6 Months Old

On Tuesday January 16th, Claire turned 6 months old! Wow, I can't believe it! She had her 6 month check up last week and she weighs a whopping 17.8 lbs. and is 27.25 inches long. She is very well proportioned coming in the 90th percentile for weight, length and head circumference! She is just a very big girl! Her doctor said she is doing great and he said she is definitely thriving!! We are having a blast with her. She is a very smiley girl and doesn't seem to know a stranger! The doctor said most babies start having separation anxiety and become fearful of strangers, but not this little social butterfly!

The quilt pictures are taken with Claire's Baby Dedication gown that Grammy & Grandpa bought about two years ago (yes, two years ago!). Grammy had her name embroidered on the inside of the dress! I love this gown and it something Claire will have for the rest of her life.

Baby Dedication is similar to the Catholic's Christening of babies. At our church it is more for the parents than the babies though. The church prays for the parents that they raise their children to grow in the knowledge and truth of the Lord. Please pray for us that we can teach & lead Claire to know and understand the love our Lord has for her and that one day she will give her heart to Jesus! That is truly my hearts prayer for her.

Snow Dog!

Today was the first day since we adopted Sophie that we have had a decent amount of snow. We weren't sure how she would like it because she is definitely an "inside dog". Well, Sophie LOVED the snow and she played for about 30 minutes running, pouncing and rolling around in the fluffy snow. It was very sad for us, but we were glad to pass Maddie's beautiful winter coat on to Sophie. It kept her nice and toasty!!

Our Girls

I always knew any child of mine would HAVE to love animals, but I had no idea Claire would be this fascinated with them, dogs in particular! She is so enthralled with Sophie! When Claire & Sophie are in the same room, which is most of the time, Claire always has an eye on Sophie. She smiles at her non stop and you can tell she is hoping for a response from Sophie in return. Sophie, however, is only interested in Claire if there is something edible involved! Sophie is very sweet with Claire and we are trying to teach Claire to be gentle and respectful of Sophie! They are too cute together. They're our girls!

Landon & Anna's Party

Today we went to Landon's house to help celebrate Landon & Anna's first birthdays. Landon turned one on December 28th and Anna turns one on January 27th. We had a great time! It's always so much fun to get all our babies together! They are all getting so big!

Claire fell asleep right before the group picture and amazingly stayed asleep for the majority of the photo shoot!

Happy Birthday Landon & Anna! You two are so cute!!!

Claire sleeping next to her friend Tessa!

From Left to Right, Top Row: Tessa with her mommy Elisabeth, Claire with her mommy Michele, Elise with her mommy Beka, Kendall with her mommy Chante, Ava & Carson with their mommy Mandy.

Bottom Row: Deanna with her nephew Connor, niece Aleia and son Landon, Anna with her mommy Brittney and Noah with his mommy Cynetta.

Claire's First Solids!

I can hardly believe it, but Claire is almost 6 months old so we just introduced her to the exciting world of solid foods! She loves her rice cereal and whines in between bites because I'm not quite quick enough with the next spoon full for her. She started this funny thing with her tongue since she began eating solids where she thrusts it in & out of her mouth like a little lizard. I think she just realized she has a tongue! It's so neat to see her discover and explore things for the first time!

Needless to say, Sophie is VERY interested in Claire's food! She is really good though and as tempting as it probably is for her to lick Claire's messy face she responds well to my "NO LICKS" command. Sophie's a good girl!

Claire is trying to grab the camera in this picture. She wants everything, especially electronics like the remote, the phone, the camera!

Here is the funny tongue picture!

GO BUCKEYES!

Go BUCKS... beat those Gators! We can't wait to watch the big game tonight for the National Championship! We really want our cousin Ben to win a Nat'l Championship ring so we can see it up close & personal! (Thanks Grammy & Grandpa for the OSU outfit & blanket!!!).

Go Bucks and Go #63!!!

A Mixture????

My grandma brought this picture with her to our New Year's celebration because she thought Claire looked so much like me. I was 3 months old in the picture. We got the other picture from Ben's mom, he is around 7 months old. I am comparing it to one of Claire's 3 month pics. I think she is a mixture of us, but more Ben than me! What do you think?????

A couple more pictures of me (in yellow) & Ben (in red) as babies!

Generation Pictures

We took some generation pictures on New Year's Eve. The four generation pictures are with my Grandma McDowell, my dad, me and Claire.

Cousin Lauren & Claire cuddling! (To all my NICU friends... Lauren was a 28 weeker in the MVH NICU 8 years ago. You'd never be able to tell!!). Claire loves her older cousins. Lauren & Jillian are the only ones that have been successful at making Claire giggle non-stop for about ten minutes. They were the cutest belly laughs. I try all the time, but I guess mommies just aren't that funny. She just looks at me like I am crazy. I'm sure those looks have only just begun!!

Claire getting a big smooch from her Nuna!

My mom and dad with their 5 grandchildren!

Grandma McDowell, my dad, Shawn with his 3 children (Connor, Lauren & Jillian), Scott with Caroline and myself with Claire.

The 4 Generation picture!

Claire's Sleigh Ride

Here are a few pics of Claire's sleigh ride! She liked being in the sleigh!!

Happy New Year!

The McDowell's took family pictures in front of my mom's fire place with her adorable sleigh she made! We got some great pictures of the grandchildren!!

Connor, Lauren & Jillian with their puppy Oliver! Oliver joined the McDowell family this summer! Ollie is a Springer Spaniel puppy that they rescued from the pound! He is absolutley a beautiful dog and fits in wonderfully with their family!!!

A picture with all five grandkids!

Can you believe that BOTH Claire & Caroline fell asleep in the sleigh? We thought it was so sweet with the girls sleeping together in the sleigh. When we took Claire out so we could get some pictures of Caroline alone, Caroline started crying. They were so comfy cozy together in there and Caroline did not appreciate us taking her warm cousin away!

So precious!!

NEW YEAR'S 2007

We had a very busy New Year's Eve. We went to church in the morning, then went to my mom's for brunch and spent the afternoon with my side of the family, and then spent the evening/night with the Ben's family. Claire was so good and very happy despite our busy day. She even woke up about 15 minutes before midnight so she was with us when the ball dropped! Hope everyone had a wonderful 2006 and wishing you an even better 2007! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It was such a mild night and very pleasant when the rain stopped so the family took a walk around the block! Claire loved looking at the Christmas lights!!!! Here she is getting geared up for the big walk!

Grammy & Aunt Beth playing with Claire!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!