Five Months

Someone is five months old! I bet you can't guess. Let me give you some hints. She is adorable. She is smart. She is always happy. And she is my baby! Yep, Claire is 5 months old. I can't even believe it. Time is passing so very quickly. I have loved spending the last month with her. Summer break is treating both of us well and she is growing like a weed.

At five months, Claire:

::rolls from front to back AND back to front! She is such a great little roller. She sometimes forgets that she can roll over to her back once she gets to her tummy and so she struggles. It's actually really cute. She hasn't quite figured out that she can get to places by rolling yet. She sometimes rolls really quickly back, front, back front. She thinks she is really something when she rolls over and I clap for her and cheer.

::is still a champ at holding her head up during tummy time. She is trying to get up to start moving but we have a ways to go before that happens. She will wiggle her legs and kick her feet and squirm all over.

::started rice cereal! Our doctor encouraged us to wait until she was at least 5 months old and if she wasn't interested wait another month or more. We started when she was 1 day older than 5 months. She didn't turn away but she was unsure what to do with the spoon in her mouth. I think we need to find a smaller spoon? We will keep trying it and see how it goes.

::loves to smile. Claire just loves life and she is always happy. She enjoys laughing too. The silliest things are making her laugh recently. Things like mom saying, "Boo!" and Daddy poking her belly and making a funny noise. Grandpa Jackson pretends that Claire is corn on the cob and she giggles when he eats her. I also do this funny song that I made up (I even made up some dance moves) and it gets her to smile every.single.time. I'm her favorite person, I just know it!

::is a big fan of her feet. She has recently taken to putting her toes in her mouth and she can fit all 5 toes on one foot inside. It's really funny to see her laying on her back with both of her feet right up by her face.

::is a LONG baby. Period.

::is starting to try and sit up by herself. She needs just a little bit of help and stays up really well. Claire will sometimes sit up for a couple of seconds before toppling over. (Worst mom ever.... I let Claire sit up for a second and she fell, head first, into the TV stand. I cried harder than she did and she is just fine now. This mom business is emotional stuff.)

::is making more noises with her mouth and her noises have a lot of variety to them. She is very talkative, usually right in the morning and at night before bed.

::eats fingers like they're going out of style. We think she is trying to get some teeth in but can't quite get them through. If there is a hand nearby, she will pull fingers into her mouth. Along with that, she slobbers like nothing else.

::is more interested in playing with her toys. She enjoys grabbing on to her toys in her bouncer and play mat and loves a pink bunny that she has. Her toys usually go right into her mouth.

Dear Claire,
I keep thinking to myself that I love you as much as possible yet every single day I keep loving you more. You are becoming such a fun little girl and I'm so lucky to have you in my life. You are easy going just like your daddy and you are a joy to be around. Your smile lights up my day and your laugh melts my heart. I love you, Snugga.
Love, Mama

Summer Adventures 2012 Part 1

The Friday that school got out we decided to take Claire to the BYU baseball game against Gonzaga. BYU played horribly, but that is a different story. We had a really good time. Claire even got to meet Cosmo! I'm pretty sure I was about 100 x more excited that she was. Oh well. Someday she will love Cosmo.

We decided to go to the Pony Express Days in Eagle Mountain. We went to the talent show that seriously lacked talent and we tried to go geocaching. The geocaching didn't turn out as the letter we were searching for was straight up a mountain. Perhaps we did it wrong? Oh well, Claire looked adorable in her sun hat.

Last night, we went to the Springville Rodeo. It was both Brent and Claire's first rodeo. I know, I have NO idea how Brent has gone his whole life without going to a rodeo, but we fixed that last night. Claire even got some autographs from the rodeo queen and princesses.

I'm excited to have many more summer adventures while I can spend so much time with both of my sweeties.

Four Months

Claire turned 4 months on May 23. I can't believe it. Sometimes I think, "4 months? It's already been 4 months?!" and other times I can hardly remember what life was like before she joined our family. She is a perfect fit and I'm so glad she is here.

