Month 9

It's been nine months since this angel baby arrived. She's been out as long as she was in! That's always a fun milestone. But it also makes me realize she's getting closer to being a year old. I can't handle it!

With the pandemic happening the last couple of months and everyone being home all the time, I feel like I haven't gotten the one-on-one time with her that I wanted. She's such a good, sweet, happy baby that she often gets put down to play by herself while chaos happens around her. But the second she gets attention from me or Daniel, she just beams and kicks her legs with excitement. That makes me feel both so happy, because her happiness is so infectious and life-affirming, and so sad, because she deserves all the attention all the time. I kiss her whenever I get my hands on her, and I've been trying to sit on the ground and play with her for at least a few minutes every day, but it's hard right now. *sigh*

Anyway, she's becoming more and more of a personality-filled little human, so here are some fun facts about her:

• One of her favorite things to play with is baby wipes. When she gets one, she waves it around with a big, goofy smile on her face, and it makes me so happy.

• When I read to her, she sometimes reaches out and strokes the pages. She also likes to grab the pages and gets very upset if I pull the book out of her reach. She starts squirming on my lap, kicking her feet, grunting, and stratching/pinching my arms. But if her siblings come in the room, she immediately loses interest in the book and wants to watch them.
• She does this cute little nose scrunch and sniff, especially when she's eating. I think it's an indication of happiness, but I'm not positive. I just know it makes me laugh.

• She hates having her hand or arm held to have her nails clipped or hand wiped off. She starts really struggling and trying hard to pull her hand/arm away while grunting angrily.
• She makes this super cute tongue clicking noise. I failed at getting a video of it, but Daniel got one!

• When she's on the ground or in her high chair or bouncer, she lifts her arms up and twists her hands as I walk by, in anticipation of me picking her up. If I don't, she starts crying and breaks my heart. So then I go pick her up. I just have to.
• Sometimes she claps when she's happy or when we say "yay." Why is baby clapping so cute?!

• She also likes rough-housing. It's so weird! She's a tough one. The things that make her laugh the most with her siblings are things that tend to make me nervous. I just try to remind myself that she's not as fragile as I think (though I still keep telling the kids to be more gentle).

• She absolutely loves being held up above my head and "flying."
• She has started getting into crawling position (pushed up on hands and knees), but she has yet to crawl. Any day now, I'm sure!

• She's become a side/stomach sleeper. She tends to contort her body in weird ways when she sleeps. But hey, she sleeps! So I'm good with whatever position gets her to do that.

• There was a period of time in which she had a horrible time falling asleep. We finally had to do some modified cry-it-out. She just wanted one of us to be in there while she fell asleep. It's cute, but yeah, no.
• She loves playing any form of peek-a-boo. If there is something within her reach that she can cover her head with, she'll do it. And she gets so excited when we say, "Where's Clara?" My personal favorite was the night at dinner when she discovered she could cover her face with her bib.

• For awhile there, she wasn't as interested in her bottles. She would drink all but the last couple of ounces and then drop the bottle on the floor. If I picked up the bottle and tried to feed her the rest, she would start shaking her head really fast. She stopped doing that, but she does still drop the bottle on the floor when she's done.
• She has an absolutely amazing hair wave. It reminds me of Terk from the movie Tarzan:

Best of all, Daniel Photoshopped a surfer in it. Hehehe. I'll make the photo extra big so it shows up better...

Month 8

My Clara baby lovey! This girl is the sweetest. All of our kids have been sweet babies, but Clara takes the cake. Sometimes I forget she's in the room because she's so quiet and content most of the time! Then I feel bad, haha. Anyway, here are some details about this most wonderful baby:

• When she's excited about something, she bounces. Whether she's sitting or standing in her bouncer thing or being held, she bounces up and down and makes cute happy grunts.

• If you put your face close to hers, she reaches up and grabs your face with her little hands. I always say she's trying to rip my face off.
• She enjoys being outside watching her siblings run around and ride scooters. She also enjoys watching squirrels and tracks them as they scurry around the yard.

• She had her first tooth come in this month!
• She has the funniest laugh. It's full of growls and squeaks and is unlike any baby's laugh I've heard before. I love it so much. And Carter always knows how to make her laugh!

• When I put her in her zippy for bedtime/naps, she kicks her feet excitedly and gets a big smile on her face. I think it's because she is excited to get a pacifier, which she really only has when she sleeps. And if I put her in the crib without a pacifier, she immediately starts crying.
• She has become a side sleeper. I don't think either of her siblings ever slept on their sides as babies. She also sleeps on her tummy and back sometimes. She likes to move around!

• She's one of those babies who puts everything in her mouth the second she gets it in her hands.
• Over the last month she has learned to clap. Why is baby clapping so stinkin' cute?!

