Month 7

D'aww. This little girl is so stinkin' sweet. Look at that face! And she's, like, the easiest baby. We couldn't have asked for a better bookend to our family. I just adore her!

Anyway, little lovey is now closer to one year than she is to having been born. That's a weird way of saying it, but whatever. All I know is that she's getting bigger, and it makes me super sad. But also happy. Ack! Too many emotions.

Anyway, here is Clara's update:

• She always laughs when Carter drags his chin down her chest and tummy. I tried getting her to laugh by doing the same thing with my fingers, but it didn't work. I think he pushes pretty hard when he does it, which I wasn't willing to do (and which, frankly, makes me nervous).

• She has experienced a lot of firsts this past month. She started sitting in the grocery cart at the store, and she sat in a highchair at a restaurant for the first time. I even commemorated the event with a photo!

• She has transitioned to a non-infant car seat and rides around in the umbrella stroller, which she loves. Her little feet hang down, and she quickly kicks them back and forth as we move. She is definitely a fan!
• She also went on a swing for the first time. She loved it! Doesn't she looks so cute here?!

• At her six-month check-up, our doctor pointed out that she should be able to stand while we hold her hands or at least hold her up by the armpits. But she can't. She kind of refuses to. So we got her a little bouncy exersaucer-type thing for $10, and she likes it! She's slowly getting better at the standing thing, but she still needs more practice.

• Big brother and big sister sometimes treat her as a toy, which usually bothers me. But I have to say I love how they decorated her in this photo.

• She started holding her own bottle because it's important to Daniel, haha. He has spent a couple of weeks training her, and she's finally got it. I love this picture of them looking at each other while she eats.

• One night, when Clara was having her pre-bedtime bottle, Daniel decided to hold her as she fed herself. And the poor little girl was so tired she was beginning to fall asleep. So sweet.

• Speaking of sleeping, she is so good at it! When we put her down for a nap or for bedtime, she almost always falls asleep within just a couple of minutes. And if she wakes up earlier than normal, we can often go back in and give her pacifier to get her to back to sleep. The other night she even fell asleep in her crib with the lights on while I read to Aubrey. 
• She loves playing with Daniel's beard. I managed to get a photo of her doing it.

• She started playing peekaboo on her own, and it's the best thing ever. It's one of her new favorite games.

• It just snowed a few days ago, so we took the older kids sledding. I decided to bring Clara out with us in her cute snowsuit. I love the face she's making here.

• She still makes really loud grunting noises when she falls asleep, and I finally got a video!

• The best thing about babies this age is that basically anything can be a toy. Through the process of giving Clara random things to play with, we have discovered that she loves hangers. Hey, whatever works!

• She apparently even loves watching other people play with hangers. In this video, she does the super funny and cute laugh that, according to Daniel, sounds like she's being hurt. But it's clear when you actually see the video that she's incredibly happy. Looooove.

• She really loves sweet potatoes and has actually liked every food we've given her, which includes banana, pear, strawberry, sweet potato, mango, carrot, peas, green beans, raspberry, plum, spinach, avocado, blueberry, butternut squash, and pineapple. She has figured out that when I get out a colorful bowl and spoon that it means she gets to eat. It's fun to see her eyes following me as I get it ready for her. When I put the bowl down on the table, she immediately reaches for it. And if I don't feed her fast enough, she starts to cry.