Six Months

Wow, I can't believe my little Wiggle is already half a year old! Where has the time gone? This month has gone by even faster and Clara has changed so much! She can now sit by herself and play with her toys for long periods (sometimes an hour)! As long as she is sitting with toys, and not tired or hungry, she is pretty good about entertaining herself. She rarely falls over and is getting quite strong.

This month has been super busy with Clarita attending her first wedding as well as multiple showers and birthday parties. She continues to be so very good and almost always happy. We make friends wherever we go because Clara just loves people! She will let anyone hold her and doesn't seem to mind being away from me. I spent the night away from her for the first time for Laurie's bachelorette party and Clara didn't seem to care. She did cry when I got home and want to nurse immediately, but was perfectly happy to play with Dada all night. She also spent her first night away from both Kevin and I when we went to Kevin's cousin's wedding. The little Wiggle stayed at my mom's house and had so much fun! She slept a whopping 10 hours and my mom said that she was an angel!

Daylyn's birthday party with Cam

Clara especially loves babies and kids. Clarita got to play with her friend Reedcito who is two, and it was the cutest thing ever! Reed was so sweet and asked if "that guy" wanted to ride his bike. He was also very concerned when Clara put the bottom of a cup in her mouth and showed her the correct way to drink from a cup!

Reedcito and Clarita playing with their aunties

Clarita babbles up a storm now and says things like mama baba, (but no dada ;)). She loves to "talk" and often talks to her pinguino as she's falling asleep (I think she tells him about her day). Clara also loves to roll and scoot all over the floor. She still doesn't appear ready to crawl (perfectly fine with us) but can really move around. She especially likes rolling after the cats and gets really excited when she touches them!

How big can you open your mouth?

Clara started eating solid foods this month and absolutely loves them! Her first food was avocado followed by sweet potato and we are now on carrots. She has liked them all so far and really seems to enjoy eating. She leans forward trying to get more and starts whining if we're too slow. She also drinks from her little sippy cup with a built in straw. The first time she sucked water into her mouth she was really surprised, but now thinks it is really fun. She loves to drink. The only bad part is that she now pees so much. Luckily with cloth diapers I can just put in another insert to make them more absorbent.

I got Lasik this past month (awesome!) and had to take steroid antibiotic eye drops. The doctor assured me that they would not affect Clara even though I was breast feeding, but he is a liar! She immediately developed her first diaper rash. I then did research about the eye drops and found out they are not safe to take while breast feeding and that one of the signs can be a diaper rash. So I stopped breast feeding (luckily I have a huge supply of frozen milk) and her rash went away immediately. I was not very happy with the doctor, but I guess five months without a diaper rash is a pretty good accomplishment. I credit the cloth diapers.

Last picture in glasses!

Clara had her six month doctor visit and got four shots. She was really tired to begin with having slept only an hour the entire day (her appointment was at 3:00), but was all smiles for the doctor. She shredded the paper on the examining table and even managed to get her doctor's name tag in her mouth! Clarita screamed when she got her shots but then fell asleep and was happy the rest of the night for dinner at Great Grandpa's house. She doesn't have to get anymore shots until she is a year old so that will be nice.

Caught in the act

This month I have really realized how blessed we are to have such great friends and family. Laurie had been watching Clara twice per week and had to go back to work at the end of August. At the same time Kevin's parents went on vacation for two weeks. That left my mom. Luckily we had tons of people who were willing to help out and even watch Clara spur of the moment when my mom got sick (thanks Kate!). Clarita is lucky to have so many people that love her!

I continue to be amazed with how flexible Clarita is. We have been gone so much lately and she just goes with the flow. She sleeps in the car or in her car seat or pouch wherever we happen to be. She plays by herself while I am helping with stuff for Laurie's wedding. She is happy to look at dogs or cats outside in her Pack N Play. She's really just so good. We have been very blessed and Kevin says that we can't have another baby because he or she would never be as good as Clara.

Clarita's Stats

Weight: 14 pounds 5 ounces

Height: 25.25 inches (apparently she shrunk)

Head Circumference: 42 centimeters

What Clara Wears

She still wears 3 month onesies but everything else is 3-6 or 6 months

Things Clara Loves

Mama and Dada, nursing and bottles, going for walks, getting undressed and having naked baby time, her "soothie" pacifiers (especially her monito and Bevo), snuggling, baths, baby exercises, car rides, the Baby Bjorn, reading books, massages, being a baby airplane, ceiling fans, drooling, the exersaucer, swimming, people, taking showers with Mommy in the Bumbo, playing with her toys, her teethers, rolling all over the floor, animals (especially her cats), food, playing peek a boo with Dada

Things Clara Does Not Love

Waiting, going to sleep when she’s overly tired, having a new diaper put on, being told no or having something taken away from her (like her Mommy's necklaces or hair)

How Clarita Sleeps

Clarita continues to sleep off and on throughout the day as she sees fit usually with at least one long nap in the morning or afternoon (sometimes both). She now uses a sleep sack at night and generally rolls over to her side, hugs her pacifier or pinguino, and falls right to sleep. She usually wakes up on her stomach super happy and plays for awhile until we get her out. She still sleeps in her Pack N Play next to our bed. Clara generally goes to bed between 9:15 and 9:30 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00.

Nicknames

Baby Butter, Clarita, Snugglepuff, Snuggles, Wiggles, Baby/Bebe, Bambina, Sapita, Munchkin, Drool Monster, Birthday Twin

Foods Clara Loves

Avocado, sweet potato, carrots

Monthly Exciting Events

September 15, 2013: First time drinking water (she loved her little straw!)

September 14, 2013: First night away from Mama and Dada (she had so much fun with La Abuelita she didn't even notice)

September 8, 2013: Clarita's first wedding - Cam and Bri

September 6, 2013: First time at the beach (she really liked the sand and the sound of the waves)

September 4, 2013: Clara's first solid food - aguacate which she loved! And the first time she slept on her tummy

August 30, 2013: Clara's first diaper rash (probably caused by the steroid eye drops Mama's doctor said would not hurt her)

August 26, 2013: Clara's first, first day of school with la Abuelita ;)

August 24, 2013: Clara's first night away from Mama/alone with Dada

August 22, 2013: Clara's first Fantasy Football draft party

August 20, 2013: Clara starts making actual word sounds (mama, baba, but no dada)

Monthly Pictures

Taking pictures is more difficult now that she moves everywhere