Oh. Hey there. Long time no, ummm, see read? Yup, I failed to post anything for the last two (three?) months, and I wish I could say it was because I am busy, but I can't. I mean, I am really busy (thankfully, because that means the Firm is still going strong), but that has nothing to do with why I haven't posted since I typically used this blog as a wonderful way to procrastinate doing my work. Unfortunately, yet not surprisingly, my procrastination tool slowly turned into something that I instead procrastinated about.
[Side Note: Okay, okay .... I know the sentence should really be "... turned into something about which I instead procrastinated," but I'm sticking with how I originally wrote it. Except for this explanation to let you know that I know the correct way. Which probably definitely makes me sound like a grammar snob, but really, I just want my sister to know that I understand the whole "no preposition at the end of a sentence" thing so she doesn't lower her opinion of me.]
See? More procrastination. And it's not like I have any reason to procrastinate writing this blog since it is about my very favorite subject in the whole entire world. I think the problem is that there is just so MUCH to write that I have a hard time compiling it down into something short enough that other people will (hopefully) want to read. I think I just need to dive right in ...
In my last post, I said that Claire was very close to crawling. I guess that was the motivation she needed, because only four days later, I walked into her daycare to find this:
If only she was still that slow ... alas, she is a force to be reckoned with and will speed off into the other room in the blink of an eye. One of her favorite games, aside from crawling laps through the living room, dining room, and front room, is to peer around doorways to play "peek a boo."
Fortunately, all that exercise tends to wear her out.
Claire isn't silly enough to allow us to actually become used to a thing before moving on to something new, so shortly after she started crawling, she also started pulling up on things - toys, legs, chairs, etc. - and using her toys with wheels as walkers (until she runs into a wall, at which point she will leave the scene of the accident and crawl off in pursuit of the next adventure).
Claire still loves playing with her BFF, so we were sad to learn that Claire would not be moving up to the next room at daycare with her this past week. However, given that the room is called the "Toddler Room" (while Claire cannot walk unassisted) and is for kids up to two years old, it is better for Claire to stay where she is for a little longer to keep her from being overwhelmed. She definitely enjoys being one of the older babies in her room, and she still gets to see her BFF at least once a week when the adults get together for our weekly Game of Thrones gathering. :)
Crab and Bear
Claire started taking swimming lessons at the YMCA in March. While she is not to keen on learning how to kick or move her arms in the water, she enjoys all the singing and splashing, and tolerates (much more than I expected!) being dunked.
Ready to dive in
Let's see, what else? We had a couple of holidays since I last wrote, and, as always, Claire dressed for the occasion.
Happy St. Paddy's Day!
The Bear makes a cute bunny.
And just because I was too busy lazy to put up a blog post each month doesn't mean that I forgot to take pictures of Claire on her 10 month and 11 month "birthdays."
10 months old
11 months old
Claire has been putting her teeth to good use, despite the fact that she still has only two. Her favorite foods are pickles, lemons, goldfish crackers, Cheerios, Doritos (yes, she is her mother's daughter), and mac 'n' cheese. She is now entering the stage where she wants to try to feed herself, which makes dinner time very slow (but pretty amusing at the same time).
Mmmmm, broccoli.
And apparently each little tooth that she has is a sweet tooth, because that child will chow down on desserts like there is no tomorrow.
C is for Claire. And for cookie ...
... and also for cake. For which Claire does not need utensils.
The last picture was from Claire's BFF's first birthday party, and it gives me high hopes for Claire's cake smash performance at her own party on the 17th.
Before I end this post with a photo dump (I mean, it's not like this whole post was one big photo dump or anything), I'll give y'all a quick update on the health front. First, and most importantly, Claire continues to do amazingly well since her closure surgery. She saw Dr. F again on May 6th, and he was very happy with her progress. Claire does still have a little gap between some of her abdominal muscles, but Dr. F expects those to get stronger and fill in as Claire grows and develops. The most important part is that she is hitting all of her milestones (including both gross and fine motor skills) despite getting off to a slow start. She will see him again on July 29th. Claire had another double ear infection since my last post, and this week Bo and I were afraid that she might have a third one, but fortunately, this was not the case. Instead, her pediatrician thinks Claire might have allergies, which could result in the ear infections. The plan is to treat the underlying cause (allergies) in the hopes that it prevents any future infections. Claire's 1-year-old appointment is May 19th, but we don't expect any surprises from that.
Okay, and now for the promised photo dump:
Getting ready for swim lessons
Hiking is hard work! (First Landing State Park)
Enjoying her first circus
Enjoying a book read by her awesome big brother
Matching cars (put together by Mom, blinged out by Dad)
Hi again. Bet you thought you were done with me, right? Sorry about that. (but not really) Anyway, as the title says, we are getting ready for Claire's first birthday on the 16th, even though we can barely grasp the fact that it has almost been a year since our sweet Claire Bear joined our family. It is hard for me to think back to this time last year ... back to when we were anticipating meeting Claire, while at the same time dreading all the "unknowns." We have said it before, but we can never say it enough ... we could not have done it without the love, support, prayers, good thoughts, EVERYTHING from our friends and family. Y'all are the best and we love you.
