Clover Mommy

A Visit From the Binky Fairy

2011-09-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

The time had come to get rid of Clover's beloved binky for good. We told her the Binky Fairy was coming to take them away to all the new babies who needed them, but would leave her a special surprise in return. We gathered them all up and put them in a basket before bed so the fairy could find them. Clover began to get a little emotional over this, as it's something she's loved since the day she was born. It was sad to watch and almost brought tears to my own eyes watching her morn this beloved friend. She asked to keep one in her mouth while she feel asleep for the the last time and I agreed. Morning came and the binkies were gone, but Clover's special surprise awaited her!
All in all it's going well. She knows they aren't coming back, but still asks for them at nap time or bed time occasionally, so we remind her where they went. One day we were riding in the car and she asked for a Band Aid for her foot. I told her we didn't have any and she asked, "did the Binky Fairy take them?"

I know she doesn't look like it, but I swear she was happy! She was just a little confused because I don't think she quite knew how this whole things was going play out.

Hip hip hooray!!

2011-06-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

Clover is such a super star! Without warning, we took her last diaper off 3 days ago, handed her a pair of pretty heart panties and told her to let us know when it was time to go potty. It took only two hours of whining and one accident before she decided to jump on the potty train and hasn't looked back since! We are SO proud of you Clover!

2011-05-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce that Clover is getting a baby brother! Our little twig is 21 weeks today and growing and kicking like crazy.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Michael ran in the Kirkland Half Marathon this morning so Clover and I had the morning to ourselves. We snuggled in bed for awhile before heading downstairs for smoothies and muffins. Michael can home a few hours later with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and we headed out to the Riverbend Cafe for Mother's Day Brunch. Today I also hit 18 weeks pregnant and we're looking forward to finding out the gender at our ultrasound on the 16th! This has been the best Mother's Day yet!!

That's why!

2011-05-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Clover update

2011-04-10T12:56:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't been as good about updating these days, so I thought I would let you all know what little miss Clover is up to.

We celebrated Clover's 2nd birthday in January with a Minnie and Mickey Mouse themed party. All her favorite friends and grown ups showed up and we had a blast!
Clover still enjoys swimming and even started a gymnastics class. She has learned how to pedal her tricycle by herself and loves riding it to our neighborhood park. Clover loves legos, puzzles, coloring, baby dolls, and singing and dancing. She plays "make believe"now and has a great imagination. Clover can count to 10 forwards, from 5 backwards and sings all of her ABC's! She has what seems like an endless vocabulary now and speaks in full sentences. We have recently start the journey of potty training and while she is excited about, it's been a slow process. I'll have to keep you updated on how that plays out.

Probably her most exciting news though is that she will earn the title of big sister this October! I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant and we are eagerly waiting to find out whether Clover will have a baby brother or sister. We'll find out mid May.

Clover sings ABC's while coloring

2011-03-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Message from Santa

2010-12-29T17:29:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-11-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

We took two trips to the pumpkin patch this year. They both went fairly well despite Clover's annoyance with the constant picture taking. She made us work hard to get good shots. The first trip was to Remlinger Farms in Carnation. She loved running through the pumpkin fields and also enjoyed the corn maze until Michael decided it was a good idea to run and dive through them..... is he 12? The noise totally freaked her out and I'm pretty sure she is terrified of corn fields now. Hopefully she won't remember next year! Clover wasn't a very big fan of the hayride either.... I think because it was so loud. She whimpered the entire ride and then pointed at the tractor and said "again!" when it was over. Sometimes there is no pleasing her, LOL.
The second trip was to Fall City Farms with some of the Moms and kids from my Stroller Stride workout group. It had chickens and dogs roaming around and a big sandbox. The kids had a blast!

Attempting a family pictures, but Clover had other plans

Picking the perfect pumpkins!

Clover and her buddy/neighbor Sydney. Can you believe that Clover is actually two weeks younger than her?

Clover uses her strong muscles to help Daddy carry the pumpkins :P

Enjoying the corn maze before being traumatized

The SCARY hay ride!

Clover and Berkley watching the Chickens

Looking at the pond and watching two of the dogs eat sticks.

Berkley, Clover, Eva and Loch

"How does the sandbox taste Clover?"

Smart Little Cookie

2010-10-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to wean Clover from her beloved "binky" I made a new rule that she can only use it in her crib, stroller or carseat. As a result Clover spent an hour and 15 mintues playing in her crib yesterday (it was not nap time) by herself just so she could use her binky. I should of come up with this rule sooner, that was a very peaceful hour and 15 minutes :)

Today she asked to do the same thing and after 45 minutes of playing she feel asleep. Clover is a funny little girl!

