Happy Halloween!

Claire spent Halloween in Cincinnati with her cousins. She dressed up as a lady bug. Wesley was Buzz Lightyear from "Toy Story" and Alexandra was Tinker Bell. Wesley's friend, Jack, joined us as a fireman.

A Beautiful Fall Day

It is too gorgeous outside not to take photos. I interrupted "football time" to take these pictures, but I couldn't resist and I told Andrew that some day he would thank me for it.

7 Months Old!

Wow. So much has changed this past month in Claire's development. She can sit very well on her own (which you can see in the previous post video clip). As I've said before, it seems like she is close to crawling. She'll get on her hands and knees, but then drops down to her tummy. She scootches pretty far on her bottom when there is something she wants to reach. She has also become very affectionate this month. When she sits on the couch between Andrew and me, she takes turns giving him an arm hug, then me an arm hug. It makes me melt. She is getting more and more vocal. She makes a distinct "Da da" noise as well as some other consonant/vowel matches.

Claire now has five visible teeth. Two bottom teeth came in a couple of weeks ago which you can see in these photos if you zoom in. As of yesterday, we noticed three top teeth (front/left) have also broken through the gum surface. We have explored several solid foods this month and have quite a list of likes and dislikes.

Likes: sweet potatoes (her favorite), peas, apples, bananas, prunes, carrots, rice cereal
Dislikes: green beans (This was her first to try, so we'll introduce it again and see if she still winces and refuses to swallow. She will eat them, however, if they are mixed in with rice cereal or peas)

She does a great job eating and is always very interested in what we're eating. She seems to have hit another growth spurt this month. While she previously was content on 12 hours sleep, now it is more like 10 before she wakes up hungry. We aren't complaining though. We understand that many others are less fortunate.

We've noticed a huge increase in how often she grabs for things...anything really. If you have it, she wants it. It's difficult to keep that "go-go gadget arm" by her side. She has a special love for napkins. Which takes me to another wonderful change. She is very content in high chairs at restaurants, so Andrew and I can take her out to dinner just the three of us and not feel like we must hold her to keep her from crying. We love this!

This has been my favorite month so far. I can't wait to see what will be new for her next month.

Almost 7 Months

Claire has been scootching around on her bottom and so close to crawling that the video camera has been out on several occasions. While she hasn't crawled yet, here is a short (actually around 4 minutes) clip of her just being Claire.

Loving the Outdoors

Some of our neighbors own 55 acres of farmland in the mountains of Rockcastle County. They invited us and several other Bereans over for a bonfire and hiking. We took Claire for a couple of hours and she loved it. The 50 degree weather didn't dampen her spirit at all. She is such an outdoors girl.


Claire also loves to get kisses and frequently holds her mouth open with a vacant look on her face while getting pecks.

Grannie and Grandpa Visit

Andrew's parents, Grannie and Grandpa, visited Claire this past weekend. They saw her last when she was three months and noticed big changes in her personality and abilities since then. We had a wonderful time going to the Kentucky Guild for Arts and Craftsmanship Fair as well as Natural Bridge State Park.

Claire loves sparkly or big necklaces.


Grandpa likes to hold Claire high in the air.

Another family photo at Natural Bridge State Park.


Another bottle on Natural Bridge.

The Last of the Gummy Smiles

At around 3 months, Claire had a blister on her gums that was misdiagnosed as teething, but as of this afternoon we found two bottom teeth unmistakably breaking through the surface. I'm a little sad to say goodbye to the gummy smile.

Cold Weather

Keeping Claire warm in this cooler weather isn't easy. She's wearing 6 month clothing in these pictures and you can tell they are a little on the short side.