Six-Month Update

Claire had her six-month check-up this morning. Before her appt, Steve guessed her weight at 17.5 lbs. He was a little off. She is actually 15 lbs 3.5 oz and is 26" long. As I mentioned last month, neither Steve nor I know how to measure her correctly. Either that, or once again, she's shrunk. LOL

Claire is starting to outgrow her 3-6 month clothes - mostly the pants. (More proof that she hasn't shrunk; she just has parents who know nothing of measurements.) Six month sizes fit her perfectly. Some of her 6-9 month clothes fit; but 9 month clothes are still too big. So apparently she's right on for sizing.

This month she has eaten rice, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, applesauce, peaches, pears and bananas. So far she loves everything we feed her. Pears and carrots are her favorite. This month she will begin eating meats. We'll keep you posted on that progress. She started drinking water out of a sippy cup today. (The bottles we bought have sippy cup tops that can be swapped out for the bottle nipples, so the change is easy for her.) She now holds her own bottle/cup; and she loves the water.

She is trying very hard to crawl. She can actually move forward by stretching her arms out as far as they will go and then moving her knees forward one at a time like she would when crawling. As soon as she can figure out how to get her arms in sync, she'll take off. She rolls all over the place and can move backward easily too.

We think she may be teething, but nothing is even close enough to the surface to feel yet.

Claire loves her toys. Her current favorites are her Minnie Mouse lovey, her soft blocks, her photo album with pictures of her family and a clicky toy. She is also starting to play with her ball. In fact, she went after Maggie's ball yesterday; and I had to take it away from her. Fortunately Maggie didn't seem bothered. In fact, she laid her ball next to Claire's hand today for her to throw it. Perhaps they will be friends after all.

Claire is happy and healthy and beautiful! We are so very blessed to be her parents. We are having the time of our lives!

White House Greeting

Claire received a greeting from The White House. It reads:

Welcome to the world! Your arrival is a cause for great celebration for your proud family. We wish you a long and happy life filled with chances to learn, ideas to explore, people to love, and dreams to fulfill.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama

So Thankful!

We spent Thanksgiving in Tulsa with family and friends. We had a great time!

So glad to see her MiMi again!

At lunch with J.C. shortly after we arrived

Showing off her new hair bow - a present from MiMi - Thanks, Mimi!

Somebody loves her Mommy!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Uncle Adam, Aunt Shannon and Analise's house. Analise is so kind to share her toys. She drug her horse out of her room so Claire could ride it. Giddy-up!

Whoa, Horsey! Uncle Adam playing with the girls

Analise loves to share; and Claire is fascinated by Analise. They are so sweet together!

Claire loves her Aunt Shannon!

She had been missing Grandma and Grandpa.

Nanny's little angel

Steve carved the turkey.

So what if your baby can read? My baby can type!

Shannon planning the schedule for Black Friday. It was decided that we must leave the house at 4:00 a.m. to get the best deals. Oh just the thought of it is exhausting!

the game

Catching some zzz's to prepare herself for Black Friday

We did not have time to take any pictures on Black Friday. We, Mom, Shannon, Analise, Claire and I, got up early (Claire and I got up at 2:30 a.m. She was hungry, and I was too excited to go back to sleep after that. And yes, my daughter usually sleeps through the night. Not sure what her deal was, but oh well. Perhaps she was excited too.) and left the house at 4:00 a.m. We shopped until 11:45 a.m. and then met Daddy and Steve for lunch who had gone ahead of us to get us a table at On The Border. After lunch we hit it again until we were too tired and called it a night. We picked up Hideaway Pizza on the way home. It was a fabulous day! We got some great deals and had a lot of fun. Both Analise and Claire did great! There was no whining or crying. They were both perfect all day long. And yes, it was totally worth getting up at 4:00 a.m.

Heading home this morning

Steve and I have so much to be thankful for. God is so good to us!

Fun Pics

I LOVE her laugh!

Claire loves her daddy!

The loves of my life!

Time for night-nights

Travelin' Girl

This past week Claire joined us for her first coast-to-coast trip in celebration of our Fifth Wedding Anniversary! Here are some pics:

Claire's first train ride aboard the AmTrack from New Jersey's Newark Airport to NYC's Penn Station. (Claire is asleep in her stroller.)

Claire's first subway ride from Penn Station to our hotel in Queens.
Claire's first time in her new carrier. She loved being able to look around!

We met up with Claire's Uncle Matt and Aunt Randi in NYC. As previously stated, Claire has her Uncle Matt's toes. Here's proof:

Claire loves New York! Here she is sitting in the window seat in the children's department of Bloomingdale's on the 8th floor - a perfect photo-op.

Claire with her Aunt Randi on the subway

Claire enjoying some carrots at Uncle Roy's and Aunt Vi's house in California.

Claire enjoying morning coffee time with Aunt Vi.

Claire decided that she wanted to have what Daddy was having, so he let her. This is Claire's first time drinking out of a glass.

We had a great time with our Californians!

Uncle Roy, Claire, Aunt Vi, Mommy and Daddy

For more pictures of our trip, check out our family blog: http://stevenandamynorton.blogspot.com/

Happy Half, Baby!

Today Claire is six-months-old! The past six months have been the happiest and most wonderful six months of our lives.

We let Claire open a present today in celebration of this milestone. This is the first present she has ever opened. We thought it would be good practice for Christmas!

Claire is very much into textures right now, so what more perfect gift than soft blocks!

Claire's six-month checkup is scheduled for Monday, November 30th. I'll give the full monthly update, including weight, height and milestones reached, after her appointment.

Later this week I will post pictures from our trip to NYC and Fresno, CA as well as pictures from our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Adam's and Aunt Shannon's house.

Claire is such a joy! She is a very happy and easy baby, and she fills my life with laughter.

You're everything I ever hoped for and more! Happy Half, Baby!