Best In Show

Spencer participated in the Badger State Science and Engineering Fair this past Saturday at Marquette University. The fuel cell project he and Joe entered won first place in their category as well as best in show! They will represent Wisconsin at the International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, CA this May. Both boys are very excited and looking forward to the week-long trip.

The winners

Claire did well sitting through the awards ceremony. We sat in the last row just in case:)

Here is a short video of Claire doing some floor time. She is moving and scooting around so much. She can sit up on her own for quite a while now too. I think that will have to be the next video!

Girls' Road Trip

Claire and I went on tour this weekend. We headed to Rockford Saturday to visit with my family. I was able to stop and have lunch with my friend Hilary along the way. It was great to catch up and hear what she is up to. Claire was an angel while we ate and visited, playing with her toys and her favorite; a package of wipes. It was nice to break the trip up a little as well.


We got to spend time with my aunt Mary Ann who is visiting from Georgia. She was happy to meet Claire as were a number of my parents' neighbors.

We stayed overnight and visited with my Grandma and Aunt Kath today.

Catching a quick snuggle with Nana Barb.

Claire is a grandpa's girl. She lights up when she sees him and laughs at all his antics.

I love that they are making the same face in this photo.

On the way out of town I stopped and bought a mirror so I could see Claire in her car seat as well as some sun shades for my windows. She slept almost all of the way to Rockford, but was up for a while on the way back. The shades were lifesavers for the sunny drive and I loved being able to see what she was doing in the mirror. They are both a must in my book when traveling with a baby on your own.

Claire is fighting some congestion and a runny nose. She is so close to sitting up on her own. We are making progress with solid foods, she has tried carrots and prunes now and she hates apples.

6 Month Check-Up

Claire had her 6 month check-up this Friday and she is doing great.
Here are her stats:
Weight: 18lb. 4.5oz (90%)
Length: 29-1/2" (95%)

Her doctor really enjoyed showing us her height progress in his book. She is continually off the chart. She got 4 shots, including 2 flu shots, and did pretty good until that night when her legs seemed very sensitive. Poor girl, shots are no fun.

We have clearance to work our way through fruits and vegetables. She has tried bananas, sweet potatoes and apples so far. She can have baby puffs (a quick dissolving grain puff, kind of like cereal) to teach her to feed herself and water from a sippy cup to learn to drink on her own. She did actully get one puff from her bumbo chair tray into her mouth yesterday. I've never been so proud. Honestly, it was the best thing to watch her succeed at something like that. Being a mom is amazing.

The Dr. couldn't believe she was still in her infant carrier car seat. We finally made the switch this weekend after a trip to the grocery store where Lucian proved to me she could sit in a cart. I propped her between my purse and a blanket. And with the strap in the cart, she really had no problem. I put her new car seat in my car today... how did she get so big?

Here is Claire riding in her new seat, although you can hardly see it:)

Lucian took a couple more cool photos with the iPhone app we love. Check out that hair!

On A Roll!

We finally have some video of Claire rolling over. I'd say she is getting pretty good at it:)

Photo Shoot

We did a little photo shoot of Claire over the weekend. You could call them her 6 month portraits. Adorable!

Go Bananas

Claire will officially be 6 months old on Tuesday, the recommended time to start introducing solid foods. When I saw 2 over-ripe bananas on the counter yesterday morning I said to Lucian we should mash them up for Claire. He confessed he was thinking the same thing! And that is exactly what we did. She was very enthusiastic and wanted to feed them to herself. She did great until she noticed a package of Boogie Wipes on the table and became more interested in that. We will try bananas for a few days and then move onto sweet potatoes.

Eager to try them out

A little tart

Happy girl!

Claire and I went to the mall yesterday to pick up a few items for making baby food. Hopefully I can get to that today. The weather was great, I think she really enjoyed the stroller ride. I know I enjoyed being outside with only a light unzipped jacket on! We even took Tatum for a walk when we got home and ran into Lucian returning from another bike ride. He rode with a new group of guys on Sat. including Spencer's friend Joe and his dad. Hopefully between the two groups there will always be someone to ride with. He is back at it this morning.

Science Fair Update

Spencer and his friend Joe received first place in their category at the science fair awards on Thursday, a great accomplishment. They will now compete at the Badger State Science Fair on March 27 at Marquette University. There were a little disappointed that they were not selected for ISEF, an international science and engineering competition in San Jose, CA. Who wouldn't want an expense paid trip to California this time of year? Anyway, the boys put in a lot of work and should be very proud of their project.