Monkey See, Monkey Do

I have heard from other more experienced parents that your kids pick up on what you do and will emulate your actions. I try to set a good example most of the time and watch what I say and do around her. However, I didn't realize Clara would be imitating me doing something that I myself didn't even realize I was doing! Lately, after taking a big gulp from her sippy cup, Clara will let out a huge sigh. Like 'Ahhhhhhhhh'. Since she started doing this, I have caught myself in the act a few times. I wouldn't have even taken note of it except that Clara has picked up on the habit. I tried to catch her on video, but it took a few minutes. There are some funny little clips first and then at the end you will see her acting like this is the most refreshing drink of water she has ever had!

Where is Clara? Check the Dishwasher!

Clara has become quite the climber lately. She will hoist herself up on anything she can reach. I also saw her clawing up the side of the wire dog crate this morning.

This is where I found her tonight, while cleaning up the kitchen.

Movie Monday #3

A Little Rant

Grocery shopping is not my favorite thing to do, but I don't really mind it all that much. However, if there is one thing I do NOT like about shopping, it's waiting at the Wal-mart deli counter! This is one of the most frustrating things I do on a weekly basis. Every time I go to Wal-mart for my weekly shopping trip, it seems there are 3-4 workers in the bakery, 2 or 3 workers working the little prepared food section and 1 (ONE!) person working the deli counter. At the same time, there is no one wanting to buy anything from the bakery, one person buying some chicken fingers and potato salad, and four people waiting at the deli. Meanwhile, the ONE person working at the deli seems to move as slow as molasses. Really, they couldn't move any slower if they tried. I waited for about 15 minutes today and get so annoyed that I left and moved on with my shopping. I never went back to the deli. I couldn't bear it. So this week I should be making some creative lunches...without lunch meat.

Introducing BIG Red!

We have a new 'member' of the family. Tom, Clara, Chelsea, and I took a trip to Indianapolis today to pick up this 1986 CJ-7 Jeep. It has been a dream of Tom's for the last 10 years or so to own an old Jeep. He is always obsessing over looking on Ebay and Craig's List for new listings. He found his dream ride which is good news for me. I won't hear him talk about his Jeep on my wedding finger anymore! This thing is HUGE!! Tom is 6 foot 2 and the Jeep is a good half foot taller than he is. We're not sure if it will fit in the garage or not, but it could drive through it if necessary!

My grandparents 60th wedding anniversary is today! Happy Anniversary!!

It's been a slow blogging week here at Clara's house. Not that we haven't been busy...only that I haven't been inspired by a lot to blog about. Clara is now running through the house, which has brought about lots of scrapes and bruises.

We are getting ready for our upcoming travels and one big purchase was the backpack. Clara seems to enjoy it and finds it pretty comfy. We took a short walk around the neighborhood and Tom thought Clara's weight was evenly distributed and his shoulders didn't hurt. Hopefully after 7 miles or so he will feel the same way!

Clara enjoys getting in and out of her pool which we set up in the backyard. She loves to gather things up, put them in the pool, throw them all out and start over again. I think I spent more time actually inflating this pool (with a tiny hand pump) than Clara has spent playing in it.

Movie Monday...uhh...oops Movie Tuesday

It's only week two on my movie Monday theme and I already am behind. Ugh!

I wanted to get a video of Clara at her baby music class yesterday. Unfortunately, I was too busy returning the bongo drums, egg shakers, and rhythm sticks to their rightful owner. Clara seems to like everyone else's stuff better than hers. She also enjoys climbing all over the infant car seats instead of clapping and dancing to the music.

But, what do I really expect? She is one year old and has no concept of things belonging to her or not. The discussion on sharing didn't really go over so well. I did however, get a pretty cute blank stare.

So, instead of music class, I thought I would share an oldie, but goodie. Clara had just turned 9 months old and was already a little jokester. We like to call this one 'Peas, Please' Enjoy :)

About 6 pm, Clara starts to get restless, a little whiny, and wonders "What's for dinner mama?".
Lucky for her...some friends of ours from church have a garden, and Tom and I were happy when they had some extra veggies to share today. These are some of the biggest squash and zuccini I have ever seen!

I made a very yummy pasta and veggie dinner using the zuccini, roasted red peppers, onions and a little parmesan cheese. It was delicious!

What is Clara up to lately, you ask?
A little baby breakdancing.


Just kidding :) Actually, she has been re-purposing some of her toys...her car seat is now a jungle gym.


Her pool floaty is a throne from which she points and grunts for me to get her favorite balls. She climbed all over this thing all day yesterday, trying to stick her little feet through the bottom of the netting. Difficult to accomplish when the float is on the floor (Please don't tell Clara, it kept her occupied and happy for a loooonnnggg time)

I'm not sure why she isn't wearing much in these pictures. I do dress her occasionally.

Anniversary!

Six years ago today, Tom and I were married in Tulsa, Ok. He is an AWESOME husband who puts his families needs first, over his own. He doesn't let a day go by without saying he loves and appreciates me. Wow - pretty lucky, aren't I? :) He also works really, really hard so that I can stay home and be the mamaholic that I am. For this and everything else he does, I will be forever grateful.