• When we read to her, she strokes the book and tries to turn the pages.
• She's chubby, and I love it. She has delicious thigh rolls! She also has a rockin' belly overhang.

• If I'm holding her and do something that makes her mad (such as take something away from her or pull it out of her reach), she shrieks unhappily, kicks her feet, and starts scratching/pinching my arms 
• She has finally started being ticklish. She is particularly ticklish right on her clavicle. Weird, but cute!

• One of her favorite things to do is sit on my lap as I bounce her up and down on my knees while humming the "William Tell Overture." She usually laughs more when I do it, but the phone distracted her. Oh well; it's still super cute.

• If she's sitting by herself and you walk by, she lifts her arms up in the air and twists her hands around in expectation of being picked up. If you don't pick her up, she cries.
• She likes to sit on my lap facing me and lean all the way back so her head hangs upside down. If I don't lay her down quickly enough, she starts flinging her head back to let me know what she wants. 

• When she gets attention from someone, she just automatically beams. Her whole face lights up with the sweetest smile. I wish my attention weren't so divided so I could give her more! She deserves it.
• She's usually very patient with her older siblings, who often treat her like a toy. Their shenanigans usually lead to good photo ops like this one:

• When she is done with her bottle and you try to give her more, or if you try to touch her face (to wipe it off or something), she shakes her head back and forth really quickly. She also does it sometimes as she's falling asleep, as she's waking up, and when she's just excited and being silly. It's a trademark Clara move!

• The only time she's a difficult baby is at bedtime. She's gotten in a bad habit of just screaming when we leave the room. She doesn't do it for naps; it's only at bedtime. And if we come in the room, she usually stops. She wants us to sit with her as she falls asleep. And as cute as she is, that's a hard pass.
• Her little sad face is so heartbreaking! Isn't it?

• She's become quite the little babbler when she's in the mood. She makes funny screeching noises out of the blue and does lots of "bah bah bah" and "mah mah mah" and "dah dah dah" sounds. I can't wait until she starts saying real words. They'll be the cutest.

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. 

Month Six

Half a year. I can't believe this little ray of sunshine (cliche but totally accurate) has been with us for half a year already! It's so bittersweet. I love watching her grow up and learn new things, but I want her to stay little! Ugh, so conflicted.

Anyway, she's really started to show her wonderful little personality over the last few months. Here are some six-month highlights:

• She's finally eating solid foods! She has liked everything we have fed her so far, but I think her favorite is sweet potatoes.

• For awhile there she was waking up a few times a night needing her pacifier put back in, and when she saw me/ Daniel she would always smile and kick her feet in excitement. Yet she always went right back to sleep! She's such a great sleeper.

• I've caught her sucking her thumb a few times, so I had to get a photo. Okay, two.

• She sometimes tries to pull herself up to a sitting position when she's lying down. It's so cute/funny watching her lift her head and try so hard.

• She probably does that because she is finally sitting up alone with no help! I love how in this picture she looks like she's going, "Woah, I'm sitting up!"

• She has definitely found her voice! She does this super loud squealing that is as funny as it is cute.

• She really doesn't like to be alone. She's incredibly social and will go from crying to smiling just by getting some attention from someone. She also cries sometimes when I leave the room and she can't see me anymore. It's too cute!

• Her older siblings adore her! One time she was just crying and crying as I prepared her bottle, and Aubrey decided to make her feel better by bringing her some toys, her blanket, and a bunch of pillows to make her feel "cozy." As you can see, it didn't help.

• Another time, Aubrey decided to decorate Clara's head with gemstone stickers. Clara really didn't enjoy having them taken off...

• I'm pretty sure Daddy is her favorite person. She always smiles for him and will track him with her eyes and twist around to see him as he walks around the room. We did a little experiment one night, and I think the results are conclusive.

• She started doing this funny head shaking thing when she is happy, and it makes Aubrey laugh so much.

• And here she is doing it again and kicking. She's too cute!

Month Five

Here I am, once again late in posting about this sweet, perfect angel baby. But I'm doing it! Better late than never, eh? So without furter ado, here are some Clara facts from her fifth month of life:

• She hasn't quite mastered rolling over yet. She can get from her tummy to her back sometimes, but she often can't get her little arm out from under herself. I really need to do tummy time with her more. Anyway, she also rolls her whole body over from her back to her tummy, but she just can't get her big head off the ground to get all the way there. Toys that are out of reach are a good motivator, haha.

• She can sit for just a second by herself. Need to work on that too!

• She's still super smiley and sweet! She kicks her feet really fast and coos when she's excited. I love it!

• She started sitting in her highchair with us as we eat dinner. We wanted her to get used to the chair and also feel more included in family dinners. The next post will be about her trying "solid" foods! 

• She often needs a very short cat nap before bedtime. She usually falls asleep swaddled on our bed as we put the other kids to bed. It's funny! And it doesn't affect her bedtime at all.
• She wakes up a few times a night, and all we have to do is put her pacifier back in. When we do, she immediately turns her head to the side and falls asleep.

