Sweet little girl

Such a big girl!!

Hope only watches Clara from an elevated surface. If your nervous now, just you wait kitty!

Almost every picture I take of Clara has a blurred arm or leg in it, but I couldn't resist the smile in this one.

Clara and daddy early in the morning. Still has sleepy eyes.

Yes I did just roll over, how awesome am I?

Sleeping baby in her cocoon. We recently tried to ween her from the cocoon and boy were they a couple of VERY long nights. Both nights we finally gave in around 2AM. We decided it won't kill her to stay wrapped up a little while longer. This girl loves to be snuggled and warm!

Look at that big smile! I keep waiting for a giggle but it hasn't happned yet. We are so blessed to have such a happy baby!! That smile melts my heart every single day!

Rolling over

Apparently we need to practice rolling back because she was not happy getting stuck on her stomach in the crib!!

Finally a 3 month bunny pic!!

Clara rolls over and first time in the ocean!!

This weekend was full of firsts for Clara. We went to the beach and she got to put her feet in the ocean for the first time. She wasn't super happy about it because the water was still pretty cool and it was almost nap time. Hopefully by 4th of July the water will be warm enough for her to get more than her toes wet.

Clara also rolled over for the first time! My little girl is growing up, makes me want to cry. Grandma Jodi had been practicing with her all weekend on her rolling over manuevers but there hadn't been any action on her own. Then Sunday when we were packing up I layed her down on her blanket so I could finish packing and I look over and she is on her side. I watched her for a while and she was trying to roll all the way but her hand was in the way. Next time I looked she was all the way over and had even managed to prop herself up on her arms and was looking around at us. There was much cheering which may have scared her into never rolling over again but hopefully not.

Clara also had a random, I'm going to sleep all weekend episode. It must have been the sea air because she napped at least an hour each morning then 3-4 hours each afternoon. This little girl usually only takes 2-3 15-30 minute naps in the afternoon so sleeping a giant stretch like that is awesome!

Clara and Dad in downtown Wilmington on the boardwalk.

Ready for swimming! Aren't I the cutest baby ever!!

I'm not so sure about this.

Yup, definitely don't like it!

Clara is 3 months old!!!

Happy 3 month birthday little girl! It was right around this time last year that I got pregnant with you. Just think, you have been in our lives in one way or another for a whole year! We love you more than words can say and absolutely cannot get enough of your smile.

My favorite moments: that beautiful smile, when you talk to us with your coos and ahhhs, playing itsy bitsy spider and motor boat which you love, how you get excited and start to kick your feet when you know we are about to eat, your milky comma after you eat, and when you stop crying as soon as you see my face lean over your bed in the morning.

Clara quirks: you absolutely love being in the stroller outside no matter how fussy and tired you are, you have just started to watch the dogs and think they are pretty cool, you love being on your play mat and have gotten coordinated enough that you can reach and pull on the toys above you, you like to lay on mom and dad's bed to watch the ceiling fan and of course you are still a huge fan of your swing.

Nap/Sleep: Naps, well we are still working on that one. Some days you take three or four good naps for 45 minutes to an hour, while other days you just cat nap in 15 minute increments. Come 6PM you aren't too fun on those cat nap days. You do great for bedtime. You use to always go to bed at 9PM. But now that I'm back at work we have been moving that earlier and earlier since you have to get up so much earlier. I think we are going to start aiming for 7:30PM this week. At night we change your diaper, put your jammies on and swaddle you. Then we feed you one last time and rock until your eyes start to get heavy. We lay you down in your pack and play and your eyes pop back open but you usually don't cry as long as you have your paci. We turn out the light and turn on the hepa filter and thats usually the last we hear from you. Yes, your mom is terrible and still has you in our room but its so much easier since you still eat 1-2 times a night.

Eating: You are still eating every 3 hours, occasionally every 2.5 hours. I think you haven't stretch it out more because you spit up SOOOO MUCH! I'm looking forward to getting some solids in you in a couple of months so hopefully that will improve.


Mobility: None yet but you are working awefully hard to build up those leg muscles! You love to kick your legs and feet while on your play mat and you love to stand up in my lap when I'm holding you. You can now squirm your way off the play mat, I guess its from all that kicking!

3 month bunny pictures will soon follow. Right now I've been cooking multiple meals each night thanks to the big freezer thaw (thats an entire post I don't have the heart to write yet). Thank you sweet baby girl for your patience while mom and dad are busy in the kitchen. You have been super sweet hanging out in your bouncy seat on the counter top and jamming to music on the iphone. Love you so much!!!

