Sweet Clara Belle

Clara is growing up so fast. One of my favorite parts of being a stay-at-home mom is seeing her learn new things every day. She's been changing so quickly and I've wanted to write down some of the cute things she's been doing lately.

A few times this week when I've told Clara we needed to change her diaper she has willingly gone and laid down on the floor so that I can change her diaper. This is quite a change from last week when she went and hid in her tent when it was time to get clean pants. She will also happily jog back to her room when I tell her it is time for a nap or time to go to bed. She loves her bath and as soon as I mention that it's bath time she is back in the bathroom trying to hop in the tub.

She loves her Daddy. Ben has been out of town A LOT. As much as I hate it, Clara's reaction when Ben comes home is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I've never seen so much delight on someone's face. I usually end up cry/laughing because Clara's reaction is so darling. When Ben is home, Clara wants nothing to do with me. Occasionally it is a little offensive that she doesn't want me, but most of the time I just love how much she loves Ben.

Clara is learning new signs and words everyday. Tonight in the bath she signed horse for the first time. I love seeing her tiny little hands doing the signs. It is too cute. She can point out her eyes, nose, hair, mouth, teeth, ears, toes, and belly. She is getting really great at following commands and loves to throw things in the trash for me, put away her books and generally do anything that she knows will get me to say, "Good Job!"

She dances and jumps on command. When I sing her songs before bed she dances around the room. She got a little fridge barn/animal magnet set that plays songs and she always pushes the button so that she has music to dance to.

She loves to be around people. She gets so excited when anyone comes over to the house. The other day I was watching a sign language DVD with her and they began to sign Grandma and Grandpa. Clara turned around and looked at me with anticipation and then went to the door and tried to open it. She was sure Grandma and Grandpa had come to visit. When I told Ben's parents this story they came to visit her the next day. She was thrilled. She is always grinning and hamming it up for people when we go to the store. It's fun to be out and about with her because everyone responds to her sweet dimpled grin and constant babbling.

With this pregnancy I cry nearly every day. Just one of those awesome pregnancy side effects. It's been fun to see Clara learn some empathy. At first when I cried she'd have a mostly annoyed and slightly confused reaction to the tears. Now, she'll come sit with me and try to swat away my tears.

I love you Clara. I'm so glad to be your Mama.

It's me again

April? That was really the last time I posted anything? When my darling girl was 6 months old? She has grown so much and is a little girl now. She started walking a little before she was 11 months and she learns new things every day. She keeps us busy! Here are a few photos we took right after Thanksgiving. It was freezing outside and so I've included a few to show you how majority of the shoot went.


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Clara is learning new words everyday. Her first word was Daddy, followed by doggy and Mama. She also says Grandpa, Grandma and shoes. She has several others that I'm not remembering and quite a few signs that she uses everyday. Her latest trick is eating with a fork. I gave her a fork last week and she just started using it. Last night she ate about 90% of her dinner with it.

Ben has been traveling quite a bit with work and I can't say it get's any easier. When he is gone, every knock on the door and phone call elicits a loud, "Daddy!" Clara loves when her Daddy is home and follows him from room to room. This past Saturday Ben was putting new hardware on a dresser we just refinished and Clara had to be near him the entire time. It was very helpful I'm sure.I've been busy gestating and we are very excited to add a son to our family at the beginning of April. I'm getting a little nervous to have two children under the age of two and I hope Clara will like being a big sister. I'm sure it will be a big adjustment for all of us.

Right now she is banging on the laptop screen because she sees Ben's picture. Very helpful. I guess that is my cue to put the computer down and play.

Clara's New Sound

Clara figured out how to make a new sound. She's been doing this all day long.

Condensed Blogging

Because I've not made the time to blog the last couple of months, I present condensed blogging. It's like condensed soup, only cuter.

Clara was blessed on February 7th.
My Dad came from Texas and it was wonderful to be with family!

Also in February, Clara got cuter and chubbier.

In March, Clara tried rice cereal for the first time. Yum.

In March, Clara started to sit up on her own for short periods of time. If we lay her down on the floor she lifts both her head and feet off the ground and tries to sit up.

For Easter Clara got a new dress, hair clips, a teething toy, green beans and carrots. Yum again.

This is what Ben and I had for Easter. Really Yum.

In less photographically documented news, Clara got tubes in her ears this past Friday. After a full six weeks of ear infections, we are hoping this will help her to be healthier and happier. The very next day Clara cut her first teeth. It's been a wild ride. In any case, I feel so lucky to be her mom. She is such a joy and delights me every day with her smiles and giggles.

Worst Mom of the Year Award

So for the last 2 weeks, Clara has been fussy. Really fussy. I was at my wit's end! She fought me every nap time and several times throughout the day. There were many times that I just had to sit her down and walk into the other room for a moment. And then all of the sudden she was waking up several times during the night. I realize she's only 3 months old, but she had been sleeping wonderfully. Typically she'd go down around 9 and not wake up until 4 or 5 in the morning and then go back to sleep until 7. So when she started waking up, I decided it was time to sleep train her. For three nights in a row we let her cry herself to sleep. It was pretty awful. When she'd wake up in the middle of the night we let her cry until she fell asleep again or let her cry for a little while before we went in to get her. Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago she started batting at her ear. I thought maybe it was bothering her, but then she didn't do it every day. I assumed she had just discovered her ear. On Wednesday however, I realized it was only her right ear she'd been grabbing. That same day, she wasn't very interested in eating. She loves to eat! At 3 months, she is still consistently eating every two hours. So we went to the doctor and she has an ear infection. So I'm guessing she's had it for about two weeks as that is when she first started grabbing her ear. I feel so bad! I made my baby cry herself to sleep when she was sick. Oh man, do I feel awful. She's been on her antibiotic for a couple of days and already she is sleeping better and my sweet, cheerful baby is returning. Worst mother of the year award.

As Time Goes By

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Ben and I have been taking pictures every month of our sweet girl to gauge her progress. As you can see she's made definite progress in the chub and hair departments.