Easter 2016

Easter was early this year, the last Sunday in March, and it was our first Easter in our house. We didn't have a lot of decorations but we were ready to dye eggs the week before. Cedric didn't have a lot of patience to let the colors set and got frustrated when we didn't have stickers to put on them, like we did last year. How he remembered last years eggs is beyond me!

Like last year he was very keen to eat them right away and immediately remembered that he doesn't like hard eggs. Next year Clara should be able to help some and I'm going to try to remember to add less water to the PAAS cups. And get stickers :)

We met with Grandma Podany Easter bunny the week before but spent Easter in Wichita and Kingman with my family. We were very happy that Grammy had a sign to remind the Easter bunny to "Stop Here"!

Clara wasn't big on opening the basket, she just loved to crinkle the paper and try to eat the grass. She did like the new gifts so much that she didn't mind her dad putting the jumbo egg on her head because she could still see her toys. 

Cedric didn't want to wear his fancy shirt but he did look good in it for a few minutes. 

When we woke up in the morning we had 2 inches of fluffy sticky snow on the ground. It was beautiful and sad, as this was the most snow all year and we didn't have any of Cedric's snow gear. He was disappointed he couldn't go out in the snow but was happy when it was 60 and melted in the afternoon for our Easter egg hunt in Kingman. 

 I bought Clara the cutest eyelet white dress from The Gap, a silvery-pink sweater from Carter's and a pair of hand me down silver shoes. This was the first time she wore real shoes, now that I think of it! I had this outfit for a few months - girl clothes really are cuter than boy clothes. It's hard not to buy more!

 Clara did a great job with all the family. She is definitely more social and less afraid of strangers than Cedric. She had a nice time sitting on her great-grandma's lap! 

 It was a quick trip down but it worked out. The kids slept better the first night than the second and they handled the drive down better than the drive back. These things will get easier!

The 7th Month

Clara is 7 months, meaning she is closer to being 1 year than to being 0. She really seems to be coming out of that infant baby feel and is more of a big baby girl!

She went through a period where she loved to stick her tongue out. It was all the time and especially directed toward Cedric and myself. I wonder a little if she was just thirsty from the small stomach bug that she took a while to shake. Either way it was really cute. 

Clara is very interested in toys and her surroundings. She likes to always have something in her hand and she loves grabbing for anything in reach. She has started to show some preferences in toys and loves anything Cedric or I have. She wants to play what Cedric is playing and wants to do what we are doing.  I think that is why eating has been going so well lately. She loves to be included in meal time. She likes to eat her Mum-mums and eagerly laps up any food blend I give her. I'm actually avoiding blends with fruit to help keep her interested in veggies. She wasn't that big a fan of the green beans, but they did smell funny . . . We've tried a few small pieces of foods but it is so messy and I really don't have time for that clean up when I'm by myself. 

The weather has been nicer and we've loved getting out our beach blanket and sitting in the yard. Clara has a few 6-12 month hats and they all seem to be too small already. She has moved up to 9 month clothes and 12-24 month socks. I know, huge feet! She seems to be taking after the Mason women. I think she has grown so much because this month she didn't sleep very well. I was up 2-3 times a night with feedings, due to sickness, early teething, and poor napping. We've had two great nights this week so I'm hoping she is turning the corner. 

Last comment about the grabbing - she has excellent hand-eye coordination. She has been great at it for a while but it really shows now when she drops something in an odd spot, like down her high chair or car seat and can fish around and find it. 

Clara loves to try to stand. Some days, when she has been sitting too much she will get very cranky until you help her stand. She's wobbly and can't be trusted to stand on her own, like propped up by the couch. Clara loves to practice in her exersaucer and jumper. She likes the independence and the bouncing. She is a crazy bouncer in the exersaucer now, flinging herself up and down. She really is very strong! We don't have crawling yet but she lunges forward without fuss and can kinda lunge, roll, shift her way to something she wants. I try to give her time on the floor, sometimes it may be too much time.  Second baby!

Clara is a very sturdy sitter now. She can sit for a long time without getting tired and prefers to be upright. She doesn't like to lie around so usually she is sitting until she decides to go after something. She can't get herself to sitting yet but we are working on it. I often forget to push her and give her new experiences. Recently it dawned on me that she could sit in a grocery cart rather than be carried. She is getting heavy in the carrier and starting to get uncomfortable if we strap her in for too long. She likes to be a part of the action now. 

