Taking first steps!

Two days ago Claire took her first steps on her own. We were having her walk back and forth between us and would let go for a bit. She took up to 4 steps on her own before losing her balance! Walking on her own will be coming shortly we think.

We are having so much fun with Nanny and Papa here. We spend most of our free time going for walks and in the pool. 95 degrees doesn't feel so hot when you can be in the pool.

We have been trying some new foods with Claire. She has tried black olives, kidney beans, rice with hamburger (did not like this dish much at all!), strawberries, and watermelon. She is just like her mommy with watermelon so they don't last long in the Naustdal household!

Claire got a new red wagon for her birthday from Nanny and Papa. She has enjoyed riding around in it and does very well.

Having a blast!

Claire is definitely having fun with Nanny and Papa. She is getting so much attention and is getting pretty spoiled! She loves to read books with Nanny and go crawling around the house with Papa. She will even stop if he isn't close behind and wave her arm as if she is telling him to "come on". It is very fun to watch!

The weather has been pretty warm so we have been spending most of our time in the pool. We haven't gotten Nanny to go under yet, but she gets close! Yesterday Nanny and Papa watched Claire while Jeff and I worked. When I got home, I think they looked more tired than Claire did! She is a busy girl and we have so much fun watching her learn new things every day. We have been getting her to stand on her own for a bit longer each time. Walking should be coming soon and then life will get even busier!

Time with Nanny and Papa

Papa and Nanny arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Claire was a bit skeptical of them at first but it did not take her long to warm up. She has been having a blast so far getting spoiled by Nanny and Papa and is loving all of their attention. We spent the afternoon yesterday hanging out in the pool which everyone loved.

Yesterday Claire graduated to the "big girl" car seat. It is hard to see our "baby" in such a big seat but I guess I have to face the fact that she is growing up fast. We will post more pictures as we take them with Nanny and Papa.

Laughing out loud

I was giving Claire her tubby tonight and she was in a good mood. I decided to start acting crazy to see if I could get her laugh. Next thing you know, I got this....

No more bottles for this big girl!

Two days ago we decided to let Claire try drinking her formula from a sippy cup. She did well with the first feeding, so we decided to eliminate bottles completely. She tried to fight us with her feeding before bed and protested for a few minutes before giving in and taking the sippy cup. Yesterday went better for her and Jeff and today she has not complained at all when she gets her milk from the sippy cup. I spent this morning putting all of her bottles away! This was a very easy transition and I am very thankful for that! Just wanted to share our good news.

I had Claire in the pool yesterday and she is starting to get a little more brave. She tried to crawl in the water and didn't seem to mind that the water was touching her mouth. I think we are going to have a little dare devil on our hands!

In a few more days Nanny and Papa will be here to visit (and spoil Claire I am sure)! We are very excited to see them and we know Claire will have lots of fun with them.

How to teach a baby to swim

We have had a stretch of great weather the past few days. It has been in the 90's with lots of sunshine. The pool warmed up to 78 so we decided to take Claire for a dip. The first couple of times we just floated around and let her get accustom to the water. It is our goal to make her comfortable in the water so that she will learn to swim and help ease some of the fears of owning a pool. Emily, one of our nannies, teaches swim lessons and she gave us some pointers for Claire. As you can see from the video, Sheila tried to blow in her face which causes infants to hold their breath. She then went completely under with her. Claire did swallow a little bit of water but overall it was a success. Our plan is to keep doing this every so often until she learns to hold her breath on her own. It will be an exciting summer

Showing my 2 teeth

I was finally able to get a few pictures of Claire's teeth. They are kind of hard to see, but the two middle ones on the bottom are both through the skin.

Yesterday we put Claire under water in the pool for the first time. She was definitely not a big fan of going under! We have decided we need to do some reading on the proper way to get children use to going under water. It seemed kind of cruel to just dunk her when she didn't know what was happening. At least I went under with her so she knew I was there. After the dunking, we spent time with Claire just walking around in the pool and letting her float on her back. She seemed to really like to float on her back and seemed to be very relaxed. I have a feeling this summer is going to be full of many firsts and our blog will be loaded with pool pictures and activities!

It's pool time!

We put Claire into the pool for the first time on Sunday, May 2nd and we had a blast! The water is still a bit chilly so we didn't get to swim a lot but we spent about 45 minutes playing on the first step of the pool. We first put Claire's feet in the water and then slowly lowered her to sitting. When she first sat down, she took a deep breath. After she was in and the initial shock of the cooler water was over, she quickly began to play with her toys and splash around. It was lots of fun to watch her and we look forward to when we can go swimming more without getting too cold!

Claire has been "talking" so much more now. We sure enjoy all of the sounds she is making. She is also starting to associate words with what they mean. She knows dog, cat, milk, books, toys, and hungry. When I ask her if she is hungry and ready to eat at mealtime, she will smack her lips. She is such a character and we are having a blast watching our little girl grow up! Hope y'all enjoy the pictures.

The Voice of Claire

This past weekend, Sheila and I had the opportunity to go see one of my favorite bands, Tenth Avenue North. They were playing with Casting Crowns in College Station. It turned out to be everything I was hoping. I then decided that I need to do a new blog and use a Casting Crowns song as the backdrop. We have been working with Claire on both her talking and her walking. I think we are past the point of the crawl-walk and getting close to just a plain walk. She is using Owen's walker to put on some serious miles. Sheila and I were both getting very tired chasing her around so I rigged up a string to the front of the walker. Now she can walk in circles to her hearts content. It seems she never gets tired. We have fun watching her get distracted and start to loose her balance. She quickly realizes that she is falling and pulls hard on the walker to correct the situation. Today we are taking the maiden voyage into the pool. It is going to be about 85 out and we thought it is time to teach Claire how to swim. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures coming real soon.