Happy 80th Grandma Kinney

2010-09-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

We spent our last weekend of August in Sandpoint celebrating Clover's Great Grandma Kinney's 80th birthday. The whole Kincaid family gathered at Clover's Great Aunt Kit and Uncle Dennis's house to eat, drink, sing, dance and play together. It was a great weekend honoring a wonderful women!

Watching Dora on the way to Sandpoint

Off to pick raspberries with Grandma Kinney

Private concert from Uncle Rob and Papa Kinney

A happy little audience member :)

Blowing bubbles with her Cousin's Aresa and Eliot.

They had a great time but made a huge mess. Clover spilled the most bubbles... mostly on herself. We started refilling the bottle with water instead and she seemed happy with that. Then every time Clover spilled she'd go over to the hose and ask for more bubbles, hehe

Enjoying the music and dance party

All sacked out after too much fun

Michael and Eliot giving the night four thumbs up!

Grandma Kinney and Aresa wearing the sweatshirts Michael and I made the whole family

Papa Kinney and Eliot being silly together :P

Clover checking out Michael and Charlies bed in the trailer the next morning. The boys slept on the top bunk and Clover and I slept on the bottom.

Clover's 1st Fresno Trip

2010-08-18T20:43:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in Fresno. Besides Clover's issue with allergies we bathed in the sun and swam everyday. Clover is such a little fish and loved jumping off of the edge of the pool, dunking her head underwater and blowing bubbles. I wish we have better access to a pool in Washington because I would love the convenience of letting her swim everyday at home too. We stayed with Monica the whole trip and Jackie came over everyday! I was spoiled with their time and as a result I'm having major withdrawals. We had one major picture tragedy when I accidentally deleted all of the pictures from my card a week into the trip. I had some great ones too :( I tried to make up for it, but I'm still missing a few of my favorites. We caught up with old friends who have babies of their own now I introduced Clover to my birth family. All and all a great trip, but we sure missed Michael and Charlie :(

Nothin' better then a crib dance party and Popsicles! This is my childhood friend Maude's son Ryan. Clover and Ryan had a blast together and it was great seeing Maude and meeting her husband and new baby girl Claire :)

Clover with Auntie Monica!!

Adventures of Clover and Bunny: Ready to conquer the splash park

Pam Clover and I

Naked four wheeling at Pam's BBQ

Clover and Auntie Jackie!

Auntie Monica and her oldest son Domenic. He told his Mommy and Daddy that he wants a baby sister now, haha!!

Blowing bubbles

BOO!

Clover loved Domenic and Giovanni's swing set. She learned how to use the big swing after watching them. You can see how her eyes were puffy and red from her allergies here. This was after they got much better too.

Clover and Giovanni eating cheerios on the floor together

A couple of Albert Einstein's hanging out in Giovanni's crib after nap time

My best friends. I love them :)

I'm sorry.....

2010-08-18T20:38:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, I'm so behind it's driving me crazy!! I'm sorry everyone. I'm making it a priority to update a post every few days until I'm caught up.

Chelan 2010!

2010-06-26T14:39:00.001-07:00

I've been spending Memorial Day Weekend in Chelan for the past 7 years. It started as a girls weekend, but over the years our group grew to include boyfriends, fiance's, husbands, and now kids! It's a special weekend that we all look forward to every year and are fortunate enough to stay at a beautiful home on the lake that Jackie's family owns. There is nothing better than an extended weekend full of sun, swimming, wine, food and friends! Clover had a blast in the pool and we were all entertained watching her roll around laughing in her life jacket. Can't wait until next year!

All the girls! Jackie, Megan, Clover, Sarah and Patricia

Clover just loved that life jacket. When she laid on her back she would roll around like a log and start laughing hysterically, ha!

She loved jumping off the side of the pool. Every time she'd say "JUMP!" in mid air.

Listening to music and saying "cheeeeese!"

Clover and Dahlia having a snack together :)

Wine tasting! You can't see my glass in the picture, but Clover is reaching for my wine......she wanted to do a tasting of her own.

Peek-a-boo!

I love the look on her face here :) This was at Vin Du Lac Winery, our favorite!!

All tuckered out on the car ride home from Lake Chelan.

A visit from Auntie and Uncle

2010-05-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Clover's Uncle Brian, Aunt Valerie and Cousins Eddie and Otis drove up from California a few weeks ago. The last time we saw them was our trip to Oregon in the Fall. Clover has changed so much since then and had a blast reconnecting. I'm not sure we'll ever get the sound of "uhhh, uhhhh, puppy" out of our heads though, ha! Clover spent most of her time following the dogs around the the house saying those words. Uncle Brian also introduced Clover to her first Nerd Rope, which for those of you wondering, it's only the best gas station candy treat around. A delicious candy rope dipped in nerds.....Willy Wonka, you have really outdone yourself this time! Needless to say, it was a hit. I'm not sure which was more entertaining, watching a wide eyed Clover gobble up every last parcel or witnessing what resembled a tipsy toddler for the hour following. It was a great trip and we miss them already!