Last weekend we took Clara to swim for the first time. Cedric and Bob have been going every week to help teach him to swim and we finally found a time that worked for everyone. Clara was quiet, didn't splash much but also didn't complain. I think she was taking it all in. 

 And here is Clara today at 7 months. Seven. I'm excited to watch her grow and change but I'm going to miss my little baby girl. She really is such a sweet and wonderful baby, I definitely got lucky with my two kids. And I'm worried about baby proofing again. Cedric has little bits EVERYWHERE. 

My 6 Month Old Girl

Clara is 6 months old today. Every week she seems to be growing and learning more, she's a sack of potatoes no more!

Clara's stats will be coming out in a few weeks and I'll insert them here:

Height: 26.75 in - 76%

Weight: 16 lbs 4 oz - 47%

Head: 17.25 in - 80%

I will say she had a bit of a stomach thing the past two weeks and when she went in for a check she was 15 lbs 6 oz and that was closer to her birthday. She has been waking up more during this so has had more opportunity to eat! She is in 6 month clothes still but I feel that her sleepers are getting a little tight in the length. I bought a few 9 month sleepers today so we will see.  I can comment on her hair and eyes. Her hair seems to be coming in a brownish-reddish color. Sometimes it looks strawberry blonde and sometimes it looks light brown. It is definitely longer than Cedric's was at this time! Her eyes are lightening up, looking like they will be like Bob and Cedric's. People have been saying how much she looks like me, especially in the eyes so I'm hoping she may still have a color change to green. Mine didn't really settle on a color until middle/high school so their is still hope. We have the same eye shape and her ears seem to be pointing out a bit like mine. People stop me to tell me how cute she is and a few have made the "gerber baby" comparison. She's a cute girl!

 Cedric and "Clarla" are getting along well. Cedric has some trouble with sharing and the constant napping but he still loves her. 

When the two of them engage with each other it is so cute. Clara laughs and Cedric uses funny voices.  Clara wants to do whatever Cedric is doing. We try to play together now that Clara is more interested in toys but Cedric usually complains about all the drool. Clara has been drooling less now that she started eating some foods. BTW eating has been going well, she has been eating everything we put in front of her, so that is new for me! We only do about a tablespoon or so at a time but she likes being included. She really wants to eat what Cedric eats and grabs at his drinks and snacks a lot. I really have to watch my handsy girl!

 Clara loves playing with toys. Her favorite toys are napkins, papers, tags and basically anything crinkly. She'd love to tear up and suck on paper napkins all day if I let her. She is very good at stealing them from the table, her reach and grabbing abilities are excellent.

 She has really enjoyed the exersaucer this month and has been moving away from her more infantile toys and chairs.  She gets frustrated when the little crocodile cubes are all displaced. She tries to stand most of the time and I think that has been helping her get stronger. She can almost crawl out of her Bumbo seat and gets frustrated laying under the play mat.

 Speaking of stronger . . .

My little girl is sitting! I'd been trying to practice with her a bit but one day a week or so ago I realized she could do more than I thought. She still needs some help and is like a Weeble-wobble when she is tired. Still, it has been exciting so I've been pushing her a bit to see what she can do. 

She can pull herself from laying to sitting and then from sitting to standing. It's not easy for her but we are working on it! We tried the swings on a 70 degree February day but she is still a little small for that. 

We had painters in last week so were eating out most lunches and tried the high chair. Turns out she can sit in these pretty well. That's good news for me as she has been very handsy the past six weeks or so, grabbing at everything she can get her hands on. She's spilled soup on me twice and even broken a bowl at home. She really needs to be contained! Really, she just wants to be involved and eat too. Poor girl doesn't like being left out. 

The past few days Clara has been sticking out her tongue to be funny. She likes to do it to Cedric the most and then they giggle about it. She will do it to me to get a response. I really feel she is using it as a new way to communicate. I think it just adds to her personality! She likes to engage with people and laugh!

So there is my little big girl. So small and yet growing so much every day. She's been a joy and I can't wait to watch her grow up, though I wish she could stay my little peanut/sack of potatoes forever!