Santa Has Arrived

So, while we were at a local department store this afternoon, we happened to run into Santa Claus. At first, I did not see him. I had my head down in some sale priced children's shoes, and I could hear Claire in the background saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Santa Claus. Santa Claus, Mommy." Thinking that she was just noticing one of the many figurines spread throughout the store, I nodded in agreement and kept busy in the shoes. Then, when I stood up, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Santa! Does he not know that we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet?
Anyway, Claire had me carry her over to see the man in red himself. At first, she was a little shy, but she soon warmed up and could have sat in his lap all evening if I had let her. As we left the store, Jeremy and I were taking this golden opportunity to explain to Claire that Santa only brings toys to girls and boys who listen to their mommies, daddies, and teachers. Then, right before we were going to walk out the door, Claire slowed and started turning as if to go back towards Santa. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "I have to go tell Santa that I spilled the paint." It was too precious. This was an incident that happened at school a couple of weeks ago on a day that Claire had apparently left her "listening ears" at home. I told Claire that Santa already knew about the paint, and that he knew it was an accident, so everything was okay. Bless her heart. On the up side, I think we have found a new disciplinary tool for the month of December!

Running Lion

Yesterday was Claire's class Pow Wow and feast at school. The show began with each child being introduced by their Native American name, and it continued with the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of classic Thanksgiving songs (my favorite of which being "I'm So Glad I'm Not a Turkey on Thanksgiving Day"). At times, it was hard to get a picture of Claire because "Little Hunter" standing next her was playing his air guitar throughout most of the show. However, I snapped a few and we were very proud parents. Claire did a great job!
Now, you may be wondering how Claire received the name "Running Lion". Earlier in the month, it was requested by the teachers that we create a Native American name to describe our child. We wanted Claire to be a part of the naming so we began by giving her some descriptive words like "singing", "dancing", and "running" to choose from. She wanted running. Then we told her she could be an animal. Without any given suggestion (or hesitation) she stated that she wanted to be a lion. There was absolutely no changing her mind, and so "Running Lion" it was. The name didn't say too much about her (like the "Little Swift Foot" that Jeremy came up with), but she sure was proud of it.
Later yesterday afternoon, Claire said, "Thanks for coming to my Pow Wow. It sure was a lot of fun." So sweet.

Green Beans

After much rejection in the rice cereal department, I decided to try Emma on some baby food yesterday. Green beans seemed like a pretty good place to start, so we gave it a whirl. Although you can't really tell from the pictures, I'd say Emma actually kind of liked it. She didn't clamp her mouth shut near as much as she usually does with the rice cereal. In fact, she ended up eating most of it. Hopefully, this small step of success will carry on.
While I was feeding Emma, Claire took it upon herself to document the event. She took some interesting pictures, but was surprisingly able to capture some things in the process. One of which being the green beans. She said, "Oh, I have to get a picture of the green beans." That she did!

6 Months Old!

Emma is now 6 months old! She continues to be a happy little girl, and is a champ at sitting on her own and jumping in her "Johnny Jumper". Considering that she constantly chews on her fingers and fist, I would say that her bottom teeth are set to make their grand debut any day now.
Claire and I took Emma in for her 6 month check-up today. She now weighs 17 pounds, 11 ounces and is 27 1/2 inches long. That puts her around 81% for weight and 95% for height.
For comparison purposes, I decided to take a new photo of Emma and her baby doll friend. The first picture (at the bottom) was taken when Emma was just 2 months old. She is now not only bigger than the baby doll, but she can also knock the baby down and bang her on the head. The future of our poor doll is not looking bright.

Claire at 6 Months

Here is a picture of Claire when she was about 6 months old. I'd say there are definite similarities between the girls.

Stick People

Claire has been drawing faces for several months now, but she just recently decided to add some body parts. Well, arms and legs. It is fascinating to me that this seems to be the natural people drawing progression of just about every child I have ever worked with. Who needs an actual body anyway?

"When I Got Married"

A few months back, I heard the song that Jeremy and I first danced to at our wedding ("When You Say Nothing At All" by Alison Krauss) on the car radio. Claire was in the car with me, and I explained to her that it was the song that Mommy and Daddy danced to when they got married. The next day, as we were listening to the radio again, Claire began picking random songs and saying, "This is the song when I got married." As you can imagine, some songs were "First Dance" worthy, and some most definitely were not.
I tell you this story because Claire still says this from time to time, and it has become quite a fun game for me. It is pretty funny to think of some of the songs that she picks out as being appropriate for a first dance at a wedding. The next time you are listening to the radio, think of Claire saying, "This is the song when I got married", and see if it gives you a good laugh.

The Rock Ranch

This past weekend we took Claire and Emma on a little trip to the Rock Ranch. The ranch is owned by the founders of Chick-fil-A, and every year they do a series of Saturdays called "Fall Family Fun Days". They have a ton of activities for the kids, and lots of land to roam. Emma went on her first train ride, and Claire's favorite activity by far was the "House of Corn". It was basically a play house filled with corn kernels. We had the hardest time getting her out of that house!
In the end, it was a great time had by all, and we were wiped by the end of the day. It takes a lot to get Claire to slow down long enough to just fall asleep on the couch. The Rock Ranch successfully did its job!

Recent Milestones

Emma is now 5 and a half months old, and moving right along in her development. She is becoming quite the good little sitter, and last week we decided to start her on rice cereal. Acquiring a taste for the rice cereal has proven to be a slow but steady process. Claire was eager to taste Emma's "special" food, but it didn't take her long to realize that she has it pretty good when it comes to eating "big girl" food.

Cupcake

Last week, while my parents were visiting, Claire's Nanny (my mom) decided to take her on a special trip to the Build-A-Bear Workshop. If you are unfamiliar with this store, it is a place where kids can come and pick out a yet-to-be stuffed animal, fill it with stuffing, give it a heart inside, wash it, name it, and even dress it in clothes. Alas, Cupcake, the purple teddy was born. Claire decided to get Cupcake an Ariel costume for Halloween, and her favorite part of the whole experience was washing her teddy bear and putting make-up on her. She has been grooming Cupcake ever since!

Ariel, is that you?

The other day while I was working in the kitchen, Claire came dashing in saying, "Mommy, come see. This is going to be funny." When I turned the corner, pictured above is what I saw. It was funny alright.

Halloween Festivities

We had a fun and busy Halloween week! It was full of pumpkin carving, a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch, a Fall Festival, and trick-or-treating.
Claire's friend, Abby, and her little brother, Aaron, invited us to join them for their Fall Festival. The girls had so much fun playing games and jumping in Belle's castle, and the babies made a funny little pair. I'd say the free cotton candy was definitely an added bonus for Claire.
Friday night, Claire and our neighbor, Emme, helped pass out candy, and then her friend, Harris, joined us for trick-or-treating. They were all so excited!! Even Harris' dad joined in on the costume fun. He made a great pirate!
Every day since, Claire has been making us play "Trick-or-Treat". She loves to sort her candy, dump it from bags to bowls, and make us come knocking on her door for treats. The good part is, that while she does love to eat it, she shows great restraint and mostly just plays with the candy. Other than a sneaky lick here or there, she only eats a piece of candy after she has asked us if it is okay. Unfortunately, I don't have that much self control. One day Claire will realize that her candy pile is magically disappearing.