A New Game

Last week, when I was home on my snow days from school (2), Claire was sitting on my lap while I ate lunch. I gave her a something or other to play with...can't remember now, but I remember I would not have given it to her had I not been right there (i.e. not a baby toy). She was studying it and it dropped out of her hand onto the floor. I picked it up for her (do you see where this is going?) and gave it back a couple times. Well, then I noticed that she started 'dropping' it more frequently. Being the good mom and teacher that I am, I kept picking it up for her.

Lesson: Cause and Effect.

Objective: My daughter will understand that when she drops an object, mommy will give it back to her.

Plan:
1. Claire drops toy.
2. Mommy picks it up and gives it back.
3. Repeat step 1.
4. Repeat step 2.
5. Repeat step 1.
6. Repeat step 2.
7. etc.

Assessment:
Observation...it's coming next...

So Claire was helping me check my email today. She was sitting in my lap and I gave her a blue dolphin to play with. She immediately dropped it and I picked it up. Well, she kept dropping it time and time again, without breaks to actually play with it (and I know she's a baby, but her hand-eye coordination isn't THAT bad), and I kept picking it up for her. I even noticed her sneaking a couple of glances down at the floor when she dropped it.

I think she passed her first lesson in cause and effect! Now, if she only knew that I am still behind my hands when we're playing peek-a-boo! :)

Super Dad to the rescue!

"I kind of feel like a hero," exclaimed Matt, surprised at himself. Here's the story:

Matt and I were working on sleeping skills with Claire, and we let it go a bit too far. Everyone I've talked to and all the books say that you just have to let your little one "cry it out" to learn how to fall asleep on their own. Well, Claire is not a 'bad sleeper.' Usually we just swaddled her and if she was sleepy, put her down, replaced her pacifier if it fell out, and let her fall asleep on her own.

We began to question ourselves when she woke up in the night a few times, not hungry, but just to be cuddled back to sleep. So we tried the "Ferberizer" method (I think that's the name, Ferber thought this up.) of letting her "cry it out." It's five minutes of crying and one minute of reassuring, then leaving, followed by five minutes of crying...you get the picture. Well, Claire didn't like this, and she got MAAAAAAAAD! We tried this for forty whole minutes, which one would think would be enough time for a little girl to get the hint that we're not picking her up. Well after that much time had passed, we finally did pick her up, cuddled her, rocked her, shushed her, etc., but she was so mad none of this even helped. Miss Claire is a STUBBORN little girl!!! (Hmmm, two first born parents who are the same way...wonder where she got that?) I'm thinking a trait like being strong-willed must be innate in the nature vs. nurture debate. Anyway, finally nursing helped a little, enough to calm her down so that we were able to help her back to sleep eventually. To sum it up...Claire won this battle.

So back to Super Dad. We've decided that "Ferberizing" isn't for us, after all each child is different; and so we are reverting to our old method. However, since this war a few days ago, she's been extra touchy going to sleep. (How long will she remember what happened?) I was trying and trying to get her calmed down for bed and was having no luck at all. In walks Super Dad, who takes over and has her down and asleep in no time. Matt walks out and says to me after a few minutes of Claire sleeping, "I kind of feel like a hero."

And he is. And there will be plenty more opportunities for him to prove it over the coming years I'm sure. :)

Thanksgiving

We obviously have so much to be thankful for, especially this year! We are so blessed to have Claire in our lives and to have been entrusted with raising this precious little girl.




We had a nice Thanksgiving with Brenda's side on the Sunday before. Claire loves seeing Amber and Amber loves playing with Claire!




We needed a picture of grandma and grandpa on the blog, so here we go! :)




"These are the kittens that grandma got me shortly after I was born. Grandpa even started letting them in the house once in a while." -Claire at age 4




Thanksgiving Day in the pretty dress Mommy got Claire! We had a great time in Minneapolis at Robyn and David's. We were pretty happy to get to spend this Thanksgiving with Tante Christine, Opa, and the rest of our family and friends.




The 11 pound chicken I made!! Doesn't it look like it's right out of the pages of a cooking magazine? Just call me Giada! (I'm pretty proud!)

I heart flannel.

Pre-Thanksgiving weekend, Saturday evening, was spent with Mark's side of the family for Jordan's birthday. It was fun getting together with everyone as we don't get to see them too much. Claire loves her great grandpa and was intrigued by his flannel shirt. She studied it for quite some time and reached out to touch it. Thank you grandpa for wearing such interesting clothes. :)




Clearly interested in our feet now, too. Don't tell Omi, but the "no-slip" socks she got just for Claire over-promise with that claim. We still really appreciate the thought! :)




Even Tyler and Carter played with Claire a bit. Carter really liked her, I think! Jordan stayed clear but was a good sport by running out and getting diapers, etc. from the car. Thanks Jordan!

Claire and Opa

I'm catching up on the blog a little. This was the pre-game for game day - Thanksgiving. We all went up north on Friday and went out to eat with Mom, Alex, and Jaclyn. Saturday Claire had some much needed bonding with Opa, who hasn't gotten to see her nearly as much as Omi. Opa and Claire had so much fun together. They cuddled, read books, and even invented a new game - the stair game. Claire loves going "up and down the stairs, up and down the stairs." She would giggle every time Opa would do it. Mommy took the time that Matt, Opa, and Claire spent together for a much needed nap...thanks guys!

Picture me rollin'...

That's right everyone...Claire rolled over!! It was so fun. Matt and I both saw it and agree that Claire probably wondered "Why are these silly people smiling and clapping at me?" She did it four times on Saturday. She hasn't done it since, but maybe she's just taking a break. :)

Fun-filled Weekend

Who's that pretty baby in the mirror? It's fun to watch Claire's reaction as she sees faces in the mirror. This time we happened to be looking right before bath time, as seen by the naked jaybird picture. She even tries to reach out and 'touch' the other baby. :)




At first, we weren't planning on dressing up for Halloween. Then, Omi and I found this sweet costume for $3 at Affordable's in Mason. We had to buy the schnaeppchen (good deal)! I had no idea how fun it would be to dress her up. Isn't she adorable? I had a huge smile across my face! Claire napped during the 'official' trick or treat hours, but when she woke up we went to the three neighbors' houses that we're friends with. We spent about 15 minutes at Marie and Paul's, 30 minutes at Joe and Jen's, and then hours at Mark and Amy's. Amy even got a couple pairs of special little Halloween socks for Claire since she can't eat candy. :) By the way, the debate was on whether this was a cow or horse...the verdict is horse, because it has a mane.

Side note: Matt came home to change into his 'costume' for Mark and Amy's party...he was a bicyclist, complete with spandex shorts and helmet - sorry folks, I didn't get a picture!




Aunt Chris came to visit (!!!) from Saturday through Monday for Claire's baptism. Saturday evening we went out to Flying Mango, which we highly recommend for great BBQ. Just take a look at that 'big chop' on my plate...I got four meals out of it! Claire was in a fun mood after dinner and we got some great smiley pictures. It's so funny how everyone focuses on the baby in a restaurant. We had an awesome time with 'Tante Christine' and can't wait for her next visit!



Claire's baptism went great! We were so glad that much of our family and friends could join us. The day was rough for our little girl without much napping time, but she finally fell asleep around 3:00 and slept for hours. Fortunately, she was well-rested and happy when she woke up...just in time to play with Aunt Chris. She sat in the same 'seat' that Uncle Alex and I used to sit in when we were babies...man, the benefits of having long legs! :)

Side note: No pictures of the actual baptism because I didn't take any, so send them my way if you got some on your camera. :)