Happy 6 Month Birthday, Claire!

I can't even believe how time has flown. To celebrate, Claire and I went to Petsmart (for the SECOND time this week). They have a cat adoption on the side where you can go into where the cages are and see the cats close up. There's one grey cat that always tries to play with Claire. The first time, Claire screeched and lunged for the cat. This time, she screamed, grabbed the cat, and started laughing. She LOVES that poor cat. It's really sweet, and so fun to watch her laugh and try to grab him.

Afterwards, I thought we'd go explore and go to the lake. However, I ended up missing my exit so I drove downtown for a while till we got to a park. There were TONS of moms out with their kids and it looked like fun. (Guess we found out where they all go!)

I put her in the swing and she laughed the whole time. It was hilarious. She shrieked at all of the babies and tried to make friends. We had a good time. There were lots of trees and shade so we just camped out, had a chat, and ate grass. Only a popsicle to share could have made it any more perfect.

Claire is six months, bursting out of her 12 month clothes. She is so fun and aware of everything around her. She's pretty close to rolling, though she's content to stay put and talk. We're looking forward to her getting mobile. She is still very much a Daddy's girl. The past three months she has developed into an incredible sleeper, though some days she fights her naps. She still eats like she's never seen food only now she also goes for our food! We love to share with her and watch her experience new flavors and textures. As always, the faces are priceless. So far her favorites are fudgesicles, bananas, dad's yogurt, apple blueberry, and applesauce.

I've been trying to take her on an outing each day. It's been so fun being able to get out of the house and explore. We've had a good time. Her appointment is on Monday, so I'll have to update with her height and weight. She is one BIG girl; I'm really curious!

We just adore little miss Claire and couldn't imagine life with out her. The past six months have been an amazing fun adventure. We're so grateful for her and her personality. She's definitely a perfect fit!

Man, It's Good To Be King. Or So I've Heard.

Ross has his own room. It's actually a man cave, complete with futon and legos. And the rock band gear. I love that futon. I've actually slept on it for the last two weeks.

Don't judge my marriage, but it turns out that both of us sleep better when we have our own bed. It might have something to do with the fact that my husband is 6'4". Or it could be that I am a distant relative of both Sasquatch and Chuck Norris. The real kicker is that both of us sleep stretched out. I mean diagonal across the mattress, arms out, legs out, spread eagle, the real deal. But two people can't really do that on a queen as we have discovered.

That was probably the hardest part of being newlyweds. You spend your whole life sleeping in your own bed with your own space with no one touching you or getting into your "bubble". We watch mattress commercials with couples sleeping cuddled together. They even have a slight smile on their faces. But the real honest truth is that cuddling time is great, everyone loves to cuddle, but not when you're trying to sleep.

Then I had a brilliant idea. Claire will be 6 months tomorrow and I will finally be eligible to sell plasma. I always vowed against it, but that's our spending/date/fun money. I was originally going to save up to get my hair highlighted, bushman eyebrows plucked, and toes done, but instead we decided to save up for our very own king size mattress.

My first appointment is Saturday morning. I absolutely love giving blood or having blood drawn. (I know, FREAK, right?) but I'm still nervous. I'll have to let you all in on how it goes and see if I really want to get poked for a mattress. I might just take my $30 and RUN.

[Just to Clarify: Ross and I are happily married and we love each other. We even like each other. Honest. With his surgery and waking in the night for pain meds I just got in the habit of sleeping on the futon. Really.]

Copycat Claire. Copycat Claire.

I remember when Claire was a newborn and people would say she was cute, and then they'd add how much cuter she'd be when she was older. I wanted to punch them in the nose right then and there. I thought she was the cutest thing on the planet and didn't think she could get any cuter. There was no way. And I hated thinking about her getting bigger.

Well, those people were right. Looking back at a few of her pictures, she does indeed look like an alien. A very cute alien. I thought she was so fun and I was simply in awe of her. However, as soon as she hit 4 months, the fun REALY began. It was night and day different.

Claire will be celebrating her half birthday on Friday and it seems like she's turning a corner again. I can't believe how much fun we have. She's always all smiles and squeals, just excited bout everything. And she copies us.

It's really funny. If we smack our lips or stick out our tongue to spit, she'll do it right back. But my favorite is when she sees someone laughing, she automatically starts laughing too. Claire laughs are probably my favorite sound in the world. I just can't get enough!

Hello, Summer.

Nice to finally see you!

CORRECTION: The NONFiction Section, Who Knew?

Ross and I made our own book club. I used to really enjoy reading, and haven't had a ton of time to indulge. We were looking for things we could enjoy together and that was one of the ideas we came up with. It's been so fun, and what could be better than doing it with him? I always forget just how many books there are until we go and I come back with an arm load.

I've never spent much time in the non-fiction section of the library, but I made a library run a few days ago for Ross and decided to poke around a little and I'm so glad I did! Our first book was a biography, (Catch Me If You Can) but I just ran right up to the biographies and found the book without really looking around at the other books. This last trip I found cookbooks, books on sewing, crafts, home decorating, parenting, fitness, piano music, all kinds of things. I think I'm going to have to at least make a weekly trip. I'm so excited to learn and try out a bunch of new things.

I also found this gem. The Must-Have Mom Manual. I wish I had found it before Claire was born, but I'm still so glad I came across it. One of my favorite sections talks about clean houses. "Only dull women have immaculate houses." These two gals talk about how your kids won't remember how clean the house was. What they're going to remember is how their mom played go fish, went for a bike ride, and just played with them.

I'm not saying that cleaning and doing chores isn't important. I love a clean organized house as much as the next gal. However, I think if it came down to it, I'd choose playing dress up or barbies over mopping any day. I can say I do remember whining and fighting about chores, but I also remember my mom playing kickball with us in the street, baking, and playing board games. And I loved it.

I'm really looking forward to all of the fun perks of being a mom.

Yeah, I'm That Kind Of Mom.

I am convinced making faces while Claire eats DOES in fact help her eat and actually swallow the food. I didn't notice I was doing it until yesterday. Embarrassment at its finest.

A Claire Filled Morning.

Honestly, nap time is still one of my favorite times of the day, second only to bed time. I feel like a horrible mother saying that, but it's true. I get a minor break where I can shower, clean my house, and actually eat with two hands rather than one. But I think the part of nap time I look forward to most is hearing Claire's squeaks when she wakes up.

And then I get to go in to this.

She is the most talkative right after waking up. While I change her and get her dressed, she tells me about her dreams.

And then she sits patiently while I get her food ready. All with a smile on her face.

I can't think of a better start to my day, and end to my breaks.