Friday's Film - Aug 29

Here's the next installment of video footage starring Claire.

Today Claire looked at me and made a big smoochy sound while eating a string bean. I try to coax another kiss out of her in this clip. Look closely and you'll see her new front teeth! I was planning a clever Christmas card around that theme, time to brainstorm a new idea.

Daddy's Boots

Do you like my new shoes?

Apple Picking

There were enormous green apples for sale at the farmer's market Saturday so I picked a few up intending to use them as a photo props and then devour them (they were delicious in case you were wondering). I don't think Claire was too impressed with this staged version of apple picking though - see the glare she's giving me as she throws down the prize?

Here are a few of my favorite photos from this afternoon's backyard antics - enjoy! The originals can all be viewed in the slideshow at the bottom or downloaded from the PicasaWeb album here.

Sleeping Beauty

Claire napped away the afternoon today and I grabbed some photos of our sleeping beauty.

I think the last time I took pictures of Claire napping was in the winter when I managed to capture her falling asleep in the swing.

Claire's cute toes! I have to say they are looking cleaner than usual, she's a barefoot monkey like Daddy most of the time.

"Bye-bye!"

I was going to save this short video for Friday (thus keeping the blog organized with my "Friday Films") but it was too cute and I couldn't wait to share it.

Claire's been making this silly noise for a while, usually in the morning when she's waking up. I filmed her Friday evening during her (read our) relaxation time before bed. Listen carefully at the end of the video when I ask her to say "bye-bye," it sounds like she repeats it! She hasn't done it since - oh well, guess it was just a fluke!

Friday's Films

Make sure you have your sound up for this first one! We took trip to Barnes & Noble in search of some new reading material. I picked up Big Smile, Baby thinking Claire would like some of the smiling faces inside. Here she is jabbering away and enjoying herself. You can watch her play "Peek A Boo" with the monkey and poke at the baby's photo.

This is just a cute 30 second clip of Claire being sweet, lots of smiles and some walking thrown in. She's strutting her stuff in a cutesy pink outfit handed down from Kelly's daughter Kaitlyn! You can click on the butterfly below to view the rest of the videos on the blog's youTube channel.

3-Wheelin' in the Park

Is the ride over Mommy? Can I get out?

The weather has been so beautiful these past couple of days so Claire and I have enjoyed lots of hikes and buggy rides. The big wheels of the jogging stroller are perfect for some of the easier trails near our house. No teasing me about the rusty wheels, this was a $15 garage sale TREASURE!

I wish there was some way to hook it to my bicycle, then we could cruise the neighborhood in style! It seems Claire is going to love "off-roading" as much as her father. See Dan's most recent 4-wheeling trip photos here - boys and their toys, <sigh>.

A "Berry" Good Meal

Claire's New Friend!

Auntie Laurie stopped by this weekend with her boyfriend Matt and Claire made a new friend! Here are some pictures of him bonding with the baby. I won't make any smart or embarrassing comments to tease my sister about her beau - but you know I'm thinking them! All kidding aside, Matt's a really nice guy and Claire seems to dig him so he scores some brownie points in my house. Just look at them making faces at each other above.

I wish I had a photo of their friend Danny who also made the trip. We were all kind of tired so I forgot to drag out the camera. The five of us went to Cracker Barrel for a delicious brunch and Claire slept the entire time we were at the restaurant. My hands were then free to mooch off EVERYONE's plate. Yum.

The hand that feeds you -

Isn't there a saying about not biting the hand that feeds you?! If someone can kindly explain that to my teething daughter - I'd be much appreciative. Getting bit on the breast is FAR worse than the hand in my opinion...ugh.

I emailed my friend Kelly and trolled the internet for suggestions - but thankfully it looks like this phase has passed. It seems little Claire is sprouting a few upper teeth AND lower teeth at the same time. Poor miserable creature, I had to pump so Dan fed her last night and then we rubbed some orajel on her gums and gave her some Tylenol. Once she was half asleep I deemed it safe to nurse her and thankfully I was right.

Honestly, last night was THE hardest hour with Claire. She's sleeping soundly in my lap right now (eyes half open as usual) and we had no problems this morning (phew).

Ok, I feel better after my little vent :-)

Babe in the Woods

Some might say we're crazy for taking such a young baby camping, but things went really well! We camped in the state park which borders our yard. Funny enough, camping isn't allowed in that part so we had to drive to the campsites about 7 miles away (yes, there ARE woods in NJ with some decent acreage).We thought it important to be close to home for this first trip. Forgotten items could be easily retrieved and of course there wasn't a long car ride to contend with.

