Clara's 1st Birthday Party - Part 1

We had an amazing time celebrating Clara's first birthday! I think she enjoyed her first birthday an awful lot too! We did a farm theme since this little girl has loved Old MacDonald with a passion since she was about 3 months old. Of course we had to make it a little more girly by adding some pink and a few polka dots. We had it at the park across the street from our house which made it super convenient although still a lot of work. I tried to do some photo shop magic on the pictures below. I'm still learning but I don't think they look half bad.

This was Clara's very own cake to go crazy with. I baked it using applesauce and pureed prunes so it didn't have quite the massive sugar overload. It still tasted awesome. I would know since I ate most of the leftovers :) Brian did the decorating. Who knew that my husband has a secret cake decorating talent!! Good to know we have a plan B in case being an electrical engineer doesn't work out.

We got the big cake from Whole Foods and it looked amazing! I can't verify if it tasted good because of the whole stupid gluten allergy thing but everyone said it was delicious! I had told them we wanted a "girly farm theme" and they gave us just that!

Beach Weekend

Papa was trying to mess up our pictures by asking Clara where her nose was! It worked, as you can see above.

Cutie pie loved the beach!

Aunt Catherine taught her how to dig a hole. Although Clara preferred eating the sand.

One year old!

My sweet baby girl, I can't believe you are one year old!! It has gone so fast but I have loved every minute of it! You are such a blessing from the Lord to your dad and I. Your smile melts our hearts over and over and we cannot get enough of your giggles! I can't wait to see what the next year brings as your personality comes out more and more. Today you had your one year check-up and got three shots. You did amazing and only cried until I picked you up. Here are your stats: Weight - 20.3 lbs (40th percentile), Height - 30' - (75th percentile), Head circumference - 43.7cm (15th percentile). Your still our tall little girl!

My favorite moments: Its hard to narrow it down, now that we see so much more of your personality. I love that every time the phone rings you say dada, dada, dada and come running! You love to talk to dada on the phone although most of the time you end up hanging up on him. Yesterday you said your first word combination. Dad was on the phone and we were talking to him. I told you to say hi to dad and you said "Hi Dada."  At first I thought it was a fluke but you said it several times after that. You have gotten really good at saying Hi and waving. You love going to the park and can go down the little slide by yourself on your tummy. You want to do it over and over again. You LOVE to give hugs! And I can't get enough of them. If I squat down on your level you will usually run to me with your arms out so you can give me a hug. I love it! You also really like to give Abby and Lexie hugs but they don't enjoy it quite as much. 

Clara quirks: You still LOVE Hope the cat. You can say "kitty" now although it sounds a little more vulgar than that since you substitute the k for a t. We have been practicing being gentle and you are getting better at patting rather than pulling but its still more than you can resist when she swishes her tail in your face. You copy everything we do now! This morning I was swishing with mouth wash and you just starred at me, then you started doing something weird with your lips like you were swishing your own mouthwash. Too cute! You went through a tiny spell this month where you would start screaming when we dropped you off at church nursery. You hadn't done that in a long time but all of a sudden started up again. The last two weeks you have done better so hopefully that little spell has past because it breaks my heart when I have to leave you crying and saying mama over and over.

Nap/Sleep: You are still taking 2 naps a day, one around 10am for 45min-1 hr and another around 2PM for about 2 hrs, sometimes more if we had a really busy day at the park. At night you go down at 8PM and get up around 7:30. You still wake up some during the night but not every night (note, I consider 6AM to be in the middle of the night!). You usually do really good about going back to sleep once we give you your paci and sing to you. You have started kind of humming with me when I sing Jesus loves me to you before bed. I love it!

Eating: Just this week tooth number 5 came in! You have been doing a lot better about trying to chew things rather than just swallowing everything whole. You love to eat and I'm amazed sometimes at how much you can eat! One night I made a roasted potato and mushroom casserole and I'm pretty sure you ate more than I did! You are still taking three bottles of formula a day but next week we are going to start doing 50% whole milk with your formula. Some of the things you like to eat are peas, black beans, corn, broccoli, pasta, potatoes, fruit (as long as its pureed), ham, chicken, turkey sausage, and graham crackers. A few nights this week I have tried to give you some of your leftover birthday cake and you are not interested. Your dad says you must not be his child if you don't like cake. You really like when dad gives you a few sips of his orange juice in the morning out of his glass, but other than that you just drink water out of your sippy cup. 

