Three Month Portraits

Our Little Ducky...

 

Lunching at Lili's

Oh my, yum! Earlier this week Claire and I had such a fabulous and fun lunch at Lili's Bistro! If you haven't been, go! The best part (besides my meal) was spending time with Mindy and baby Sophia! Mindy is married to Clay's cousin, so Sophia is Claire's second cousin. (I think?!) Claire is only two weeks younger than precious Sophia! It was so great catching up with Mindy and comparing notes on our baby girls. I foresee lots of fun times ahead for these girls!

Ready to go meet the girls!

Sweet Sophia snoozed all through lunch...

Not Claire Elizabeth!
She did not want to miss out and quickly got restless in her carseat!

Baby Cousins

Tummy Time? No Thanks!

She did it! Claire has figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back! This little monkey has outsmarted her mommy and manuevered her way out of tummy time! Her first roll over was Wednesday, January 19th. (3 months old.) I was shocked to see her flip her little body from laying on her elbows to laying on her back! I think she was just as shocked as she lay there for a second with big surprised eyes! Of course I didn't get it on camera the first time! I have since caught a little footage of her new trick...

Lunch with Papa...

Earlier this week Claire and I met my dad for lunch. I love getting Claire out of the house, so we took advantage of this not so cold day! Claire did great and had a ball with her Papa!

Snoozing while we ate!

I love our carseat/stroller because you can turn the seat to face the table. Claire wouldn't want to miss out on the fun!

Big yawn...

We have Great Grandma to thank for the adorable outfit!

Three Months

I have to say the last few days have been full of reflection and emotion. I don't know if its because Claire had her three month portraits done a couple days ago, because she went up a size in diapers, or because she just seems to be getting older so fast, but I really feel this ache for my sweet baby girl. I think back to the day she was born and just how overwhelmed I was by the love I felt for my daughter. I didn't know it would be possible to love her more and more every day. I get tearful even writing this, more out of joy than anything else. Other moms always told me how much I was going to love and adore my child, but there are just no words to describe it!

Baby Claire, you mean the world to me and I love you so much it hurts!  Here are just some of the things I adore about you...
-You wake up full of smiles in the morning. I wouldn't even know you were awake except I peek in at you to find you smiling and stretching in your crib!
-Your smiles are so big I can barely see your eyes behind those big sweet cheeks!
-You turn your head from side to side with a big smile like you're about to let out a huge laugh. I know we will hear those precious giggles any day!
-You love it when we talk to you and you usually have lots to say in return.
-Even if you're in a bad mood, we see that huge smile when we blow on your belly or tickle you!
-Now when you cry, you have actual tears! It breaks your mommy's heart every time!
-You hold on to your rattle, pull the rings on your carseat toy, and bat at anything we put in front of you. I love how excited you get by all your new discoveries!
-You are getting so good at holding your head up and you love sitting in your bumbo so you can be part of the action!
-When you're trying to figure something out, you furrow your eyebrows in concentration (and look just like your daddy!)
-Sometimes when I sing, dance, and act silly for you, you raise one eyebrow and give me a little half smile like I'm kind of crazy (yes, daddy makes this expression also!)

You are getting bigger every day baby Claire and I treasure every minute I spend with you.
My greatest blessing in life is being your mommy!

My THREE Month Old!

Meet Sweet T!

Claire and I FINALLY got to meet sweet baby Tenley today! Tenley is two weeks old and we have been dying to meet her, but our matching mother-daughter colds have kept us away until today! Tenley is beyond perfect and you would never know her precious mama, Stacy, just gave birth to her two weeks ago! We had so much fun on the first of many play dates. I just know its going to be so much fun watching these baby girls grow up together!

So excited to meet her new bestie!

Baby Tenley!

So tiny!!

Makes my baby girl look so BIG!

Having so much fun!

Love you Tenley!

Little Gymnast

So, I put Claire down for her nap with her feet toward the end of the crib, like always, and somehow this is how she was when she woke up...

I'm not sure what kind of moves Claire did to get to this position!

She was a little surprised to wake up to a camera in her face!

Claire's First Cold

Yuck! My poor baby has come down with her first cold! Unfortunately, I know the source...me! I was just getting over my little bug when baby Claire started to get the sniffles and yucky congestion that I had. Of course I immediately called the pediatrician. I'm afraid they already know me all too well (I swore I wasn't going to be that mom!) and the nurse very sweetly told me unless she develops a fever, the congestion continues for 3 weeks, or gets worse, Miss Claire does not need to be seen. She recommended saline nose drops and the humidifier (I was already doing this) and letting her sleep with her head elevated. Great! I grabbed a towel, rolled it up, and stuck it under the head of Claire's mattress. Well a little elevation went a long way! Thirty minutes later when I peeked at Claire on the video monitor she was almost upside down at the bottom of her crib! I made some adjustments and hopefully this will help my sweet baby.
You wouldn't know Claire is sick by her demeanor! She continues to be so smiley and happy. She seems to be more sleepy than usual, taking longer naps. I'm glad she is getting her rest and fortunately her cold hasn't affected her appetite! I cannot believe the worry I feel for my baby girl and how sad I feel that she is under the weather. If I feel like this when she has a cold, I can't imagine something worse! I have been and continue to be so thankful for Claire's health. Hopefully she will be back to 100% soon!

SNOW!

We had such a beautiful first snow this year! I would have loved to catch some pictures with Claire in her first snow, but she was napping (Not something I'm willing to interrupt!) and it was sooo COLD!

Even though it didn't last long, or stick, the snow was beautiful!

Sadie was just waking up from a nap.
On these cold winter days you will find her dozing on top of the sofa cushions, her favorite spot!



Ella always follows Claire and me around the house.
She will cozy up anywhere that we are!

So sweet! Love my furry babies too!

My Model in Training!

I got a new camera for Christmas and have had a blast taking pics of Claire! Actually, I've always loved taking pictures of my baby, but now I can take them even faster and better! 
Here are some pics of mama's little model at our recent photoshoots!

Adore these little booties from Tia Monica!



You can barely see our dog Ella's nose in the bottom left corner of this pic. Claire is eyeing her very suspiciously!

Uh Oh! Claire is already trying to take her bows off!

Love Love Love!