At four months, Claire:

::laughs. A lot. And it is adorable. We do just about everything to get a giggle out of her. She laughs just like her daddy, all over. Her face lights up and her little belly just shakes. Her laughter is my favorite sound.

::plays with toys more and more. She started to be interested in playing with toys quite awhile ago, but within the last month has started grabbing onto toys and trying to get them in her mouth. She has a favorite toy bunny from Uncle Sach and Aunt Tracy that she loves to slobber on. She will give the bunny loves and I just melt.

::tries to sit up. Her little arms and legs go up in the air and she will try with all her might to sit up. We hardly have to give her a little push and she is able to go right up. She can't sit on her own, but she loves to be sitting up with someone. I love that she just keeps trying and trying to sit up. I know that one of these days she is going to get it.

::doesn't like to lay down. She wants to be up looking around. She loves to look at people and smile at them. She is very interested in things around her and will strain her neck to look around if she hears something. She stays awake for all of our walks and she loves to look up at the trees and the sky. It is so fun to see her discovering things.

::She is still in love with the Mariners. (I don't know why...they suck!)

::soaks clothes with slobber. This kid is a slobber monkey! She always has huge slobbers.

::sleeps in her very own room. It was time. She had outgrown her bassinet and she needed her bigger crib. It was a hard night for this mama, but she did great! She did manage to get herself from one end of the crib to the other and she was completely turned around. I think she gets her crazy sleeping from me. Lucky kid. Along with sleeping, she still loves to be swaddled, although she does escape her swaddle every night. She falls right asleep once she is all cozied up.

::tries to hold her own bottle. She usually ends up pulling it out and then she gets upset that she isn't eating anymore. It is really funny.

::tries to escape her car seat. Claire will arch her back when she gets strapped in and she tries to sit up when she is in her car seat. She doesn't mind it once she is in there, but the getting her in process is getting trickier.

::learning her bouncy toy. We have to put the Wii Fit balance board below her feet because she is still a little bit little, but she loves to sit in there and make it play music. She can't turn around to play with the other toys yet, but she just likes to sit and bounce.

::had her 4 month appointment on May 29, 2012. Her stats are:
Weight - 15.52 pounds (75%)

Length - 26 inches (96%)
Head - 16.5 inches (83%)
She is a long baby! It makes sense now why all of her pants are basically capris. She got shots and did fabulous while we were at the doctor. She got really confused when she had her first shot and let out a scream when she had her second one, but once I picked her up and we played with her bunny she calmed right down. She did scream that night for about 15 minutes and it was awful. I felt so horrible that she was hurting so much. She ended up falling asleep on me, but it was the saddest 15 minutes ever. Brent came in her room to find me crying trying to calm her down. My heart just hurt.

Dear Claire,
I love you. The last four months have flown by and you are changing so much every day. A couple of days ago, I came out into the living room and I told Dad, "She's grown!" You bring so much happiness into my life and I am thankful for you. Always remember that I love you and that you are my little sweetie.
Love, Mama

Three Months....Already!?

Claire is growing much too quickly for my liking! I feel like it can't possibly have been three months ago that she came and joined our family. But, the calendar says it is so, so I guess I must believe it. She is such a blessing to us.

At three months Claire:

::still smiles all of the time. She has begun laughing too and it is adorable! She will usually laugh if I am laughing really hard. It is tender. She has the cutest little laugh, her whole face just lights up. Her personality is really developing and she is getting to be so much fun!

::still isn't a crier. She really only cries when she is hungry or super tired. Her cries are getting louder when she does cry though. She has got some lungs! :)

::ROLLS OVER! She first rolled over from front to back on April 6th. Brent sent me a video while I was at work and I cried because I missed it. But when I came home from work, I was able to see her new trick. I clap and make a big deal every time she rolls over and she seems to love it when I do. She looks really proud.

