A Week of Firsts

Those of you who know me well know that I really like my sleep. Seriously, I need eight hours but can make do with seven. That being said, I was really nervous about having a  baby. I mean, I knew that they need to eat a lot and wake up during the night. Throughout my whole pregnancy I told everyone that my baby was going to be a good sleeper because I needed her to be.

I also believe in my ability to will things. Like willing my baby to be a good sleeper, or willing her to be a happy baby, or willing her to be a girl (so ok, maybe that one isn't really possible...but maybe it is...). Everyone thinks that I am crazy but I think I have pretty strong willpower!

It's true

Turns out I got a very good baby (I willed really hard)! She only fusses/cries when she is tired, hungry, or has an upset stomach. She only wakes up once during the night! Clara generally goes to bed around 10:00 PM and wakes up around 3:00 AM and then again between 6:00 and 7:00 AM. I am totally happy with this arrangement!

Sometimes we let Baza hold the baby...

Clara is also really easy going. On Tuesday we went to Fresno to run errands. She slept almost the entire time! We picked up her birth certificate, got gas, got a car wash/wax, and I got my first post-pregnancy allergy shot. Clara woke up right before the allergy shot and ate for five minutes (oh yeah, she is also a very efficient eater and usually eats for five to ten minutes) then went in happy to meet the nurses who have been waiting for her to arrive. Then she went back to sleep and slept until we got home. That evening I had a church council meeting which Clara accompanied me to. Needless to say, she slept through the entire meeting and didn't make a peep. My pastor didn't even realize that she was there until my mom referenced her!

The rest of our week was filled with visitors and fun! Penni, my friend Mikael's mom, came over Thursday to meet Clara and bring us dinner. Clara loved snuggling with her honorary Grandma and the food was delicious! We also gave Clarita her her first real bath Thursday night. Her tummy was bothering her and she was fussy all evening crying unless we held her(and even sometimes when we did). I thought it was going to be a disaster but as soon as she got in the water she turned into happy baby and splashed around (as much as a three week old baby can splash). She was happy the entire time, even when I washed her hair!

Clara and Penni

Kevin made me hide her lady parts

All snuggled in her froggy towel (like when we give the cats a bath says Kevin)

 On Friday my friend Kate came to visit in the morning and Clara got lots of snuggles. Kate and I have been great friends since high school and she has three kids which means lots of experience and wisdom to share. It was great hanging out with her and Clara loved it too. Next time Sophia, Kate's almost six-year-old daughter, will have to come as well because she adores Clara!

Saturday, Kevin left early in the morning headed to San Luis for his cousin Ashley's fiance, Yayo's, bachelor party. Clara and I cleaned all morning and had a visit from Abuela Sheri. That evening was Ashley's mini-bachelorette party so my mom came to babysit Clara. This was Clara's first time away from me but she did great! On Friday Kevin gave Clarita her first bottle to make sure she would take one. She loved her bottle and gulped it down! Clara was very good for La Abuelita. She slept, snuggled, and drank two bottles. And La Abuelita even managed to change her first cloth diaper! I enjoyed a night out with the girls too! My mom spent the night and it was nice to have her there to occupy Clara before she went to church in the morning. I actually got to make breakfast and eat it sitting down!

Clara and La Abuelita

The Ladies

Sunday Clara and I hung out all morning and then she played with Daddy when he got home around noon and Tia Laurie who came over for a wedding planning session. Clara also got a visit from Daddy's friend Todd. They grew up down the street from each other and have been friends since they were tiny. Todd lives in San Francisco now so it is always fun to see him when he comes home or when we go north. In the evening we went to Auntie Alyssa and Uncle Rene's house to sign our taxes and visit. We took dinner and Clara "played" with Baby Bubbles and Tristan (I forgot to take pictures). We got home late so Clara was ready for bed and fell asleep while I was changing her! She is quite the little trooper and lets us cart her all over!

Clara and Todd

Newborn Pictures

On April 7, 2013, we had some professional newborn pictures taken of Clara (I had a Groupon of course since I LOVE Groupons!). She was very good and slept through most of the shoot. Then she woke up and wasn't happy so we ended. I think we got some good pictures but I may be a bit biased...judge for yourself!

Clara's Meet and Greet

Clara has been so lucky to have so many people that love her and want to meet her. She even had to have a meet and greet party so that she could meet a lot of our friends! I've been trying to document her meeting everyone so here are the pictures of Clarita's new friends that she's met since coming home from the hospital!  There are some people that didn't hold her (all the guys) or that I forgot to document so I am sure that there will be more to come!

Cousins Tristan, Teagan, and Auntie Alyssa

David

Kate

Sophia was in love!

Tio Abuelos Tod and Traci

Stacie

Cousin Michelle

Sarah

Another Sarah

Reedcito, future boyfriend?

Great Auntie Lisa

Lindsay practicing for Baby Bobcat

Allison

Cousin Ashley

Cam

Allison

What a Week!

This past week was a busy busy week for Clarita. It started out with Easter which was an all day event. Monday was calmer, but Clara got a visit from ALL of her grandparents. She loved snuggling with them all!

