claire's first year

These pictures not only remind me of how much she's grown in one year, but it also reflects the adventures in breastfeeding we went through this year...the jaundice at one month (she is so yellow!), the happy and healthy 2 and 3 months (breastfeeding was pretty good for a little while), the skinny and sickly 4 and 5 months (I wasn't making enough milk and at 5 months she weighed less than her weight at 2 months), and the gradual addition of formula and real food at 6 months (then looking more well-fed and happier with each passing month).

It never fails to amaze me how fast a baby can grow and develop in just one year!

one

Our beautiful Claire turned one today. She is a delight and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. I can't wait to watch her grow up.

Claire took her first bite of birthday cake tonight and loved it so much, she laughed out loud! Pure joy.

exactly a year ago

We looked like this...the day before Claire was born.

Katie was still a baby too! Crazy. (I think my lower back is still angry with me for carrying Katie while pregnant with Claire.) We were SO excited to meet baby Claire!

yard work

Katie and Meg were "helping" Mark as he cut down a big dead bush in the yard.


Claire watched from her stroller. And she has a bunch of new teeth to show off! She is so cute - she bites her cheerios in half now, I think just because she can.

all-natural hair product

Almost every morning, Claire eats banana for breakfast. When she eats, she likes to squish it in her fists to make a nice banana paste.

Then she runs her fingers through her hair.



Her hair parts naturally in the middle, and she reminded me of some animal with horns...then finally I think I got it! I believe her hairstyle is "the water buffalo".

katie's first day

Katie's first day of preschool was today! Having a big-girl backpack was very very exciting.



She took the entire experience in stride and had no problem being dropped off at school. She was really cool and nonchalant about the whole thing...traits she obviously does not get from her mother.


She was so engrossed with looking at all the things in the classroom that I think she hardly noticed when I kissed her goodbye. Every day last year when we dropped Meg off at preschool Katie cried because she wanted to stay too, so I'm so happy to see her finally get to be in preschool like her big sister.

11 months

When Claire turned 11 months (almost 2 weeks ago...I'm a little late), she was a mess. She was teething and I think had a cold, too. She was miserable but still managed to be her smiley self most of the time. This gummy smile won't last much longer!



Poor thing. When Claire is tired or needs to self-soothe, she immediately puts her thumb in her mouth and twirls her hair with her other hand. It's easy to tell when she's ready for bed: