Four Months Young

Claire is four months old today! (And that's pretty young, right?!) Being a numerical kind of girl, I can't help but realize that she has been around for 1/3 of a year! - Wow! But I'll try to stick to her 4-month status for now.

Her stats as of Friday are as follows:
Weight: 12 pounds, 12.4 ounces; about the 46th percentile
Length: 26 inches; 96th percentile
Head Circumference: 38 cm; about the 32nd percentile (I'm a bit hazy on the head circumference stats; I just don't remember either one exactly).


Things I can tell you about Claire:

• Claire smiles frequently, and it is so fun to see her smiling face! She'll smile at people she knows and at strangers, too.
  
• Claire recognizes Jordan's and my voices, and she will turn her head to find us when she hears us.
  
• She loves "standing" and can support her own weight quite well.
• When we pull her up from lying down, she keeps her head level with her back. (Her head used to hang down when we did this).
  
• When she is propped up or sitting in our laps, she often tries to sit up even more straight. She doesn't get too far with her efforts, but she does look like she is doing a crunch and holding it in the "crunched" position for a few seconds.
  
• She holds her head very steady when we hold her.
  
• When it's time for her to eat, she makes a grunting sound when she's in the right position to eat. Then, when we put the bottle in front of her, she opens her mouth wide, and she tries to grab the bottle and put it in her mouth. Sometimes she's successful at this. It's quite remarkable to watch!
  
• She loves to put anything she can in her mouth. She sometimes reaches for toys more quickly now than she used to.
• She makes sweet baby noises, and it is so fun to watch her when she's riding in the car. Sometimes she just gets going making those sounds! It is very cute to watch and listen to!
• She is still getting that tooth in, and it has been bothering her a lot this week. (That makes for a fussy baby).
  
• Other than her tooth, Claire is a VERY happy baby girl who is quite content doing just about anything.
• She has rolled over once (this past Wednesday, but she hasn't rolled over since then).
• She sleeps pretty well. She usually sleeps between 7-9 hours. (Yea for Claire being a great sleeper!!!) But it's never a given that she WILL sleep through the night. She keeps me guessing.

We are so happy to have Claire in our family!!!

Going For a Swim

Claire went in the pool for the first time today. She had just finished eating, so we thought it would be a good time for her first swim, since her belly was satisfied. Grandma bought her a very cute swimsuit and cover up.



She looks happy enough before she got in the pool!

She was okay in the pool at first.

She was taking in the "newness" of this experience.

And then the screaming began. Unfortunately, the only picture of Claire with Grandma and Grandpa was this one - where Claire had already begun screaming.

She had some shots yesterday, so we're not sure if the problem was that the Tylenol had worn off or if she was really unhappy in the pool. She really enjoys her baths, so we thought she wouldn't mind being in the pool.

But I guess we were wrong. We'll have to try again some other day.

I Love to Laugh!

I love to laugh

Loud and long and clear.
I love to laugh
So everybody can hear!

A couple of nights ago, Jordan and I were talking in the kitchen, and I was holding Claire. Then Jordan looked right at Claire and said something to her. It was something along the lines of, "Yeah, Claire, what did you do that for?" She must have thought it was the funniest thing she had ever heard because she laughed and laughed and laughed!!!!

She has never laughed for real before. (She more frequently opens her mouth as if she's laughing, but no sound comes out). It was sooooo fun to hear her laugh! Jordan and I both started laughing when she started laughing, and the three of us continued to laugh and laugh. The laughter continued for such a long time that I was able to get my phone and record the sound of Claire (and her parents) laughing. It is so fun to listen to! But sadly, I can't upload those files to the blog. (So email me if you want me to send them to you. I won't subject everyone I know to Claire's laughter, but I'm happy to share it with you if you want it!)

I love to laugh
Loud and long and clear.
I love to laugh
So everybody can hear!

Stars & Stripes

Grandma Cooper bought Claire this cute Stars & Stripes outfit for her to wear on July 4th. I washed it and then put it down - somewhere. I would see it occasionally and think, "Hmm, that's in a weird place." So when it came time for me to pack for Dallas, (and we were there over July 4th), I couldn't find it. I searched for it in weird places, but I just couldn't find it. So we had to leave without it.

Well, I obviously found it! And do you know where it was? It was right where it belongs - in her dresser. I felt pretty ridiculous at that point! One of those times when I saw this outfit in a weird place, I must have been smart enough to put it away. It's too bad I didn't remember that!


For the past few days, Claire has been playing with her feet.

