8 weeks old and growing

You are 2 months old.

You are still beautiful with your blond hair and blue eyes.

You are now resembling more of your mommy.
Although certain traits are definitely daddy.

You wear size 3-6 month clothes.
Except you are very long and most of your pants are too short. We call them Granny pants...So we are moving on to bigger sizes.
You weigh 12.7 lbs and are 23 1/2 inches long.
Since your last appointment, you grew 4 inches putting you in the 95th percentile.
Your head measures at 15 3/4.
You sleep very well.
You know your bedtime which makes it easy for us. 
You have a bath every other night. You like the water and being clean! 
Usually you smile and stare at us. We put you in your pajamas and wrap you in a big size swaddler or a sleep sack to keep your arms from flailing in the night.
We are in bed by 9. We nurse and fall asleep quickly, usually sleeping your longest stretch of 6-7 hours. Yes, we are very lucky!!
The only time this schedule has changed is during a growth spurt.
Mommy usually wakes up before you do in the night...
The saying, " Just cause your baby starts sleeping through the night, doesn't mean you will!" -- totally applies to us.
Around 4 a.m. we nurse again.You fall back asleep very quickly and don't wake up til 6. Then back asleep until 8 a.m. You awake just in time to send daddy off to work. This time you are awake for an hour or 2. 
You are just smiling and "talking" as we watch the morning news together.
The noise doesn't seem to bother you and then you're off to sleep again.
You usually have morning catnaps and then a long afternoon nap from 3-4:30.
You are awake most of the other times.
You coo, and make many noises.You smile quite often and are a very happy easy going baby.
The only time you fuss is when your tummy is gassy. You are a regular pooper going many times a day.
Well, you also fuss when you want your mommy or you are past the point of just sleepy. Usually you will crash out fast if I'm around.
You love your daddy and are very excited when you see him and when he plays with you.
You like when he plays the guitar, reads to us or mimics your noises.
You enjoy your monkey bouncer and your swing. They are both in the living room and you are able to stare at the Christmas Tree and all the lights, which fascinate you.
I wonder what you will do when Christmas is over.

your intense gaze

another picture mommy? ok -I'll be cute!

I got this tummy time ninja style!

Big stretch

All pooped out!

Our Claire Bear

You. You are Amazing.

You a are such a good baby. We really are blessed and thank God for you!
You are so beautiful. You have blond hair and your eyes get bluer each day. You sleep well. You eat well. You poop & pee well--more than enough. We can see you changing and gaining weight already. Daddy changes most of your diapers. And he loves to get you in your clothes for the day or in your warm pajamas for the night. He also has given you your two sponge baths. He is a natural and really good at taking care of you.
Your kitty sisters are coming around. At first they weren't sure about you, but now they know your here and here to stay. They sniff you and then go and sleep at the end of the bed.
You love music and you love your daddy. You love when he reads to you or plays Bach or irish music like The Chieftans for you. You love sleeping on mama. You sleep for four hour stretches at night and during the day go for 2 hours and then you wake to be fed. during the day you can be so wide eyed and alert. You just take it all in.
I don't know how we got so lucky! You are perfect and perfectly made. You amaze us and bring us to tears. Happy tears. You light up our lives and bring a smile to our face and such joy to our hearts. So thankful for you and all the ways you have and will enrich our lives! Soo soo Blessed <3

Tip of the Day!

One of my fave things to do- Organize!
You could ask me for anything at my house and I will know right away where to find it or if we have it. I never have to waste time searching...I do have to put things back where they go everytime, but that comes easy if you have a clean and specified place for everything!
So my best tip for decluttering and organizing??
Don't use the word later! Oh and start small... One drawer, one shelf at a time.
Add organizing shelves/containers to keeps things separated and in its place!

Her she is!!

My hubby is smitten with the name Claire--He has always said I resemble Claire Danes since the day I met him, especially when I indulge myself with the blonde hair. Oh, My blond hair--One thing he misses me having, as do I!

I can't wait for a lot of highlights..one day....

Anyways, look up Claire Dane images and maybe you'll agree!

So with that being said and us being hooked on that name for years--

I get to have a baby Claire --Claire Novella Park-- I can't wait to meet her!!

We chose Novella as the middle name. It happens to be a family name from the Park side. My husband's great grandmother's first name.

Here is a pic of her doing her thang...lol..she kicks and squirms a lot so still shots have been challenging. We got a great one of her with her legs over her head!

Exploration Neighborhood

I went out exploring the neighborhood yesterday. It was my free day to get out and about. I haven't yet received my new awesome bicycle in the mail. I called and they somehow overlooked the order. Not to worry it has been shipped and will be here any day now..
So anyway, I had to set out on foot for my adventure. A couple of streets over I had remembered there being a small park looking thing. I figured it would be cool just to check it out and see what it was and why it was there. From looking at  it when driving by I knew it was small. I grabbed my camera and began the short walk.
Well, Lo and behold it was the coolest little exploring adventure I've had in a long time! It turned out that this place was indeed a little park. But the only reason it's there is because it's an entrance to a cave.
Yes, A REAL CAVE!! Too cool.

I was confused at first whether or not you could just walk into it....but there were steps leading down and everything.
The night before we had a torrential down pour so I was very hesitant. A little ways down I realized my cute boots probably weren't the best shoes to have on for this, as I began to sink into the chalky yellow substance.
I'll go back to the entrance on a drier day just to check it out again. I wish you could go into it and actually explore it. But I think you have to know somebody for that!
When I got back home, I researched and learned some interesting stuff about it.
The Robber Baron Cave is it's name. It had some really cool history.
And I liked learning and finding out about another place where ground water has direct access to The Edwards Aquifer.
Check it out @
http://tcmacaves.org/robberbaron/index.html

 a small eyeless cave spider can be found inside. along with eyeless fish!

 in the 1930's it was an attraction for sure!

I just thought it was really neat to know that just under us, in Alamo Heights is this cave system. A rather long cave too.  Just think what you could be driving over ...Texas is known for having many cave systems!

Now I want to really explore a cave!