and carrot, but she hasn’t eaten anything. Until today. Looking back I can’t believe I allowed it, but Clare had some marinara sauce, and LOVED it. We stopped at Beau Joes for lunch on our way back from Breckenridge; I had a BBQ chicken pizza while Jeff had spaghetti. Clare sat on my lap the entire time as the car seat was getting uncomfortable, can’t blame her I guess. Not sure what sparked it, but I decided to see if she liked the taste of the marinara sauce, and she did. As you can see she’s a messy eater and couldn’t get enough of it.

You better believe we’ll be discussing food at our Dr. appointment on September 7^th. I anticipate Dr. Dan suggesting we wait until 6 months to give her food, which I’m alright with. You also better believe that Clare will be eating something other than breast milk on October 17^th.

Life Is Good

This weekend the three of us took our first family vacation, no agenda, no schedule just the three of us hanging out seeing what there was to see and doing what there was to do. Jeff planned the trip and had the ‘main event’ being a Young Dubliners concert at the Breckenridge Celtic Festival. We have seen the Young Dubliners a few times, but not since last winter when they played in Redcliff at a place called Mango’s. We really enjoy watching them; they put on a great concert.

Friday night Jeff had the SSPR Fantasy Football draft at JoAnn’s (big boss) house. We finally got on the road around 10pm, getting to our condo around 11:30. Clare did really well; sleeping most of the way and then going to bed fairly well once we arrived.

Saturday morning Clare woke up, for the 3^rd time, around 7 so I figured I’d just be up for good. The festival was setting up outside our balcony so I watched that for a bit before going to the grocery to get some food. When I got back Jeff and Clare were stirring so we ended up getting up and heading out for a walk down Main Street. The weather was perfect, absolutely perfect. Jeff and I both agreed that this was the ideal weather, cool, dry, and sunny. We talked about how it would be great if maybe our parents would want to retire and move up here, anyone interested???

We stopped at the Blue River to dip our toes in and take a few pictures before walking back to the condo. On the way I discovered a store with more Life Is Good stuff than I’ve ever seen in one place, of course I bought two new shirts. Life is good and this weekend is a perfect example.

When we arrived I watched Jeff talking to Clare before going to bed and it hit me again that this is my family, this is what I’ve wanted for so long and never thought would happen. I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness; there I was with my two favorite people in the world in my favorite place. I am the luckiest woman in the world.

Life Is Good

Tired

I sat down to write this post over an hour ago, apparently I don’t have too much to say tonight; one of the clear indicators that I’m really tired – if I stop talking I’m tired.

Last night was another night of frequent waking, nothing wrong just waking every few hours, she goes right back to sleep when you put her sucker back in (which she promptly spits out anyway) and put her on her side. I finally asked Jeff to take a few turns; it’s nice to have a partner on this journey.

I do have a few pictures to post for our followers from afar that like to see how cute Clare is. Yesterday we ventured out to the mail box to see what the Jolly Postman had brought us – I knew we’d have at least something in there, after all it was August 23rd.

Among a few cards, and one piece of junk, was a package for Clare from one of Grandma Gail’s friends. This family happens to be the family that owned the ice cream shop where Jeff held his first job which Gail whamboozled him into. He recalls it wasn’t much of an interview but rather a ‘here’s your apron, what time can you work?’ He still can’t feel the tips of his fingers and hates the smell of waffle cones to this day, but who’s keeping track (this is Jeff's rendition of the story, not mine). Anyway, they sent her a box of things from Little Rascals, a shop in Webb City.

Clare wasn't so sure about the shoes, she was kicking pretty hard to try and get them off.

She also wasn't sure about the bow, she hardly has enough hair which makes it difficult to wear.

The three of us spent a little bit of time outside enjoying the cool evening; somewhat similar to how Jeff and I spent our evening two years ago. While we didn’t go out to a fancy dinner or exchange gifts of cotton we did enjoy our anniversary. Two years has gone by quickly and a lot has changed. I am happier than I knew possible and have Jeff to thank, I couldn’t ask for a better partner in this life of ours.

Goodnight kisses from dad.

Back Flip!

A quick afternoon entry while Clare naps, going on 2.5hrs!

