2 Month Check Up

Friday was Claire's 2 month check up. Dad gave her a niece hairdo at the doctor's office while we were waiting for Dr. Zimmerly! Claire was weighed and measured and continues to grow like a weed: 7 lbs 3 oz now! Personally, I think their scale is a little off since she was 6 lbs 12 oz on Tuesday but regardless she is making great gains. If you adjust her numbers for her prematurity she is between the 25-50% in head circumference and weight and 5% for length. No tall genes in this family! Claire is also advanced for a preemie because she is already meeting her 2 month milestones; that's our girl! She even showed off her neck strength for Dr. Zimmerly. Last up was THREE shots! If you think the two of us didn't do well with the one on Tuesday; it was certainly worse with three. Good thing daddy was there to cuddle Claire and provide me with emotional support. Our girl certainly was not herself all day but after a couple of doses of Tylenol was back to herself by Saturday.

Valentine's Day

We really enjoyed our first Valentine's Day with Claire. We got her all dolled up in her heart outfit and topped it off with a bow. There was no candy this year... much to Ari's chagrin, but there will be plenty in the future I am sure. We spent most of the day lovin' on Claire; pretty much a typical day. We then, foolishly, decided to head out for a late dinner. We tried to eat at a couple of restaurants but the wait was over 2 hours! We finally figured out that this little Thai restaurant by our house could seat us immediately. I was starving by that time and worried that Miss Claire would wake up ready to eat herself. Instead we had a really great meal and Claire slept the whole time. Happy love day to all of you!

Out and About

So after 5 weeks of being house bound, we really started getting Claire out and about this week. We are certainly careful because we don't want her to catch any of the nasty winter viruses but we just were getting stir crazy! We try to take her out at off times when there are the fewest crowds. This is her all cozy in her car seat (she loves it) at Red Robin. We had a big day of yummy sandwiches and a trip to IKEA. Claire did great. The only bad thing about the car seat is that she gets so comfortable that when she finally wakes up she is starving and mommy just can't feed her fast enough!

2 Months Old!

I love that little sly grin! Anyway, our little Claire Bear is officially 2 months old and has also passed up her official due date! A home health nurse came to assess her and give her a Synagis shot to protect her from RSV; during the visit she weighed Claire... 6 pounds 12 ounces! Holy cow! Our little girl is packing on the pounds. Must be all that quality fortified breast milk! We are enjoying her more and more every day, waiting to see what she will do next. Tonight she gave this big ole grin and cooed at the same time; it was awesome! We have to go get our official two month check up with Dr. Zimmerly on Friday and she will get SEVEN immunizations; thank goodness they can put five in one shot. You should have heard the poor girl cry after just one today; my heart just broke. Luckily she was easily consoled by mommy's hugs.

Morning Cuddles

Ari is on vacation this week... he asked off many months ago thinking that we would be expecting Claire this week, not caring for a two month old!... so Claire is enjoying the extra cuddles from daddy. Earlier this week I gave her over to daddy so I could make breakfast; don't they look happy? Don't worry, daddy is not asleep he is posing. The pediatrician in me does not allow co-sleeping, just lots of cuddling!

Stronger Every Day

You might be thinking: why are you posting a picture of poor Claire face down? I did it to illustrate the strength of our little peanut. When on her tummy she easily picks up her head and turns it to the other side. Amazing! Tonight for the first time she also really pushed up with her hands. Now the doctors say that she should be developmentally behind because she was a preemie. I think someone forgot to tell Claire because she has developed a social smile and she coos as well. She is also more and more alert every day. I can't wait to see what she will do tomorrow!

Claire meets Grandpa Pope and Grandma Lily

This weekend we were so excited to have Grandpa Pope and Grandma Lily drive from Chicago to meet Claire for the first time. Like those that have come before them, they instantly fell in love with our little angel. Now we use a lot of terms of endearment for Claire: Claire Bear, Pretty Peanut, Milk Face (my favorite while feeding her) but my dad has come up with his own... Princess of Adorableness. I think it actually is quite fitting. Needless to say, there was hardly time to do anything but let the new grandparents cuddle her little majesty. I could tell she liked snuggling on grandpas chest. While snuggling Friday night we did watch Slumdog Millionaire (a must see!) while enjoying Dewey's Pizza. Saturday there was LOTS of cuddling, some dominoes (boy did I kick butt), and I made dinner. Sunday came all too quick and after some french toast and more cuddling, it was time for Lily and dad to head back to Chicago. They are already planning their next trip back to see her royal highness!

Blog Facelift

Inspired by my friend and fellow blogger, Laura, I decided to give our blog a facelift. I thought this background was colorful and fun. Let me know what you think!

Claire's First Non-Doctor Outing

On Super Bowl Sunday, we decided that it was time to get Claire out and about. Of course we didn't want to expose her to any nasty germs or crowds of people but we did think it was time for a change of scenery. So when our friends Brent and Nahid said they were having only six germ free people over to watch the game, we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to get out of the house. Wow did I under estimate the amount of time and things we would need to bring just to be out of the house for 6 hours. Claire is certainly not low maintenance! Well I guess neither is her mother! Regardless, we got to Brent and Nahid's before the kick off and we had a great time. Everyone enjoyed holding the baby... after washing their hands. Nahid made delicious spaghetti and we all sort of watched the game. It was a very successful outing; we'll have to do it again sometime!