Ducky Unlucky

No rubber ducky is safe from Claire. Her voracious appetite in the bathtub can only be satisfied with two-handed snacking of Sir Squeaky (aka, the Ducky Unlucky).

Bon appétit, Claire!













For the rest of the bath-time fun pictures, click Claire's wrinkly toe below...well, that is what happens when you're in a tub for 45 minutes!

From Bathtime - 6 ...

Baptism!

What an exciting weekend we had with Claire! Here's the online album with the photos from her baptism at Blessed Kateri, and a special thanks to Grandbob for playing paparazzi while Mom was otherwise occupied (hey look, Gina is in pictures for once!).

Father Albert seemed so excited about having two babies to "dunk." And DUNK he did, we and the other couple both opted for the full immersion baptism (more fun, and naked time...who can beat it?)

It was really a wonderful day and a great weekend. We had quite the full house with Kelly and Peter (our wonderful Godparents) and their three kiddos spending the night. That's right, one lap for every kid in the house. Here's a photo of our group:



Jack and Kaitlyn took advantage of the playroom at the church during Claire's baptism, but Chris (who happens to be MY Godson) "participated" with Daddy. Even though he was sound asleep, we just know he enjoyed things.

Speaking of sleeping - Claire managed to nap like a champ right through the second half of mass. This has never happened, even without knowing the words Claire usually "sings" along to everything at church. Even the homily :-)

All Fours, And Fifths

Eeek! Claire has SPOTS. Tons of them...all over her body. They appear and then seem to vanish, I think I'm going crazy.

It turns out she caught fifth's disease which aside from producing a nice rash, doesn't add up to much else. Phew! Grandbob got it first and was a bit miserable, but other than "glowing" Claire hasn't had any side effects. At least we got this one out of the way early! The rash didn't seem to bother Claire at all, but it sure freaked out Mom & Dad. I took pictures to bring to the doctor's office because the rash kept coming and going - a common occurrence I'm told, but I was about to lose my mind.

To address the other part of this entry's title - Claire is up on all fours! She's rocking like crazy while on her hands and knees and we're expecting her to get the knack of things any day now.


Grandceil and I noticed her knees going forward yesterday but the arm part of this equation is still missing, hence many, many faceplants (which is why Claire is in her "piggy pen" as we call it).

Rubber Ducky Love

Introducing "Squeaky," the soft spoken rubber ducky Claire loves to play with both in and out of the bathtub. His bum says "HOT" if the water is too warm, and his beak is the perfect chew toy (or sucker, depending on baby's mood).

More Outdoor Pictures

Dan's been riding the motorcycle to work so in the morning I've been seeing him off and then taking Claire outside for a few pics by the forsythia bushes before the sun gets too high in the sky. And don't worry, what you can't see in some of these pictures is my hand holding the twigs so she can't eat them.

If you (ahem, McManda) need even MORE pictures of Claire by the bushes, here's the online album.

I'm going to try again in the evening for some smiley photos, she was tired this morning as you can see in many of the photos. Check back later.

That Grass Tickles

I’ll try and get a photo of Claire smiling later, but she was just too fascinated with the grass to pose this morning. Which would you choose? Playing with the green “hair” that doesn’t scream when you yank it, or smiling at Mommy with that camera again?

Swinging...again

My neighbors are away for the week so Claire and I are looking after their beagle. They hung up the infant swing for Claire to use and we're taking advantage of it every chance we can.

Aren't these pictures just too cute? Allow me to narrate the conversation Claire had with me:


"Mom, this is great and all but aren't you going to put down that camera and push me?"
"I la-la-la-love the wind in my toes, just a little higher...please?"

WHOA, Yeee-haaaa! LOOK AT ME FLY!
Can't you just eat up that excited smile of hers in this pic? Claire's little piggies curled in happiness and those little thighs were pumping like crazy. It was too cute.

Swiiiiings!

Weeeee! Claire had her first ride on the swings this afternoon!


There were quite a few kids at the park today and Claire was VERY interested in all of their games. Watching other kids is definitely a favorite activity, she's totally fascinated by them, even swinging took a backseat when the little girls were balancing on the wood behind her (see photo).


Yesterday at the state park there was a "Lil' Tykes Hike" and I took Claire thinking there would be other parents with young babies. The write up in the paper said all babies must be in front or backpack carriers so I figured it was geared towards adults. Guess what? Claire was the ONLY baby and although it was the slowest hike I've ever been on, the children were sweet and the ranger gave a great program. At least with 10 toddlers in tow the bears certainly knew we were coming!

Next time you join us for dinner expect a fresh harvest of wild leeks, I can easily identify that plant thanks to Ranger Dawn!

Funny Read

Read for a good laugh - I love the Onion:

I Can't Imagine Why Anybody Would Want To Stop Crying

Six Months Old

Wow, how time flies. On the 9th we celebrated Claire's 6 month birthday - a huge milestone. At half a year old she seems so big, and yet so small at the same time. I took a bunch of pictures on her "birthday," many of them in her new sitting up pose. One of the things I've learned about 6 month old babies is that they are wiggly creatures by nature (that should explain why in some frames you only see a blur of happy baby chub).

Claire's newest tricks include:

• Screeching like a falcon which for some reason delights Dan, I on the other hand am suffering from deafness in my right ear.
• Pulling hair while in the backpack, I ALWAYS wear my hair in a bun now. I will NEVER make fun of women with the "mom cut" anymore, I know why they did it (although I'm not there myself yet :-)
• Sitting up - hooray
• Laughing, real honest to goodness laughter. Claire is now delighted by things around her, the cats, the boo-bah website (don't ask, poor Kelly - I introduced her kids too) and Peek-A-Boo.

Claire just woke up so this post must end somewhere :-) Adios readers. For full size images and a few others I didn't have to post click here to view them in our online Picasa gallery.

MIrror, Mirror

Mirror, mirror on the wall (well in my car) who's the happiest kid of them all?

The weather the past few days has been so wonderful. I took Claire to the park with my neighbor and her kids. She has twin boys Claire's age and the three of them seem get a kick out of each other. Kim took pictures so I'll post them when I receive them. The highlight of the trip? The ostrich farm not 3 minutes from my house. I don't know how I have missed 200+ giant birds...but I can't wait to go back and grab some photos.

Here's my view of Claire in the car taken from my rear view mirror (I was parked, don't worry). Notice the lack of tears, someone is finally starting to enjoy time in their carseat.

 

Ride 'Em Cowgirl

We have a new trick guaranteed to get Claire laughing. Introducing the piggy back ride...there is just something so funny about being on Mommy or Daddy's shoulders that cracks Claire up. AND if done in front of a mirror so she can better see your face as she pulls the "reins" (aka your HAIR) she'll really get going.

Sorry for slacking on the posts lately. Now that Claire is getting older those daytime naps happen less frequently and when she's up, it's playtime.

Silly Baby - That's Daddy's Hat

Is the flash bright Claire, or are you just surprised you're wearing your father's hat? What a goofy photo, I just had to share.

Who loves their cats?

Claire loves to "sun" herself like Gecko on her changing table. Although our fatty cat Raymond spends a lot of time in the sun as well, he doesn't tolerate her squeals quite as well as Gecko.

 

 

I had to include this last shot of Claire sleeping because before we know it she'll have teeth and her sweet "clover" lips will disappear.