Happy 4 months Claire!

Dear Family and Friends,

This weekend, a year ago, Chris and I found out we were pregnant with Claire!  I woke up very early on Saturday morning to take a pregnancy test that I bought on my way home from work Friday.  The box said, "For best results, take this test first thing in the morning."  I dreamt all night that I was taking the test and each time I would wake up dreaming of a different result! So at 6:00am, I jumped out of bed and took the test.  The pink line, which is an abbreviation for, "Congratulations, you are pregnant." showed up immediately!  I just sat in the bathroom for a moment with a stupid grin on my face and then I debated if I should wake up Chris to tell him the news.  I decided I couldn't wait until he woke up, so I ran into the room and tapped him on the shoulder.  Chris rolled over to see me standing over him with the test in hand and immediately pulled the sheets over his head.  (Not because he was scared of the news, but because he knew where that test had just been and my hand was shaking!)  I quickly apologized and set the test down and then I said, "We did it! We're going to have a baby!"  Chris smiled and pulled me into bed with him (a classic go back to sleep move).  I was too excited to go back to sleep, so I jumped back up and started getting ready for the day.  Chris and I went out to the book store that afternoon to buy the first of many pregnancy and baby books!  I couldn't wait to read about what was happening inside me and how our little baby was growing. 

Cookies I lovingly frosted with the due date to announce our big news to the family at Memorial Day weekend!

Now our little baby is 4 months old!  I told Chris the other day that where Claire is now, developmentally, is what I always pictured a baby being.  Cute, cuddly, smiley, chubby, and somewhat sturdy.  That is so different from what a newborn actually is!  I am so in love with the 4 month old marker!  Claire is sleeping well (most of the time) and she did something else this week for the first time that absolutely melted my heart! She laughed!  Here is a YouTube link to her sweet giggles:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7_Su5ZmmDs

This week Claire received a fun package in the mail from her Nana Barb!  Nana made her a cute sun dress with little ruffle butt panties and lots of cute sun hats!  I'm so excited - and so was Claire!  Here she is in one of her new outfits!

The "Claire Stare" strikes again!

Outside we tested out her sun hat!  I accidentally flashed her belly, but it's so cute and chubby!
Now Mommy just needs to put on her sun hat!
(You can also see behind me, our front yard is growing back in!)

A bright and colorful dress paired with piggy toes!  So much excitement in one place!

Looks like Claire is ready for the beach! Thanks Mom!

This week Claire also went to the Doctor for her 4 month check-up. The nurse came in to do the measurements.  Her weight: 12lbs 11 oz, her head: 39.5 cms, and her length: 26inches!  When the nurse said her length out loud, I asked her if that sounded right to her.  She said, "Wow, growing 3 inches since her last appointment is a lot, let's measure again."  So we did and we got the same result! Claire is now in the 97% for her height!  I think she's going to be taller than me by age 3!  Yikes!

Claire did great with the shots at her appointment, but then cried for a while that evening.  Chris helped me snuggle with her until she calmed down.

Claire likes to spend most of her afternoons cuddling with Daddy! 

Here they are watching some basketball while I work on dinner!

The weather was great at the end of last week so Chris got out the rototiller to work on the yard!  What a great husband!  I think next weekend we'll get some mulch down and plant some flowers!

Chris with our new rototiller!  Thanks Mom and Dad Supple for the great Christmas gift!
Chris is doing some great work with it on all of our flower beds!

I hope everyone is having a great week!
Love,
Bethie