• She loves watching people, especially her older siblings. She thinks Carter is hilarious.

• Poor little baby got sick during the month and needed to nebulizer treatments and an oral steroid. I guess she just wanted to be like her older brother! She didn't love the nebulizer, but she almost always fell asleep while I was doing her treatments. Here's hoping she doesn't need all of that stuff again!

Month Four

Man, I'm so tragically late in writing this! I'm only including photos and videos from Miss Clara's fourth month of life, so it's okay, right? *Sigh* Anyway, Clara becomes more and more of a joy each day, if that's possible. She's really growing into her own and forming a sweet little personality. I love her so, so much!

Now, here are all the wonderful details about her Royal Cuteness:

• When she eats, she always grabs the bottle and pulls it toward herself. Sometimes she can even hold the bottle herself!

• Unlike a lot of babies her age, she'll full-on stare at the TV if it's on. She particularly likes watching hockey, haha.
• I finally got a video of her doing the arm scratchy thing she does. Her nails are so sharp!

• She always grunts as she drifts off to sleep. We have to warn babysitters about it so they don't think she's upset and go in to get her, haha. She's loud!
• She fell asleep clutching her toy, and I thought it was so cute. She's done that a few times, and I'm glad I got a photo.

• She started being very vocal, which I just love. She makes the cutest little squawking and squeaking noises. She has also discovered her tongue!

• She drools a lot more than our other two kids did, and she's much more of a hand sucker. She has definitely reached that oral fixation stage!

• She's really become a happy, smiley, laughy (I know that's not a word) little girl. She is absolute Joy incarnate.

And here's another...

• She always holds on to the sides of whatever seat she's sitting in. This once made me smash her little fingers between her car seat and the door out to the garage. It was so sad!

• Her little cry is still so quiet. I've had many people say--and I agree--that it still sounds like a newborn cry. Only now, as she's getting bigger, she sometimes says "ah-mama" when she cries. It's just a sound she's making, but it still kills me!

I guess that's it for now. Her 5-month "birthday" is less than a week away (Seriously, when did that happen?!), so I'll be posting again soon!

Month Three

Love love lovie love love! This girl is a super sweetie. She's warm and snuggly and sweet and calm and wonderful. I can't get enough of her. I want to snuggle her all day. I simultaneously don't want her to grow up and can't wait to see what she becomes when she does. This Mommy gig is hard on the heart.

Anyway, she's still little, but she's beginning to show more and more personality every day. Here are some fun facts about her:

• Sometimes all we have to do to calm her down when she's sad is come and sit by her. It's cute that she just wants company!

• She is a crazy messy eater. We put a burp cloth under her chin when we feed her, and I have to rotate it several times because she soaks completely through it.
• She has the world's saddest cry! I feel bad that I took this video, but I just really wanted to preserve this sad cuteness for posterity. I promise I fed her right after I stopped the video! I was shaking her bottle as I filmed. But oh, the squeaking and snorting!

• One morning Clara was crying in her swing and Aubrey started doing what she called the "puppy dance" to cheer her up. And it worked! I got my phone out and shot a quick video. Since then, Aubrey and Carter have done that for her basically whenever she gets sad. It helps us to burp Clara in the middle of her bottle since she always cries when we take it away. Brother and Sister distract her so we can squeeze some burps out!

• She cries when she's hungry (obviously), but she calms down when we tuck the burp cloth under her chin. She's a smart girl who knows food is coming!
• She laughed for the first time on November 8th! She has only truly laughed a few times, but it's my favorite thing. Here she is doing some small laughs.

• She's sleeping through the night, from about 9:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. She also takes amazing several-hour naps in her crib! She's a total dream sleeper. (Hah, a pun!)

• When you hold her, she grabs at your arm and scratches it with her little baby claws. It's super annoying. She also pulls on your shirt in the same way if that's more within reach.
• When she drops her pacifier, she uses her elbow to push it back in. Sometimes it doesn't work, but it's still cool that she tries! This video shows her trying right at the beginning, and then she makes super cute "talking" noises.

• On November 1st, she rolled from her tummy to her back! It was definitely a flukey thing. I had her on her tummy time mat, and she hates it so she was crying. All of a sudden she stopped crying, so I turned around and looked at her, and she was no longer on her tummy! I'm sad I missed it.
• She also fell asleep on her mat one time. I guess she got tired of waiting for me to pick her up and put her in her crib.

• For some reason she won't sit up. When we put her on a couch or chair or whatever, she straightens her body and refuses to bend at the waist. She planks instead! You can kind of see it in the first photo up there...
• She has the sweetest smile! Here are a couple of my favorite smiley photos from the last month:

• She likes it when I sing to her, which is so precious!