7 Months Old

Clare Anne is 7 months old today! Our monthly picture taking is getting a bit more difficult ... here is a progression of how our 10 minute session went.

 Clare has had a whale of a month. I mentioned in my last post that she's gone from sitting hunched over, to pulling herself into the sitting position, to crawling, to pulling up. MOBILITY is definitely the biggest event of the month. This child is into everything. She is the squirmiest, wormiest little thing. She's so hard to hold anymore and she wants to be everywhere. She.never.sits.still. I've gotten to where I hold and rock her a little more after her nighttime bottle just so I can hold a still baby. :)

Some other things about Clare at 7 months:

1. She's still on 4 bottles a day and gets a breakfast and a dinner. She does loves her some fruit and hates peas. She shudders and shakes and just about flat refuses to eat them after a few bites!

2. She jabbers some, but I wouldn't say that she's said any words...nothing that I've made out. She has waved a time or two.

3. She's cut two teeth this month -- the two on the bottom. Those teeth haven't messed with her nighttime sleep, but they have messed with naps.

4. She does not like to be alone. You don't necessarily have to be sitting down and playing with her constantly, but she does like to be in the same room as someone.

5. I like to think she's a mama's girl. She definitely snuggles and loves. She sees me in the afternoon at pick-up and will come crawling as fast as her legs will carry her! I love it!

6. Clare and Lila get a long so well! Now that Clare is older and mobile, they interact and play so much more now. I called into Lila's room the other night to ask what was going on -- Lila's response, "Me and Clare are just playing, Mama. We're okay!"

7. Not long after the crawling started, the pulling up/standing started. We had to lower the crib last weekend before she pitched herself out of it. She pulls up on toys, on you. She really likes standing on the edge of the bathtub to watch Lila take her bath. It's amazing to see her little body standing!

8. She's still a very smiley and happy baby. It's super infectious. :)

Time is zooming with this child...I'm trying to soak up all the little moments I can. We'll see what the next month brings ... hopefully she'll slow down a bit! I'm not looking for an 8 month walker!!

Warm Winter Day

It's been unusually warm this month and today was one of the first warm days where it hasn't rained. So...we took advantage and got out for a walk and some playtime. Makes me anxious for spring!

Clare is getting big!

Clare has just grown so much in the last month. We've gone from teetering when she was sitting up, to crawling, to putting herself in the sitting position. Then, last night, I turn around and she's standing up! I mean really?! Needless to say, her bed has been lowered a few notches. We certainly don't need her tumbling out! I sure do wish she'd slow down a bit...too big, too fast!!

Bathtime Fun!

I foresee great fun when Clare is finally big enough to brave a bath with Lilabug!

Clare has a tooth!

Guess what we found in Clare's mouth last night?! Her first little tooth peeking through. I tried to get a picture, and you can barely see it in the bottom picture. It's on the bottom right. It was a long time coming -- at least it felt that way. She's been chewing and drooling and doing all the other teething things for what seems like forever! Thankfully though, it didn't mess with our nights. But finally...Clare has a tooth. :)

Lila is 3!

Lila is celebrating her 3rd birthday today ... that is just wow to me.

It would take me days to tell you all about my Lila. She's a beautiful, smart, sweet, dramatic little lady. A few other things about our big girl...

* She's going through an "I hate buttons" phase. It's very frustrating for me. It makes getting dressed a little difficult. Nearly every day, the first thing she asks when it comes to clothes is, "It not got buttons on it??" UGH!

* She still loves books, but she's really in a movie phase. She loves them ... all kinds. She also really likes it when you watch them with her.

* She's been in a big girl bed since March, but I won't lie, she ends up in our bed a lot of nights. She also doesn't go to bed real easy. She's really good at putting off bedtime.

* She's been potty trained since last June. She's done really, really well with this.

* She loves to learn. She can write her name. She knows her full name, plus the rest of our names. She can count to about 15, and knows most of her letters. A lot of the time, she can also tell you a word that starts with a letter you ask her about. She really good with her one-to-one correspondence too.

* Her vocabulary and the things she says blows my mind. I love the little conversations that we have. She still says "b" for "v," but a lot of her other "baby" things are more developed. She can say her "c" now (she used to say "t"). One of my favorite things that she says is "I'm am." I am also no longer "mommy," but we have graduated to "mama."

* She is a very literal child. If she has chocolate milk, then it's "chocolate milk." Don't say milk or you'll be corrected. Same with chicken nuggets -- can't say chicken, it's "chicken nuggets." Also, if you call her a silly girl or a sweet pea or any other term of endearment, she'll correct you by saying "I not whatever you say, I'm Lila." The way she says Lila is funny too -- she'll roll her eyes back and say it in the back of her throat. She's pretty hilarious.

