A Day with Dada! (written by Dada, photographs by Dada)

8:30 - Shannon leaves for the day while Clara is eating.
8:45 - Clara finishes eating
8:45- we play on the bed/cards.

Playing poker with Dada

Clara beats Dada with a straight (the ace is behind the King, she was having problems fanning the cards out)

9:15 - Change poopy diaper/exercises and then Clara gets a little fussy
9:35 - Clara falls asleep after doing 4-5 laps around the interior of the house in Dada's arms

10:30 - Clara starts wiggling and grunting
10:34 - Clara wakes up completely and starts eating
10:45 - Clara pauses eating and then starts again
10:54 - Clara finishes eating
10:55 - Clara gets her diaper changed and does some more exercises

Clara practices putting her toes in her mouth as one of her exercises

11:30 - Clara and Dada go outside and hang diapers to dry and water some plants in the garden
11:35 - Clara and Dada head out for a walk around the neighborhood

Clara - ready for a walk

11:45 - Clara falls asleep while Dada talks to the neighbors down the street
1:37 - Clara wakes up from her nap and is hungry
1:52 - Clara finishes eating
1:53 - Clara gets her wet diaper changed and does more exercises
1:58 - Play time
2:19 - Clara and Dada get ready to go to Primo Mason's
2:57 - Get back from Mason's
3:05 - Tummy time
3:13 - Tummy time is over when Clara starts crying, after spinning 180 degrees on the playmat
3:13- Clara lays on playmat with Hermano Baza

Clara and Baza sharing the playmat

3:20 - Change a wet and poopy diaper/ exercises
3:30 - Clara starts eating
3:44 - Clara falls asleep while eating
4:10 - Clara wakes up
4:15 - Clara and Dada rock on the rocking chair on the porch and wait for Mama to come home
4:22 - Mama comes home

Three Months!

It's hard to believe that Clara is three months old! She continues to be more and more fun each day, and such a happy baby. She makes new friends everywhere we go and flirts with everyone! Clarita continues to be super easy going and we take her almost everywhere with us. The other day Laurie and I were in Fresno the entire day and Clara was a trooper only crying when she got really tired. Her hair is getting longer and she has a little duck tail in the back. It is also crazy and impossible to tame. Kevin loves this and loves to give her crazy hair. 

Houdini

She always wakes up happy!

Sonrisas

Sleeping on Dada's bean bag

Clara had a bout of not wanting to take bottles last month, but that seems to be cured now and she drinks away. She is starting to laugh and laughs one little laugh at a time, but hasn't progressed to a full on laugh. Kevin keeps trying to get her to really laugh with no success. Clarita is also starting to really like her toys and can occupy herself for a good 45 minutes playing. Almost everything goes straight into her mouth and she now drools like there's no tomorrow. The little Wiggle really likes kids and will smile and "talk" to them. She had a few play dates this month and got to flirt away with all the kids!

Hanging out with Sophia

She's still meeting new people and I try to document it, but don't always remember...

With Charlotte, my kindergarten teacher

Kathi getting some snuggles in

Bri practicing

Meeting cousin Logan who was very gentle with her

Clarita's Stats

Weight: 12 pounds 

Height: 23.5 inches 

Head Circumference: 39 centimeters

What Clara Wears

0-3 month outfits are getting snug and 3 month outfits fit pretty well

Things Clara Loves

Mommy and Daddy, nursing, going for walks, getting undressed and having naked baby time, her "soothie" pacifiers (especially her monito), the bouncy chair, the swing, snuggling, baths, baby exercises, the miracle swaddling blanket, car rides, the Baby Bjorn, the rain forest play mat, reading books, sitting in the Bumpo chair while mommy and daddy eat, massages, being a baby airplane, being held looking over your shoulder like a parrot, meeting new people, ceiling fans, drooling

Things Clara Does Not Love

Waiting, getting buckled into the car seat, shots, being held in a cradled position (especially when she's tired)

