Beach Babe

The unofficial start to summer is finally here!!  We were beyond excited to head to the beach for Memorial Day weekend this year.  It was the first time Claire got to experience a beach day and we were a little nervous she would hate it since we pretty much live for beach days.

We couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was 80s and sunny every day.  We just hoped Claire would let us enjoy that nice weather on the beach :)

It started off looking good.  Claire was loving her bathing suit...

And hanging out in her coverup before heading out...can't believe how old she is getting.  She looks like such a toddler to me in this pic :(

 

Seriously can't get enough of this sweet little face... 

After the photo shoot, we FINALLY made it to the beach.  We had to take video of her first reaction so here goes...

She did NOT seem to be a fan of the sand as we feared.  Let's go down to the water to see how she does.

Uh oh.  Were we in trouble?  Just when we thought we might be...she eats some sand and realizes she LOVES it.  Now we have a different problem.  All she wants to do is eat sand.  Seriously.  


Hey Claire, whatcha doin' behind that stump?  

 Oh just about to...

Eat some sand!

Crazy girl.  We had to try to keep a pacifier in her mouth the entire time on the beach so she would stop trying to eat fistfuls of sand.  She was on a mission.

She finally saw what a good time her big cousins were having jumping waves...

And decided that walking in the water and yapping away was pretty fun too.

Thank God.  All of that walking and sand eating must've tuckered her out.  Time for a beach nap.   

I always loved taking naps on the beach but getting to do that with Claire has made them all the better.  By far my favorite time with her over the weekend. :)

Saturday night we did what everyone in OC, NJ does at night....goes to the boardwalk.     

Claire wanted to walk...

 But wanted to get there before Tuesday so she rode with big cousin Luke.

 First stop, Wonderland Pier.  Ooh so much to look at.

 Claire got to go on her first ride...the carousel!  

She didn't seem too impressed...probably since Daddy has her jumping off of refrigerators at home but we'll save that for another post.


After rides, we grabbed some pizza with Nana, Aunt Colleen, Luke, and these lovely ladies (love this picture so much!).

 After such a busy day, the two littlest were zonked.

 How stinkin' cute?

Day 2 at the beach was much more enjoyable.  Claire was stoked to be there from the beginning.

 We checked out the water.

 And did lots more walking and playing.  

I usually try to post only one picture of each shot but couldn't help myself with these...

She just had such a blast, I couldn't choose.  


After the beach, we spent the night hanging on the porch in our hoodies...the best.

Monday morning we woke up bright and early to go get some of Brown's famous donuts with all of the cousins.

 

The line was ungodly long so we hung out in the shade while Nana, Aunt Colleen, and Uncle Chad waited.

After what felt like an hour, we headed back to the house to enjoy those delicious donuts on the porch.

Claire REALLY loved them.  She ate an entire powdered sugar donut all by herself!  Piggy.

 After breakfast Claire hung with the girls.

And their matching Toms :)

Then explored the kitchen a little...probably looking for more food under the table ha.

 Before heading up to the boardwalk for one last walk before going home.

Again, I couldn't decide which one of these to post so I had to include them all.

Love this one :)

 After such a wonderful weekend Claire was really sad to go home.

We officially have a beach baby...YAY!

Happy Belated 9 Months!

I'm a little late with it but better late than never, right?  Claire had her 9 month checkup 2 weeks ago and is growing like a little maniac.  

Her official stats are:

     Height: 28.5 ins (75th percentile)

     Weight: 18.65 lbs (40th percentile)

     Head circumference: 18 inches (90th percentile)

Ok so maybe she's not physically growing like a maniac (besides her head ha) but she is growing UP like one.  She is super mobile these days.  Crawling all over the place.  Her favorite spot to go....the forbidden steps.

As soon as we put her down she beelines right for them.  And literally does it within the blink of an eye.  

It all happened so fast, we haven't even had a chance to baby proof yet.  First item on the to-do list....baby gates.  She sure has fun with it though.

And is pretty good at it.  She can get up our full flight of stairs within minutes.  Trouble :)

Besides crawling all over the place and up the steps, she's also pulling herself up on everything she can get her hands on.

And gets so excited once she's up and stable.

She's also trying to communicate more and more with us every day.  We're trying to teach her a few signs but she seems to think waving is the answer to all of them.  No matter what you ask, if you use a sign while asking, she'll wave to you.  It's cute but not very helpful.  I'm pretty sure she just doesn't agree with our sign choices b/c she's made up a few of her own.  

Whenever she's hungry, thirsty, or just hears or sees someone else eating something, her eyes light up (just like a puppy) and she smacks her lips together...like you would do if you were exaggerating tasting something.  No clue how she figured it out, but it's definitely helpful.  

She's also gotten very good and communicating NO.  She doesn't shake her head but she definitely lets you know she doesn't want something...she either pushes it away or turns her head away from you VERY dramatically.  

Besides the signs, she can give kisses, high fives, clap (as seen below), and we're getting close on doing so big.   

She's definitely starting to really get a personality.  She knows what she wants, will surely let you know, and fight you a bit if you try to stop her.  But thankfully she doesn't rebel too much.  She's completely aware of what no means...although I think sometimes she pretends not to be...like when she goes for the laptop...

"What mom?  I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me when you say 'no' but this is so much fun!"

Our little 9 month old is a lot of work but worth every bit of it.  

My First Mother's Day

Mother's Day weekend was filled with friends, family, and lots of sunshine...but first....a nap :)  

Once Claire and Daddy woke up, us ladies headed out to a fun filled first birthday party for Claire's friend, Bella.  She got to hang with Aunt Jenn.

And buddy Paige (I love how she's bending down to say hi to Claire...too cute :))

 She got to meet her newest pal, sweetie pie Brynn.

Poor (or should I say lucky) Michael was surrounded by the ladies...as usual.

From Bella's party, we headed to Grammy and Pop's to celebrate Pop's birthday.  I'm sure he'll be so happy I caught this great moment of him...and posted it :)

Claire had some fun with Grammy.

But made sure to keep her eye on the doggie walking around.

She showed Daddy some of her toys at Grammy & Pop's.

And got to play with cousin Lilly who had a blast hanging out in the tv stand for a while.

 Claire wanted to check it out too.  

 Need a hand?

 Now it's Caire's turn to return the favor ha.

 Finally they both made it up. 

 Such cute little ladies playing together.

Pop joined in on the fun too and played some peekaboo.  They had a blast.

On Sunday, I got to celebrate my first Mother's day....and Claire and Daddy did not disappoint.  I woke up to a beautiful present.

And breakfast in bed...yum.  (Please ignore the bed head).  

After breakfast we got ready to head up to Nana & Papa's in Reading.  Claire couldn't wait to get out and enjoy the nice weather.

We had some dinner out back while the cousins played.

And jumped rope with Daddy (who is oddly really good at it).

And played some more.

 We went for a ride in the wagon for the first time.

Claire loved it.

Until Mommy gave her a wishy...guess she didn't realize you're supposed to blow on them...not eat them.

Not so tasty.

Besides eating some weeds, it was a great first Mother's Day.  Can't imagine a mom luckier than me :)

Before I go, I would like to wish a very special Mother's Day to my sister-in-law Kristen who has made me a new Aunt all over again to a GORGEOUS little girl, Kayla.  Welcome to the world Kayla!  You are so loved!  Congrats to Paul, Kristen, and big brother Kian!