Sneak Attack

I recently took two videos of Avery without her knowing.  Sneaky, yes.  Cute, endearing and funny, yes, yes!

Avery has always enjoyed being in the kitchen and helping make whatever it is that we're making.  She also enjoys watching cooking and baking videos on youtube.  No joke.  Below is her being entertained by a cake video, and since the video has declared that THIS is the cake we're making for Papa's birthday this year.  Oy vey!  (Wish me luck - I'm more of a fancy cake buyer than a maker...)

Avery was letting loose on a recent walk and I managed to get some of it on video.  Move over Taylor Swift.  There's a new talent in town.

FPT

Caught this car thief red handed!

Claire...Updates and Videos

We have recently gotten a few great videos of Claire showcasing her new found tricks!

Working on her laughing skills...

We have since gotten Claire to do a real laugh, but have yet to catch it on video.  It's really cute, but in order to get her to laugh, we are making complete fools of ourselves.  Oh, the things parents do to get a laugh!

Finding her voice!

Chewing on her hand...(note the background conversation between Jeff and Avery, as well as Belle's quick appearance- love my family!  Ha!).

Claire is now three months old!  This picture made me laugh, so we're going with it for her "three month" photo with Avery.  Avery is doing a fake smile and Claire is screaming.  My girls!

I forgot to do a two month photo blog.  But, we are not really surprised, are we?  I have been behind on blogging, but have hopes of catching up someday.  wink

Two month photo and stats...better late than never?!

As of Claire's two month appointment back in December (!), she was 23 1/2 inches (89%) and 12lbs 4oz (72%).

She has also started batting at toys and loving headbands.  Okay, that last one is a stretch.  While she doesn't mind wearing them, they're not practical to wear often at this age save for a few photos or a quick show off of her entire ensemble.

Claire continues to be an awesome kid.  She is sweet, calm and loves to smile.  Her new thing is to interrupt a feeding to lovingly interact.  She will literally pull away, look up at me and starting cooing and smiling.  OMG.  Love!

Cheeks.

FVT

Okay, so Jeff and I were debating on whether or not to include this video on the blog.  It's absolutely hilarious and we decided that the majority of blog readers would get a complete kick of it.

Background story...I was upstairs showering this past weekend while Jeff had the girls downstairs.  I texted him when I got out of the shower asking how the girls were.  He sent me this video and said "eating her hand and pooping."  Just watch... and listen.

Holiday Happenings 2014

Here is a little of what we've been up to the past month or so to get ready for, and celebrate, the holidays...

Avery and I made sure to test out a few batches of Reindeer food before Christmas Eve.  The best batch contained popcorn, M&Ms and Chex.  Let's just say Santa's Reindeer loved it and ate it ALL.

Avery and I also decorated the inside of our front door...everyone needs a little Frosty in their lives...

We spent a day with the Goads and DiNinos decorating holiday cookies.  What fun!

Group shot after the cookie decorating and eating.  =)

Avery, Claire and I spent one weekend with Danda and Papa in early December when Jeff was in Tahoe for a bachelor party.  The first night of our weekend sleepover, Danda and Papa's neighborhood had a movie in the park night with a fun holiday show.

Avery got dressed up a few times this holiday season for some special events.  First up, her Holiday Happening at school (see where I got the blog title?) where her class sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  So cute!  She also saw two different performances of the Nutcracker.  One with Danda, Papa and Helen and the other with me and some friends at a Nutcracker Tea.

Christmas Eve morning Avery and I volunteered to deliver roses to seniors in a local senior home.  It was a very sweet morning and Avery did so well.  She was kind, talkative and caring in a situation that could be scary or uncomfortable.  She handed the roses to the elderly, said her name and asked theirs.  With some, she chitchatted about what she wanted for Christmas or what her plans were for Christmas Eve.  Everyone got a kick out of her and I know we made everyone's day and holiday a little brighter.  We met another mom and daughter duo volunteering that morning and made fast friends!

Getting ready to pick up the roses!

