In Praise of the Humble Avocado

Oh Happy Day, I have found something Claire is super enthusiastic about eating!

Here are some sweet pictures of her chowing down on an avocado. In addition to being loaded with tons of good fats - it comes with its own serving container! Although I don't have any dishes to wash it seems someone needs there hair washed, oh well.

I was a bit skeptical about avocado since I hate guacamole, but even I enjoyed a sample of today's dinner, I can only describe the taste as "neutral," there didn't seem to be an overwhelming flavor at all. Claire ate nearly a quarter of the fruit, which has to be the most solid food she's ever had in a sitting - I'll let you know what her diaper looks like tomorrow!

It's been a while since I posted about what has been on Claire's menu. Some of her favorite things right now include sweet potatoes, inch long macaroni (shared with Daddy of course), carrots, cheeries and bananas.

Pears, prunes and pureed foods top the current "yucky" list. Claire loathes being spoon fed unless it's something we're eating. Maybe she's suspicious we're feeding her mashed cave crickets? :-)

It seems these first finger foods are a "taste" of independence for her, and they make for some fantastic photos. Want to see more avocado photos? Click here to view the online album.

Cave Cricket Chow Down

Poor Claire, she got her first taste of insect protein tonight (at least we believe she did). Lil' crawler was hanging out on the floor and snacking on what Dan and I thought were some leftover "O's." She crawled over to her Daddy for a snuggle and Dan said, "what's that on her chin?"

It was half a cave cricket leg...ewwww.

Have the shivers? Here's what they look like whole, we get tons in our crawlspace and Ray and Gecko consider them a delicacy judging by the carnage I vacuum up every morning. Seems Claire enjoys 'em too...yick.

Persistence Pays Off

Kim and I embarked on quite the adventure today - taking all four kids to the lake for a swim and a jaunt at the playground. After packing (which took ages because of the babies) we arrived at the beach. Nicholas was getting antsy and desperate to swim...and of course it started to rain. Did I mention that we had unpacked the car before it started raining? Well, after going through all the trouble to get to the lake, we decided to wait things out in the minivan.

Our plans for a leisurely picnic lunch were quickly changed to a style known as "cram it in fast before the babies swipe your food." Claire IS interested in food...it just has to be what I'm eating of course.

Our cars were parked near someone's home and this guy was getting quite the hoot out of us walking back and forth between the car and the start of the walkway with Claire in the backpack, twins being pushed in a double stroller and both Kim and I loaded up like pack mules. He nicely described us as "determined" to our faces...but I'm sure he was on the phone reporting to his buddies that there were are few "crazies" debating if they should take the kids to the beach in the rain.

Well, our determination did pay off. The rain cleared and we had beautiful weather for almost 2 hours. Kim and I (and our copious amount of baby junk) had the entire beach to ourselves. There was lots of splashing, fish chasing and even a bit of sand eating sprinkled in for fun. A slide show of the images can be found below, just click play. To view all the pictures full size - click here. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment about the cutest water babies around.

Is that a TOOTH?

Breaking news - I think I finally have a tooth spotting to report. Claire's got something sharp poking out of her bottom gums, you can see a hole and feel a sharp edge, I'm just waiting for "visual confirmation" before making the big announcement. It seems Claire WILL have a set chompers (go ahead, breathe a sigh of relief if you were worried).

I get hate emails from the aunties if I post an entry without photos, so here are some that have not made their way to the blog yet, they might be a few weeks old and have nothing to do with teething - but enjoy anyway.

Here's Claire chumming it up with Cat and James (she loved Cat's tupperware) and here's Aunt Laurie with Claire in Elmont. I'll try for some new photos today (ideas on how to keep Claire's mouth open for teeth shots welcome).

On a side note, I usually love Babycenter's ideas for playtime. I wanted to share these two which seemed pretty far out, but they would make for some priceless photos. If one of you loyal readers volunteered to clean up the mess, I'd be happy to play "flour power" or "high chair art."

Enjoy the chuckle - I know I laughed.

Flour Power Link
Highchair Art Link

First Father's Day

I intended to post these photos a bit earlier, but we've been without power and the internet (again) due to a storm. We had a lovely BBQ for father's day and Claire had all the important guys in her life present - her father, grandfather and her great-grandfather. If ever there was an excuse to get out the camera - this was it.





After a few rounds of cards with a mix of Jersey/Long Island rules (dubbed "Staten Island" rules by Laurie I believe) we all chowed down to a meal cooked on the grill. If Claire inherits these card shark genes, I think we're all in trouble.

In addition to photos with all the guys in her life, Claire patiently posed with her parents for a few family shots. I fancied them up in Photoshop because I know some of you love that B&W look. The original photos are all here in my Picasa album.

Claire & Grandma Caca

Here are some cute photos I missed of Claire with my Mom - the infamous "CaCa." We're hoping she'll have some internet access soon so she can comment again. For now she receives the blog in print. These photos are from the visit where I whooped her in Scrabble thanks to a few seven letter bonuses ("mexican" and "wombats" if you were wondering).

Look Out World!

Claire doesn't seem to need much help standing anymore. She's now doing "wall pushups" on every flat surface in the house, although she seems to prefer the dishwasher - that strange mirrored baby in there makes her smile. The butt-out pose has been perfected and Claire's dimpled bottom has been cushioning her landings (none of which are graceful yet).

Our little daredevil has even tried letting go of her standing aids...the longest I've seen her wobble is about 3 seconds...I wonder how long it will be until she can stand completely unassisted?!

Claire cruised today for the first time. She made a little circuit around the perimeter of the bed and across the couch. This new skill combined with her speed crawling should keep me busy, phew!

8 Months Old!

What - a new banner doesn't count as an update?!

The internet has been down a few days so I've been busying myself with Apple's iMovie.
I promise it's worth the wait! This video showcases some of Claire's newest accomplishments - crawling, solids and being cute while playing :-)

There's also a little montage at the end for father's day. The video itself doesn't have sound so I put some music in. I'm hoping it's not too large for web viewing, most everyone is on broadband, right?

Dan and I were marveling at just how BIG Claire has gotten last night. I bet you'll think so too after watching the ending of this video. I hope ya'll enjoy it!

Matt & Baby, First Cheerios!

The quote went something like this "I don't feel compelled to hold other people's children." That was about 8 months ago when Claire was a newborn. Now look at Matt and his new friend :-) These are from Memorial Day weekend, I can't believe I forgot to post them!

And from the same day, here's Claire wearing Daddy's hat. What a silly baby. Yesterday I babysat for the twins next door so Kim could spend the day with Nicholas on a field trip. Claire sampled her first cheerio there from the floor and seemed delighted. She crawled around under the twins' highchair searching them out. Our little scavenger! Of course on his way home I made Dan stop for some of those Gerber cereal puffs. Finally, something she's interested in eating!

I'll try to get a video of our little munchkin snacking sometime today. Hopefully she eat in her high chair and not from the floor, I'm hoping it was the independence that inspired her to chew rather than the novelty of floor scavenging!