Clara, you are fourteen months old!

Clara Grace, you are a ray of sunshine one moment and a storm cloud the next! My goodness, you keep us on our toes but we just adore you anyway! I can’t believe you are already 14 months old! You’ve kept us on our toes for 14 months?! Wow!

Little girl, you love to dance! One of the things we like to do during the day is go into the playroom and dance to some music. You are just filled with so much joy! You also like to play with your brother’s hot wheels and you like to play outside so much that you cry when we come back inside.

You have finally taken your first steps although you aren’t walking full-time yet. Your vocabulary has also exploded this month, with words like: Ben, cat, dog, bird, belly, thank-you, bible, and probably others because you seem to just pop out with a new word every day.

You also like to stand on things.

Well sweet girl, I can’t wait to see what you do in the next month! We love you, little girl!

Clara Grace, You are 13 Months Old

** Okay so this is a couple weeks late! Sorry! Been so busy with… well, life. I am hoping to pick up blogging again soon because I miss it and I hate that I have so much chronicling Benjamin’s life (up to a point) and so little chronicling Clara’s. Anyway… **

 

Little miss personality. I don’t know what to do with you! You are a spitfire and I think as you get older we’ll be able to help you channel your, um, passion… but for now WOO GIRL. Those tantrums!!

Let’s talk about your sunny side, though. You’re a sweetheart most of the time and love to give mama hugs, and you’ve been giving daddy kisses lately, too. You’re certainly not as affectionate as Benjamin was, but hey if it’s not your personality who can really fault you for it?

You are still pretty much a mama’s girl but you are getting more and more independent and like to do your own thing (the way you want to do it) a lot of the time, too. You still are not walking. I’m sure you know how but you just like making me tote you everywhere. Mhm, I’m onto you, girl. Mama knows these tricks.

Some things you love:

• “talking” on the phone
• Hello Kitty
• Your bubba
• eating
• playing outside
• Dylan
• eating
• singing “Roll the Gospel Chariot Along”
• eating
• bath time
• the wiggles
• and eating.

Maybe next month we can update that you’re walking but you know what? All in your own time, I suppose. We learned very early on not to compare you to any other baby because you will do your own thing!

You are wearing 12 months clothes still, and you’re a wittle thing but I think you may have actually gained a pound, who knows?

Can’t wait to continue to see you grow, sweet Clara! It’s always an adventure with you!

To my sweet Clara Grace,

I never thought that I would ever be a mommy to a little girl. I had always seen myself as a mommy to boys, probably because Benjamin came first and there were four years between him and you. I was afraid to be a mommy to a little girl because I didn’t know if I’d be very good at it. Being a mommy is scary sometimes. But I am so, so thankful that God chose me to be your mommy and that you are my little girl.

You have been in our arms (let’s be honest, mostly my arms, you little mommy’s girl!) for one year now. One whole year! This year has flown by and we have gone through so many changes together. Can you believe that you have moved three times already in your short little life? You have gotten eight teeth and have two more on the way! You aren’t walking … yet. You prefer that mommy carry you everywhere and if I don’t carry you, you just speed crawl wherever you want to go. You can say mama, dada, bubba, and thank you (when you want to), and you know what sound a puppy makes.

Clara Grace, you are a precious, sweet, funny girl and we love you to pieces. I am so excited that it is your birthday and I can’t wait to celebrate with all our family and friends! You are such a blessing, and I am so, so proud to be your mommy!

I love you, a bushel and a peck!

Clara, you are seven months old!

 

You have done so much this past month that I don’t really know where to start! Well, you went  through your first move as we moved away from Demopolis, and the night we got to Nana and Papaw’s house, you decided to crawl for Papaw. Like, full-on crawling. And now, you are unstoppable! You’re so quiet when you crawl that we have to keep a good watch on you because your favorite thing to do is chew on wires, my little electrician.

You have decided that you don’t want to eat baby food, so we have gone straight into solids and you can’t get enough of it! You love to eat. You wouldn’t know it by looking at you because you’re still a petite little thing, but you do love to eat!

You still don’t like for your hands to be touched and you’re still pretty attached to me, but you’re getting better about that. You laugh a whole lot more lately and we love this! You especially laugh at your silly brother.

