Bright Days

One thing I love about Arizona is that it is sunny like 98% of the time! It's just a perpetually happy place. We don't have a daylight savings time change which I also love. However, the sun does change when it rises and sets. The natural flow of the earth! WELL...STOP IT SUN! Mr. Sun is not my friend at 5:30 in the morning when Claire thinks it's time to rise and shine! I can hear her on the monitor making her noises just waiting for Mommy or Daddy to come see her. I am not a morning person I have learned. When the "alarm" goes off it's time to put on the Mom hat and it doesn't come off until you go to bed the next night so sometimes you just want to lay in bed for 5 more minutes. I must say though, she is always happy and smiling ear to ear when I come get her. Who else greets me this way? I love it! She is so excited that one of us has come to pick her up. We are stumbling around the house in a morning fog and she is the Energizer Bunny! She always wakes up on the right side of the crib!

Claire has all kinds of noises to express her happy side. Getting her to actually giggle is a tough act though. She only does it when she's laying on her back and we are doing something funny to her. Blowing kisses on her feet or singing her Grandma's favorite "Shake Your Booty" while shaking her legs. Yesterday I was reading "The Hungry Little Caterpillar" to her while she sat in my lap. The last page of the book she just went into a full blown giggle session. I just kept reading it over and over and she kept laughing hysterically. Neither Eric or I had ever heard this kind of laughter from Claire. We caught some on video it was so good! It was just a small taste of her personality coming through. It was pure heaven! We all laughed until it hurt! Laughter IS the best medicine. Just thinking about that moment makes me laugh. Saturday nights have never been so good!!

Alphabet Foam Floor = My Worst Fear

Well...it happened! We purchased the alphabet foam puzzle piece floor. I have feared this day for so long. Before I had a baby I had my mental "list" of things that I thought I would never do when I had a kid. Dedicating my entire formal dining room to the likings of a Gymboree were on the top of that "never" list. I just want our house to look like 2 adults still live here not just a baby. So, we comprimised and dedicated a corner of our living room to Claire's play area. Do I dare say it's actually cute. I even spelled her name down the middle. I went a step further and added the O-X next to the C in Claire for COX! It's true, I did. I have gone to other side! HA! Claire really seems to like her new play area and I have to admit that it's nice to have a place downstairs to put her down. I am not sure how long I can expect her to actually stay on the mat but for now it works. She is starting to sit up and I can't wait until she really has the hang of it. It's so cute and she looks like a big girl.

I know we are in for some new challenges soon. She already grabs everything in sight and rolls away. Changing her diaper has become eventful. I wonder if she thinks we are torturing her with this evil diaper because that is how she is acting. I hear it gets worse. My best friend has to change her 8 mo old son while he stands up. That has to win a medal!

We are all battling a cold in our house right now. I think we are on the uphill slope to getting better but we seem to just be passing it around. Claire has a cough now to go with her runny nose which I am certain is from teething (this time has to be for real!) She is still acting happy as ever though. I should take a lesson from her in how to stay positive! :)