Happy 1st Birthday Paityn!

Happy Birthday Paityn!

Paityn is my niece and a sweet, happy and beautiful little girl. We love you and hope you have a happy 1st birthday!

Some BIG Shoes to Fill

Since Clara could scoot around on the floor, she has been drawn to shoes. She looks them over, picks them up, drops them, picks them up, moves them around etc. Luckily she keeps them out of her mouth (gross!!) Anyways, lately Clara has figured out what shoes are actually for.
I snapped these pictures this morning. Clara really loves her Daddy so much...Tom got home this morning after working all night and Clara was so excited. They spent some time together laughing and playing with his shoes (these are NOT the ones he wears to the hospital...those are off limits to Clara).

Movie Monday #1

I've decided to start 'Movie Mondays' where I take a quick digital video of Clara - I'll try to show new things she is doing, a special outing we went on or something cute and funny. This first video was shot today. Clara loves to go up and down the stairs herself. She's been doing this awhile on her own and has gotten where she slides down pretty fast (a little too fast sometimes, as you will see on the video).

It's about time!

Well, it took a year, but we are no longer swaddling Clara for naps and bedtime. Can you believe we were still doing this up to a couple weeks ago? From birth until Clara was 4 or 5 months old, we did a full swaddle. Once Clara became a master escape artist and we could no longer keep her wrapped up, we then wrapped her torso and legs up, but kept her arms out. Swaddling seemed to relax Clara for her bedtime nursing session and she seemed to sleep more soundly when she was wrapped up.

Also, Clara has recently started sleeping through the night!! I am so thrilled with this development. I was still getting up with her once or twice a night to feed her. Clara would also wake up a few times a night, cry for a minute and go back to sleep on her own. This could be stressful for me because I was always wondering a) when was she going to wake up b)would she go back to sleep on her own or need my help c)if she does wake up, should I feed her or just love on her for a minute and then lay her back down. Then I would pray she wouldn't cry when I laid her back down. It finally came to a point where I didn't think Clara really needed to eat - she would barely nurse in the morning after eating at night and she was also getting a lot of calories from all the solid foods. Anyways, about a month ago I decided I wasn't going to feed Clara in the middle of the night. When she woke up, I would go to her and hold her and then lay her back down. She wasn't too happy about it for a couple nights, but then she just stopped her night wakings! I love, love, love having her sleep through the night! I feel so much more rested and Clara seems to sleep more soundly.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday! This post is dedicated to him :)

He and Clara recently had a lot of fun driving the boat together.








He was also there to hold Clara when she was only a few days old. She was quite comfortable in his arms.

One Year Stats

I'm a few weeks late on this, but I thought inquiring minds would want to know.

12 months doctor visit:
20 lbs 4 ounces (30%)
29.5 inches (50%)

Clara says a couple words - 'dada' and 'hi' really well. I think she is saying 'Clara' sometimes and 'doggie' also. I hear 'mama' every now and then...not nearly enough!

Here are her 12 month pictures.

Scientific Proof for a "Mamaholic"

I saw this article today and it explains a little about why I am a 'mamaholic'.

click here

The article says that when a mother sees her baby smile, reward centers in the mother's brain light up similar to that observed in experiments on drug addiction.

Being a first time Mom, I questioned myself a lot. I worried about nursing, sleeping, tummy time, weight gain, and all the normal baby development things. The first few months of motherhood brings a lot of trial and error experimentation, on-the-job training and a steep learning curve. Maybe this 'high' we mothers get is because you finally get some feedback and you feel like somewhere a long the way you did something right.

I am definitely not a scientist and I have never done drugs, but when I see a big, goofy grin on Clara, I cannot help but feel good and I can relate to what the article talks about. Bad day, good day, stressed out or relaxed, I love seeing my little girl happy.

Here are some of my favorites from the past few months...whether you are a mother or not, how could these not make you feel good?

Back from Vacation

We are back from vacation and I am ready to blog again! We had such a great time in Arkansas visiting family. Tom, Clara, my parents, my sister and her husband and my grandparents were all there.

Clara had a great time...she really loves all the attention. She is pretty much walking everywhere. I'm not sure how many times she has fallen and gotten back up over the last week, but its got to be in the hundreds. All her persistence has paid off and she can really get around fast now!

My sister celebrated her 24th birthday while we were all there. We usually are in Arkansas over Ann's birthday, and over the years, we noticed there was a picture of Ann with her cake at the kitchen table. The 4th of July tablecloth was always on, so now grandma makes a point of taking Ann's picture with the tablecloth.

Happy Birthday Ann!





Also, my grandparents will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary later on this month. 60 years is quite an accomplishment! They are great role models for Tom and I.

My mom made them a quilt with pillow shams and pillows.


We spent a lot of time on the lake, skiing and riding the jet ski. It is so much fun!! Clara took a few rides too.


Great Grandma, Grandma and Clara


Today we took my mom back to the airport so she could fly home to Houston. Tom and I will miss her company and babysitting(we got to go out on 3 dates while she was here) and Clara will miss her love and attention. Luckily we will see her and my Dad next month when we take a trip to Texas :)