We love you, happy girl! You are such a sweet, sweet baby!

Clara, you are six months old!

Six months… half a year?! Really?! I can’t believe it. Time has flown by! It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in the recovery room at the hospital, crying because you were perfect and everything was wonderful {and I was on meds okay}. There are so many moments in every single day that I wish I could just freeze time for just a little bit, just to live in that moment just one moment longer…

Alas… six months have flown by and you are getting SO BIG. Seriously… although you aren’t crawling fully yet, you are everywhere and into everything you can get your little bitty hands on. Anything on the trays under the coffee table happens to be fair game and I have to pick up stuff you throw all over the floor during the day. Thanks for making me bend over more often. {Did I mention that my back hurts a lot more nowadays?}

You are wearing 6-9 month clothing so I guess you’re pretty average, maybe a little on the smaller side of things but not by much. You’re certainly not as chunky as Benjamin was at six months old, but you know what? I was a petite little baby myself so maybe you just take after mommy.

You love to play! I can put you on the floor with some toys and you just have the time of your life down there exploring your toys. If Benjamin is around, you like to play with him. He makes you laugh and I love the way he can always make you smile. I know you adore him, and guess what? He adores you!

We’ve been experimenting with different foods, but I admit I’ve been a little lazy on all that. You don’t seem to mind, though. You’re happy getting milk and you’re healthy so there’s no reason to worry. You do, however, really like eating small pieces of bread. And yesterday we found out  that you like to gnaw on chicken bones {much to my chagrin, and your daddy’s amusement}.

You’ve got a pretty spunky, silly personality so far. You’re a bit of a mommy’s girl at the moment and sometimes won’t even go to daddy. Girl, we gotta get that changed soon… because my back is hurtin’. Seriously.

It’s kind of funny… you won’t let anyone touch your hands. Except sometimes Benjamin, and sometimes you will let mommy or daddy touch your hands. When people come up to you, they want to touch your soft baby hands and you jerk your hand away like, “Excuse me, no.” I have to explain to them that you do this to everyone, not just them.

Anyway… six more months and you will be a year… so hows about we slow it down a little, aight? Aight.

Pre-School

A couple of weeks ago, I told my dad that parenting was so stressful because you have to make decisions for another human being and there’s not always a clear cut answer as to whether it is the right decision or not… and then, when they’re older, you have to let go and trust them to make their own decisions, whether they be right or wrong. I was stressing because I knew that soon, Benjamin would be starting Pre-School, even if only for four hours a day.

If you had asked Carl or me at the beginning of this year whether or not we were sending Benjamin to public school, we would have answered that we were planning on Homeschooling, and I would have added that I was very excited to embark on that adventure with Benjamin, and then a few years later, Clara.

But, things have changed. I examined myself and realized there were some reasons I was homeschooling that did not have anything to do with my child and his well-being. I had allowed myself to be swayed by others, by their scruples, instead of coming to my own conclusion.

Truth be told, the environment here has a lot to do with our decision to send Benjamin to public school. I was pleasantly surprised when the football teams last Friday night at the high school all huddled up together after the game and had a prayer. Out there. In public. In front of everyone. It was impressive that they weren’t discouraged from doing so. The school system is a good one. We know plenty of the teachers who are members of the church. We know plenty of the students. We plan on being as involved as we are able.

We plan on encouraging Benjamin to be a shining light to others as he goes out to school. This was another thing that swayed me toward public school. We had friends whose son brought boys from school to church several times. I want to give Benjamin the opportunity to do this, because I think it’s something he’d be really great at, seeing as he is so friendly and enjoys making new friends.

There are several other reasons, but I actually didn’t start writing this blog to go on a tangent about that… I actually wanted to say that our first week at WEE school was awesome and Benjamin had a great time! He loved it! He loves his teacher and loves his new friends. Today he came home with a piece of candy that he got out of the prize box because his schoolbus didn’t get moved off of the green light all week!

