Easter

The Easter Bunny arrived at the Emala household with very little fanfare.  He left his footprints in the dining room and a basket of goodies for Claire and Jason and I. 

I don't know how he knew how much we like the chocolate covered pretzels from the local store in town!

Jason had to work the rest of the day, so Claire and I went to have lunch with the Harrisons and then took a field trip with them out to Liberty State Park since it was a gorgeous, sunny day.

With Austin, Devon, and Chase

The Manhattan skyline

Pretty in Pink

2028 or 2032

I was going to gently encourage Claire to pursue Archery - I figured due to its low popularity, the competition for a spot on the Olympic Archery team would be less intense than for some of the more popular sports like Gymnastics and Swimming.

But I don't know - she's showing some early swimming talent don't you think?

Diaper Nerds

Claire and I - we're diaper nerds.  She really doesn't have a say in the matter, but she is a cheerful and willing participant.

Today, Claire and I participated in The Great Cloth Diaper Change.  We celebrated Earth Day one day late, by joining the North American and International cloth diaper community to set the world record for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously at 12:30pm EST.

Ready, Set ......

 Let's DO THIS mom!  I've got my game face on!

There were 2 participating locations in New Jersey, so Claire and I drove the 30 minutes to Chatham, NJ and joined about 20-25 other babies (plus their moms and/or dads).  We're not sure if a record was set yet, but if it was, Claire and I will have helped to set a new World Record in the Guinness Book of World Records.  It's almost like an Olympic record y'all - well, not quite.

Here is the link to a local article - find Claire in the photos!

http://chatham.patch.com/articles/the-great-diaper-change#photo-5765702

Smiley

Cherry Blossoms

Last weekend was special.  Jason didn't have to work!  Claire and I got him all to ourselves for 2 whole days.  It was awesome.  On Saturday, we did some projects around the house and then drove into the city to have a late lunch with law school friends.  Jason and I had a low key date night at home - a pasta fantasia della mamma and a bottle of wine.

Sunday, the weather was beautiful, and so we headed over to Branch Brook Park in Newark for their Cherry Blossom Festival.

Fortunately, Jason was also home for the start of some sleep training for little Miss Claire.  She's been a great sleeper at night so far, but we had some work to do with respect to her daytime naps.  Fortunately, she seems to be getting the hang of it :)

4 Months

Remember how I said this blog wasn't going to be all about Claire?  Well, I lied.  She's the center of my universe after all :)

Claire had her 4 month check-up yesterday.  My little (?) girl is in the 90th percentile for weight at nearly 16 pounds and only 30th percentile for height.  Let's not call her fat though, let's just be proud of her hearty appetite!

At 4 months, Claire is sleeping through the night.  Bedtime starts between 6:30 and 7:00 and she usually sleeps until 6:30 - 7:00 am.  She's quite the wild sleeper, and we almost always find her turned somewhere between 90 and 180 degrees from the position we put her down in.  This would explain the rather large bald spot she's rubbed on the back of her head as a result of these nighttime "maneuvers".  She won't nap unless she's sleeping in my arms, so we need to do some sleep training for that starting Monday. 

It's tough keeping Claire adequately entertained all day.  She's very inquisitive and curious, and I think she gets bored at home with her same old toys all the time.  She's happiest when we're out and about running errands, and she prefers to be in the ergo carrier than in her stroller.  That way she can snuggle on me AND look all around, taking it all in at the same time.

She loves being around people and other babies as well.  She's quick to smile at just about anyone who pays her attention, and her very full cheeks get LOTS of attention.  We have a great playgroup going with 4 other babies all with birthdays within days of Claire's, and it's been loads of fun watching them interact with each other.

Claire has rolled from her stomach to her back a few times, but I think it was more by accident than a purposeful movement.  She's very good at rolling onto her side from her back, but she hasn't yet completed the roll onto her tummy.  Jason and I suspect that her fluffy cloth diaper butt may be impeding her progress somewhat.  She grabs and pulls at all her toys with both hands or either one individually, and lately she's been carrying one around whenever she's picked up - and she LOVES being held.  She smiles often and at will, and we've even heard some belly laughs occasionally.  I think she's getting quite ticklish.