first easter

*thank you to nana (Grandma Davis) who sent Clara's dress*

11 months

she says "mama"!!

(and "dada" but that's old news)

and sometimes "hi" and "bye-bye"

 she's scooting around on her butt and belly, pulling up to stand, walking along furniture as she holds onto it but
STILL NOT CRAWLING

she's willing to try eating just about everything (including anything she finds on the ground), but is definitely becoming more opinionated about what she likes

not her favorite? it'll usually end up in her hair or on the ground

tooth #3 finally made an appearance

favorite activity? emptying out her bookshelves

(if it keeps her occupied for a while I don't mind the mess so much)

after our trip to VA she got sick again

the last week looked a lot like this:

still taking two naps a day

and nursing 4-5 times (in addition to her 3 meals)

started throwing mini "temper tantrums" 

(when we're changing her diaper or forcing her to do anything similarly abhorrent)

which we do our best to ignore

most of the time she's sweet

and funny

and crazy.

at work

I should make Dustin write a post about what actually goes on in a pediatric dental residency. 

From what I hear it involves a lot of screaming/bucking kids (they call it "rodeo dentistry"), toddlers with rotted out mouths, occasional nighttime calls to the ER to salvage a broken tooth, and trips to the OR when all other methods fail.

Does he like it? 

Some days.

It's a tough job. 

But extremely satisfying when a kid who was completely traumatized at the beginning comes back happy and excited to see him. 

Which happens.

Because he's good.

this photo ended up published somewhere... 

this peaceful momement is not the typical day I usually hear about

the commute

 his gown ripped apart by a patient

he's also taking classes and doing research (and getting a master's degree... I'm still unclear as to why)

with his co-residents 

to Virginia

Clara and I spent the last week in VA with my mom. And I'm disappointed because the entire time we were there I managed to take only a single picture:

That's it. Clara in the jumper.

What I didn't get a picture of:

Clara and grandma and all their giggles.
And great-aunt Lori (she flew out from Dallas for the week as well).
And grandpa (even if he was only there the last night.)

Clara attacking the cats. Last time we were there they ignored each other. This time she was crazy about the kitties. Once she can move more than two feet and hour they better watch out.

Lunch in Richmond with some of the girls I miss sooo much.
And some of the best Italian take-out ever.

Lots more food. And shopping trips. And girly movies. And a much-needed manicure.

And two for-the-most-part uneventful flights. Clara is becoming the expert flyer. She knows how to charm her fellow passengers with her big eyes and waves and smile.

And I survive. Nursing on planes is always awkward. But it conks a baby out every time.

And there was the moment I thought I'd be clever and unlock the umbrella stroller ahead of time before going through security. When I turned around it had folded itself up- with Clara in it! Oops. I think it took me a good five minutes to untangle and remove her from it. I'm sure nobody was watching.

Oh, and the sun. VA was warm. (Sixty feels like heaven to me now.)
But now we're home in frozen Chicago.

I'm sure I'll find an excuse to be back soon.

oh, and then I found these pictures on Dustins' phone: 

dropping us off at the airport (above) and

facetime with daddy (below)

Sunday School

When we moved to Chicago our (tiny) ward met in a church building. Never mind the drive was 20-30 minutes toward the suburbs. We had a chapel (with a gym and classrooms and the usual facilities) and a parking lot. And we were content (except for Clara who liked to scream all the way there and back and refused to nurse or nap in public). 

And then we got news that the church is building its first chapel in downtown Chicago- right off of Michigan Ave. And once it's finished, it's to be our new home! (In a few years... so we'll probably be gone by then anyway.)

In the mean time they've moved our ward to a new meeting place...

An elementary school! We meet there at the same time as the singles ward and the "downtown ward".

It's a bit closer to home (yay!). Parking is whatever you can find on the street. And in the summer, there's no AC.

We have Sunday school and relief society and primary in various classrooms. Nursery is in the gym (which is pretty awesome, actually). The teacher's lounge is the nursing room. And sacrament meeting is held in the auditorium.

A little unusual? Definitely. A little lot chaotic. Uh-huh.
But I like it. (Although I'm still worried about that AC...)

This is our new Sunday home.

a birthday

my 27th birthday was on saturday
the weather was perfectly gloomy (cold and drizzly)
but dustin was home (and not on call! I hate weekend call)
and Clara wasn't sick (it feels like she's been sick since Christmas)

so we had the day to ourselves
we went to lunch at our favorite/the-yummiest-breakfast-place-EVER
took naps and snuck in a few episodes of our current netflix obsession
Dustin and I went out for sushi (and some amazing japanese sweet potato fries)
followed by german chocolate cupcakes
and Clara going crazy opening my gifts

thank you sweet little family. I love you!

p.s.
I was convinced she was going to say "mama" for the first time on my birthday (a present I wanted soo badly)
well, she was only a day late!
as of yesterday, we've heard a few "mamas"
but so far she only screams/yells them at me when she's upset or wants something
i'm thrilled anyway.

it's been ten months

which seems to have flown by
didn't I just give birth, like yesterday?

and then at the same time, feels like forever
I can barely remember life before her


ten months ago I didn't understand

     how my heart would slowly overflow with more love than I'd ever known

     what it really meant to be tired
     (thankfully by now the pure exhaustion is mostly a vivid memory)

     how beautiful she would be

     how my priorities would change

     how simple and repetitive our days would be, yet I wouldn't want to spend them any other way

it's been ten months

     since I've been to a movie
     (while kinda lame, this really doesn't bother me
     we still get out- I'd choose dinner over a movie any day and we do that a bit too often)

     since I wasn't woken by a crying squawking cooing chatting girl each morning

     since I spent an entire day clothed- how awesome is breastfeeding :)

over the last month Clara

     started scooting backwards on her belly, forwards on her butt, pulling up to stand, and rocking forward onto her knees (some hints of crawling)

     has been taking 2 naps (45 min at 9 am, 1 1/2 hours at 1pm)

     goes to bed around 7pm and wakes up around 6:30am

     has been sick pretty much every weekend (ugh)

     waves and tries to say "bye-bye"

     loves to eat her board books

     loves to eat any little bit of anything she picks up off the ground

     has invented her own signs- still not sure what they mean

     stopped needing her reflux medication (hooray!)

    has still been eating really well (she's discovered the goodness of bread- I'm afraid there's another carbaholic in the family)

    nurses about 5 times a day (would be much more often if I let her... obviously not showing any signs of stopping)

     loves being around other kids/babies

     has a moderate case of stranger anxiety
     (she's friendly and flirty with some people, bursts into tears if other people so much as smile at her)