Dan + Michele + Claire

August 21, 2013

Family Pictures

All my Mom wanted for her birthday this year was an updated family picture. The last family picture we took was before their mission, about 6 years ago. Since then 4 in laws have joined the family and 10 grandkids. We were definitely due for a new pic! My brother in law, Jared, took the pictures for us and did an awesome job. Here are a few of my favorites:

Our family of 3. Claire looks so cute!

My baby girl!

Cal & Claire with Grandma & Grandpa.

The original Hemingway family.

The whole group! That's right, 11 grandsons and 1 granddaughter!

Sister pyramid!

Claire with Grandpa.

The 3 sisters with Dad! And yes, those are our natural hair colors.

Me with my parents and siblings.

My loves :)

With our amazing, beautiful Mom!

It was fun celebrating my Mom's birthday with everyone and getting some updated pictures.

August 13, 2013

6 months

Can you believe my baby is half a year old already? I definitely can't. This girl is such a sweetie!

Here are Claire's 6 month facts:

Claire has started solids! So far she has liked everything we have given her. I think she has enjoyed bananas and sweet potatoes the most (yep, sweet tooth!).
After she eats her solids she likes to play with the spoon and the bowl. She also attempts to feed herself.
She is getting better at sitting up. She is still a little unstable so I always sit close by, but she is doing awesome.
When laying in her bath support, our laps, on the floor, etc... she is always trying to sit up but is not quite there yet.
Sometimes after nursing she will calmly lay in my lap and just coo. It is the cutest thing and I love it. She seems so content!
Claire can roll both ways. She rolls all the time now, especially in her bed.
Claire is a tummy sleeper.
When on her tummy she tries to scoot, but can't move too much yet.
This girl loves tags. Tags on blankets, clothes, toys, etc... she likes the tag more than the item I'm pretty sure. She loves chewing on them!
She gives us the funniest reaction when we blow in her face, she acts so surprised!
Sometimes she takes her pacifier out of her mouth and tries to put it in our mouth. She is good at sharing!
She sleeps 10 hours straight, eats, then sleeps 2 more. She is an awesome night sleeper! She is also good at self soothing and going right to sleep (most nights).
At her 6 month appointment we found out that she is pretty average size. She is 50-60 percentile in weight and height.
We still wonder what color her hair is going to be. It looks different every day! I also feel like her hair is getting a little thicker.

She is the sweetest, cutest girl. 6 months is a really fun age. She is so interactive and we love getting her to smile and play!

July 13, 2013

5 months

My sweet little baby is already 5 months old! She is growing too fast! This past month she learned quite a few new skills. We even bought a baby gate in preparation for what's up ahead. Here she is...

5 month facts:

We went on Claire's 2nd road trip to Northern Utah and she did awesome again. She is really great in the car.
Claire's new favorite pastime is sucking on her toes! She does it all the time.
This past month Claire learned how to roll over. She has rolled over from tummy to back twice and hasn't done it since. Dan still hasn't seen her roll over. In the past week she learned how to roll from back to tummy but only does it in her crib. Neither of us have actually seen her do it in person, only on the baby monitor. So now she rolls to her tummy, gets stuck and then cries for help. I spent all last night rolling her back to her back! I'm hoping she'll get better at tummy to back soon so I won't always have to help her.
She sleeps on her side almost all the time now.
She is still a great night sleeper and is getting better at nap time. We are slowly working on teaching her how to put herself to sleep.
Claire loves playing with this little bird on her car seat. If you pull it, it vibrates. It keeps her entertained in the car.
She now responds to her name when you call her.
She doesn't really laugh yet, but still gives big smiles if you talk to her.
Claire sits great in her bumbo.
When we hold her she likes to stand so she can look around at everything.
She spits up a lot.
We haven't started solids yet, but probably will soon. She is acting ready and always pays attention to what we are eating.
She likes listening to Dan play the piano.
She gets excited when Dan comes home from work.
She is pretty much content unless she is tired.
Claire went swimming for her first time and loved it.
When she's on her tummy she moves her arms and legs a lot, I can tell she is getting close to scooting.
She loves to touch my hair.
She likes when we dance with her.
She thinks it's funny when we pretend to eat her fingers and toes.
She loves my phone and I have taught her how to swipe through the pictures, she doesn't do it perfectly, but she tries!
For a few days she would stick out her tongue and spit, I think she liked how it felt, but she hasn't done it in a week or so.

Claire is just a little sweetheart! We love her SO much!

June 23, 2013

Swimming

Claire went swimming for her very first time yesterday at our neighborhood pool. I wasn't sure how she would react but the minute I put her in her float she laid back and was all smiles! It was so cute. She loved relaxing in the pool. I love the float we got for her. It's so nice because she can sit in it and it has a shade cover. We were only in the water for about 20 minutes and then she was done, but I think we will be making a lot more trips to the pool this summer. On the walk home she fell asleep, guess all that swimming wore her out.

Here she is in the pool... she is so stinkin cute!

Loving the pool!

Baby and me :)

June 19, 2013

Family Reunion

Last weekend we headed to Northern Utah for a little family reunion for my mom's side of the family. We ate, we visited, we had a talent show, and we shopped at "grandpa's store" (which they used to do when I was a kid and the tradition still continues... everything costs a penny!) It was also fun for Claire to get to know my family a little bit better.