Constant Beginnings

Claire has had a number of blowouts. It is to be expected. Phil offered advice early on that Huggies contains them best. This has proven true. However, nothing could contain two days of build-up. Instead, Maureen, our daycare lady, and I were each hoping the other would be on the receiving end of the inevitable. Our daughter has been a giver since birth. A giver of smiles, a giver of love through her eyes and most recently, the giver of poop. We were the ones to experience the latter gift. Yuck!! I had to take photos of the vast grossness that encompassed her body. (Chris thought I was insane.) The thick paste-like substance came from the front and the back. A bath was in order! The eruption left Chris and I wondering how something so angelic could be capable of something so disgusting. The experience exhausted Claire as she went to sleep only minutes later.

Claire had her 2 month well-baby check up on Monday, September 14th. The doctor was quite impressed with her ability to bear weight on her legs, & her cooing. We certainly have a smarty!! I am sure she takes after me, although her Dad would beg to differ. The doctor prescribed medicine for the thrush on her tongue and mentioned that she has eczema on her arms and face, although mild. Her weight was 10 lbs. 4 oz., and length was 22 inches, which means she has gained 2 pounds and 2 inches since birth. She is in the 45th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for length. Her head circumference is in the 85th percentile (due to her extremely large brain???). The doctor is convinced that she will maintain her blue eye color. I am thrilled at this thought, although I am hoping they change to green. She seems to be looking much like her Dad, but I'd love for her to have a couple of my traits (right now they seem to be my nose and eye color). She has changed so much since birth th...

Claire is nine weeks old today. She experienced her first assault. While Claire was sleeping in her chair, a one year old at daycare decided that her cute little forehead looked pretty tasty, so she went in for a taste. We now know that this one year old has 8 teeth. They are engraved on our poor little girl's forehead. Chris and I were both quite upset, but know that this type of incident is bound to happen. I guess we'll see what happens in the next few days and go from there. Otherwise, Claire is doing great even though the transition to daycare has been exhausting. She generally naps for only 3 hours at daycare which means she is one tired baby when she gets home. As a result, Claire sleeps from 6:00-12:30 and 12:45-5:00. We really shouldn't complain, but we miss seeing her beautiful smile and hearing her coos. We are hoping that as her new routine becomes more established, she'll sleep more at daycare and be more alert in the evening.

We went costume shopping last night. Sadly, Old Navy was a disappointment, but The Children's Place came through with flying colors. We bought an adorable chick costume. Here is a little taste of her chickiness. She didn't particularily enjoy the hat, but was okay once I gave her the paci. She is so adorable. And yes, "Clairence" is back as it is football Sunday. Hopefully with plenty of pink blankets, people won't ask "what is his name?"

Claire is 8 weeks old today. It is so hard to believe. She is now sleeping 6 hours fairly consistently. In fact, last night she slept 7 hours. She is eating well, but doesn't seem to be getting chubby. It will be interesting to see how much she weighs next week. Since I have known Chris, every Sunday he wears his Patriots jersey. He felt Claire needed to adopt this tradition, so he bought her a Patriots onesie. I must say she looks like a boy, but what can you do?? She still looked cute. On Monday, Claire will be going to daycare. We found an in-home daycare with only 2 other two year olds, so she will be given alot of love and attention. However, it still doesn't change the fact that I am sad. Although staying home with her has had it's share of trying times, I really enjoyed it. I will miss so many of the day to day things--her looking into my eyes when she is eating, snuggling with me, her big smiles when she wakes up, reading to her and hearing her coo. I never though...

Claire has received so many great gifts. It has been challenging keeping up with the photos. The cute little owl pants outfit is from our family friends, Terry & Shirley. My friend Denise doesn't know when to stop....she bought Claire this adorable pink corduroy dress. She obviously needs to have a child!! Josh and Erin bought Claire these 5 Carter's body suits and 2 pairs of pants. She has already worn a couple of them and looks very cute.

On Saturday, September 1st, our friends, Josh and Erin came to visit from Maine. It was great seeing them. During their visit, we decided to go apple picking, which is a "must-do" in our land of Johnny Appleseed. Here are some photos from our day.

Claire is now 7 weeks old. It is hard to believe my quality time with her is nearly done. She is finally getting into a schedule, sleeping nearly 6 hours at a time. Chris and I have become a bit more hands-off, allowing her to sit in her carseat, swing or vibrating chair. She is finally showing signs of happiness in the swing. She used to scream bloody murder when she was put in it, but now is smiling and loving the flashing lights. She even fell asleep in it a few days ago. Today I dressed her in the cute little denim dress from her cousin, Ava. She looked adorable. It seems so sad that they grow so quickly, only wearing each piece of clothing once or twice. Claire had a bad case of baby acne, but it finally seems to be going away. Thank goodness. She could have been a poster child for a rosacea commercial, but now seems to be getting cradle cap?!! It never ends.