How Clarita Sleeps

Clarita continues to sleep off and on throughout the day as she sees fit. I let her sleep whenever she wants and it changes from day to day, but she has started taking a two hour nap in the afternoon. She continues to sleep through the night and usually goes to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 (depending on when she gets tired) and I usually wake her up at 5:45 to eat before I go running. If I don't wake her up, she generally sleeps until 6:30. Clara will then nurse and go back to sleep until 9:00 to 9:30. She gets swaddled at bedtime and sometimes lays awake in her bassinet quietly looking around for a half hour before she goes to sleep. She rarely fusses but if she does we give her a pacifier and she goes to sleep. She has figured how to get her arms (and sometimes her legs) out of her swaddling blanket and sometimes wakes herself up flailing about.

Nicknames

Baby Butter, Clarita, Snugglepuff, Snuggles, Wiggles, Baby/Bebe, Bambina, Sapita, Munchkin (thanks Tia Laurie), Drool Monster

Monthly Exciting Events

June 15, 2013: Clara's puts her legs in the pool (and loves it of course!)

June 14, 2013: Clara's first baseball game

June 10, 2013: Clara's first play date (thanks Logan and Reese!)

June 5, 2013: Clara's first time being babysat away from home (thanks Sarah and Reedcito!)

May 27, 2013: Clara's first hike and trip to the "big trees"

May 26, 2013: Clara's first trip to the cabin

May 23, 2013: Clara's first concert

Monthly Pictures

She was more interested in the monkey than taking pictures

Dada Day Weekend

Clara's first Father's Day was a success! We began the weekend with a going away party for Deyra as it was her last weekend in the U.S. She brought four friends to our house and our families came to celebrate all that she has accomplished. We spent the day by the pool swimming and BBQing. Clara put her legs in the pool for the first time and loved it of course. She kicked around and protested each time I took her out! She even rode the alligator with Kevin!

The SEED students (plus Stephanie and Lulu)

Grill Master

The only hat I could find that kind of fit

You can't tell by her expression but she's having fun!

Riding the alligator

This is how Russell protects himself from the sun!

After the party, Kevin, Clarita, and I headed up to the cabin to celebrate Dada Day (as Kevin likes to call it) with his family. We had a great time relaxing, hanging out, and of course eating lots of yummy food! Clara was in a great mood the whole time and slept just like normal. I even got to sleep until 8:30 on Sunday (with a half an hour feeding at 6:00 of course) which is unheard of! 

Looking at those cds!

Lounging with Dada

Clarita loved the cds and colorful tape hanging from the roof of the cabin to scare off woodpeckers. She couldn't stop staring at them! We took her for a short hike and she also played with Tristan and Teagan. She and Teagan had fun hitting each other and "talking"!

Playing together (notice the matching socks, thanks Auntie Traci!)

She's sleeping of course!

We made it to the second bridge before Tristan got tired

It was a really fun weekend and Kevin got in some much needed relaxing too. He is such a great dad and Clara loves him so much. He comes home nearly every day for lunch to see his baby. He helps me out wherever needed and we take turns running/swimming and watching the baby. I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father for Clara and am so blessed to have Kevin in my life! Yay for Dada Day!

It's true, she loves her Dada!

Family picture!

A Play Date and a Baseball Game

On Monday, we had our first real play date with Stacie, Logan, and Reese. They came over to swim, play, and eat lunch. We had a great time. Logan is three and a half and Reese just turned one. Reese was enamored with Clara and liked to touch her and smile at her. Logan was great with Clara and even "watched" her for me while I changed into my bathing suit. He was really interested in her cloth diapers.

I think Reese is practicing her CPR

We had fun swimming (Clara slept by the pool in her car seat for that part), Reese is a little water baby and Logan and I swam really fast from the sharks. It was a successful first play date and fun to catch up with Stacie. I can't wait for the next one!