Mobility: You are fast kid! I only have to turn my back for a split second and you are on the other side of the house getting into trouble! We just had to put a lock on the trash can because you thought it was pretty cool to sneak in the kitchen and put your toys in the trash. You have gotten a lot better the last week or so at walking around outside on uneven surfaces like the sand on the playground or on the grass. 

The day we brought you home from the hospital the daffodils were blooming. You were a little smaller then. They were nice enough to bloom again this year on your birthday!

Did you know I am 1 year old!!!

Clara's first of many turkey sausages!

This month we had lots of play dates!

We love to give hugs to our baby doll.

Clara loves her Abby dog

A day at the park

Clara had an awesome time playing at the park with her friends Natalie and Leanna today. She had sand covering her entire body which I think is a sign that she had a blast.

Busy week with baby girl

Its been a busy week at the Henderson house. Lots of playing, exploring and getting into EVERYTHING.  We have quite the escape artist on our hands with little miss Clara. Although exhausting, I love watching her learn new things!

We love playing with daddy before bed!!

Exploring new places!!!

Wrestling with piggy just like daddy wrestles with us.

Sleeping hard after a busy day.

Playing at the park.

We love to swing!

Loving on Scout.

11 Months Old!

11 Months old!! I can hardly believe it!! I know I say that every month but I am continually amazed at how fast you are growing! About this time last year I was HUGE and soooo ready to meet my little girl. You were ready to get here too apparently since I had contractions all the time and had to spend most of my free time on the couch.

My favorite moments: We have an ottoman between the entry way of the living room and kitchen. The baby gate didn't work out so well because you would just shake it until it finally came down. You like to lean around the door frame to see me in the kitchen and all I can see is the top of your head and your eyes peek around the doorway. Its the cutest thing ever. Of course I never have my camera handy. We have an old tv remote we let you play with and you have started pointing it at the tv and pushing the buttons. You watch EVERYTHING we do! You have also started to recognize words a lot more. When we say baby you look or point to the mirror so you can see yourself (the baby). You can also recognize mom and dad in pictures.

Clara quirks: Your smile and laugh are infectious! I love them both so much! Dad can get the best giggles out of you. It usually involved rolling around on the floor like a rolling pin. You also love watching other children. When we go to the park you squeal and get really excited when you see other kids. You also love Hope the cat. We are working on being gentle but you still really like to pull her tail. 

Nap/Sleep: We are down to two naps a day, one around 10AM for 45min to an hour and one in the afternoon, usually around 2PM for 1-2.5 hours. We have had a few rough nights this month when dealing with an ear infection but other than that you are still a great sleeper. You go down around 8PM and get up around 6AM to wake dad up for work and have some milk. Then you go back to sleep till 7:30 or 8. I could probably ween you off your early morning bottle but dad likes seeing you before work and I think it helps you to sleep later (mom likes her beauty rest!). 

Eating: All of a sudden you have decided that you don't like pears (previously your favorite food) but you now love love love bananas. If you see me pull out a banana you get all kinds of excited! I've started breaking the banana into thirds and giving you big pieces instead of breaking it up. You make such a mess but you love it! You now have 4 teeth, two on the bottom and two on the top. I'm still only giving you one full solid meal a day but we have been doing some fruit most mornings and graham crackers or puffs during the day. You have 4 teeth now, two on the top and two on the bottom. You still can't chew crunchy things very well but you do really well with biting off bits of graham cracker.

Mobility: We are walking!! I love watching you toddle all over the house. Even though you have been walking for a few weeks I'm still constantly amazed when you just stand up and walk across the room. Your balance is getting better and better every day. We can tell now when you are getting sleepy because you get really clumsy and start falling a lot and running into things. After a nap you are good as new!