Tuesday, September 28, 2004


Yo yo. Posted by Hello

Growin' up

Claire will giggle now when you giggle at her, when you give her a big bounce, or when you fly her around like an airplane. She goes on giggling for pretty extended periods (20 or 30 seconds) as long as you do. And today she started scrunching up her nose when she laughs, which Stephanie does, so I think she must have picked that up from her. Which is really cute.

She seems bigger by the day-- She practically stretches the length of the changing pad on her changing table. She can also stand on her own when you steady her around the middle. Her hair is still very short, but filling in and darkening on top.

We have started a bedtime routine to get her soothed and in the mood for sleep every night. At least that's what the book says it will do. We bathe her, then she nurses, then we (usually I) walk her around and sing and hum until she falls asleep and we can put her down. Usually, this works pretty well, though she doesn't sleep through the night by any means. She goes down around 8, feeds again at 11:30, and feeds probably about three more times until she wakes up at 8 am. We think she is going through a growth spurt, which may explain the constant waking up to feed. She was fussy a few nights ago last week, and we think maybe a tooth is coming closer to the gum-- there is a little tiny white spot. Babies start teething anywhere from 2 to 6 months, so it is possible. She is 12 weeks old today.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004


Claire Helen and the magical toy Posted by Hello
Yesterday, while playing on her playmat, my baby did a momentous thing. She batted at a toy (I will not even attempt to describe the toy, procured for her on Sunday. It is jangly and fuzzy and pully.).

If you are not convinced, from that paragraph, that the heavens should have opened up and Strauss's Also Spake Zarathustra from 2001 Space Odyssey should have played in the background, you clearly have never had a baby.

She has been working on this particular skill for about 8 days, and has been PISSED OFF that the world has not bent to her significant will. She knew that there was a way to move things from here to there, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Was there a button? A special word? I ASK YOU, MOTHER, HOW DO YOU GET THE VIBRATING BEE TO MOVE??? HOW?

Yesterday, with no help from her toady/mother, she figured it out. She sat on her playmat for 20 full minutes, batting at the jangly/fuzzy/pully toy- long enough for me to webcam the event with her father, who was similarly impressed, because parents get impressed at things like "batting." He also listens intently and seriously when I discuss the consistency of her spit up, and any other bodily fluids of the moment.

Two advanced degrees here, you know. Fancy schools, too.

But I digress. The batting. What I like about the batting is that I saw a person, for the first time, act upon the world intentionally. Until this time, any actions of hers were involuntary or instinct. She clearly had consciousness beyond just fixing physical needs- she could (and did!) cry when lonely or bored, for example. Now, though, she doesn't just have to react to events. She can cause them. How cool is that?

And of course, I credit the new toy with the developmental leap, so we will heretofore be buying every toy in the known universe(particularly the bright! loud! plastic! ones), in a stunning reversal of our antimaterialism bias.

Sunday, September 19, 2004


Yesterday we went hiking in the Cascades and caught a view of some waterfalls. The baby liked it, and the dog had a grand time. Storm clouds were moving in, though. Posted by Hello

It began to rain pretty hard, so we bundled the baby and kept her under our rain jackets. Posted by Hello

artsy baby Posted by Hello

Well, hello there! Posted by Hello

Sunday, September 12, 2004


visiting cousins Posted by Hello

Family photo Posted by Hello

dad says: beautiful momma and beautiful baby Posted by Hello

Friday, September 10, 2004


Claire Helen and her favorite toy- the bear mobile (with Stanford colored shirts. Sigh.) Posted by Hello

14 pound baby, 14 pound cat. Posted by Hello

Yet another baby photo shoot. Poor baby.


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Thursday, September 02, 2004


Nice try, mom. It's gonna take more than that to get a photographable dimple. Posted by Hello

It's so hard being a model. People just don't understand. Posted by Hello

Skeptical Baby Posted by Hello

Smiley Baby Posted by Hello