Claire at 8 months

She turned 8 months old on Christmas! She is becoming more and more fun with each passing day!

Claire at 8 months....

• Pulls herself to standing all the time! She is super quick at it and can use almost anything to pull herself up. She loves to stand at her toy chest. When babies learn to pull themself up, why do they insist on always standing??
• Can climb stairs! She actually climbed an entire flight of stairs in just a couple minutes last night while Josh was up in the kitchen and I was out with friends!
• Sits on her knees- it's so cute.
• Opens and closes her right hand. Some people think she is waving 'hi'. I'm not completely convinced yet.
• Is often still tricky to get down for naps, which is probably the most frustrating thing we deal with! Fortunately, this past weekend was better. It doesn't help that she can stand up in her crib now. It's so sad yet cute to go in her room and see the little tiny thing standing up in the crib in the corner by the door (because she's just willing you to enter her room and rescue her!) and crying.
• When she does nap, she typically takes 3 naps a day- morning, mid-afternoon, and late afternoon. She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:15PM.
• Makes all kinds of new noises, although she still is on the quiet side. The sound she makes most often sounds like she's trying to whistle, except she doesn't do it with her mouth round in an 'O' shape. She has a very distinct and well-practiced sound she makes when she wants something- it's like a cute grunt!
• Is starting to show preference for mama at times. We really noticed it after we returned from Florida (Josh said that Florida was "good bonding time" for us. Heh. I say spending time together in the middle of the night virtually every single night for the past 8 months has been the real bonding time!!). She definitely ADORES her daddy, no doubt about that! Josh just has to grin slightly at her and she breaks into an ear-to-ear grin. But there are times that she wants Mom to hold her! Like at the Christmas Eve church service!
• Still gets up one time per night. Enough said.
• Sleeps until about 7:30-8:15 daily. It is soooo nice on the weekends! On Christmas Day she slept until 9AM! Amazing!
• Eats meals 2 or 3 times daily. She loves her homemade baby food. She hasn't shown a dislike for anything yet! She's had peas, carrots, squash, pears, prune juice, applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas, yogurt, and a dish that contains chicken and veggies. She is a great eater! On the weekdays she drinks two breastmilk bottles and one formula bottle. On the weekends she doesn't have any bottles. She is better with the formula but still isn't a big fan.
• Struggles with constipation occassionally. poor girl.
• Drinks from adult straws. If she sees a water bottle or even just an adult cup, she makes her grunting "I want" sound and leans for it. Somehow she knew exactly what to do with the straw and drinks perfectly!
• Is SUPER happy. She's such a joy. She's constantly smiling, laughing, squeling with glee. Rarely fussy or crabby!
• Adores Sydney. They're getting to be little partners in crime. Like when the dishwasher was open a couple days ago and they both stood there licking the spatulas.
• Wears size 2 diapers, still.
• I'm not sure how much she weighs but I'm guessing about 14 1/2 pounds. We'll see at her 9 month appt.
• Wears a variety of clothes sizes, depending on the brand. She still wears a couple 3 month size jeans, she wears a lot of 6 month size shirts, jammies, and pants, and wears some 6-12 month size outfits.

Well it's past 10PM and I'm tired and that's all I can think of for now! Merry Christmas! We had our best Christmas ever with our sweet, sweet baby girl- thanks be to God!

Trust

Trust. It's an amazing thing. Babies learn to trust their parents within weeks of being born. They trust that when they cry, their parents will come. They trust that they will be kept warm, that they will be fed, that their diaper will be changed. They trust that all of their needs will be met. Without questioning it. Oh, how I long to trust my Heavenly Father with all of my needs like babies trust their father and mother.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs tonight, that of Mckmama's (http://www.mycharmingkids.net/) and I saw this picture of her daughter and husband. It made me think of trust. It's clear this little girl trusts her daddy. Let it be so with us!

Who I Am

I think I have always been quite self-aware but lately I feel like I know myself better than I ever have before. I don't know why that is- maybe joining motherhood put it all in perspective for me. Maybe it's just the result of frequent reflection over the past years. Whatever it is, I enjoying 'knowing' myself and feeling comfortable with who I am. I enjoy not having to pretend to be something that I am not or wonder what I stand for or believe in. To give you just a glimpse of who I am....