I’m so proud of him and excited for him. I have saved the papers he’s brought home each day in a folder… including the envelopes with pictures he has drawn me or “letters” he has written me. It’s nice to know that even while he is away at school, he is thinking of me. It sort of makes me tear up every time he brings an envelope to me with “Mommy” written on the front and a stamp drawn in the corner.

I pray every night that Carl and I have made the right decision, and I don’t know if we will ever know for sure… but right now I’m happy that we are able to send Benjamin to WEE school. If you would, please pray for Benjamin. This is an exciting and new experience for him… and I pray, and hope you will too, that he will let his light shine around others.

Clara, you are five months old!

Nope, I refuse to believe that you are already 5 months old! How did this happen!? I blinked and then all of the sudden you are so, so big! I’m so proud of you for all you have accomplished in a month! You are a growing girl and you are so ready to move along with your brother. I watch you watch him and I know you want to do exactly what he does.

This month, you have sprouted two little teeth! One was noticed on Sunday and the second one popped through on Wednesday! I’m pretty sure you willed them to pop out because you kept getting mad watching us eat and us not sharing with you. Speaking of eating, we have started you on solids! So far you like avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, and bananas and you dislike squash. You sometimes like to grab the spoon and help feed you, and sometimes you yell in between bites because we don’t get it to your mouth fast enough!

You constantly make me smile with all your sweet little expressions. They are never ending! You have such a beautiful smile and I love to see your face light up when I sing to you or when we play. You also love your daddy and your brother and I love to see your eyes just light up around them. You are so loved, Clara Grace! You are such a special little girl!

You have been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now, and that makes mama so happy! Thank you, baby girl! It took your brother a long time to get to that point so this makes me extremely thankful! You sleep in your own crib in your own room, although we have to pack pillows on your sides because you roll everywhere and wake yourself up. You are a mover and you won’t be stopped! In fact, over this past weekend, you decided it was time to learn how to crawl! You aren’t crawling just yet, but you are up on your knees and rocking, and you move backwards. You gotta learn how to shift gears instead of being stuck in reverse!

We love you, baby girl! You are such a joy in our lives and I can’t wait to see you learn even more this next month… no matter how much I’d also love to freeze time and keep you small for a little while longer! You are precious to me!

Clara, you are four months old!

Dear sweet Clara, another month has flown by and we have seen an incredible amount of changes in you since last month! I’m so proud of how much you’re learning and all the new things you’re doing. I know that you are watching your big brother and want to do things like him, and so I know you’re eager to be big! You seem so proud of yourself when you accomplish something that you’ve been practicing! Mommy and daddy and Benjamin are proud of you, too!

I love how much you love your brother. It is just so sweet how you look at him and smile at him when he talks to you, and how you watch him whenever he is around. I can tell that you adore him completely and I hope that you two grow up to be close, in spite of the age gap. It warms my heart how much you love each other already!!

This past month, you got to spend a lot of time with a lot of different family members who we don’t get to see very often and it was a lot of fun. You took your very first trip to South Carolina to visit Mimi and Granddaddy Bob, and you met your Great-Aunt Debbie and cousins Josh, Tyler, and Tori. We also saw Nana, Papaw, Uncle Steven, Aunt Melanie, Andma, and Uncle Preston! It was a super busy month!

You’ve picked up and mastered a lot of new skills this month, including rolling over both ways, holding yourself up on straight arms, babbling, grasping, laughing, bringing things up to your mouth, and other little things! You love to play and you enjoy the little toys you can play with right now, and you love to be read to. You like to look at pictures in books. This makes your bookworm parents happy!

You had your first train ride this month, too! You were so good and you slept almost  the entire nearly 6 hour ride! Wow! You were super glad to be home to daddy when we got home, though.

Last night, I packed up the pack n play that you had been sleeping in pretty much since you came home from the hospital, sans a few nights in the beginning. It has left our room a lot emptier and it makes me a little sad for you to move into your own room, but I’m happy that you’ve made the transition easily!

We love you so much, sweet girl! We can’t wait to see what you’re doing in another month!

Clara, you are three months old!

Another month has flown by! I can’t believe we’re already doing another one of these posts! Every day you seem to change and I get sad because I feel like it’s going by way too fast but I’m also so excited to see what new thing you’ll learn next! I know that you are growing in leaps and bounds and I am all too happy to be along for the ride. I may not get down every single milestone that I’d like to, but I love to see you change from day to day and love to see how much you grow and learn!