* The big adjustment from the last year is her sister. She's done so well with this. We've had a few (and I mean a few) moments where jealousy has been an issue, but she loves her "sweet little girl." She cares for her, pets on her, loves her, baby talks her. Nothings makes my heart smile more. I love that they love each other.

* We've been a lot more diligent about church in the last year, and Lila has loved her Sunday School class. I really enjoy seeing the things that she makes and hearing about all that she's learned.

* She plays really well independently, but she likes to color with someone. I'm horrible about playing outside, but she loves to be out with Josh on the swing set or riding her toys.

* She's a definite girly-girl. She loves being told she looks nice, new clothes and shoes, polished fingernails. She's also very dramatic and can go from perfectly fine to a perfect meltdown in no time. These days she's famous for saying "Don't make me cry!"

She's definitely three and definitely all girl. Her sweet face helps brighten my day. I absolutely adore her, and can't wait (or maybe I can ... time is flying these days!) to see what the next year brings. I love seeing her grow and excel. I am beyond proud of Lila.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Bug! Daddy, Clare and I love you!

3rd Birthday Celebrations!

I opted for no big birthday party this year, but we did celebrate all.weekend.long.Sooo, watch out! This is a pretty lengthy post -- got to get it all in!

On Saturday, we went to see Beauty and the Beast with Lila's sweet friend Leah. The girls did great, but Lila did get a little tired in the movie. I love that I can take her to the movies...especially ones that I loved going to see when I was little!

On Sunday, we had grandparents, Granny, and Aunt Casey to the house for hamburgers and birthday cake.

One of my favorite things to do for birthdays is to have pictures from the past year sitting out. I love seeing all the things that we've done and accomplished, plus it's neat to see how much she's grown.

Loved Lila's birthday cake ... hard to tell, but it's shaped like a 3.

Ready to blow out the candles

Present time ... Lila was super excited about presents this year. In fact, she tore into one from Aunt Casey long before she was supposed to.

Her big present from us and Clare. Wish I had her reaction in pictures -- we have it on video and it is priceless. To say she was excited is an understatement :)

Clare's gig the whole time was getting into paper and trying to get her hands on the new toys. She's on the move big time these days.

I grabbed the opportunity to get some family shots. Thanks to all our family that came to celebrate with us!

We ended Lila's birthday eve with a sweet hug for Sister. Love these girls.

Lila is 3!!

We spent the morning at Frog Legs with Emory, and the girls had a good time jumping and playing.

Lila got some fantastic flowers from Aunt Casey. Do you see the puppy?

We were low key tonight, but we did sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out candles on a cupcake.

She also got one more present .. her Snow White doll.

All in all, it's been a busy weekend celebrating Lila's life. I cannot believe that the child is 3.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest 3 year old I know! We Love You!

Birthday Eve

It's Lila's last night as a 2 year old. Hard to believe that she'll wake up tomorrow morning and be 3!

We've been celebrating all weekend, so there will be a big post coming up tomorrow.

She's been so excited for her birthday, and we've had a great weekend.
Happy Birthday Eve, sweet Lilabug! We love you!

Rubber Ducky

We brought out the rubber duck for Clare's bathtime. She was getting so squirmy in her infant tub and is sitting well enough, so we decided to make the switcharoo. She loved it and bathtime was a bit easier. Lila was very excited about the rubber duck and tried very hard to "help" during Clare's bath. It's pretty sweet how much Lila cares and wants to help with her little sister.

6 Month Stats

Clare Anne went to the doc today for her check-up. She got two shots and one oral vaccine. She weighed in at 16 lbs. and 8 oz. and was 25 inches long. Her length hadn't changed since her 4 month appointment, but Dr. Greer thought it was because she's so squirmy! Big Sis was there and was so sweet when it came time for shots. We ran quite a few errands this morning which totally messed with Clare's nap. Can you tell she's exhausted??
Very thankful to have two healthy and precious babies!!

Happy New Years!

We spent our first day of 2012 at Mimi and Pop's house and had a nice day of eating and visiting. Lila enjoyed playing with her cousin, Clete. We even managed a cousin shot.

We stayed all day, bathed the girls there, and then headed home.

Clare loved her sink bath -- Happy 1st New Year's, Clare Anne!

This is a VERY belated birthday wish for Pop...His birthday was on December 19, and I totally failed to get a birthday wish on here. So, Happy Belated Birthday, Pop! Thanks for all you do ... and that's a lot! We love you!