Easter



The three of us spent Easter at my mom's house - a long-time tradition, scaled down this year. It was nice and low-key. My mom was worried we wouldn't have the egg decorating contest since we weren't expecting a crowd, but it was an unnecessary worry... I'm not the most sentimental person, but I consider the contest (now 30 years old) to be non-negotiable.

 

my brother Jeremy's monster egg
(so happy he's participating again!)



Clara's "penguins" (her eggs are wooden)



Clara's ??? (blue) and "princess"

Scott's Superegg

my Kaa (the hypnotic python from Jungle Book - "trust in
me, just in meeee...")



drawing  monsters and practicing writing her name

reading with Uncle Jer... per usual



Hope everyone had a nice day :-)
Ginger

one year as a working mom

a year ago today, I went back to work, almost 12 weeks* after Clara's birth. it was a hard, hard day, the date of which I will never forget. I've been sort of dreading the "anniversary" for awhile and all day today, thought I should write something about it tonight. 

it's still not easy. 

since Scott ended up quitting his job to stay home with her 50ish weeks ago, I haven't had the added stress of her being in daycare (though that will come next year). I know she's received just as good of care from her dada as she would have with me.  but... I miss her. every day. and I beat myself up for not working more productively so I can leave early and spend more time with her, etc etc.  I suppose this is the infamous "mom guilt."

the night before I went back to work

now, she's such a big, funny, sweet, smart girl.  she's shy, like I was as a kid (and still am, really). much cuter though =)

{picasa movie star effect}

{trying to plug in the phone}

though I'm rarely effective at turning stress/sadness into action, I wanted to do something special to commemorate surviving this year. so tonight, I finished a project I've been putting off - a tent Scott and I were building for Clara's play area. he finished the frame a week or so ago; I just needed to make the cover.

can't wait to give it to her in the morning, and to cherish every minute I do get to spend with her reading books and goofing off in there...

-g.

*I would be remiss in not thanking my dad, who paid my hospital bill so I could stay home longer (my job had no paid leave)

1 year stats + pics + party!

Clara had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday. Here's the invite. The rest of the photos, videos, and a vendor list are on the "photobooth" page above.  (They aren't watermarked, so if you borrow, please give credit.)

She received some lovely gifts, like:

a cool wooden xylophone from Seamus

a giant, awesome cat board book from Christy

Today she had her 1 year check-up.  21 pounds (~50th percentile) and 29.5" (~62nd percentile).  Dr. Barron said she's meeting her milestones and to just keep doing what we're doing. They are amazed at how healthy she's been. (We've only been in for one sick visit, long ago, and that turned out to just be unexplained infant fussiness.)

She got 2 shots and a terrible finger prick. She stopped crying by the time we got to the car, and slept most of the rest of the day. She did perk up to play in the yard for awhile, though, with the bean bag toss from her party:

We have gotten so many nice compliments on the party and Clara - my heart is bursting with pride. We feel like the luckiest parents alive :)

G.

I am old and my daughter is a wild animal.

You know it's bad when the doctor says things like "You're not 20."  In my one week of running as hard and fast as I could, I managed to develop Pes Anserine Bursitis in both knees.  Now I'm in PT and they are using this weird electrical device to deliver cortisone to the inflamed bursas. The good news is that I should be able to start running again -- at a less intense level, since I am old and crippled -- in just 2 more weeks!

We've been busy but good. Clara is hyper and hilarious. Definitely keeping Dada on his toes.  Some recent shots:

Can you stand on your tiptoes this long Dada?



my motto: play hard, sleep hard

silly Dada trying to fold clothes

most hilarious lunch ever: Olive Garden salad + supermodel stare

Dada working on super secret birthday party project

Mama, what do you mean the elephant won't work if I put blocks on it?

Mama working on another super secret party project

Have a great week, y'all!

G.



p.s.  Many of you bloggers have probably already heard that Baby Tripp passed this week, after a 2+ year struggle with the most horrible disease I have ever heard of - E.B.    His mother Courtney is an inspiration for her strength and her commitment to stamping out E.B.  You can read about Tripp's last moments and his condition at Courtney's blog: http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/2012/01/heavens-little-drummer-boy.html   (This is upsetting material so you might not want to read it if you're pregnant or at work.)

Five Months Old

Today is Clara's five month birthday. I'm sad time is passing so quickly (especially these last two months with me back at work), but it's amazing to behold the sweet and occasionally sassy little girl Clara has become.

Clara, 1 day old. Note stick legs.

Though she arrived a week late, Clara was only 6 pounds at birth. Perhaps her length (21 inches) at that weight should've been an indicator for how she'd grow over the coming months, as she doubled her weight at 2 months, and is now in the 86th percentile for height and the 71st for weight. This child is going to outgrow her tiny momma at five years old!

Clara at 5 months. Note big strong girl legs :-)
(Please don't worry about the power cord - Daddy was right there and it wasn't plugged in)



Mmmm.... baked bananas and pears (recipe from Weelicious)


We took Clara on her first road trip this weekend to her Great-Grandmother's 85th birthday party in the Mississippi Delta, and it went really well:


Clara and Mommy



Clara met her Great Aunt Leigh... and promptly fell asleep on her.



Four generations of pale blondies



Clara with Daddy in party outfit #2


On top of honing her traveling skills, these days Clara is enjoying sitting and standing (supported, of course), trying new foods, and pulling the dog's hair (the cats won't tolerate it!). She still hasn't had any formula, and I keep pushing my nursing goal longer and longer as I see her amazing health and growth on breastmilk. Ideally, I'll nurse her for 9-10 months and have enough milk in the freezer at that time to take her through the end of the first year - then she can just transition to organic 2% cow's milk. Fingers crossed everything works out for that to happen.


Check out my sweet mohawk.

 

Mommy made me this cool bib. (Flannel backed with micro-terry. Both from fabric.com)


Happy five months, precious baby girl!

-Mommy

Stats

Clara had her 4-month check-up and shots today. She's in the 71st percentile for weight and the 86th for height - where did my teeny 6 pound baby go?

For details on these soft blocks I made for her, see this post on my (soon to be defunct) gardening blog.

She got three cool band-aids on her legs, then came home to play like nothing had happened. Our sweet girl!

-G