The seniors loved watching them dance to Christmas songs!

On Christmas Eve, Avery and I went to church with Danda, Papa, GramCin and Grandpa Wayne while Jeff stayed home with a sick Claire.  (Fortunately, Claire's cold didn't turn into anything that bad, just a stuffy, sneezy, coughy kind of thing - but, with an itty bitty, that can be hard.)  After church, Jeff and I switched and he took Avery to Danda and Papa's to celebrate Christmas Eve with the family, including Uncle Brennan, Auntie Michel, Helen and Rose!

My sick one - still cheery, but quite snotty.

Christmas Day was filled with fun, family and smiles!

Twinsie kisses!

Love my family!

 FPT

Our little Christmas Elf.  This picture makes us laugh for so many reasons!

Haircut!

Avery and I decided it was time to change things up with her hair.  What a big change it is and she is loving it!  (She loves the shorter brushing time, fewer hair ties and clips needed, etc.  That being said, the morning after we had it cut, she woke up, looked in the mirror and said, "I look like a boy!"  Ahhh!  She looked absolutely adorable and was okay with her hair again shortly after.)

 

LOVE

FPT

Where did my bald baby go?!

Conversations with Claire

...conversations "baby style."  Claire started cooing recently and it's amazing.  And cute.  And I want to ingrain these chats in my mind forever.

Let's talk, Baby!

Note: 1) a special guest appearance by Miss Belmont Pickles in the background of the first video and 2) Claire ending our conversation in the second video, because it was clearly time to eat.  Ha.

Claire has also been having longer stretches of awake time.  I mean, we're talking 30 minutes here (not including feeding time).  That is a lot for us...and believe you me, if we go over her allotted awake time by one minute she lets us know (including anyone within a 50 yard radius).

So, in this awake time I have noticed a few things... Claire is becoming very interested in her toys.  She smiles and coos at them without hesitation.  She loves interacting with people...smiles are easily forthcoming and what a treat they are!  She has a continued admiration for our downstairs ceiling fan (which we now call her "boyfriend").  She loves her Daddy and finds his beard thrilling.

Mesmerized by this guy.

Smiling at her car seat companion, Miss Butterfly.

Talking to her toys.

 Love this little lady!!

FPT

In the middle of our smile sesh, a sneeze snuck in.  Took us both by surprise!

Videos for Julie and Lola

Avery was really into making videos for Julie and her mom, Lola, after their visit a few weeks ago.  Take a look!

This girl.

FPT

Baby chub: 6 weeks!

One Month Photo

Everyone does their baby's monthly growth photos differently, if they do them at all.  I didn't do them consistently with Avery, so I am making it up to her and will do Claire's monthly growth photo next to her...

I envisioned having their feet at the same bottom marker on the bed and doing an artsy shot from above.  This is what I got.  I'll go with it.

One month!

Claire is a great baby!  She is chill and content.  She has a love affair with ceiling fans.  They don't even have to be on to grab her attention.  As long as they are on the ceiling and are a contrasting color to the ceiling paint, she's good to go for a stare off.

She is still a great eater, but we've had our share of gassy issues.  Getting better each day and she's thankful for that (we all are)!  She is a sleepy kid and doesn't typically stay awake longer than 45 minutes at a time, including feeding time.  She has been doing really well at night and we've seen (and slept through) some six hour stretches!  Every now and then after her 4:00 / 4:30 am-ish feeding she thinks it's morning, which is not that awesome.  But again, thankfully, she needs to go to sleep again shortly thereafter.

Claire is a complete sweetheart and has so much love and life in her eyes.  We are all madly in love with her!  Avery continues to be the best big sister ever.  She is always asking to hold Claire and loves kissing and touching her.  We have been blessed in the new baby-adjustment department, that's for sure!

Oh, and Claire started smiling (actual reactive smiling) at 3.5 weeks.  Jeff was her smile-receiver of choice at first, but now, if she's in the right mood, will crack a grin for anyone she deems smile-receiver worthy.

FPT

This would be a "not so content" face.