We crammed the Jeep full of firewood, gear and some familiar sites (vibrating chew toy, Morty the moose) and smells (pillows and the sleeping bag she'd been playing with) for Claire. Photos on the left are of Daddy and baby about to get in the car. I had to post both, Claire has been grabbing at Dan's beard lately and the reaction shot is so funny, just look at her impish grin and Dan's laughing grimace!

After setting up camp and we went on a nice hike hoping to tire Claire out...that only worked on us of course! I think camping with an even younger baby might be easier, we couldn't turn our backs for a second with Ms. Mobile on the loose! Claire enjoyed toddling around the campsite clearing looking for new friends to play with or eat - no bug was safe! Constant vigilance was definitely the name of the game with the potpourri of choking hazards on the ground.

Claire was VERY interested in one large rock on the ground. She kept trying to lift it up and I'm not sure if it was the weight or the odd shape, but she never succeeded. Perhaps her interest was in weightlifting was spurned by all the Olympic viewing? The video is pretty funny. Find it here on the blog's YouTube channel.

What else kept Claire busy, you ask? A giant boulder she many times to climb. Eating pierogies and onions with Mommy - the two of us polished off all but three, poor Dan. Staring at the campfire (which was hell to start since the wood was wet, poor Dan again). Mostly Claire snuggled with us, toddled around and watched the world go by.

We left the campsite early Sunday morning after a brutal 5 am wake courtesy of the baby who fell asleep in my arms as the sun went down. Ugh, waaay too early. The night went well, Claire slept in a fleece sleeper on a nest we made her out of our fleece pants. I shared part of my sleeping bag and we wrapped her in my jacket, combine this with a matching fleece hat and you can bet this kid was warm (and full of static).

We think Claire's nighttime getup is photo worthy - even if it was 5 am when I took these pictures. Pink, it's the new camo baby!

Things we're bringing on our next camp out (labor day weekend - 4 whole days!):

• a playpen - enough said
• a flashlight - we actually forgot ours and middle of the night potty runs were a little dicey
• a dust pan to sweep out the tent floor, Claire finds the tiniest things to eat
• dry firewood

Phew! Is this my longest blog entry or what? We had such a nice time so I can't help but go on and on! It was especially exciting for Dan and I to return to a favorite pre-Claire activity and find we can still enjoy camping even with a baby.

Friday's Lunch!

Claire's lunch is smeared all over her face, can you guess what she ate today? There are two video clues. She's pretty cute even covered in slime, isn't she?

Enjoying the Olympics

Claire & Mommy "watching" the Olympics:


Gecko decided to join in:


Both photos remind me of this previous post, check it out and see for yourself!

Claire on Your Desktop

I thought I'd share this since Auntie Laurie and I have been enjoying Claire on our computer desktops for a while - with a trusty calendar too! There's room for all of your shortcuts on the left.

Enjoy!

click on the image to enlarge
right click
save image as
stick it on your desktop
right click and set as your desktop background

Daddy Kisses

Claire is just beginning to get the idea that there is more to books then potential chew toys. We've been snuggling with her at night reading before bed and during they day when she seems interested (and not too squirmy). Claire seems to appreciate the pictures and especially the textures in her books, maybe one day soon we'll move onto those awesome popup books I bought ages ago while pregnant!

You might have noticed the new widget featuring some of the books we're reading on the right side of the blog. I snagged the code from www.librarything.com, a cool site where you can share books with friends and even review them - sort of like a flixster for the written word! Sign up and look for us (k7rlgina).

Here's a video of Claire "reading" on her own and a sweet photo of Dan snuggling with Claire during tonight's bedtime story - take note of the title.

Walking - A Video

Well, it's a week late, but here's the proof if you need it! It's been about 2 and a half weeks since Claire took those first steps and now she's walking all over the place! Granted, there are a number of wipe outs but she takes them in stride (hehee, pun intended).

As I continue taking video of Claire, I'm going to add them to my "YouTube" channel. Here's the link, add it to your bookmarks:

Claire's Baby Blog on YouTube

Walking!

Ten to twelve steps at a time, Claire is really on the move now! We're off to the county fair tonight and I'm sure we'll have some memorable photos of Claire meeting the animals there. Hopefully they'll have some giant flemish bunnies for her to pose with!