Seven Months!

Clara has changed so much this month! She is so curious and inquisitive now and has to look towards any sound she hears or movement she sees out of the corner of her eye. This makes breast feeding a little more challenging as she gets distracted easily. Clarita continues to be super easy going and happy. We have taken her on numerous road trips and she handles the long drives pretty well. We said that we wanted a baby we could take anywhere and we got her!

Clara is not crawling yet but she scoots all over. I think that her giant cloth diapers (I’ve been putting two inserts in since she has turned into a pee monster so they are especially large) hinder her a little since she really moves when I put her on the floor naked. She is the wiggliest baby ever and never stops moving unless she’s asleep. My uncle asked me if she is ever quiet and still and I realized that she is only when she’s sleeping. I think that means we’re in for trouble when she starts crawling…

Although she can’t actually talk, Clarita sure has a lot to say! She babbles, squeals, and screeches nonstop! Clarita really loves animals and gets very excited when she sees one, especially if it is a dog or cat that someone is playing with. Kevin will get our cats to jump in the air and Clara squeals with delight. She also grabs a hold of the cats any chance she gets. More than once she has pulled Baza to the ground. He is pretty tolerant of her (he keeps coming back for more), but Spikey keeps her distance. Our cats have a tube that they run through and play in. Clara stuck her finger in it last week and immediately started crying. She was bleeding and we assume Baza just saw something pop in and thought it was a toy and scratched her. Clara got over it quickly and Baza felt bad.

Eating is now one of Clara’s favorite activities! So far she has loved everything we have fed her. She makes the funniest face when we give her plain Greek yogurt but keeps opening her mouth for more. She has been eating solid food twice per day, but we’re increasing it to three times per day since she likes it so much. Thus far she has not had any negative reactions to anything she has eaten so we’re hoping that means that she will be allergy free. She is also not picky about the consistency of her food so I have just been baking sweet potatoes and cutting them into pieces instead of pureeing them. She’s a good little eater!

Clarita is definitely developing a little personality and is proving to be stubborn and strong willed (wonder where she gets that from). She has definite likes and dislikes and makes these known. Clara gets very angry when something is taken away from her (such as my hair or necklace) and screams. When she’s tired everything makes her upset, especially getting dressed/undressed and having her diaper changed. Some babies have little whiny cries to warn you before full out screaming; Clara does not. She goes from fine to screaming in five seconds.

Four generations of Johnsons!

Clara is definitely getting even more fun as she can actually play now. She has developed object constancy and will try to find things if they go out of her sight. This does not bode well when we take something away from her as she knows it’s still out there and gets angry as she searches for it. She has also developed very good fine motor skills and can pick up the tiniest piece of fuzz off the rug (she finds EVERY piece of fuzz and scoots over to examine it) or any hair that escapes my pony tail. This means that my hair gets ripped out a lot which is not fun for me, but quite amusing for Clarita. She also loves the Jumperoo that she borrowed from Reedcito (he is so good at letting her use all of his old toys!). She will jump for long periods of time and now jumps up and down when we hold her on our laps!

Overall, Clarita continues to be such a joy and brings a smile to everyone that she meets including strangers in the grocery store!

 Clarita's Stats

Weight: 15 pounds  

Height:  25.75 inches (it's really hard to measure her)

Head Circumference: 43 centimeters

What Clara Wears

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

Things Clara Loves

Mama and Dada, nursing and bottles, going for walks, naked baby time, her "soothie" pacifiers (especially her monito and Bevo), snuggling, baths, baby exercises, car rides, the Baby Bjorn, reading books, being a baby airplane, 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), eating solid food, playing peek a boo with Dada, anything with a rough/bumpy texture, cardboard, paper, the jumperoo

Things Clara Does Not Love

Waiting, going to sleep when she’s overly tired, diaper changes, being told "no", getting dressed

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 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 10:00 and wakes up around 6:30. The past couple of weeks have been a little rough in the sleep department as Clara has been waking up a couple times on more nights than not. After getting used to not waking up during the night for the past five months this had been rough for Kevin and I. I know that we have been super lucky having such a good sleeper and we totally took it for granted. Clara has been a little better this past week only waking up a few days or only once during the night but we would really like our good sleeper back. 

Nicknames

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

Foods Clara Loves

Avocado, sweet potato, carrots, lentils, green beans, bananas, plain Greek yogurt, beets 

Monthly Exciting Events

October 19, 2013: The tongue clicking begins

October 18, 2013: Clara's first time out of California (hello Arizona!)

October 17, 2013: Clara's first time spending the night in a hotel

October 11, 2013: First Reedley Fiesta/Tio Chino babysitting solo 

October 10, 2013: First Big Fresno Fair

October 5, 2013: First time in the ocean (she loved it!)

October 4, 2013: First time being babysat by a paid stranger

September 30, 2013: First time in a high chair

September 28, 2013: First time in a wedding (cutest flower Wiggle ever!)

September 22, 2013: First time in her stroller without the car seat

Monthly Pictures

Thanks for the awesome chalkboard Tia Laurie!

It's getting really difficult to keep her in one place for pictures