Rice Cereal

Claire had her first taste of rice cereal last night. She has been acting very interested when we eat and so I figured she was ready to try it. At first (1), she didn't realize she needed to swallow what was put in her mouth by the spoon. She also got a little confused as to what she was supposed to be eating (2 & 4). As predicted, she was messy (3...okay all of them). I loved how she would reach for her bites (5). She was good to open wide and got the hang of it quickly (6 -8). She is pretty much a pro. Yeah...I think she liked it (9).

Happenings

So Claire is still ridiculously adorable. She is so much fun. She loves to squeal and put anything in her mouth...including her toes. She has rolled over (both directions) a few times but I don't think she realizes she is the one controlling it because she doesn't roll over all the time. She does, however, like to scoot around on her back. She will smile at anyone who talks happy to her and giggle if she is tossed in the air. She is ticklish and it is hilarious to hear her laugh. I'd have to say she is the best toy ever!

School starts at the end of this month and I think it will be harder after the summer than it was after my maternity leave. Luckily, Claire is happy with other people watching her (however she could act like she missed me a little). I'm also wondering what kind of disarray my house will be in once I go back to work.

Nathan is staying busy at work but we love when he comes home and can play (he likes it too). It is so cute to see Claire smile and light up when she sees him. He is such a good dad and I have to share this cute dad moment. Sunday at church the little boy behind us looks at Claire and says, "Mom, she's a princess!" I turn around and say, "She totally is!" The cute part was what Nathan said a bit later, "We need to keep track of the boy that called Claire a princess." I giggled inside.

Well, here are some cute pictures of Claire (click to enlarge).

First, this seems like just a cute innocent picture.

But this is where I found her when I peeked around to check on her while I was cooking dinner a few nights ago.

This is what happens when dad is left to fix the headband. :)

And here is what happens when dad goes shopping for Claire. These are her jammies, but we had the headband so while she's awake I have her wear it so she looks like a girl. :) Also, you can see in these pictures how much she loves her dad.

Cutest baby in the world!

Your baby(ies) may be beautiful beyond belief, but I have the cutest baby in the world!

3 Months and New Tricks

Claire turned 3 months yesterday! She is growing so fast! She is still a happy baby who loves to laugh and smile. Added to her interests have been her voice and her hands. She finds her hands extremely delicious and is working on fitting her entire fist in her mouth. She gets pretty close but then gags herself (luckily nothing comes out with those gags). That is when I exchange her hand with her binky.

She really likes to hear her own voice. She is convinced that the best time to practice her singing (squealing) is early in the morning at 5 or 6 am. I'm willing to let her squeal (we go into the living room so dad can get an extra hour of sleep before going work) as she normally will only stay awake for about 30 minutes to an hour and then we can go back to sleep until 8 or 9. I'm loving that this new development happened now while I'm out of work; otherwise I would be so dead and exhausted all day.

Claire has been acting like she wants to roll over. I'm not so sure I'm ready for that. She hasn't been successful yet, but she gets her legs moving and kicks herself onto her side. I think once she realizes her arm is in her own way she'll move it and roll over. Yikes! She does love when dad or I roll her over. She starts to laugh. I also think she's going to be a thrill seeker as she loves when dad swings her around...she gets the biggest smiles and starts to giggle. Here are some 3 month pictures that we took yesterday because she is so cute!

Claire's blessing

Today was Claire's blessing day. She was so well behaved during church. But she didn't get much of any nap today because there was so much going on. So she had a meltdown at about 3. She was so beautiful as was her blessing. She is loved so much by all of her family.

Almost a Month!!!

I can't believe that my little Claire will be 4 weeks old on Sunday! That's crazy! Unfortuneately, that means I only have 3 more weeks until I go back to work. I'm anticipating that to be one of the hardest days ever! Of course I know my mom will take great care of her, but I just don't know if I can say bye knowing I won't see her for 8 hours! Here are a couple of pictures of my cutie. They aren't that recent because most pictures are taken on my ipod or my mom's camera. However, Saturday we plan to have a photo shoot. :)

1 Week Later

Okay so I don't know how people can post right after they have had a baby. I've been too busy get used to everything and staring at my beautiful little girl.

Claire was born Sunday March 6, 2011 at 5:43 pm after 12 hours of labor and then an unplanned c-section because her heart rate would drop during my contractions. I am very grateful for calm doctors and a calm husband. Both Claire and I are doing great. She is healthy and happy and I am healing well.

Nathan has been a wonderful dad. He loves to hold her (he's kind of a hog) and he actually is okay with changing diapers (he changed all but one during our 3.5 days at the hospital because I couldn't move very easily).

Well, here are some pictures of my angel.

I just loved this sad face.

The happy family.

She is just too cute.

She was given out smiles for dad.

Yeah, they're cute.

I love how she folds her arms and rests her head on them.

Can you believe she has hair...and it's brown?!

She better get used to hair accessories because I got a lot as gifts.

Still Alive, Still Pregnant

I am now 33 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Claire kicks a lot and aparently is quite comfortable being as close to my ribs as she can get. I actually enjoy being pregnant. It hasn't been horribly uncomfortable and I haven't been sick. I just haven't been very good at documenting everything. So for those of you that want the monthly pictures...sorry.
I am at the point now where it's not worth it to bend over, though. Putting on my snow boots is not so fun. Nathan offers to help, but he's not around every time I need to put on my boots...so that is a little painful.
I am very excited that I have less than 7 weeks left, but I don't hope to go early. I know a lot of people get to the point where they want to be done, but I don't know that I'm ready/organized enough for someone to take over my classes if Claire is born early.
Anyway, pregnancy is good, but I am very excited for when I can meet this little girl inside me.