What a great idea!

I came across this blog the other day and they had a great idea for meal planning. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to plan our meals and my grocery trips especially now that Claire is here. The blog post suggests coming up with a list of 30 meals to rotate through. This seems like a lot of variety so I suppose you can make your list as long as you want. Here's the blog post: http://littlenannygoat.blogspot.com/2009/04/30-meals-step1.html

So I thought I'd ask, what are your go to meals? Here are some of mine:

spaghetti, tacos, quesadillas, pita pizzas,shrimp n' grits, chicken or tuna casserole, red beans n' rice, meatloaf, sesame coated chicken, pecan coated chicken, chicken parmesan, lasagna, hamburgers, grilled chicken, fish n' chips, beef or pork roast, quiche, breakfast, buffalo chicken, lamb stew, baked fish, ravioli

Well, now I'm hungry. I better go fix dinner. Tonight we are making pizzas: buffalo chicken and barbecue. Yum!

Well Worth It!

If you've read my previous posts from this week, you know it has been an interesting one and sometimes an exhausting one. It was all well worth it when this morning our baby girl started smiling at her dad and I. Here's the proof (mind you, I'm holding the baby with one hand while trying to snap the picture with the other but you get the idea - she's smiling!)


We've also noticed that she's starting to use her left hand. She has been spotted swatting at her mobile in her pack n' play and bringing it to her mouth to chew on. What a week!

Growth Spurt - 5 Weeks

I finally realized what's been going on with Claire this week, another growth spurt. This explains the long sleep the other night (something about a hormone needed to help with the growth) and all the fussiness. I thought something was up when she wanted to nurse every 2 hours Wednesday night before going to bed for the night. Then last night she wanted to nurse every hour before finally going to bed at 11:30. I read that babies also go through developmental spurts and I've noticed that too this week. She sat with me on the floor yesterday afternoon for half an hour just looking around the room. She would spend a few minutes looking around in one position and then she would either arch her back or twist in order to get me to move her so she could look in another direction. She did this again this morning but for only about fifteen minutes. I felt so privileged to be able to witness the development of this tiny person's brain. You could almost feel the connections being made as she was looking around. So sweet!

I've got Claire actually napping right now so I've been able to upload our pictures from the past couple of weeks. Here's what our girl looks like:

Claire at Three Weeks

Grandma Thomas came to visit for the weekend.

Blissful sleep!

Tummy time!

Claire at 4 Weeks

My parents were here for the evening so that Mom could catch a flight in the morning.

Falling asleep looking for Mommy. Doesn't that just melt your heart?!

Claire at 5 Weeks

I attempted to get a picture of Claire scanning the room.
It was difficult to do with her squirming.

Claire squirms a lot in her sleep and this week she's been ending up on her side.

She wore Mommy out this week!

Oh, What A Night!

Our little girl slept from 9:30 to 3:30 last night! I awoke with quite a start when I looked at the clock after hearing her whimpering. Then I got up fed her, changed her and put her back to bed in just 30 minutes. What a great night!

A New Development

I started noticing yesterday that Claire really prefers for me to put her down when she is sleepy. I was holding her yesterday afternoon and I knew she was tired but she just wouldn't settle down so I decided to put her down on the floor where she could stretch out and she immediately calmed down and eventually fell asleep. I decided to try this last night to see if she could soothe herself to sleep and she did it, all night! I'm hoping she'll keep this up. I'm also hoping that maybe she'll get quieter while she's going to sleep because she grunts a lot until she is in a deep sleep. This makes it hard for me to fall back to sleep because I'm worried that she's going to wake up at any minute and start crying. Never the less, this is a huge improvement and I'm very proud of my little girl. It seems like she does something new everyday.

It truly is amazing how quickly babies grow and change. We had to get out the next size diapers for her yesterday after changing her outfit three times in 15 minutes. Her newborn onesies don't fit over these very well, either. They were starting to get a bit tight any way but they are so cute and I hate to see them go. We weighed Claire over the weekend and she is now about ten and a half pounds so all of this is just a sign that our sweet girl is healthy and well.

Claire at 5 Weeks

I haven't posted anything recently because there isn't much to report and I've been a bit busy. Claire is doing very well. She continues to roll over when we place her on her tummy. She actually did it today while resting on my chest! It's a good thing I had a hand on her! Her days have been a bit unpredictable recently as she isn't napping very well. The idea of sleeping when the baby sleeps doesn't work in this situation. During those times I try to eat, rehydrate, put on clean clothes, brush my teeth, etc. She's a very active baby and she'll wear you out while you are holding her. She likes for you to change positions frequently and she likes to push off of you with her legs. She is very strong and is lifting her head higher and for a longer period of time. She'll have good head control soon. She still isn't seeping well between her 9 pm and 12 am feedings so I'm not getting a whole lot of sleep. Tim helped out this weekend by doing her 3am feeding and he tries to help me get her to sleep after her 9pm feeding. I'm a lucky lady to have such an involved husband! I did get a social smile out of her last week so that was really special. The past couple of days she has really started enjoying playing on the floor and I've noticed more smiles from her during those times.

Claire is stirring again! I better go!

Proof: Rolling over video

Certain people (like my father) have voiced their doubt when told that Claire can roll over from her front to her back. Now I have conclusive video evidence of her achievement. I would like to direct your attention to Parent's Exhibit A.

Click HERE to see video of Claire rolling over

I rest my case.

On the charge of "being too cute for words", we find the accused, Claire Suzanne, to be guilty on multiple counts. She is hereby sentenced to be hugged and kissed without mercy for the rest of her natural life.