Peek

Claire and mom headed down to Faribault for the weekend while dad and Jordan went camping up north. Claire showed of her new moves with Grandma & Grandpa P.

Lately she likes to walk around on the hard wood floors (and the deck outside) stomping her feet. She had a great time playing in the ball farm and rode a little bit on the 'motorcycle'. She preferred to push it around like she does her walker at home. Mom tried to keep her on the grass, since she tends to run over herself, but Claire much preferred to play on the cement. Of course. She also found grandma's Tupperware cupboard and enjoyed pulling out the various sized tubs to carry around the house. She ate like a fiend and when grandpa came home on Saturday afternoon it seemed like she was carrying on an actual conversation with him.

Other fun things Claire has been up to:

• Playing peek-a-boo with mom or dad while crouching under the tables.
• Bringing toys to you with a huge grin on her face.
• Giving kisses through the slats in the safety gate and her crib.
• Taking a hand while walking.

What Claire doesn't like:

• Getting her diaper changed.
• Having her lotion put on her legs.
• When you take something away from her.
• Sitting in her car seat by herself for the car ride to G&G P's. Mama had to drive one handed while holding Claire's hand over the top of her car seat. Lucky mom didn't tear a rotator cup.

She has a bit of a temper, this one. She does not like to sit down, unless it is her choice. It makes diaper changing time a real joy!!

More pictures to come!!

12 Month Appointment

Claire handled her 12 mos appointment well, despite the stinger of the MMR shot. Mom learned early on that putting pants back on is pointless so she just wore her socks, shirt and diaper out of the room. Claire was doing just fine even by the time mom got her back on her shoulder and Claire's hat on her head. The trick is to get her to laugh.

The doctor was very impressed with Claire's development. While she isn't speaking full words yet, she is jabbering away. It does seem like Claire says Dada a lot (not surprising as her primary caregiver) and Mamamama but it's not really clear if she is saying it about Dada and Mama. She did, however, clearly say the word 'duck' while in the tub on Friday night. Hasn't said it since she got out of the tub, but she's trying! Mom & dad got her a See & Say for her birthday so she can practice animal sounds and learn to associate names of animals.

Her stats:
Weight: 19 lbs - 17.67%
Length: 27.5 inches - 9.04%
Head: 43 cm - 63%

Yes, our girl has a big head.

Her latest favorite thing has been to put toys in an old yogurt container, walk around shaking it and make noise. She also likes to take things out of her bathroom drawer and, occasionally, put things back in the drawer. But she really likes to open and close doors. She has this air of importance or 'big-shotness' when doing this - it's a hoot. So far she hasn't slammed her fingers but has run over her toes a couple of times.

Happy Birthday

One year ago today at 2:08 pm Ms. Claire joined us. An image of her in her isolete here.

And how our big girl looks today. (We had an early birthday celebration with mom's side of the family on Tuesday because of a family reunion today).

  

Cousin Ryan helps Claire blow out her candle. They share a birthday.

 
OD's on ice cream? The sugar kicked in a few minutes later and she almost jumped out of her chair. 

Nearing a year

Claire will be 1 year old on Saturday. Can you belive it?!?! We sure can't, it has gone by so quickly.

Lately she has taken to chatting away in her own little language. Mom swears sometimes she hears the word 'cat' when Claire sees Tabitha.

And she loves to dance. She kind of squats and/or bends her knees and bounces up and down. Sometimes she sings. We've been trying to get some video of her dancing but she has no interest. As soon as the video camera comes out all she wants to do is come over and see.

Sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough

It appears that Claire's bout with her fever last weekend left her immune system a bit weak and she now has another nasty cold. She is lying in bed, asleep, and coughing. Hopefully this will pass soon. She hasn't been her normal, chipper self since last Sunday. We didn't realize how lucky we were until she was slammed with a cold on top of what we think might be some teeth. Mom keeps saying that and no new teeth are appearing. Is it possible she is entering the terrible two's at the age of 11.5 months???

She continues to develop her walking skills every day and has begun to master going UP the stairs.


As long as she has her gripper socks on she is less likely to fall on the hardwood floor and shows continued signs of core body strength. Bath time continues to be good and bad. She loves being in the water but hates it getting in her eyes. Mom has yet to find a way to get the soap out of her hair without it being an ordeal. She won't tip her head back, no matter what you try.

Dad swears she is saying Daddy. Mom's not so sure. It does sound like it but the letter 'd' has been her favorite since she first starting making noise so it could just be habit. Mom would really like to hear Mommy or Mama but fears that is a long time coming. Several weeks ago we posted that she was waving good-bye. She seemed to forget about it for a while but on Friday did it really well, without any hand holding from dad, when mom left for work.

Claire is doing well feeding herself. With her cold the last few days she hasn't been too hip on taking the bottle so she has been getting more solids. She really likes banana, cheese, raisins (cut really small) and bread. The girl could wipe out a whole loaf. Not her mother's daughter at all, eh?? We'll see how she does with mashed potatoes :)
Yes mom, I will eat my banana.

And this is how she gets it in her mouth.

Our little flower amongst the flowers.

A bit of a scare

We decided to run Claire to the ER on Sunday evening as she was running a fever of 102.5' at home. She had developed a fever Sunday afternoon and seemed out of sorts while we had dinner with some friends at home. We gave her some children's Tylenol and she seemed to get her energy and spunk back but was still running warm. Pete checked her before coming to bed and we made the decision to take her in since her temp had risen since earlier in the eve.

They couldn't find anything and chalked it up to a virus she is fighting off. Three-plus hours later we finally returned home with no answers, other than her ears and lungs are clear. Oh. And she weighed in at 18.5 lbs.

She continues to have a higher temp but is eating well and still running around. She's just a bit more clingy and has a bit of short fuse. Hopefully she will be able to kick this in the next day or two.

New photos and phone vids to come. Hopefully in the next day or two!

She no longer needs us

To stand up on her own, that is.

The last two days Claire has been working on being able to stand and walk from the middle of the room, sans chair, table and/or parent. She's got it down now, and there is no stopping her from here on out. She just loves to walk. Back and forth. After the cat. It's amazing that a mere 20 days ago we posted that she was taking her first tentative steps and now she is moving through the house like a pro.

We've been working on getting up the stairs, which she does pretty well. Getting down is another story. This whole turning around on her belly thing just doesn't work for her. Even when you try showing her how it is done (which is hard to do as an adult) she resists going down in any way that is safe. So, mom gets frustrated and just picks her up and carries her down. Bad, bad mama.

Claire also likes to pick up books and 'read' to mom and dad. 90% of the time the books are upside down but apparently our nightly habit of reading before going to bed is paying off, she gets what books are for and is 'reading' to us already.