Bath time

Some milestones in babyhood are much bigger than others.  Crawling, for example, is a huge milestone that opens up a whole new world of exploration for a baby.  Claire has taking to crawling with supreme gusto.  She just loves to cruise around the living room and put her little hands on everything.

Bath time change is an example of a small milestone.  We recently moved Claire out of her little bath-tub to taking baths in the big tub filled with a little water.  She loves the water and has even dunked her head several times.  She never gets upset and almost seems to enjoy playing around.  We need to get some rubber mats to put on the floor of the tub to make it easier for her to sit up and crawl around.  She kind of slips and slides a bit.

I realized upon adding this picture that the spout on my shampoo bottle is directly behind Claire's heading making it appear as if she has a giant curl right on top.  How weird and funny!

When I was trying to capture pictures of her in the tub she kept trying to stand up and hug me.

Standing up in the bath.

Crawling in the tub

I'm so glad she's liking bath time.  It sure makes things easier.

With Love,
Jane

Walker on the Fence

Russell and I have been watching The Walking Dead for a couple of years now.  For those who don't know, it's a post-apocalyptic drama set in the aftermath of a world overrun by zombies.  When we watch it, we inevitably start discussing what we would do if there were an apocalypse, zombie or otherwise.  I guess we have some "prepper" tendencies!  In any case, it doesn't hurt to be a little prepared and think about these sorts of things.  Not that I believe the world will be overrun by zombies, but just in the case of a natural disaster or several day power outage. We do have extra food and water in case of an emergency.

In the show The Walking Dead by season 3 the original survival group and main characters makes their way to a prison and holes up there due to the relative security from the zombies.  (In the show the zombies are dubbed "walkers.")  Around the prison there are double walled very tall chain-link fences with barbed wire on top.  One of the main conflicts in the current season is the possibilities of the "walker" horde pushing the fences over and gaining access to the safe zone in the prison where a small clan of survivors is trying to live.

When Russell and I saw Claire standing up clinging to the baby gate like you see below all we could think of was The Walking Dead and a "walker on the fence!"

A walker on the fence!

This is the gate we have between the dining room and the kitchen.  When we are in the kitchen she crawls up to the gate and then stands like this and talks to us.  It's really cute.

Let me in!

If I'm cute will you let me in?

I'm going to chew my way through!

If you haven't already, check out The Walking Dead.  Older seasons are currently on Netflix and the current season is Sunday nights on AMC.  It's really a pretty good show.

And Claire is much cuter than a walker.  Heh.

Love, Jane

Another weekend hike

Russell and I are loving the new pack we got for Claire.  We went out for another hike this weekend and did over 6 miles.  It was windy and pretty cold but Claire just loved it!  She was all smiles and interest.

I am thoroughly enjoying exploring nature with Claire and getting some much needed exercise at the same time.  It's just amazing.

Happy Friday!

Hello Everyone!

I am so happy it is Friday as that means I have the whole weekend ahead to spend with my little Claire!

It's a Grandparent weekend so Claire gets to see her Clemo Grandparents.  I've been telling her about it all week and I think she's getting very excited.

This is a picture heavy post.  I put together some collages and animated .GIFs.  Looking at them it's sort of like going back in time to when Claire was a little tiny infant.  I hope everyone enjoys!

Love, Jane

Playing with Boone

Boone has taken a long time to warm up to Claire, but he is finally treating her more like a member of the family instead of an "invader."

Here's a little video showing how he tries to play with her and get her to tug on his toy.

Enjoy!

2013-11-03 17.58.01 from Jane on Vimeo.

Claire is a reader!

Claire is getting more and more interested in the books we read to her.  She often stares at the pictures closely and then grabs at the book because she wants to hold it herself.  Many times she then also tries to put the book in her mouth.  At this stage it seems that everything goes into her mouth!

Fun times!

Hiking Adventure

When veteran parents give out the well-meaning advice to first-timers like Russell and me, saying things like, "Take time to enjoy it! It goes by fast.  Before you know it she'll be 16!" I always roll my eyes.  I think to myself, "Yes, do they really think we aren't' enjoying it?"  Or, "It sure doesn't seem like it's going by fast."

The truth is, it really does go by fast!  Claire is now 7 months 4 weeks this week and I'm so excited with how active alert and interested she has become!  Russell and I have been feeling somewhat stir crazy and have been eager to get outside to get some fresh air and exercise.

We recently bought a Kelty Expedition backpack child carrier so we can get out and take hikes and walks with Claire.  

This thing is a Cadillac!  It has a water bladder for the parent, a zip off back-pack, a large storage pouch with changing mat, and a sun/rain hood.

Claire models the new carrier.

Sun/rain hood up.

Side view

Eager to test out the new pack, this weekend we got all packed up and headed out on a 3 mile hike in the Deschutes National Forest.  The weather was fantastic: not too hot, not too cold.  There was no rain in sight and the high clouds filtered the sun so it was pleasant even without sunglasses.  

Family hike

Claire was an absolute cherub.  She loved the fresh air, the birds singing, the sounds of the wind in the trees, and riding along on my back.  Every time I looked at her I saw a huge happy smile!

