Happy 4 Months Baby Claire.

Look at those smiling eyes!

You got your first cold this week, with tiny baby boogers and a dainty baby cough

As a result, you're waking up at night again (I'm trying to be understanding)

You visited the doctor on Halloween and wore your bat costume, to the delight of the nurses

You weigh 13 lbs, 3 oz and are 24.5" long

You are ruining so many of your clothes...I think it's time to go up to size 2 diapers

When I'm on the computer and you start to fuss, I sometimes let you watch this

You can roll expertly from your tummy to your back

We still "double swaddle" you for bedtime and for naps...you prefer to be snug

Your eyes are crystal blue as they were the day you were born

You laugh when something startles you

I'm slowly memorizing all of your little books, we read them so often

You also answer to Claireby, Creeb, BABY!, and Cutie McSweets

A walk in the park...

Behold my 3 month old behbeh:

At 3 months, Claire is:

Stuffing her hands in her mouth at every opportunity (as pictured)

Sleeping like a teenager

LAUGHING an occasional halting, low pitched, grunty laugh

Master of an impressive mini-pushup

Drooling profusely

Looking at herself in the mirror, loving her reflection

Cooing up a storm, shaping her mouth to make different vowel sounds

The craziest active sleeper, slowly rotating herself around in circles every night

Taking 3-4 naps a day, preferring often to catnap

In the 50th percentile for weight, length and head size

SOFT, SQUISHY and DELIGHTSOME

My family came to town for this little girl's blessing day.

To show everyone a good southern California time, we did did lots of fun activities, only some of which were photographed because I was too preoccupied whisking a crying baby off to nurse or changing a diaper in the trunk of the car.

We went to Disneyland, where my Dad got the highest score on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters while holding Claire and shooting left-handed:

Very impressive.

We also visited the San Diego Wild Animal Park...

My favorite part...a baby Gorilla the same age as Claire!

Lots of laughs with Ben and Jax

Grandma holding time

*

That Sunday, Christopher gave Claire a name and a blessing at church. It was beautiful and she looked like an angel baby in the little white dress my mom made for her.

She didn't make a peep during the blessing, either. Good baby.

I just love this one...

The Dreamparents (aka Great-Grandma and Grandpa Hiatt) came all the way from Sandy.

I love my family dear.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Claire's special day!

Okay, so maybe I'm a little jealous...

Claire's best feature at 2 months? It's a toss-up between her double chin and her double eye wrinkles.

Mother/Daughter Bonding Time

Christopher made President's Club again this year and is currently in (Aruba, Jamaica...) BERMUDA. Since Claire is a bit too young for international jet-setting, he is going it alone. He was not particularly looking forward to taking this trip solo—I actually had to convince him to go—but we just skyped tonight and he's looking tanned and happy after spending the day playing beach volleyball and cooling off in the turquoise ocean. I almost had to laugh when he asked me what I did today. Well, let's see. I did a couple loads of laundry, attempted to scrub dried baby poop off of a pillow, and got in-n-out for dinner with a baby fussing in the backseat!

But I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. Seriously. I used to always hate that poem "...you are my piece of foreign sky" because it seemed so defeatist, but I am totally feeling the author's sentiments right now!

Life with Claire is pure, unadulterated joy. For the last 8 weeks, our days have been simple, but magical. I have the feeling that years from now, I am going to look back on this time with fondness and longing...so I am clinging to it with all of my might, because she is growing and changing by the day.

8 weeks facts-at-a-glance:

Consistently sleeping through the night. It is delicious to my soul.

Beginnings of social smiles...and still the queen of the biggest, munchkiny sleep grins.

Outgrowing almost all of her newborn clothes. Chris had to put a bunch of them away because I think I would have tried to keep stuffing her in them, they are so tiny and darling.

Loves bathtime, diaper changes, and Claude Debussy (her pack and play has a music feature that plays "Clair de lune")

Dislikes inward-facing baby bjorn, gas pain, and tummy time.

Does not like to be in a stationary vehicle, but will sometimes accept attempts to "rock" her by pumping the break pedal on and off at a stoplight.

(Hopefully) likes being mugged on 24/7.

Hey! I'm one month old! And I am an awesome baby because...

I am cute and pweem* (bye bye baby acne!)

I sleep pretty darn well (6 hours...sometimes!), love to eat & am growing like gangbusters!

I make lots of fun expressions, follow you with my eyes, grunt, snort, coo...

Eye you suspiciously, and sometimes even...

Smile.

*A made up family word for smooth/creamy/flawless. Another example: the surface of a jar of peanut butter right after you open it is pweemness at its finest.

Baby's first Sunday!

Claire's talents for hiccuping and grunting are unsurpassed!

Adventures in Fatherhood:

(Christopher might disapprove, but I really, really love this pic)

Claire Julia Warren

6.28.2011

11:43 pm

7 lbs, 21 inches

So, contrary to my doctor's guesses, Baby C hung in there in time for my mom to arrive last Wednesday (and is still currently hanging in there, cooking up real nice).

For now, we're taking things at an easy pace, enjoying the California sun and plenty of soul feeding mother-daughter time. A brief calm before the exciting whirlwind begins.

Here's a sneak peek of the nursery, replete with many hand-crafted things!

C is for Claire! Two little shadowboxes I made to mimic the pattern found in her Oilo bedding (that has yet to arrive, hence, no photos of the bare crib). I used crepe paper and painted wire for the flowers.

Here's a simple mobile I made to hang above the crib, and a print of a photo of the San Diego temple that Christopher took a few months ago.

Claire means "light" or "bright," so we both thought this scripture from D&C 50:24 was fitting for our little beam's room.

Can't wait for a baby to live in here.

**Now that I am officially on maternity leave, I have had time to do things that I normally neglect. Like rotating the mattress, scrubbing the shower out with a toothbrush, and updating this blog!

This is SO long overdue, but for (soon to be born) posterity's sake, let me share some pics from my day as an audience member on the Ellen DeGeneres Mother's Day show:

My pregnant friends Stephanie, Anna, Brittany and I filled our tanks before the show at the Original Bob's Big Boy.

All 4 of us strolling into the restaurant well into our third trimesters was quite the sight.

We made it to the Warner Brothers studio!

At this point, Ellen is announcing that every last one of us expectant mothers is getting all of this stuff. Whoever spots my lanky arms up in the air gets a quarter!

After a wonderful, whirlwind of a day, with red bags full of baby swag (and many more large boxes of things to be loaded into our cars a few hours later).

This was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I laughed, I cried, I said many prayers of gratitude, and now I have more beautiful, top-of-the line baby gear than I practically know what to do with. Ellen, I hope you got my thank you card!