::had her blessing. We went to Washington so we could be surrounded by family and it was a wonderful blessing. More on that later...

::has graduated to big bottles. She was drinking an entire small bottle and would cry when it was finished. We upgraded to bigger bottles and she is much happier. She's growing so big!

::holds her head up for tummy time like a champ. Tummy time is much more enjoyable for her now that she is able to look around while she lays there.

::has outgrown her newborn clothes. We are already starting to put clothes into storage that she has outgrown. She is growing bigger by the second. I leave for work in the morning and I really think she is bigger when I get home in the evening.

::slobbers everywhere. Brent was an early teether and so she may start getting teeth here pretty soon. Brent said she "slobbers like a fire hydrant." Whatever that means...

::visited school. All of my kids were so excited to see her and absolutely love her. She is lucky to have so many people love her. Miss Morgan thinks she is pretty awesome, too.

::awake during the day a lot. Brent loves spending time with her throughout the day. They read books, play on her play mat, go shopping, do errands, work outside, do laundry, etc. She is a little trooper.

::still sleeps through the night most of the time. Hooray for having such a fabulous sleeper!

Dear Claire,

I can't believe how quickly you are growing. You are turning into such a fun little girl and I love every minute I have with you. I'm excited for all of our adventures and love the memories I'm making with you. Your personality is developing and you are so much fun to be with! I hope you know just how much you are loved by Daddy and me.

Love, Mommy

2 month stats

Claire had her 2 month appointment last week. She sure is growing!

Weight: 11 lbs 6 oz

Length: 23 inches

Head: 15 1/4 inches

I can't believe the difference since birth. She was so tiny it was unbelievable. Slow down, Claire. Pretty please?

Visitors!

We have had so many visitors the last 2 months. It has been so much fun having family come and meet Claire. She sure is loved.

The end of February, Gramma Jammie and Auntie Heather came to meet Claire. They loved her right away. They had lots of fun snuggling her stealing kisses. They both ask for daily pictures of the little munchkin and can't wait for our visit.

The beginning of March, Grandpa Mark came again along with Auntie Hilary. Grandpa Mark flew down the day after Claire was born to meet her, but Hilary hadn't met Claire yet. They are big fans of Claire and wanted to steal her away.

The day I went back to work, Grandpa and Grandma Jackson came with Uncle Chris. My dad and Chris hadn't met Claire yet. Chris thinks Claire is hilarious and loves being a fun uncle. He is going to teach her all sorts of things, I can only imagine. I loved having my dad and Chris meet Claire.

Two Months

At 2 months Claire:

::smiles all of the time. She is a very happy baby-especially when she wakes up at around 6:30 every morning. She has the biggest cheesy grins every morning and it makes us super happy.

::is starting to laugh. She does these adorable little giggles that turn us into big puddles of goo.

::sleeps SO well! She eats between 10 and 11 every night and then sleeps until about 6:30 the next morning. She will sometimes even go back to sleep until 9:30 or 10. What a champ!

::is only fussy if she is hungry or tired. We can usually solve her sadness by fixing one of the two problems. Or if she has a poopy diaper.

::eats a lot! She is super sad when her food is gone at every feeding.

::is starting to enjoy her baths. She doesn't scream anymore and she really doesn't even cry. Hooray!

::has super stinky hands. I know, gross. But it's true! Who even knows why. Ha!

::enjoys her car seat and going on walks. She likes to be moving though, so those red lights are killers.

::still hates tummy time, but we are working on it!

::likes reading stories and singing songs. Some of her favorites songs are Wheels on the Bus and The Slithery Dee.

::can hold her head up on her own and likes to sit in her chair for short periods of time.

::LOVES her play mat and will stare at her "friend" in the mirror. She loves to smile at said "friend."

Dear Claire,

You are growing so fast. Please slow down. I feel like I can't shut my eyes for even a moment because I'm afraid of what I'll miss. You are my sunshine and my whole world. Dad and I are grateful a million times a day for you.

Love, Mommy