10 months!

10 months old today.
what a wondrous 10 months it has been.
the momentous 1st birthday will be here soon
as summer fades and turns to fall.
i can't say i'm ready,
but i don't really have a choice.

claire is an amazing baby.
i know i'm her mother, so perhaps a bit bias,
but most days i can't get over
just
how
great
she
is.
a mothers love i know,
but even more
the love of our God
to have given her to us...
that is something i may never get over.

so many strangers comment on how
happy and beautiful she is.
she truly lights up a room.

just yesterday we were out to lunch with some friends,
countless people stopped to swoon over claire.
at the end of lunch our friends remarked on the
crazy amount of people who stopped to comment on her.
they said they had never seen anything like it before.

i love that she brings smiles to strangers faces
every
single
time
we
are
out

i never want to forget the
pure joy
this baby girl has.
in turn she
brings joy
to us
and complete strangers.

and yes,
i did just brag about how much attention my awesome kid gets,
but this is for her.
i'm usually reserved about her awesomeness,
so a bit of bragging was overdue.

so what does a 10 month old do?
well, she eats... 

everything
from fruits and veggies to cat food and books.
it ALL goes in the mouth.

and we play...

a lot, all day long.

this usually involves lots of crawling, standing and cruising.

tormenting the cat,
reading books,
destroying household objects,
and creating a huge mess
are some of her most favorite activities.

then we (yes both of us)
get sleepy,
have a meltdown,
nap, eat and repeat.


as monotonous as life may seem at times,
i know these are the best of times.

happy 10 months baby girl!

Too funny...

claire had a serious case of the giggles the other night.  

Red, White, and Blue

Standing

i never should have shown her this...



now she spends most of her days trying to pull up on everything
the couch, crib, fridge, dishwasher, oven, walls, chairs, my legs ect.
it may not be the safest list of things to climb,
but that doesn't stop her from trying.

we have one persistent baby girl on our hands.

Summer is here!

daddy took claire swimming for the first time,
while visiting her grandma ann and grandpa wes in texas.
one bottle of 100spf later
and my little white baby was ready for the pool!
uncle cory was there to take some photos...

she tired pretty quickly and demanded i carry her home.

month 7 has robert & i chasing claire everywhere
she has perfected the army crawl
and it looks like crawling on her hands and knees is just around the corner.

army crawl 

she has become rather fond of her new toy,  a my pal violet.
violet is bringing out the rhythmic side of claire...

violet

i must add all of these changes are happening too fast
but it is the most amazing
and indescribable feeling
to watch her grow and learn every day.

there is nothing better than being her mom.

6 months

looks like she is going to grow up after all...

i started this blog for three reasons

1. to share with family and friends who are far

2. to have something for us and claire to look back on

3. it's somewhat like a baby/memory book i can't lose (with the added bonus of one less thing to grab if the house burns down)

so i'm starting now with my baby girl rapidly approaching 6 months!!!

i was told, by many, this time would go by quickly...

                                                                                          

turns out quickly was an understatement

i'm learning to take in

every

single

moment

of this new life God has blessed us with...

month five for claire included her first taste of rice cereal

a bowl full of mush

she also gave me an excuse to buy lots of candy and dress her up like a bunny,

as we celebrated her very 1st easter!

and nothing has been more exciting for her than the jumperoo!
(i admit, i was excited too... perhaps a little more than necessary)

jumperoo