Watching us swim

Every year in June we go to "Lutheran Night at the Ballpark". The Lutheran churches in the area organize a dinner at the local ballpark followed by watching the game. The local team is the Grizzlies, a minor league team that is the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. We always have a great time and this year was no exception! Clara slept for a little while then watched some of the game. She had more fun playing with La Abuelita and her tios than watching the game. She said, "Who wants to watch boring baseball when you can play with fun people?".  I think her first baseball game was a success!

Un Dia de la Vida de Clarita

This was our day yesterday, June 7, 2013 when Clarita was 11.5 weeks old. It's fun for me to see how different she is than she was 7 weeks ago (http://parkinsonparents.blogspot.com/2013/04/un-dia-de-la-vida-de-clarita.html) and how much our routine has changed! 

5:43: I wake her up to eat before I go running. I check her diaper and she's dry (she often goes the entire night without going to the bathroom).
6:01: I swaddle her up and put her back in her bassinet while I run.
6:35: Kevin gets her up because she's talking and not sleeping (He tends to do this when he's home with her in the mornings because he wants to play with her before work. I can't really complain since he just wants to spend time with her).
7:10: I get back and Kevin does a diaper change/baby exercises (she runs and swims and loves it!)/daddy play time while I eat breakfast.

7:37: Daddy has to go to work so Clara nurses to ease her sadness.
7:54: We go for a walk to the post office and grocery store. Clarita immediately falls asleep but then wakes up as soon as we start walking. She happily "reads" the warning label on her car seat for ten minutes and looks at everything we walk by.

8:45: Clara falls asleep on the way home.
9:00: We get home and she wakes up but is happy so I park her by the berries while I pick some until she has a major melt down from being tired and hungry.
9:22: Nurse/diaper change/baby exercises.
9:40: Clarita goes in the bouncy chair while I shower. She falls asleep and apparently is super tired since she didn't go back to sleep this morning. I manage to clean the litter box, bathroom, kitchen, vacuum, and make lunch while she sleeps (nothing short of a miracle)!

12:15: Someone wakes up hungry, we nurse and get ready for a bath.
12:32: Bath time/get dressed.

12:58: Daddy finally gets home and we eat lunch while Clara sits in the Bumpo chair on the table and plays with her oruga. She loves sitting with us while we eat.

1:30: Clara helps daddy water his baby plants.
1:40: Say bye to daddy/diaper change/baby exercises.
1:50: Nurse.
2:02: Clara falls asleep while nursing. I let her sleep on me for awhile then put her in the swing and I fall asleep too!

3:11: Clarita wakes up with a cry (I literally jump off the couch wide awake from the dream I was having). We snuggle, fix her crazy hair (an impossible task), and play with the cute baby in the mirror.

3:25: Nurse/diaper change/baby exercises.
3:46: We read all the books in the living room. Clara is entertained by them and grabs them as we read. Apparently today was animal themed.

4:00: Play with mommy.
4:15: I use the fan as a babysitter while I work on invitations for my mom's retirement party. Clarita has recently discovered the fan and loves it! She will lay under it and talk to it.
4:34: I put Clarita in the Baby Bjorn to help me make dinner.
5:00: Clara falls asleep right as daddy gets home and sleeps in the Baby Bjorn while I make popsicles and clean the freezer so they will fit.
5:32: Clara wakes up as soon as I take her out of the carrier but is content to lay in the swing and look at her feet.
5:50: Nurse/diaper change/baby exercises.
6:06: Hang out with mommy.
6:36: Dinner time, Clara sits in the Bumpo chair.
7:00: Baby massage time. Clara loves this and smiles the whole time (partly because she loves being naked).
7:15: We snuggle and Clara falls asleep.

7:50: Time to practice eating a bottle with daddy (she decided a couple of weeks ago that she didn't like bottles so we have to practice now so she will be ready when I go back to work). She happily eats a little.

8:06: Clara hangs out and snuggles with daddy while we watch a movie.
8:56: Nurse.
9:10: Daddy changes her diaper, does baby exercises, and gets her ready for bed.
9:36: I swaddle her up and put her to bed. She falls asleep right away and is out until 8:00 the next morning!