She often prefers playing with her feet over playing with a toy. I guess it's easier to find her foot again when she lets go!

She's very flexible!

Aunt Laura!

Aunt Laura stayed with us a couple of days this week, and Claire had a great time with her! Jordan and I really appreciate all of her help. - She did soooo much! It was nice to get a little break. - Thanks, Aunt Laura!

It was also awesome that she was here because we had a garage sale on Saturday. So Laura took care of Claire, and we didn't have to juggle garage sale customers, Claire, and the heat! Our sale was pretty successful; I'm very pleased with our results!

(Don't mind the drool in the pictures! She drools ALL the time. I have her wear bibs almost all of the time, and they always get SOAKED!!)

Hula Dancer

Claire is our little hula dancer! Just watch the way she moves her hips!

Sweet Girl

I took these pictures last week in Dallas. Isn't she sweet? She's just a doll to me!

MY Katie

Katie was my college roommate. I totally lucked out, (and was incredibly blessed), to be assigned to live with her in the dorms my freshman year. We got along so well that we decided to live together in an apartment for the rest of college. We had so much fun!

Some members of my family refer to her as "MY Katie" because of all the "Katie" and "Katy" 's that were in my life after college. Here's a quick run down. I got my first real job in Katy, TX, teaching at Katy High School. We had a student teacher named Katie, and I ended up getting a roommate named Katie. So when I would talk to Jordan about "Katie," he wanted a way to distinguish my college roommate Katie from the other Katie's in my life. And the nickname was born: MY Katie. ("MY" is emphasized when spoken).

Since college, MY Katie has moved to the D.C. area and gotten married. I have visited her a couple of times there, and we've had a blast. But we just don't get to see each other enough! Her parents live about 30 minutes from my parents, so, if we both happen to be in the Dallas area at the same time, we try to see each other. - And that happened this past weekend! I was soooo excited to see MY Katie! :-)


I brought Claire with me, of course, and Katie got to meet her. She helped me out by feeding her. - Thanks, Katie!

Her family got to meet Claire, too. We played "Pass the Baby." Here is Claire with...

... Katie's mom

... Katie's sister

... Katie's husband

It was great to see MY Katie and her family. I'm sorry we couldn't stay to see Katie's dad and grandparents. I miss seeing (and laughing with) them!

Cousins

Claire has been able to spend some time with her cousins this week, and they have been so nice to her!

Marcus read some books to Claire.

And he made sure to show her the pictures, too!

And Taylor fed Claire yesterday morning!

It's so fun to see these cousins together! (And I know it will get even more fun as Claire learns to interact with them more!)

On My Own

Claire recently decided to begin holding her bottle by herself!!!


Okay, so that was just a fluke, one-time event so far. She still needs help holding her bottle.


I sure do love helping her!!

But she does like to get her hands in the way of the bottle a little bit. She likes to have them where the action is happening. (And I guess to her, the "action" is in the bottle!)

Can I Succeed?

I got a haircut this weekend, and I got new glasses a couple of weeks ago.


My main concern about this haircut is if I can style it like the stylist did. I made my first attempt at styling my hair yesterday, and I think I did an okay job. My hair didn't look exactly like it did when I came home from getting my hair cut, but it looked similar. I just need to practice.

My mom took some pictures of Jordan and me, and Marcus was in front of us the whole time, but she didn't notice him at first. So when she did, she took a picture with him, too! What a cute kid!

Happy 4th!

I am so grateful I get to live in America, and I love celebrating the wonders of the Red, White, and Blue!


Together, Claire and Laura make red, white, and blue!!

Happy 4th of July!

Ham's Orchard

Claire and I are back in Dallas, and this time Jordan is with us, too! I'm so excited he was able to come for the long weekend!


For lunch yesterday, we went to Ham's Orchard in Terrell. I had a great time! We enjoyed our lunch of burgers and hot dogs, and then we relaxed in some rocking chairs while Jordan fed Claire. I LOVE rocking chairs like this!!!



At first Marcus didn't want to look at the camera, but then he poked his head out for this cute pose!

What a dad!

Ham's has a store where they sell LOTS of good stuff. - Just look at the fruit line-up behind Taylor!

To me, these berries say 4th of July just as much as fireworks do!


I take after my dad; it's hard to resist all that good fruit!

We got some wonderful soft serve peach and strawberry ice cream. (I got a swirl, and it was fabulous!) Jordan likes to see if Claire wants a taste, but she seems a little scared by it.

But Marcus and Taylor weren't scared of it! They loved it!

We had a fun time!