Adventures with the V-Becks: Claire is 5 Months Old!

Claire is 5 months old!!! I can't believe it...she is almost halfway through her first year!!! How did this happen??? Someone please slow time down for me. It's going waaayyyyy too fast!

During our photo session Claire decided she would rather lean forward for her pictures! She'll be sitting by herself before we know it!

She is really taking in the world around her now! Always looking and letting it all soak in!

I quickly snapped these pics while she balanced in the little chair just long enough to snap a photo! She was having lots of fun with that tutu again!

She's still teething with a constant fountain of drool pouring out leaving a rash on her poor little neck.

I see the teeth just under the gums, so maybe we'll get a break soon! :)

In the mornings when I pump Claire hangs out in her PJ's on her play mat! I snapped this picture of her on my iPhone! She is just too cute!

This month Claire had her first outing in the heat!

Kevin loves his remote control car and as it turns out they are moving their headquarters right by our gym. Kevin went to work out and saw that they were having Traxxas Day- so we went up there to check it out!

My parents met us there and the guys had a great time looking at and testing the remote control cars!

Claire and I hung out in the shade...it was soooo HOT!

Here is Claire cooling down on the leather couch at home! She looks SO big here!

Claire sleeps great in her crib at night, however she would always wake up after about 30 minutes of nap time. So we quickly solved that problem by moving her swing into the bedroom. After the first 30 minutes of her nap I turn off the swing and she will sleep another 30 min to an hour!!! Hopefully she'll outgrow the need for the swing before she outgrows the swing itself! Until then, we do what works! :)

She wakes up around 6:00am, nurses, plays and then takes a nap around 8:00 or 8:30. After that she nurses again and plays until her afternoon nap around 1:00. She usually takes a short nap in the late afternoon or early evening and then goes down to sleep in her crib around 7:45-8:15ish...sometimes later. She is pretty good at sleeping through the night, although sometimes she cries and I have to go put the pacifier in her mouth and she goes right back to sleep. She lost interest in her thumb for now, we'll see if she goes back to it again. She always ends up sleeping on her tummy at night in her crib.

She looks so beautiful when she is sleeping...

She is reaching for everything now!
Water bottles, cell phones, hair...anything close enough to try for!

She loves this little duck that vibrates when you pull it down and let go of it!

She is spending more time in her jumper and can almost reach the floor with her little toes now!

Reaching for that monkey! "Get it Claire, get it! You can do it!"

Her favorite thing to do is look at this little lion! Is really amuses her! :)
She could stare at it for 5 minutes and be completely entertained.

"Hi Mom!"

And after about 10 minutes she does this...time to do something new!

Claire has been expressing an interest in her toys so much that we bought her a few new ones to keep her entertained. She LOVES this peacock with all kinds of textures, colors and fun things to feel on it!

She also loves her new Eric Carle butterfly hanging in the background of these photos!

And...one of her favorite toys...her FEET!! She loves them! It's too cute!

This month Claire and her Daddy have really bonded! As Claire gets more interactive it is so much fun to see them playing together! I feel so blessed to have a husband who is such a big kid at heart and could cuddle and giggle with his baby girl all day long!

Notice how similar their faces and expressions look...

This update would not be complete without making note of these precious little baby thighs! I just love her little rolls! It melts my heart and makes me soooo happy since we struggled with weight gain and feeding issues 2 months ago! It's obvious she is a healthy baby now! YAY Claire!

And of course..the back view. As my friend Kate said, "This is how we roll..."

Claire LOVES the pets! Anytime they walk by a HUGE smile comes over her face and she just stares at them watching their every move! Sometimes I get stressed having 2 cats and a dog, but since Claire is enjoying them so much it makes me glad we have them!

Claire is wearing 6 month clothing now and a size 2 diaper. She weighs about 15 pounds 5 ounces.

After her surgery we began doing less bottles and more nursing and I am SOOOO happy to say that just 2 days before she turned 5 months old she exclusively breastfed ALL day (every 3 hours) and was such a CHAMP! That is a whole 'nother post of it's own though I will save for later! I am sooooo glad we stuck with it and went through everything we did! It has been so worth it and I am so very proud of her!