One more...

Let me just add one more item to our "NO" list!! She was fishing in the toilet before I could even get my coffee this morning. I don't understand sometimes! It's just the beginning right?? I am already weakening. It's not easy to set boundaries with that huge grin and playful attitude. ARGH! Now I am waiting for the toilet to have "goodies" in it....the tv remote, snacks, whatever she finds....I am certain that's next! Perhaps another item to add to the babyproofing list - toilet latches!

NO, NO, NO!

No! A commonly used word in our house these days. We are realizing very quickly that we need boundaries before things get beyond our control. We did decide after debate that the remote control could stay on the "yes" list. You can tell she is happy about that. She is pretty pleased about all her new attempts to drive us crazy. I didn't realize that turning the TV on and off was going to be a problem until she did it at a friends house. Not so cute anymore. So, out come the pre-toddler books. One paragraph I read said that around the year marker there will be a turning point when they do wrong things. They will have that "glint in their eye" as to say "ha ha, look at me now". Look closely at the pic with the curtains and I think you will see an emerging glint my friends. Her other new trick is tossing her paci out of the crib to see if we will come back in the room at bedtime. Standing in the crib has allowed her to have quite the aim. I knew when I heard a thump on the back of the bedroom door we were in for a long road.

It's Da-Da!!

Claire is now saying Dada!! She started July 13th and has only gotten clearer since then. It's so cute. It's especially funny when she says "Mamadada". Just cover all those bases! She seems to have alot of "language" she is working on and most of it sounds like Chinese...literally. Her 2 bottom teeth are popping in nicely. Very cute I must say. She is pulling up on the furniture and her toys. It cracks me up to see her standing. I know it's a normal progression but when you watch this little baby turn into a little person it just makes your heart stop for a moment.

There hasn't been much to blog about lately. Just hot summer days indoors and visiting friends. Naps have become a thing of struggle and so has bedtime lately. She is so restless and I can't figure out what has changed. Seperation Anxiety? Overstimulated? Who knows! These phases come and go I am sure.

Claire did have her first pedi given by Mommy...while she was sleeping of course! It's too adorable. Eric was surprised it had taken me this long! HA!

Debut

Claire "hosted" her first play-date with her baby buddy friends. We had a great group show up. The more the merrier was proven to be true. We had a great time seeing everyone. For me it was a personal challenge. I have never hosted anything. ( I don't think Thanksgiving counts in 2004....it was at our house but I didn't cook ANYTHING! ) So it was fun to set things up and see everyone at our house. I know a play-date isn't exactly a hard thing to put together but I definitely felt good about the day. Claire had so much fun with her buds. We have been a part of GBB (Gilbert Baby Buddies) since Jan this year. Growing together as a group and watching the babies grow is really cool. It feels good to part of something and establish these new friendships. I'd be lost without them.

Claire has officially broken ground on her 2nd tooth!!! We can see it now coming through. YAH! As much as we have loved her toothless grin we can't help but get excited at her new smile. The 1st tooth is almost all the way up. It's so cute. Fat pretzel sticks have been key in getting those teeth to pop out. After her trip to TX where she chewed on a stick in Grandma's backyard (which caused the 1st tooth to pop through) we found we were onto something! Teething tool and choking hazard all wrapped into one!

Oompa Loompa

Claire had a doc visit today for her stuffy nose. She's had a little green snot and I didn't want it to lead to anything worse. Overall she has seemed pretty healthy though. Just a little cranky about her tooth and the one next to it trying to make it's appearance. One thing I found out today while at the doc was that I have played a singular role in turning my child a lovely shade of orange (especially her nose). Claire likes "orange" foods...carrots, sweet potatoes, acorn sqaush, chicken noodle dinner. To be fair there aren't many "dinners" that aren't of the orange color but I digress. I put greens on the back burner because they weren't her favorite and now she is turning into an Oompa Loompa. I didn't even acknowledge her yellowish/orange undertone until my brother saw her on webcam one evening and asked why her nose was orange. YIKES! I just thought she had her daddy's coloring. Just blame it on Dad right? I took her to Houston and my mom said the same thing. Of course being a veteran mom she already called the diet issue. So I have an antibiotic for the green snotty nose and some green beans for the orange nose!

The blog with many titles

This blog could have about 10 different titles. "First tooth", "Claire Crawls!", "Getting the best and taking the best", "Tales of our Travels", "Shoot me in the face tired"...the list goes on! It's just been that kind of week. Claire and I went to Houston for what was to be a quick trip home to see friends and my mom. It turned into 8 days in Texas and included a trip to Austin. Since we fly standby for our travel you never know when you may get "stuck" somewhere which is why our trip was a little longer than planned. Claire and I had a great flight to Houston. It couldn't have been any better. The flight home was a little less glamorous but we made it home. I got to spend some time with my BFF, Sandi. Claire got to hang out with Logan. They were so cute together.

I got to spend time with my other BF, Kaylan, which was awesome. Grandma had some quality time with Claire as well. We went to a baby shower for our friends Jenney and Keith. Ahliana was a beautiful sight! It was a full trip.

Claire decided to grow up in Texas. She became a real crawler at my mom's house and later that night she pulled herself up in her playpen and was just standing there looking at us. 2 days later I felt her first tooth cutting. She learned to wave at people (thanks to Grandma's encouragement). Her 9 month jammies even seemed to be getting too small. What the heck! Claire has taken her time with becoming mobile (thank you) and getting her teeth so we have been anticipating it at anytime. All at once though it just funny! It is fun to watch her explore and also a bit exhausting. The baby I brought to Texas isn't the baby I brought home. She will only keep adding to her talents as she embarks on her journey to becoming a toddler! I am so proud of her.

I loved being home but I am tired. That is all I can say. I kept Claire on AZ time zone which is a 2 hr difference. She went to bed at 9:30 pm on average so we were all pooped out by the end of the day. I would have probably switched her over to TX time if I knew the trip would be longer but atleast now she's still on track. I miss everyone back in Texas but I am very glad to call Arizona my home now. Sometimes when you go back you realize that everything is as it should be now. I am pretty sure that Claire will always have a little Texas in her heart though and so will I.

It's Ma-Ma!!!

Claire had a big debut tonight. She said 'ma-ma... mmom... mamamama'. You get the point! I know she wasn't exactly calling me mama but she did say it over and over all the same. I can't wait until she understands she is saying my name! It's so cute. Her little lips get all tucked in like an old man with no teeth when she says her M's. I thought I heard some 'mum' snippits earlier today but laughed it off. I even called Eric at work and was kidding around that she was saying 'mom'. Tonight however, she may have just made the baby book for real! I heard it, Daddy heard it, and Grandma heard it over the phone! I guess you could say it made me pretty happy! :) Anything other than 'aaah boo' is great!