Clara's personality is still as sweet as ever. She's not as "smiley" as she used to be though. Now she seems to "study" strangers for a good while before she gives them a smile. But she's still so laid back and easy. Most days she will just crawl around (yes, crawling!) on the floor forever and just fuss when she needs a change of scenery. Then she'll do the next thing for a while, too. I didn't think Clara was in the "I need my Mommy all the time" stage until last week when I left her with a babysitter..and she screamed the whole time. Since then, she's been fussing if I'm not in her sight! I love you too, sweet girl!
So, big milestones...Well Clara is not only sitting up alone, but also crawling! She started sitting up unassisted right after her 6 month mark and army crawling right after that (or right before, not really sure!) Clara Jo is on the move! She's been officially crawling since she was right at 7 months old (almost to the day) and is getting more and more stable every day.. Now she goes wherever she pleases and even slipped out onto the front porch one day when I had my back turned and the door open! She is busy busy and we're having to be really careful about leaving anything on the floor because she will most definitely put it in her mouth. She thinks baby toys are for the birds and much prefers big brothers' trucks and cars.
Clara has four teeth. And she's had them for a while. She got her first two teeth right before 6 months and the second two came in three weeks later. That's right, four teeth in three weeks. It was intense. I'm thankful we've had a break from teething for a few weeks. She was very uncomfortable. I'm sort of glad they came in fast just to get it over with...sort of glad. Unfortunately though, she has started gritting her teeth! Yuck! I try to stop her when I hear it. It gives me the willies!
Food. Well, we've tried sweet potato and banana. And she is not interested one iota. She won't even open her mouth when a spoons comes near. And if anything is put on her tray, she just squeezes it in between her fingers (although she eats everything that is not food!). I'm not pushing it at all. I'm happy to wait until she's ready. Its a lot more convenient for me this way! She nurses about every three hours, more or less. And still refuses a bottle.
Nights have been interesting. Most nights, she goes to bed between 8/8:30, wakes around 1 and wakes again around 4-5. Sometimes though, she wakes around 11, again around 2, again around 5. Sometimes more....yikes. It has been a challenge! She's up for the day around 8/8:30 pretty consistently. I'm not sure why she's not doing longer stretches at night. I have let her cry a few times during the night, but usually I nurse her and she goes right back to sleep. Naps are really good though. She usually naps around 10am for 2ish hours and again around 2pm for 2-3 hours. I'm thankful for those re-charge times during the day!
Clara still wears size 3 diapers. I haven't done cloth diapers with her at all...and as of now I'm not planning to. Disposable diapers are just too convenient. She can wear both 9 and 12 month clothes. I'm loving getting see her chunky legs every day as the weather is warming up!
Sweet girl is babbling constantly. She will mimick me saying "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" and has even said "Ga-Ga" and "Da-Da" a few times! They are the sweetest noises ever!
Clara took her second trip to the Cottage in St. Simons this month. She did really well during the 7 hours in the car! Good thing she has so much entertainment coming from the seat behind her! She seemed to enjoy the beach, although she'd had enough after about 30 minutes. We managed to get all 5 of our family members on two bicycles! That was a sight to behold, I'm sure. But we all had a great time and enjoyed the time away.
Clara Josephine, Jo-Jo Seemy, Jo-Jo-Fina, Clara Precious Girl---you are a doll. We love you so much and pray that you will grow to love God and love people. Our lives are so much fuller because of you.