On Tuesday, Clara went to HMC to meet all of her daddy's co-workers. I don't have any pictures because she slept through the entire event including her first business meeting. She is always on her best behavior when she meets new people (this means sleeping). After HMC, Clara took her first trip to the grocery store. She slept through that too and only woke up when her Abuelita came over for a visit. When Kevin got home from work we went on our first family run. Kevin pushed the running stroller and Clara stayed awake the entire time! Since it was my first post-pregnancy run, I only ran a little over two miles. Kevin continued on while I pushed Clara home. It was a busy day for the little snugglepuff!

Clara's first trip to the grocery store

Wednesday was Clara's first book club! She slept through most of the eating (until I wanted to eat of course) and then snuggled with different people until she decided that she was hungry and upset. Of course this happened during the discussion and she screamed and had to be taken out of the room. Luckily she wasn't too difficult to calm down and was able to finish the discussion. She had a lot of opinions on the book too!

With FGA Lisa at book club

Thursday was my Grandma's (GG) 91st birthday! My Dad and Peggy picked up the GGs and brought them to Parkinson Place for lunch. My grandparents do not go out very often so this was a huge treat for Clara. We had a great visit and my grandparents really enjoyed spending the morning with their great granddaughter. Clara is lucky to have one set of great grandparents to spoil her. Clara also had her two week doctor visit on Thursday. She did great and now weighs seven pounds eight ounces! That is a gain of seven ounces from her birth weight and twelve ounces in the past ten days! Her new pediatrician is super nice and was very personable and helpful. I think we choose a good one! She said that since Clara has gained so much weight she can go five hours at night (if she sleeps that long) before a feeding. She usually sleeps between four to five hours so it will be nice not to have to wake her up to feed. Clarita's umbilical stump fell off last week, but she still had a tiny bit left and it was still a little oozy under that. Her pediatrician said that it is normal and put silver nitrate on it to seal off the oozy part. Once that is all gone we can give her a real bath!

With her "GGs"

Happy 91st birthday!

Friday Daddy had part one of Tio Russell's bachelor party so Tia Laurie came over to hang out with Clara and I. We had breakfast for dinner (Clara's request) and watched a movie. Clara slept most of the time which meant that she stayed up until midnight...not the best idea as she still woke up at the same times which made a tired mommy.

Saturday was part two of Tio Russell's bachelor party so Daddy was gone all day. It was also "Laurie's Lady Day" hosted by Chelsea and Ashley as a mini bachelorette party. That meant that Clara got to attend her first bachelorette party! She had an upset tummy all morning and didn't want to eat much. As soon as I strapped her in her car seat, she started spitting up everywhere and it even came out of her nose. Needless to say that wasn't so fun and I then had to take her out and clean her up. We were already late picking up Tia Laurie so Clarita arrived at the bachelorette party in just a diaper and a blanket! She slept most of the afternoon and got lots of snuggles from the ladies. She didn't really want to eat, just sleep, sleep, sleep. Clara did participate in some of the bachelorette party activities like the bridal relay. She also had her first play date with Connor and slept through most of that too!

Allison and Clara playing games

Connor rocking his party hat

Team One

Team Two (Clara's sleeping)

Clara's First Easter

Clara's first Easter was a success! For being only 12 days old she did really well. Clarita had a very cute Easter dress that her Tio Roberto and Tia Erika gave her. We started the day out by going to church. First we had breakfast and she got to meet everyone who has been so patiently awaiting her arrival. Needless to say she was the center of attention. Kevin then took her into the cry room since there were so many people in church while I set up refreshments. As soon as I was done I decided to feed her since she was fussy. No sooner had I sat down then the pastor announced that the children would be leaving for Children's Church (which I am in charge of) and started calling my name. So Clara did not get to eat, she instead accompanied my mom, Kevin, and me along with 13 kids to learn about the Easter story and hunt eggs.

I must say Clara was a trooper. Even though she was hungry she took a pacifier and was quiet long enough for me to teach the lesson. Then I fed her while the kids hunted. My favorite quote of the day was from a boy who is probably ten. He asked me, "Is that a boy baby or a girl baby?" (oblivious to her fluffy dress) he then asked, "Does it have a name yet?"

Clarita's Easter dress

 After church we headed to Tia Laurie and Tio Russell's house. It was a full house with my family, Kevin's family, Russell's family, and my sister-in-law Erika's family. Clara was once again the center of attention (until her cousin Teagan, who's exactly one week older, arrived and she had to share) and got lots of love and snuggles. She got quite a few Easter presents, my favorite (and Tristan's) being the monkey dressed up in a chicken suit that does the chicken dance from La Abulita Marty. Clarita was wide awake for almost the entire day!

Cousin twins!

Our nephew, Tristan, is seven and a half so we had an Easter egg hunt for him. Clara and I also joined (the fact that I had to carry her made Tristan and I even) and Kevin's sister, Alyssa, hunted for Teagan as well (cheating because she didn't carry the baby). It was a lot of fun. Tristan doesn't really like candy. When I asked him if he wanted eggs filled with candy or empty, he said empty making my job easier since I just had to take them out of the bag (Laurie, Robert, and Kevin hid them).

Family picture

I was surprised that Clara was able to stay up so long and still be happy. She had never been awake for more than three hours before. Aside from a couple ten minute naps, she stayed awake from basically 10:00 AM until 4:30 PM. Then she took a little nap in Tia Laurie's lap and was awake again until 9:30 PM! She was quite fussy once we got home as she was super tired and fighting sleep. However, she was still a very good baby and Kevin and I were very proud of her!

Johnson Clan

Parkinsons