• I am pro-life. I believe that everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made and created in His image. Yes, even the little fetus that is only weeks past conception. I saw Claire's heart beating when I was 6 weeks and 2 days pregnant. There is no question to me that life starts at conception and that all lives are worth protecting. I also believe in the miracle of adoption.
• My love language is words of affirmation.
• I dislike politics.
• My spiritual gift is giving.
• I strongly believe in microfinance and its ability to alleviate poverty.
• I think that we do not necessarily have a problem with 'shortage' in this world. Rather, I believe we have a problem with 'distribution'. And it is our (our, not just the government's) responsibility to distribute resources.
• I love being a mother. I really love it. I feel like it is something I was created to be.
• I believe that everything does not happen for a reason.
• I believe that God can make good out of bad situations.
• I belive that true miracles do happen, through the power of Jesus Christ.
• I believe in equal rights for men and women; and that women (and men) should be able to choose what they want to do with their life without being confined by gender roles. I believe a woman can be a 'feminist' and still choose, and love, to be a stay at home mom or homemaker. (Today we were at Target and we picked out a 'glow worm' for Claire. Josh thought it looked too 'boy-ish' because there was some blue on it and not a speck of pink. I told Josh that it's perfectly acceptable, even desirable in my opinion, for Claire to own toys that are blue and not pink).
• I believe that "it's not about me". Or you.
• I believe in the power of prayer.
• I often (and by often, I mean multiple times per week) reflect upon the meaning of life.
• I treasure friendships- new and old.
• I dislike public speaking, but am pretty good at hiding my nerves.
• I still struggle with pronouncing the letter "r".
• I believe in the importance and power of forgiveness.

Just a little bit about me. You may have already known all, most, some, or none of it. On the eve of my 28th birthday, I enjoying thinking about who I am. Because I like me. I think God did an okay job. :)

Miss Mobile!

Claire is ON THE MOVE!!! She officially started crawling on November 18th and hasn't stopped since! She can even pull herself to a standing position on her own. Now that she's completely mobile, she's getting into all kinds of trouble.






She climbs on boxes....



She eats the tupperware.




She crawls under the table and through the chairs.












She plays with electrical cords (we do try to limit this behavior).

She eyes up her nuk and chases it feverishly.

She gets stuck under the table (and like all good moms, I tell her to hold on as I grab my camera and take a picture).

And she pulls herself to standing!

Oh, how much joy she brings us each day as she discovers the world around her!

Claire at 7 months

Today is Claire's 7 month birthday! Where does the time go??? Our princess continues to steal our hearts every day. It is hard to believe you can love a little bugger with as much passion as we do.



Claire at 7 months:

• CRAWLS!!! She began crawling (officially) on November 18th. Josh thought she crawled before this but it was only maybe 4 or so steps at a time and her momma didn't think that really qualified as crawling (I know, she wasn't even 7 months old and I was already hard on her!). But on 11/18, she crawled across the entire living room because she was chasing me (while crying) as I ransacked the house looking for my cell phone. I finally caved and gave it to her that she is officially crawling! It is so fun and cute to see because you feel like a baby that small shouldn't be able to move like that!


• Loves, loves, loves to give mommy (and only mommy, which I don't mind :)) kisses. She sucks on my chin and lunges for my mouth. It's actually getting kind of painful when she gnaws on me with her gums!


• Has moved from her belly to sitting up all on her own, one time (at least that mom and dad have seen).


• Has had some formula. I am still breastfeeding but I'm not pumping enough during the day for her three full bottles and I went through almost my entire freezer stash. She now drinks two bottles of breastmilk and one bottle of formula each weekday. For some reason I had a hard time with this. I am proud to still be nursing and I am proud that she was nursed exclusively for over 6 months. She is handling the formula so-so. She's not a big fan and she has some constipation/tummy issues. But she'll adapt!


• Wears 3-6 month and 6 month clothes..... still. :)
• Drinks 5 or 6 ounce bottles and eats every 3-4 hours. She also has greatly improved her solid food eating skills. She loves the homemade sweet potatoes and peas. I mix the vegetables (one at a time) with breastmilk and rice cereal. She's not too sure about the applesauce yet. She scrunches her nose and closes her eyes because of the sour taste.


• Sleeps from about 7:30-8:00PM until 7AM, with getting up once or (usually) twice. She has been harder to get back down after she wakes up- she used to just go right back to sleep and it wasn't a big deal for me to get up during the night to feed her. Now she often cries and gets very upset. Josh has been GREAT. If I don't think she needs to eat, he'll get up with her. Even if she does need to eat, he'll sometimes get up and change her diaper (which is much harder work than just sitting down and feeding her) before I get up to nurse her. He never once complains and I so appreciate his partnership.


• Often has a tricky time going down for a nap. It is either super easy or super hard to get her down. We're trying to let her 'cry it out' a little more and it occasionally works, but usually doesn't.


• Is noticing the world around her more than ever. It's almost like a light switch turned on and all of a sudden she can see all of her surroundings (hmm reminds me of the song, "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see..."). She loves to explore. You can see that she found the coffee table during her exploration this week and decided she should climb inside. Of course, why not?!
• She often leans backward and looks straight up above her and is captivated by what she sees (which is usually just a white ceiling but is sometimes a ceiling fan, to her delight).
• Loves her one-on-one time with her daddy. During class last Thursday Josh said that he fed Claire at bedtime but she decided she didn't want the bottle, so she just leaned against his chest and fell asleep, which caused him to cry (he's a softie and I love it). She is not very cuddly and it's very unusual for her to do this so it meant a lot to him! You can see the joy they experience together in the below photo that was taken before bedtime tonight.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, we are bursting with gratitude for our precious little family and all of the abundant blessings in our life. Claire brings us more joy than we ever could have hoped for. Even during the middle of the night when Claire is screaming and I am exhuasted and long for sleep, I cannot help but smother her cheeks with kisses. As I celebrate our blessings I remember and pray for the women and men that are still searching for their family and struggling with infertility or miscarriage or child loss. It is a heartbreaking place to be and although we are joyous I have not forgotten the intense pain we felt during our infertility journey and miscarriage. Time heals but you don't forget.

