Yesterdays

Ruckus room

I took Claire to meet her friends Marley and Ava at the Ruckus room in Houston. It is an indoor playground with blow up jumping toys. Claire was a bit unsure of the whole place at first, but it didn't take her long to start playing. Once she let me put her down the inflatable slide, she wanted to go again and again! As you can tell from the pictures, she had lots of fun!

Walking all over!

Claire has been working on walking since she took her first steps over a month ago. She has gotten pretty good at is. Although she still crawls more than walks, we see her walking around more and more every day. She loves to carry things in her hands or her mouth as she walks and loves to bring us things. She is such a joy to watch. We are excited to get up to MN to see our family and to meet baby Harvey. Claire is especially looking forward to showing Nanny and Papa all of the things she can do since they last saw her!

Busy little bee

Claire has been doing so much lately. We have been working on some sign language with her and she has mastered the sign for "more" and "milk". She loves to give "high-5" and loves to wave hello and goodbye. She has been walking so much more now and we often times find her walking from the front room through the kitchen and into the living room. She gets so excited when she sees us that she often loses her balance. It is such a joy watching Claire as she is growing up and learning to be more independent. She still loves to snuggle and loves to suck her thumb while playing with Mommy's hair (which Mommy also loves!). I have joined a mother's group so we should start having so fun pictures out and about with other kids soon.

The Children's Museum

Today I took Claire to the Children's Museum in the Woodlands. We met the Perez girls there and had lots of fun. Claire headed immediately for the books and spent some time checking them out before heading to the slide. She liked to climb up the steps and into the walkway, but did not like to come down the slide. Her favorite spot was the kitchen area where they had all kinds of life-size play food. I guess this should not surprise me since she spends lots of time each day playing with her toy food at home. We had a good time and Claire is now taking a nap to recover from her morning of play.

Time to Feed Herself

7 Month Review

I'm not really sure how you can sum up 7 months in 4:51 but this morning I tried.

It seems like there is always something that can come at just the right time to motivate me to do better and work harder on the things that are really important. Last night they were airing the Phil Harris special on "Deadliest Catch" and in one of the last things Phil said to his son he wished he had been a better father. It was a profound statement from a man that has all the money he could want, a successful TV show, adoring fans, and so many of the other things in life that we strive for. Yet in his last moments on this earth he was not worried about his boat, his cars, his vacations, his job, or any of the other things that people think make them happy, He was worried about how he did has a father. Stop and think about that for one second. I do not want to say in my final days that I wish I had been a better father. It is easy to get caught up in all those other things but I have found that by doing these short videos it helps keep me grounded and focused.

You're Beautiful

Claire has been talking a lot about her upcoming trip to MN. She is very excited to play with all her cousins. As you will be able to tell from the video, she has been doing a lot of preparation. She has been working on her hide and seek skills with Sheila so she can compete with Ellie. Her track and field still needs some work but she is confident that Owen won't be too much faster than her. She even sets stuffed animals and books throughout the entire house and tries to run through and over them. I think she is worried about the long grass at the lake tripping her up. Finally for Harvey, she has been working out with the cat to see just how fast her reflexes are. You know that when two babies get together they only want to play with the toy the other one has. Watch out Harvey and hold on to your rattle tight.

Playin' around

Claire had her 12 month check up with the pediatrician on July 1st. She weighed 21 lbs 12 ounces (50-75%) and was 29 and a half inches long (also 50-75%). She is finally starting to thin out a little bit. She still has those cheeks though (she gets them from her Daddy!). She was such a trooper that day. She had to go through getting 4 shots and a finger stick. She didn't even start to cry until the second shot and once the shots were done, she only cried for another 15 seconds or so. I was so proud of her!

We have such a blast watching Claire explore and learn new things every day. Today she figured out how to put toys into a plastic container, put the lid on the container, and shake it to make noise. I find myself just watching her and wondering how I got so lucky to be blessed with such an amazing daughter. I am in awe of her and find myself in situations that are bitter sweet. I love to see Claire learning new things, but that also means that my baby is growing up. Thankfully she still loves to cuddle with her Mommy. Her big thing is to lay her head on my shoulder, suck her right thumb, and play with my hair using her left hand. I love it! I have also found a good way to keep her calm in the car. I ask her if she wants Mommy to sing, she will say "yes" (at least that is what I believe it sounds like!), and all I have to do is start singing Rock-A-Bye Baby and she will instantly stick her thumb into her mouth and play with her curls using her free hand! It is adorable.

Independence Day

Jeff got off work early on July 4th so we decided to take advantage of the family time together. We had to be sure to put Claire in her patriotic outfit from Nanny and Papa. She had to do "cheers" with Daddy to start off the celebration. We went to the neighbors to grill and visit. Just before Claire went to bed, we lit a few sparklers so she could see some fireworks. She did not make it for the big fireworks that went off around the neighborhood. Maybe next year!

Noah's Arc

Claire and I went with our friends Cyrus and Sariah to Noah's Arc the other day. It is a kid friendly pool (6 inches deep all around) with small slides and water toys. We had lots of fun. Claire was not too sure of it at first, but once Mommy started to take her down the slides, she began to think it was fun. We managed to stay for 2 hours before both kiddos became pretty exhausted.

A few of Claire's loves

Claire loves her toy kitchen. It is the first toy
she goes to play with almost every day.

She also loves her toy Elmo that
she got from Nanny and Papa.

Claire loves to play with her friends Ava and Marley.
Here she is sneaking in some snuggle time with Ava
(of course Claire loves her thumb too!)

Finally, she loves her blackberries
and the mess they make!