Dear Family and Friends,
Today marks Clara's 7 month birthday. It's amazing how much she has grown and changed. At her 6 month check-up, she was in the 90-95th percentile for height and weighed in at 17 pounds. She is full of energy these days and requires constant stimulation. She is very social and loves going out and being around other people. She is extremely attached to mommy and daddy right now and will sometimes cry if one of us tries to leave the room. She does not appreciate having a toy taken from her while she is playing with it and will let you know her unhappiness right away. She is much more aware of things in general than she used to be. Overall she is very happy and loves to laugh and sing. In fact, she sings more than she talks. She hears a lot of singing in our house though, so I guess I'm not surprised. One of her favorite things to do is to "fly" in the air with daddy. See picture below! Daddy's "Flying" game never fails to generate a huge grin. Clara also really enjoys looking at books. (She also enjoys trying to eat them).
Joey is in Minnesota this weekend. He was invited to perform a recital on the concert series at Augustana Lutheran Church in Saint Paul, MN. In fact, as I write this he is performing. He left Friday and will be back tomorrow afternoon. He always enjoys going back to Minnesota to perform because he gets to see many of his friends and family members. Fortunately for me, my dad was able to fly out for the weekend and help me take care of Clara. He and Clara have been having a lot of fun together hanging out and reading books on the couch. Clara is pretty crazy about her Grandad. My dad is returning to Minnesota on Tuesday and will celebrate Thanksgiving with my two brothers and their families, which will include seven grandchildren. He is really getting to enjoy being Grandad this month!
Joey, Clara and I recently spent a day in Newport, RI. We really enjoy going to Newport to shop and look at the grand mansions and ocean views. Last fall, when I was 3 months pregnant, we took a "baby moon" to Newport and spent one night in a beautiful B&B. At the time we did not know whether we would be having a girl or a boy. We had, however, chosen our baby names and we knew that we were going to name a baby girl Clara after the Nutcracker ballet. When we opened the door to our room at our B&B, the radio was turned on and music from the Nutcracker Ballet was playing. Looking back, I think it must have been a sign. During that same trip we checked out a Christmas store and purchased an ornament of a girl dancing with her nutcracker and the name "Clara" written at the bottom. It was fun to return to Newport with Clara. She enjoyed looking at things in the various shops. We are thinking about going back in December to see some of the decorated mansions and perhaps make a visit to Santa Claus.
Hanging out in Newport, RI
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. We will be spending the day at home and Joey will cook his usual yummy Thanksgiving feast. When we don't have company, we always try to limit the amount of food we make, but inevitably we end up making a meal which could feed a small village. Oh well, it's fun and we enjoy the leftovers. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Joey and I have so many things to be thankful for this year, especially our little Clara.
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday,
Joey, Erin and Clara