Blessings to you all on Thanksgiving! God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good.

Amazed

I love reading blogs. I keep up with, maybe, 20 or so blogs on a regular basis. Only a few of the bloggers do I know in 'real life'. Most of them have no idea who I am (I am a "lurker") but I have learned so much from these different women about parenting, marriage, love, Jesus, life, suffering, and joy, and heartache.

There is one blog in particular that is hitting me hard today. I found this blog months ago (I don't even remember how), read the first entry, saved it to my 'favorites' and didn't return again until today.

I always am longing to 'hear' Jesus speak to me. I have never audibly heard Him, but I hear Him through people, events, interactions and in the quiet stillness of my mind. I heard Him loud and clear today, and I am so thankful for that!

Remember this post I wrote awhile back about longing to have Jesus' eyes for the poor and hurting? The blog post I read today reminded me just how much I long for His eyes and how much more I am falling desparately short of loving people the way He does and the way I should.

This blogger is a 21 (yes, TWENTY ONE) year old SINGLE woman who is living in Africa and has 14 (yes, FOURTEEN) adopted daughters. Amazing. If anyone could be called the hands and feet of Jesus, it is her.

Here is the blog post that shook me today. I encourage you to read it-- I know you will be touched.

Claire at 6 Months

Thank you to everyone who offered support and encouragement after my last post. I am so lucky to have such caring friends and family. I'll be okay- don't worry! I'm quite resilient. It feels good to get out in the open that I just have a lot going on right now, although that probably wasn't a surprise to anybody! I think anyone in my shoes would be struggling a bit. Last week I got an unexpected raise at my midyear review (very uncommon!) so that helped a little- it's nice to know all of my crazy hours and hard work are being noticed and appreciated.

Okay... on to more exciting things... Claire turned 6 months old last Sunday! Wow! I can't believe our little girl is half a year. I almost feel like I need to start planning her 1st birthday party- haha.

Claire at 6 months:

• Drinks 5 ounce bottles. She still eats about every 3 hours.
• Gets up 1-2 times per night. She goes to bed about 7:30PM. She shows tired signs earlier than 7:30 but Josh and I just don't want to put her to bed yet! We get such very little time with her in the evening and we hate to put her to bed at 7PM! Especially when she can sleep as late as she wants in the morning since we don't need to drop her off at daycare.
• Is mobile, mobile, mobile. She has the backwards scoot down pat. She can find a way to get anywhere she wants to go. She'll get up on all fours and launch herself forward. She also rocks back and forth slightly while on all fours. We even had to start babyproofing!
• Pees like crazy at night. She pees through her diaper and pajamas multiple nights per week. It is not fun nor easy to completely undress her, wipe her down, change her diaper, find new pajamas, put new pajamas on and put on a new blanket at 2am with a little baby that is screaming because all she wants to do is eat and sleep!
• Drools less. I don't know why she's drooling less but she doesn't need to wear a bib like she used to.
• Loves to be scared/startled. She even waits for it in anticipation. She'll just stare at you and blink her eyes as you lean forward to give her a little shake around her chest and yell "boo!!".
• Doesn't really care for rice cereal quite yet. Her reflex to push the spoon and food out with her tongue is still pretty strong.
• Takes a fair amount of naps still. She'll nap maybe 3-5 times per day. Sometimes they're 15 minutes long and sometimes they're 1.5- 2 hours.
• Weighs 12 lbs 14 oz (3-5th %) and is 24 3/4 inches (10-15th %).
• Wears 3-6 month and 6 month size clothing.
• Has taken sips of water "to wet her whistle" as her baby doctor says.
• Is starting to be better at "cuddling". Before she didn't like being held really close unless she was eating or sleeping and wouldn't naturally lay her head on your shoulder or relax in your arms while awake. She's starting to a little bit though and Josh and I are very excited about this! Josh often says to her "I wish you liked to cuddle!" and "I can't wait for you to be able to give hugs!". She has his heart, that's for sure.
• Is a super happy girl. She is always smiley. She loves to giggle and belly laugh.
• Sleeps in her crib!!! This started on October 17th. The transition went well for all of us. Claire didn't seem phased by it and I wasn't too sad because I knew it was time!
• Is the love of my life. I yearn for her when I'm not with her. I'm always praying that I'll have an opportunity to work part-time. Even 4 days a week would be absolutely amazing!