13 Weeks

Clara had her follow up appointment with the endocrinologist this morning and weighed in at 12lbs and 24 inches. This kid is growing like crazy!! They said everything looked good with her thyroid, they just want to keep monitoring her. I have to take her tomorrow to get her blood drawn again... such a fun experience. I am going to demand this time that they take it from a vein and not prick her foot then try to squeeze an entire ounce of blood out of her little foot which they did last time.

Last night we put Clara in the exersauser for the first time. A sweet friend loaned it to us which was a huge blessing! I didnt think she was big enough yet but just thought I would try it out. She LOVED it. She couldn't stop starring at all the bright toys and she loved that she was standing up. Most of the pictures I took below are blurry because she was so excited and squirming all over the place. We are so fortunate to have such a happy baby who is always willing to try new things.

Back to work!

This is my first week back at work, day three and so far I've managed to keep everyone fed and bathed and thats about it. I've had 3 revelations during these first three days of what life is going to be like working and having a baby. Number 1: Brian and I will be eating a lot of sandwiches and frozen food for dinner during the week. Number 2: Clara is probably not going to be getting a bath every other day like she has in the past (its amazing what you can do with baby wipes). Number 3: Sleep is a luxory. 

The first day went better than I expected. Clara took her bottle from Kristi (Praise the Lord!) and I managed to get through the day without my little girl in my arms. I'm pumping twice a day at work and thankfully have gotten enough milk so far to last Clara through the following day.

Day two wasn't too bad either. I think day two was actually harder because I wasn't only thinking about having to leave her for the day, but the fact that this was going to continue week after week. I'm really proud of myself for only calling Kristi once a day to check on my girl. A sweet friend brought over dinner which was a huge blessing because we had nothing to eat and who knows when I'll have time to go to the grocery store.

Day three, things have started to go downhill. I think it was a combination of sleep deprivation and only having two hands when I acutally need 4 or 5. Things actually started going downhill the night before when I got a call from Clara's doctor reminding me of her appointment which I had obviously forgotten about. I started to freak out because Brian said he couldn't take her because he had a test and I hadn't told anyone at work that I wasn't coming in. So I text my boss at 8:30 at night and call Kristi to let her know Clara will be late. Well about an hour later I'm thinking about her appointment and I realize that tomorrow is Wednesday. Her appointment is on Thursday. So then I have to text my boss again to let her know I'm crazy and will be at work and call Krsiti again to tell her Clara will be there at 7:30 in the morning. I had originally hoped to be in bed by 9PM but it was almost 11PM by the time I got her diaper bag packed, her bottles all cleaned and everything ready for the next day. The next morning I'm on my way to work and Kristi calls to tell me that there aren't any bottles in her diaper bag. No, of course there aren't. I just spent an hour last night washing everything then serilizing a new kind of bottle I wanted to try to help with her gas, only to leave everything on the drying rack in the kitchen. Luckily Kristi's little girl Macie still takes a bottle so we have a backup!

Poor little Clara has been worn out the last couple of nights after being at Kristi's all day. I'm sure its because there are so many new things to look at and Macie to watch so she hasn't been napping well. Last night she woke up at her usual 3AM to eat but she didn't eat much because she couldn't keep herself awake. This repeated itself at 5AM. This morning when I had to get her up I usually just turn the light on and she will wake herself up after a few minutes, but this morning she was still sound asleep. I was halfway finished with changing her diaper before she started to wake up. Hopefully this means she will nap better today!

We've also been having trouble with her having a lot of gas pains in the evening. I'm sure its because she is getting more air when she eats now that she has to have a bottle during the day. We've tried Madela and Avent bottles without much luck. I'm gonna try her on the Dr. Browns bottles tomorrow which are supposed to be better for keeping air out. I'm hoping they work because there is nothing more pittiful than my little girl in pain. It rips my heart out when there is nothing I can do to make it better.

I can't get enough of this smile!!!

One of Clara's favorite things to do the last couple of weeks is to play with her toys on her mat. She loves kicking her feet and swatting at the toys. She is usually talking the whole time too. This girl loves to talk! And Mom and Dad love to hear all about it! Last week she was playing on her mat when she grabbed one of the toys with both hands and actually pulled her upper body up off the mat. This girl is getting strong!

After playing on her mat for a while this is usually how I find her.

This is definitely Clara's favorite place to nap!

Here is my pretty girl in her Aunt Catherine's polka dot dress. Aunt Catherine you looked almost this cute in it!