All smiles

 She did fall asleep for a bit of the hike, but mostly she was awake and wide eyed as though she was taking it all in.  I think we definitely have a nature lover on our hands!

Hiking with Mom!

 We had such a fun time that we are going to make it a weekly thing.  I hope to do many of the local trails and foster a love for nature, hiking, and the outdoors in Claire.  It was just fantastic.

This was a common face during the hike.  She loved it!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love,
Jane

Fun New Toy

Last weekend we went to Elkton for a fun Halloween party hosted by Joe and Rheannan.  We stayed with Jon and Lisa that night where Claire got a new toy.  She got a Winnie the Pooh Theme walker!

Big smile in the new walker.  I think she looks more like me in this picture.

Claire had a lot of fun testing out the toys and the music.  Although, even though the box says it's for 4 months to 1 year, at 7 months Claire can't even touch the ground.  And she's a tall baby (75 percentile for length!)

Claire looks a bit miffed that her feet don't touch the ground.

Trying to get a smile out of her!

Mirrors are a fun toy.

Inspecting the walker cockpit.

What does this do?

When Claire pushes on the "hunny" pot it plays songs.  Fun songs like "Turkey in the Straw."  I need to relearn all the lyrics to these great folk tunes so I can sing along with Claire.

Pushing on the "hunny" pot.

Claire got to spend lots of time with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.  I think it's so wonderful that Claire has so many grandparents that love her so much.

Kissing Great Grandma

Talking with Great Grandpa

It was a fun weekend!  I hope everyone is doing well!

Love, Jane

Autumn Ruminations and Halloween costumes

Autumn has never been my favorite season.  In fact, it's always been my least favorite. Growing up in the Puget Sound area means the coming of autumn signals the end of the summer, dwindling daylight, and the beginning of the long dreary rainy season.  

Living in Central Oregon now for 2 years has given me a whole new perspective on autumn.  Central Oregon does fall in style and beauty.  It's something I've never experienced before.  It must be a combination of the cold desert nights and the sunny clear skies that create the perfect conditions for gorgeous fall foliage.

Crab apple, I think.

I recently took a mid-day walk and captured some of the stunning beauty of the trees changing color and enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather we've been having.

Maple

Views like the one below bring a smile to my face.  I feel lucky to have this only a block from my workplace.

Aspens overlooking the Deschutes River

I have officially changed my mind on Autumn.  What a gorgeous time of year!

Aspen

Golden Aspen

Maples and Ponderosa pine

Maples and Ponderosa

This weekend we are driving to Elkton to visit family and see Joe and Rheannan's new place for a Halloween party.  I was fretting over what costume Claire could wear until Russell found this at Costco!

Little Bowser

Look at Little Bowser go!

I'm looking forward to the weekend!

I hope everyone is well.

Love, Jane

Bullets and Baby Jail

We did a bit more shopping for Claire this weekend.  We've been in need of a play-pen for a few weeks now.  Claire is getting more and more mobile and is also getting faster and faster on the floor.  She can crawl pretty efficiently now and before we know it, if we look away even for just a moment, she's getting in to something she shouldn't.  Shoes and electronics are her current favorites. In a matter of seconds she'll crawl her way over to the stereo and TV and immediately start putting cords in her mouth.  

So we went to Target and WalMart and in addition to the play pen we got a Baby Bullet.

There was a bit of confusion on our part regarding the Baby Bullet.  We actually thought it would be small enough to make single servings in the little containers.  It turns out it's not.  It's almost exactly the same size as the Magic Bullet we already have.  It's about 2 mm smaller in diameter making the parts not interchangeable.  I kind of feel like we got a bit ripped off here.  The major difference is in the blade.  It sticks out a bit farther on the Baby Bullet enabling it to puree more completely.  Once we realized it's actually just a repainted Magic Bullet we considered returning it.  In the end we decided to keep it.  I  did put it to good use this weekend and made several purees for Claire.

Mmmm.  ground pork!

Mom and Dad grew the most delicious looking winter squash this year so I baked it and pureed it for Claire.  I also made some spinach, sweet potato and pork.  I really like the idea of just grinding up what we are already eating to feed Claire.  She seems to like it better too.

Butternut and delicata courtesy of the Walner garden.

Baby bullet in action.  The faces are really rather cute.

In other food related news, my coworker picked a bunch of fresh chantrell mushrooms the other day.  I cleaned and dried them and then Russell and I put them in with some New York steaks that we got last weekend at a really good buy.  It was a feast fit for kings.  Absolutely delicious!

Fresh picked Oregon Chantrelles

Claire got to test out her new play-pen, which we jokingly call "Baby Jail."  She seems to like it.  She doesn't fuss too much while inside.  It's going to be perfect for travelling as well since it folds up nicely and has casters for rolling it around.  

Look how well Claire is sitting up now.  I just can't believe how quickly she's developing!

Doing time.

Looking at Daddy.

Sitting up!  Amazing!

We we lucky enough to have some absolutely fabulous sunny and warm weather this weekend so we put the play-pen outside to enjoy some fresh air.  It was so nice.  Too bad I know it's not going to last.

I hope everyone had an equally fantastic weekend.

Jane