Smile attack

It's 2 p.m. Claire and I are sitting near the counter at Peet's Coffee shop. Claire is unusually quiet and pensive. She pastes her back against my arm and shoulder, starting at every stranger that passes in front of us to pick up their lattes, mesmerized by the pshhhht-pshhhhht of the milk steamer and the clink-clangs of cups on saucers. She sits like this, almost without moving, her fist clenched around the plastic hanging loops of her stuffed cardinal, for twenty minutes.





I pull a bottle out to feed her. Then, I pick her up and place her in the stroller to leave. Suddenly she looks up at me. Her face brightens. She leans forward slightly. She smiles. She giggles. She sticks her toungue out. She seems unable to staunch the gush of happiness. It's as if a new dawn has begun, world peace is possible and politicians can actually lead.

Sophie & Claire

The two girl wonders got up close again this weekend when her parents came over for breakfast. Whole lotta grabbing, gazing and drooling going on. See the Jan. 14 post for a reminder of how both babies have grown.



See also how dad, the English teacher, has aged. Well, I might add. Here, he contrasts Faulkner's "The Sound and The Fury" with Woolf's "To The Lighthouse."

Four month checkup

Claire's four-month checkup (rendered more than two weeks late) confirmed what all our sore wrists and achy back muscles already told us: She's a big kid. Height: 26.5 inches. Weight: 15 pounds, 13 ounces. She's as tall as the average six-and-a-half-month old.



She reaches for everything, with the goal of getting whatever it is, regardless of its heft, in her mouth. She even gums her mom's chin. Her latest experimental sound is to suck air in quickly, making a high-pitched, wheezing, windy noise while looking us directly in the eyes. It's a gasp!

Uncle Seth and Aunt Jackie

At long last, Claire met the newlyweds, Sarah's brother and sister-in-law.

Doesn't Seth look like a proud uncle?











We all enjoyed 70-plus degree Midwestern march day out on grandpa's porch.












Jackie shared tips gleaned from her days as a psych major specializing in childhood development.

Uncle Brent and Aunt Judy

We traveled to introduce Claire to Uncle Brent and Aunt Judy.


Brent snapped a lot of great photos, as he did at our wedding. Granddad's new dog, Hannah, entertained their dog, Friday. The men admired it all.





Claire was just glad to be out and about. As usual.

Great Grandma

Claire also met her Great Grandma Carol, who arrived for lunch with Uncle Claude. Claire dressed up in style for the occasion. Her elders were impressed.

Granddad

Back to Illinois....

Granddad spent lots of time with Claire, often closing out the nights mimicking whatever sound she threw his way.



He even strummed a little Johnny Cash.



Claire also began trying to sit up on this trip. She found no better place to practice than on granddad's lap.



She's still got a way to go.



On one of our last nights, grandpa helped out with the feeding routine.


No, he didn't give her a taste of his Mountain Dew. But she indeed reached for it. Can you say crunch?

First day of spring

Claire and I celebrated the vernal equinox by hiking through a nearby forest. The trip started promisingly. Claire stared upward at a towering Doug fir even before we got to the park.








We stopped often along the path.











She yanked on a young cedar tree's needles. She touched her first bit of moss and palmed some lichen.









She seemed mesmerized by the creeks we passed, staring quietly down at the water, leaving babbling all to the brook.



She fell asleep on the back side of the trail, only to be woken by passing SUVs.

She tolerated me stopping at a drug store to make prints from our digital camera.

She's a keeper.

I recounted the day for Sarah when she got home. She found it humorous that I took the diaper bag with me on the hike. "Where were going to change her if she needed changing?" she asked. "The bridge," I said. I had it all figured out.

Great Great Aunt Edna

Grandma and grandpa drove us toward the Chicago burbs so Claire could meet her Great, Great Aunt Edna.















Edna, now 93, never had children but you wouldn't have known from the way she cradled and took to Claire.






We lunched with Edna in the dining room of her assisted living center. Late in the meal, Edna hijacked Claire to show her off to her buddies. Then she disappeared from the dining room completely. I later found her with Claire sitting on a sofa in the lobby.
Just goes to show: Never let Aunt Edna out of your sight when she has hold of one of her nieces.

Granny

Our first trip to see the grandparents in the Midwest went swimmingly. Claire flew well. She loved O'Hare Airport. Granny was thrilled to be met with her granddaughter's smile and grew quite adept at rocking Claire to sleep.














She fixed up a bedroom for Claire with her own crib replete with multiple mobiles, wipes and several new outfits.




















She helped mom bathe Claire in the kitchen sink.










And she spelled mom from a late-evening feeding.

A historic day

Pictures from our trip to Illinois to come.

Today is Sarah's first day back at work since late October, before Claire's birth. It's also Claire's first day under my care, God rest her soul. I'm going to attempt to keep an account of the day for all y'all's reading pleasure.

5 a.m. Claire wakes, still on Illinois time and much to our disappointment. Loopy from only 8 hours of sleep in two days, I change her diaper. While Claire nurses, Sarah orders me back to bed.

6 a.m. I get up and rock Claire to sleep. Victory #1 for the day. Sarah showers and dresses while I make us cappucinos, read the paper and eat breakfast.

7 a.m. Claire awakes. Sarah watches her while I shower. Later, I hold her while Sarah makes herself lunch. "Are you excited?" Sarah asks me. I could not answer. I hadn't thought that far ahead.

7:30 a.m. I discover Claire has spit up on my shirtsleeve.



8:15 a.m. Sarah leaves. Claire flashes her smiles as her mom walks down the sidewalk.

8:16 a.m. The car doesn't start. I scramble to locate jumper cables.

8:30 a.m. Car jumped, Sarah drives away, this time for good.

8:38 a.m. Shortly after closing the front door, I discover that Claire has blown out her diaper. I change her clothes. Late in the process, she emits a red-faced scream and begins crying. I don't know why. It takes me nearly 15 minutes to change and dress her.

9:10 a.m. Claire falls asleep on my shoulder.

9:15 a.m. I get her down in her crib on the third try after she wakes up twice.

10 a.m. Claire wakes. I try to give her a bottle, but she doesn't want it.

11 a.m. We go for a stroll. Claire wows the receptionist at Bank of America, then falls asleep on the way to Rite Aid.

Noon. Claire wakes. She does time in her exercise gym while I eat lunch. She drinks a total of 3 ounces of milk over the next hour. Not much by her standards.

2 p.m. We get to mom's office. Claire entertains co-workers, then nurses.

3 p.m. We visit cousin Matt and Ella. Matt and I compare NCAA brackets while Claire watches Ella play with her toys.

3:10 p.m. Major goof of the day: Removing Claire from the car seat, I bump her head on the handle. She wails. Matt and Ella watch, silently appalled.

4 p.m. Claire falls asleep again on the ride home.

5 p.m. The most trying time of the day. Claire still won't take much more than an ounce of milk at a time. She seems to think the bottle as much a toy to gnaw on as a vessel of mom's milk. She also seems distracted. She begins to fuss. I start brown rice cooking for dinner. We change another dirty diaper. She cries more. This time, while giving her the bottle, I walk around. The ploy works .... for about five minutes.

5:30 p.m. An editor from the paper calls. He summons me to work tomorrow. Claire's cries cut short our conversation. That's my girl!

5:45 p.m. Sarah walks in. The evening is saved.