I realize I haven’t written a post about Clara in a while. I talk about motherhood and what I’m learning, and I include her in my Friday posts (usually), but I realize I haven’t talked about her specifically in a while.

Clara with one of her favorite uncles.

So in case you were wondering what she’s been up to…

Clara is still a happy, happy baby. She’s been happy since birth and continues to be. She loves smiling at strangers (although it takes her a few minutes to warm up) and friends. She is really interested in other babies and can be a bit aggressive, as she’ll crawl right up to them and grab at their clothes. She thinks people and animals are hilarious and loves Oz much more than he loves her.

She has seven teeth, SEVEN. We’ve gotten through teething (so far) by giving her frozen things to suck/chew on, but have not needed any medicine so far.

Clara always wants to go to bed late and wake up late, but we’re getting a routine down. We’re working on dropping the third nap of the day and so far it’s working really well! She’s easily put to sleep by Tim, but she struggles with me (because she always wants to be nursed to sleep and I’m trying to break her of that habit).

She is so over purees and much prefers foods she can feed herself. We’re constantly afraid she’s going to choke, but so far she’s been doing really well with her steamed veggies and puffs and fruits.

She still loves her carseat and her stroller.

She especially loves swinging. 

She does not like baby gates, especially if they’re separating her from a parent (or two). She could have the entire apartment to roam around in and she’ll still stand at the baby gate, screaming.

She is a crawling pro, and is also great at pulling herself up to standing on things. She ‘cruises’ around furniture and I’m hoping she’s not an early walker – I’m just not ready for it yet! However, of course I love watching her discover new things and conquer new skills.

Clara is still breastfeeding although it’s not the calm experience it once was, let me tell you. Now there are teeth involved and little hands everywhere and sometimes she decides she’d rather squirt the milk in her mouth than suck it out like a ‘normal’ baby. Sometimes she decides she’s going to eat while sitting and tries to detach my nipple by whipping her head around… it’s an experience, certainly, and not always a pleasant one!

She doesn’t mind being away from us. She is still watched every week by Tim’s mom and she also goes to the children’s area at church and while we’re with our small group, and she does fine for up to 2 hours with the other kids. I think we may have a social butterfly on our hands.

She isn’t really making any babbling sounds – other than yelling – definitely nothing that sounds like it could be words forming! 

She prefers playing with ‘toys’ that aren’t toys, which includes but is certainly not limited to: Wires, my wallet, candles, her diapers, my books, the baby gate, reusable grocery bags… We’re (obviously) still working on baby-proofing the house.

She doesn’t sit still long enough for us to read to her, she gets squirmy and impatient and we give up fairly quickly. I keep trying, but we may need to hold off on this until she’s a bit older and is at least interested in the pictures.

Can you tell I could go on for a while?!  This sums it up for now, though. In summary: she brings so much joy to our lives each and every day.