3 Days Off!

Since I have gone back to work, I have been joking with the chief fellows that they should never give me two days off in a row because every time I get the entire weekend off I enjoy playing mommy so much that I don't want to go back to work. So you can just imagine how I felt after 3 days off for the Memorial Day weekend! I was in full mommy mode and lovin' it. Here are some pictures I took while Claire and I were playing.

Sweet Potato Princess

Look at that grin, can you tell our girl likes sweet potatoes? So after weeks of chowing down on rice cereal, we made the big leap to sweet potatoes and boy does Claire love them. She grins the entire time she is eating them! It must seem so much more exciting than rice cereal. What I can tell you is that it definitely is more of a mess. Claire gets really into her solids and loves to suck on her fingers while she eats then the food goes where her fingers go... clothes, bumbo chair, hair, you name it! It is worth it to see that grin, though!! We love our sweet potato princess!

5 Months Old

Can you believe our peanut is five months old already? We can't! Claire has made so many strides this month. She is constantly vocalizing and her giggling is infectious. She continues to be a great eater; she is now getting cereal twice a day and just started veggies... I will blog more about that later. She grasps well and shakes her rings and keys and puts everything in her mouth. She actually even transferred her keys from one hand to the other a few days ago. Her head and trunk control is getting better every day and she can sit with just a little support. When she is on her tummy she will bring her legs up like she wants to move but isn't quite there yet. She also doesn't get up in the middle of the night to eat anymore! She is just such a joy and she continues to have a wonderful temperment. Happy 5 months big girl!!

Doll Baby

We call Claire our little doll baby because we both enjoy dressing her up and she tolerates us doing just about anything to her: making her dance is one of our favorites. So these pictures are when Ari dressed her the other day... he has great fashion sense doesn't he? I swear Claire does smile... she just doesn't do it on command for the camera!

Claire's First Swim

Two weeks ago... yep, I am finally catching up... it was 88 degrees outside. Ari and I agreed that after work (oh how I love working on the weekend) we would blow up the inflatable pool we bought Claire and try out her swimsuit that Grammy bought her. My first mistake was trying to blow up the pool with my own lungs at first; that was going nowhere fast. Then because I am cheap, I went out and bought a little manual pump. Sure it works on both strokes but I was beat after pumping up her whale shaped pool! I hadn't even filled it with water yet. Because I didn't want her to get cold I was bringing a gallon bucket to and from the house filled with bathtub warm water. Ari had to finish the job because I haven't gotten that much exercise since before I was pregnant. Finally the toys were in the pool and Claire was decked out in her swimming suit. She LOVED the water. We were splish splashing and having a good ole time UNTIL we wound up a wind up dolphin and shark. She starting SCREAMING when she saw them swimming at her. What a bust! The pool adventure was pretty much done after that. We did video the whole experience so as soon as I have two seconds to myself, I will try to figure out how to upload it.

The Bumbo Chair and Cereal

For those of you not familiar with them, the Bumbo chair is this wonderful invention that helps babies work on their truncal strength and stay in a sitting position. We got one for Claire a couple of weeks ago and she likes it... for the most part. What it has been most useful for, however, is feeding her cereal. Yep, that's right our girl is a big cereal eater now. After watching her smack her lips for weeks while we ate at the dinner table, the pediatrician in me said, "it's time to start some solids." Our doc had recommended waiting because she is a preemie but I promised Ari that if she gave any sign that she wasn't ready we would stop and wait awhile. Did she show any signs of not being ready? Nope, she ate it like a champ. She loves her cereal and smiles and coos during her evening feeds. The other super bonus: it totally knocks her out and she will sleep about six hours after she finishes! Way to go big girl cereal eater!!

A Walk in the Park

Near the end of Ari's parents' visit, we all took a trip to Ault Park. It was a beautiful day and we dolled Claire up in a little dress and went out to enjoy the weather. The park is absolutely beautiful and parts of it remind me of the quad at the U of I with its crisscrossing sidewalks and people playing music, frisbee, or just enjoying a good book. Claire enjoyed it until Ari was posing with her in a tube on the playground... not quite ready for that yet!

Opa and Bobe

In March, yes I realize that was nearly two months ago, Ari's parents arrived to meet Claire. They were helpful in watching her while we got ourselves back into a groove with both of us at work. They stayed for two weeks and I think they really enjoyed all the bonding time!