As many of your know I typically take Monday’s off, my new favorite day of the week. I went in this morning for a bit and took Clare with me. I put a towel down on the floor and gave her some of her toys, hoping she’d be entertained for 30 minutes or so while I got a few quick things done. She played very happily, even flashed her smile for those walking in to see what the noise was, people were very happy to see her. At one point she started to play with her new orbit toy (not really a ball but spherical for sure, not sure what else to call it) it was just over her left shoulder so she had rolled onto her side to play with it. I continued to watch her play with it and she slowly rolled all the way over ending up on her belly! I was so proud of her, the first time rolling back to front without help and I got to see it!! Such a huge milestone for her, she can now roll both ways without help.

What made me even happier than her rolling was that I was there to see it. With her going to see Karen everyday I fear that I’ll miss her firsts. Karen updates me each afternoon on her day, telling me when she last ate, how she slept (if at all) and other events of the day. I know that with the amount of time she spends with Karen she will have firsts there, and I’m OK with that; I just hope we get to see some also.

I suppose all this new rolling means I need to clean the floors a little more, no longer will she stay in one spot! Maybe I should go vacuum while she’s napping…

Swimming

We had a big first this weekend; we went swimming! I declared on Friday evening that I wanted to take Clare swimming and hoped Jeff would go with us, I told him I knew Clare would like him to be there. He agreed but only if we went to one of the outdoor pools, so Cook Creek it was.

This morning, after our walk, I packed our bags; towels, swimsuits, swim diapers, camera, shower supplies, sunscreen, hats, and a bottle just in case. We arrived at the pool and immediately had to stop and say hello to one of the managers that saw us walk in; I was hoping by going to this particular pool we would go unnoticed, oh well. We found our spot in the shade and got Clare in her suit, she looked too cute! At this point another person spotted us, so we did the hello routine again, luckily Clare is easy on the eyes and happy to meet just about anyone.

A look at my suit before Mom started protecting me from the sun.

As you’ll see we began to take lots of pictures at this point, wanting to preserve this moment forever – she’ll want these pictures someday when she’s on swim team or heaven forbid a lifeguard.

I also realized I’m ‘that Mom’ fully dressing her kid for the pool. I suppose it’s obvious I’m the fair skinned Mom that wants to protect her fair skinned child.

She seemed to like the water, she didn’t scream or cry at all. There were a lot of people to watch and a lot to take in, the water was warm and we kept moving. In total we were in the water for about 20 minutes before calling it quits. The family locker rooms were another first, a real family experience as Jeff said.

Dad says next summer I can go down the big slide!

Back Float

I’m glad she liked the water; hopefully she’ll join me in the parent-tot swim lessons I have to teach this fall and learn to love the water like I do. Some of my favorite summer memories are of walking to Devon pool with my Dad, brother and sister after dinner. The sound of our flip-flops, our pool passes safety pinned to our towels, the warm evening sun and the sounds of families having fun. We had a lot of fun; I’d like to create memories like that for Clare.

I will say that it felt a little surreal today, having my own child in the pool. For the past 15 years I've watched families enjoying the water together, parents teaching their kids to swim, siblings playing games and kids having a good time. Today was the first time where I wasn't the background character in that scene, it was my family in the pool, my child having a good time, I was the one making memories. I like this role much better, I could get used to this.

CIO

Jeff mentioned a few weeks ago that Clare needed some sleeping practice, he's right. Clare doesn't sleep much, she doesn't nap for long stretches and hardly ever sleep thru the night. Luckily she doesn't act as tired as she must be; she wakes up with a smile each morning and doesn't fight sleep at night, I guess life could be worse.

Saturday night I put Clare to bed around her usual 8:00-8:30pm. I put her down drowsy, what they suggest so that she learns to put herself to sleep. Typically this works well, she’ll watch the graphic of a cow jumping over the moon, stars and some sheep that play on her ceiling and while she falls asleep. I went to bed around my usual 10:30 only to wake up to her crying at 11:45ish. I tried to get her back to sleep by just giving her her sucker back and putting her on her side, this usually works. Not last night! I finally decided I’d just rock her back to sleep, hoping that would do the trick, well it worked for about 10 minutes. For some reason she wasn’t happy, at all. I tried to get her soothed and back to sleep, but it wasn’t working. Calling for Jeff’s help didn’t work either; he was sound asleep on the couch.