You are getting to be a big girl, Clara Grace! You’re wearing 3-6 months sized clothes now, which I suppose is right on target since you’re 3 months. You are on your last rise of your thirsties covers and I guess after then you’ll have to wear your larger covers! How exciting! Maybe we can convince your handsome daddy to let us get another pink or purple one, too. {wink, wink}

You have rolled over a handful of times, but not consistently enough to be able to really put that down as something you’ve gotten the hang of. You are experimenting with your voice a lot more now and I love to hear your short little laughs, or what I assume are laughs. Your smiles are contagious and you have the sweetest dimples! You are a precious, precious little girl!

But you are still a little diva who likes to keep to her schedule. I do my best to not rock the boat for you but girl, you gotta learn to be more flexible! We’ll work on that, okay?

We spent an entire week just about just you and me this past week and it went really well. I’m really glad to have spent that time with you and I hope that we have more mommy and daughter times in the future because I really want a close relationship with you, just as I have a close relationship with Nana.

Although I know from your huge smiles when he got home from camp, you are already a daddy’s girl. Typical.

You are loved, Clara Grace! I hope you never, ever feel differently!

last firsts.

I was thinking today how bittersweet it actually is to be witnessing all of Clara Grace’s “firsts”. Today she grabbed a toy for the first time by herself. She’d grabbed toys with our help before but today she actually grabbed this ball by herself. It’s sometimes the small things that bring about the most excitement and today I was excited for my little girl!

But it was bittersweet as well because this could very well be the last time we witness a “first toy grab” from our babies… because Clara Grace may very well be the last baby that we have. Things could change in the future, you never know, but as it stands it may very well just be Benjamin and Clara – and we are so very, very blessed to have them as our children so I’m not complaining in the least!

It does, however, remind me that every day and every moment is a precious memory.

Clara, you are two months old!

Wow, little girl! Time really has flown! But at the same time it feels like it’s been really slow as well. I suppose it’s just depending on what kind of day we’ve been having because girl, you sure know how to shake things up! There are some days where you won’t let me put you down for very long at all, and others where you’ll take long naps and let me get stuff done around the house. I don’t know which is my preference, because I do like the cuddles! You’re certainly more cuddly than Benjamin – and I thought he would be the ultra cuddly one.

It’s amazing how much you’ve grown in just a month. You’re holding your head up a lot better now and your sleeping is a lot more predictable. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting more used to your schedule and knowing what your cries mean… either way, we’ve seemed to fall into more of a routine lately. Sleep, wake up, eat, change diaper, play, {fuss}, sleep… and do it all over again! My favorite time is when you’re awake and alert to play! It’s fun watching you discover things – such as this week you’ve begun to discover your hands, and it’s been fun watching you learning how to put your hands to your mouth. I’m sure soon we’ll be fighting little things out of your tiny fists before you stuff them into your mouth! You’ve been smiling and trying to laugh more, and we just think it’s the cutest thing! You like to play with Daddy when he turns on some swing and makes you “dance”. You think it’s funny and you’ll just grin and grin at him as he bounces you around. Maybe someday I’ll get a good video of it.

You are doing better in your car seat than you have been, and you actually cry sometimes when we pull you out of your bouncer! Next we need to work on you liking your swing so you can have fun in that! I’m also super excited that we’ll be getting a little pool for you and Benjamin to play in, so we can see if you like the water as much as he does!

It is so fun to see the different changes in you, Clara Grace! We are so blessed to have you as our daughter! I never thought I’d ever be a mommy to a little girl but I am so thankful that I am, because you are a precious treasure to me! {and your hilarious expressions provide endless entertainment for me – thanks!}

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And just for fun, Benjamin at 2 months and Clara at 2 months:

I know a lot of people have been saying that they look similar and everything, and I guess in some ways they do look similar {same nose for instance}, but looking at these pictures, I think they are completely different. But, maybe that’s just me! At any rate, God has blessed me with some beautiful children, that’s for sure!