Birthday Girl

Our baby girl is six months old today. Since her birthday is 13 days before Christmas and will always prove to be such a hectic time of the year, we decided we'd like to do something fun on her half birthday each year. No gifts, no parties, just a fun day together. So today Claudia took her first trip to the zoo.

 Claudia doesn't realize she's at the zoo but here we are. 

She wanted to wear her giraffe shirt when she saw giraffes for the very first time. 

One of five giraffes we saw today. 

Claudia slept through the visit. 

We ended the day with the big cats. Love them. 

Before and After

Our interior staircase railing has always been pretty rickety and it's one of those things I knew we'd have to replace once Claudia became more mobile. We finally got around to it and you know how these things evolve. It started out that we needed a new railing and then I thought that as long as the contractor was here maybe he could replace the tile that I have always hated in our basement bathroom and the vanity. Then I decided that if we were replacing the tile and the vanity, maybe we should just replace the toilet, too. Then when my mom was here, she said the perfect time to paint would be while everything was torn out. Well, I did hate the paint color...

Stair railing before 

Stair railing after (ignore the baby gate at the top which is keeping our dogs away, not the baby)

Bathroom before

Bathroom after 

A Visit From Grandma

My mom heading home after a fun couple days

On Friday we got a visit from grandma. My mom came to town so we could attend our cousin, Declan's solo piano recital. He's 18 and has been playing since he was 3! It was such a nice event at the historic Frank Lloyd Wright Unity Temple. 

Saturday, on a whim, we decided to repaint our downstairs bathroom. We've been doing some home remodeling projects and decided it was the perfect opportunity to repaint. We, of course, switched off between baby duty and painting duty. Before and after pictures coming soon! 

Thanks, grandma (mom) for coming to see us! 

This Week

This week we've been busy as usual. Lunch with friends, walks, lots of baby socialization - the list goes on.

On Monday we noticed a tooth coming in and, since then, another!

We had dinner with some friends. 

We played with our friends at Gymboree.

Claudia's friends

My five-month-old has so many friends. She doesn't realize she has friends yet but she does. This morning we went on a walk to Starbucks with our neighbor and her little daughter. Then we went to Gymboree. Then we went on a walk with another new mom friend and her baby. And now my social butterfly is worn out and fast asleep.

Claudia and her bff Cullen at our mom's group earlier this week.

Our Gymboree friends. 

Claudia's first 5k

My former coworkers invited Claudia and me to participate in a 5k walk to raise money for a local center that helps cancer patients through cooking classes, yoga classes, massage therapy, counseling and MUCH more all for free. Of course we wanted to help the cause. Claudia was a trooper and we had a great time.

Baby and baby doll all ready for the 5k. 

Five Months

It's so hard to believe that this girl is five months old. For the first time ever during our monthly photo shoot, Claudia wanted to play with the rabbit. She was very aware of it and kept touching it.

Claudia's First Trip to Missouri

We have spent the past four days in Missouri visiting family and friends. Claudia's first trip was successful but she is worn out!

Four generations 

Claudia with her cousins - this was during one of her meltdowns but too funny not to post

Claudia in a swing for the very first time

A happier time with cousins

With grandma and grandpa

This is the kind of stuff I eat in Missouri :) 

My first Mother's Day with my beautiful little girl

And one of the main reasons for our trip - my friend Monica's wedding! Such a beautiful celebration. 

Busy ladies

This week we have gone to Gymboree classes twice, mom's group once and out for lunch with friends twice. Whew! We are busy ladies. Next up is our first trip to Missouri to meet cousins, great grandma, other relatives and friends.

At Gymboree. We like to sing songs, watch bubbles, do tummy time in front of a mirror and make new friends.  

At lunch with Addie who is exactly one month older. 

Menu Plan Monday

Last week's tuna noodle casserole was bad. So if you thought about trying it - don't. I tried a new recipe and, needless to say, won't be trying it again. The chicken dumplings were great though.

This week's menu plan isn't much since I am gone one night, Joe is gone one night and we're leaving town for four days. But in honor of Cinco de Mayo, we're having shredded pork soft tacos tonight.

Saturday Fun

We are so fortunate to live in a great community with an abundance of beautiful parks and amenities, one of which is a great little petting zoo - totally free for residents! Today we took Claudia there for a stroll and some fresh air. It's tough being a baby born during a polar vortex; she's had very few days outside so far but hopefully that's about to change.

Our first trip of many!

One of the baby lambs we saw today catching some rays. 

Claudia with dad. 

Her hoodie is still a little big but it did the trick.

Menu Plan Monday

Posting what we're having on which day doesn't work because inevitably there are unexpected work events in the evening or we decide to go out for pizza or Indian food which is what happened last week. I did manage to make everything I said I was going to make last week, just not on the assigned night. So I'm just going to post a week of menu items to be consumed at some point.

• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Taco Salad 
• Pizza

And so it begins

Tonight was the first night we had to leave a restaurant early because of a fussy baby. This is Claudia as we were leaving the house tonight for dinner. Don't let her innocent face fool you. :) 

Menu Plan Monday

Once upon a time I followed a weekly meal plan religiously and then I didn't. I'm trying to get back into cooking more (depending on how much the baby lets me do each day) but last week I managed to make Hawaiian sandwiches and zucchini pie and Joe made a homemade pizza to die for. So while I may not cook something every single day, I'm hoping to most days. It's been a few years now since I've done Menu Plan Monday but I'm trying to be more organized so here goes. 

Monday: Beef Stroganoff (the crockpot is my friend these days)

Tuesday: Baked Pork Chops and Asparagus

Wednesday: Pizza (we have pizza at least once a week)

Thursday: Quinoa and Black Beans

Friday: Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

First Easter

Claudia's first Easter - all ready for church. 

The Easter Bunny made a visit and brought Claudia a tiny baby doll, some new bibs, book and her bunny headband. 

Milestones

Saturday was a day full of milestones. First of all, Claudia slept through the night for the very first time. Then I put her down in her crib on her stomach while I got a few things out of her dresser. I turned around and she was on her back. I called Joe in and we put her on her stomach again and she rolled over for us several more times. The funny part is that she hasn't done it since.

Claudia has also still been sleeping in our room in her bassinet. She will occasionally nap in her crib but has never slept there overnight or for an extended period of time. She will soon meet the weight limit on the bassinet and we thought she would probably be more comfortable in her crib so last night we made the transition.  We were a little nervous but she did great! She still slept through the night and I think the transition was harder on her parents than it was on her.

Claudia on Saturday - such a big girl! 

A Spring Wedding

Saturday was Claudia's first wedding as my friends Kamilah and Tony got married. We went to the wedding at the beautiful chapel on Northwestern's campus and then to the reception at a nearby hotel. The reception was for adults-only so my friend, Alison came to our room to babysit.

Claudia wearing her finest. Also her first time wearing shoes (well she's worn booties a few times). She finally has a pair of shoes that fit. We had really cute tights for her to wear but it was SO warm on Saturday that we left those off.

Me with my sweet girl

The entire family

A picture with one of my besties, Monica. So good to see her. 

With the beautiful bride, Kamilah after a night of fun and dancing. 

We tried to get a photo op with Monica's baby girl, McCartney but McCartney wasn't having it. She's seven months old and was too out of her routine for photo ops. 

Four Months

In need of an intervention

After having a baby, I'm having wardrobe woes. Nothing fits or fits as well as it used to fit. So Miss Claudia and I went shopping today for me. This is one of the many things I left with. Have I mentioned that she already has a closet full of shoes that don't fit her yet?