So, with my sisters suggestion and words of encouragement and my strongest will in mind, I decided to give “Cry it out” a try. Basically, tell her I love her, give her her sucker, put her on her side and walk out. She cried the entire 10 minutes (felt like 100) while I sang loudly in my head in an attempt to drown out her screams. I went back in and soothed her quietly, no talking, and walked back out. 10 more minutes slowly ticked by on the iPhone. I walked back in and soothed her again, this time she was quiet, and I walked out. 10 more minutes and by golly she was asleep, sweet success!! Glad two of us were sleeping, I was awake for another half hour.

Our first night of CIO was somewhat of a success, until 3am when she cried again. By this point I was too tired to try again, and Jeff had just come upstairs inquiring how our night was going; funny you missed the first round of screaming. I decided at this point to just bring her in bed with me, after all nothing makes both of us happier than holding each other. She slept well until 5:30, at which point I fed her and put her in her own bed where she slept off and on until I finally gave in for good at 8.

Long story short; CIO does work but at the expense of my heart hurting, my eyes are filling up just thinking about her screaming. Here’s to hoping tonight is a better night. I need to keep in mind that she isn’t hurting, or at least I don’t think so, and that this will help in the long run. I can do this!

Girls Night

This summer Jeff has played in a softball league on Thursday nights, leaving us on our own for girls night. Tonight was the last night as the season is over. Clare and I stopped at Gymboree on the way home for a few sale items, her 0-3 month clothes are finally getting a bit small. After shopping we went to Sprouts for some more chocolate covered raisins, they made the perfect dinner for me.

I love spending my evenings with her, I’d much rather be sitting on the couch with her than out doing anything else. We took our time tonight, leisurely watched TV, took a long bath and rocked in our glider for an extra long time. She is too perfect to not want to spend my time with; I can’t get enough of her.

While it will be nice to have Jeff home next Thursday I will miss our girls night.

Sweet baby dreams

Bumbo

Clare spent some time in her Bumbo tonight.

Dad is hoping I play softball.

Hey Mom, do you think Grammy has seen this new purple Isis jacket in the Title IX catalog???

I like to crinkle the paper and put it in my mouth, so far no paper cuts.

Like my shades?

4 Months

Tomorrow is the 4month mark in Clare’s life, 4 months of pure happiness for me. I’ll say it again, and will probably repeat it some more in the future; time is moving too quickly. Everyday she does something to amaze me and fall in love with her even more. She is smiling at everything, talking up a storm, almost sitting on her own, nearly rolling over from back to belly, sleeping longer stretches (almost thru the night on a regular basis), growing more hair, and showing us her personality more and more each day.

Today was our day together; I love Monday’s with her. I took her to the Dr for a quick weigh in, her 4month appointment isn’t until September 7^th, so almost 5months. Clare weighed in at 13lbs 2oz, nearly the 50% for girls 4 months old. The nurse assured me that she was fine and to ‘stress about something else’.

Chrissy was giving Clare kisses on the knee, practicing for when she has a scraped knee I suppose.

When I sat Clare down to take her picture she started to take a real interest in Truman. Truman is somewhat of a permanent fixture in her crib, he stands between the bumper and the crib slats, watching over her. I suppose with the amount of time she’s spent watching him it was fun for her to actually play with him :)

Looking at these pictures compared to previous months is incredible; she’s grown so much!!

Sophie

We have a new animal in the house, Sophie. No, not the German Shepard that I used to dog sit, the giraffe. Sophie is all the rage amongst those under a year, or so it appears, she even has a web site – sophiegiraffeusa.com.

Sophie came home with me this afternoon hoping that Clare would love her, which she does. Sophie is a teether that is also supposed to stimulate her senses. The contrast of her spots, the sound of her squeek, the taste of ‘natural rubber’, the feel of her horns, ears and the texture of her ‘hair’ on her mane. Clare seems to enjoy her; she began chewing/sucking on her ears right away.

Even with her new teether she still enjoys sucking on her hands best. I suppose that falls under the theory that the wrapping paper and box are more exciting than the gift. That being said, I probably won't stop getting her toys :)

With all of her recent drooling Jeff has decided that maybe she should hold her own drool soaked paper towels.

I'm also happy to report that last night was our best night of sleep to date. Clare went to bed at 8:30 pm and I didn't hear from her until 6:30 am. I did wake up twice to check on her, both times she was sound asleep. Hopefully this is a new trend for us, both Jeff and I were thrilled!

Possibly more exciting than Sophie is that it sounds as though Clare has really found her voice and has a lot to say. I have to say, her voice is pretty darn cute, I can’t wait for her to start really talking.

Push the button...

For Tarbutton!!

Ok, well maybe she isn't pushing the button for Tarbutton, but that's what I thought of as Jeff kept saying "push the button."

Clare finally pushed the button herself on her butterfly that plays various nursery rhymes. She's been so close for a while, but tonight she finally did it. I felt surprisingly proud, she's growing and changing so much! Clare has also figured out how to put her sucker back in her mouth, a huge accomplishment. She doesn't always get it in there the right way, but it's in there. I wonder how long before she can do that at night, that would be a HUGE help.

In other news, Clare has regressed in her sleeping. The past few nights she's been up at least 3 or 4 times. We aren't sure just what's going on, but we're trying everything we can think of to help her get back into her routine of sleeping 9ish hours at a stretch. Both Jeff and I are pretty tired, waking up that many times a night isn't something we're good at. Despite her waking up multiple times a night she is still happy as can be, big smiles and even a little laugh in the mornings. Glad to see it isn't affecting her as much as it is me.

Jeff has been working on sifting through the 100+ resumes that have come in for his assistant position, everyone wants to work for him! Clare tried to lend a hand the other night; she appeared less than impressed with some and rather amused by others. Interviews start soon, so we'll see if she was right in her final selection.

23 Days

Only 23 days until the start of another OSU football season, 25 for Mizzou. I hope we can make it to both an OSU and Mizzou game this fall, although that may be a bit ambitious for Clare's first season. So far she has a 0-1 record at OSU and a 2-0 record at Mizzou, all three games she was in utero. Hopefully her record with OSU improves, last year we were at the USC game which we should have won!

Meredith sent Clare this hat, her OSU collection is slowly growing. Jeff got her a few onesies and a jersey for Christmas, hopefully they'll fit just right this fall.

Go Bucks!

My Coffee

I'm guessing that most of you check our blog in the morning, maybe even while sipping your morning cup o' joe. With that in mind I want to share with you my favorite cup of coffee; lots of sugar, everything sweet, tons of love and a pinch of baby and you have the most perfect cup of coffee ever made. You won’t find this at Starbucks, so don’t even ask, I’m the only one that gets to wake up to this cup of coffee each morning. This is also the only kind of coffee that Jeff likes, how couldn't he!?!

Clare and I met with Ann again; she has an amazing eye and ability to capture every ounce of Clare’s cuteness. Clare wasn't real into having her picture taken this day, but Ann was still able to catch some great faces. I can’t get enough of these pictures; I may have to wallpaper our house with a few :)

Look at those eyes, I can get lost in them for hours.

She hasn't started to giggle just yet, I can't wait for a full out laugh.

**All photos in this post are by Ann Goldenberg Photography**

I couldn't stop thinking about the picture of Clare last night, I felt as though I was posting a picture that didn't do her skills justice. So, tonight after work we sat on the bed and watched the evening news. Now here's picture of her sitting.

Sometimes the news can be shocking!

Such a sweet profile.

You talkin' to me?

We've been tossing around the idea of going to Columbia for a football game this fall, it's never to early for Clare to start thinking about college. While most of her Mizzou wear is still too big she looked pretty cute in Jeff's hat. I personally am looking forward to getting Clare's picture taken with Truman.

Go Tigers!

Supported Sitter

I frequent a series of chat boards, all pertaining to babies and everything having to do with parenting. Today there was a post about ‘Supported Sitters’. Someone suggested that everyone post a picture of their child sitting with support, this particular board is for babies 3-6 months old. Looking at the pictures and checking to see how old they were made me wonder if Clare was a ‘Supported Sitter’. Turns out she does pretty well. We’ve been working on our sitting, sitting practice if you will, so I’m glad to see that it’s working.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes she is in the corner of the couch. She kept sliding down on the leather couch, so the picture didn’t work. She was sitting on the bed in her boppy pillow without assistance, but the camera was downstairs.

Check out my drool mid drop.