2010-05-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Every night Michael works in the shop while I cook dinner. Clover loves to be with him, but isn't allowed without my supervision while he's working on a job. She knows this, but still tries to open the door to say "hi" anyway. If it were up to her she would stand in the door way all evening watching and waving. We told her that when she gets a job and coughing up money for the heating bill then she can do that, but until then she must say her piece and move on. Unfortunately she doesn't like that plan, so this happens almost every night......at least once.

Clover's 15-18 Month Well-Child Visit

2010-05-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Clover's best appointment to date! She didn't cry at all while Dr. Thuot examined her, which is a first, so I'm very proud of her. She got a book to take home for being so well behaved :)

Height: 2' 8.25"
Weight: 24 lb 1 oz
BMI: 16.27
Head Circ: 18.7"

61st percentile in weight
87th percentile in length
85th percentile head circumference

Unfortunately Clover also got three shots and wasn't a happy camper for those :( She calmed down pretty quickly though. About four hours later she woke up in the middle of her nap screaming and grabbing at one of her legs. It took me an hour of rocking and cuddling after a dose of Motrin to get her calm and back to sleep. There weren't any other issues after that.

Back on the farm

2010-05-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Clover and I went back to the farm with our friends Courtney and Cruz. The kids had a blast and Courtney took some great pictures. Courtney is starting up her own photography business and posted more pictures on her blog - http://www.babyminephotos.com/

Miss Clover shows off......

2010-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Charlie, NO!

2010-04-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

Every time Clover tries to play/eat Charlie's food I tell her "no, no, we don't eat Charlie's food". Clover has now spent most of the evening guarding the food bowl shouting "Charlie, NO!" every time he tries to approach and actually eat his dinner. Poor guy......Charlie's a very good sport :)

Gotta love the rule enforcement, even if it did get a little lost in translation, haha!

Dang, I wish I had my camera right now. I'm desperately missing it! Clover is even wearing a super cute outfit today......sad to waste a picture moment on a perfectly cute Weebit :(

One lubed up baby

2010-04-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we just found Clover with her hand in the jar o' Vaseline, a giant grin on her face and one very lubed up baby doll! She's been eying that Vaseline for a few weeks now and I've already confiscated it a few times. She's even brought it to me just to tell me it's a "no, no" ha! Needless to say, she was very proud of herself......I'm not sure what the ultimate goal of lubing up Dahlia (her baby doll) was, or if she was just handy at the moment, but she sure looked like a girl on a mission when we found her.

......should have taken a picture. Oh well, too late now.

FYI

2010-04-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

Don't be confused. This is still the CloverMommy blog! I've been reading more on how to better customize this page, so I'm just playing around with new things. Hopefully I'll get this figured out soon and have a new and updated look!

Spring Break For My Funny Bunny

2010-04-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

We kicked off Spring Break with a trip over the mountains to visit the Sandpoint crew and celebrate Easter. We enjoyed two festive dinners with the family and Clover showed off all her newest tricks. Clover enjoyed opening her Easter baskets and loved hunting for eggs! We participated in a big Easter egg hunt the weekend before with all of her friends and Grandpa made a video posted below. We spent the rest of the week playing outside which is Clover's favorite way to pass the time. We also went to Farm Days which is run by a family Michael tutors for. Clover saw horses, walked amongst ducks, chickens and a peacock, got to pet bunnies and sheep and enjoyed her first cotton candy!

At a rest stop on the way to Sandpoint. Clover loved how windy it was and running through it.

This ladybug vest is Clover's newest obsession. It came in a bag of hand-me-downs and I assume is a Halloween costume. If she finds it in the house she pesters us until we put it on her and then happily wears it the rest of the day, hehe....what a silly girl!

Our friends Jack and Terri sent Clover an Easter balloon and a little basket. She knew exactly what to expect when she saw the box and started banging on it waiting for the balloon to pop up!

On a rainy day Clover spent the afternoon outside while Michael while he did landscaping in the yard. She spent most of the time playing in the 12 yards of dirt we recently had delivered and dumped in the driveway. As you can see she did a little taste test :)

Farm Days!

Petting one of the sheep!

Clover LOVED the bunnies!

Excited about her very first and very own cotton candy. She was a little nervous about it at first but decided she loved it. At one point she chased down a piece that few away and ate that too!

Clover's Easter Egg Hunt

Clover Lately

2010-03-10T10:06:00.001-08:00

Clover will be 14 months old this weekend and has been one busy girl. The weather has been nice so we spend a lot of time outside. Clover bangs on the door and brings me her shoes to let me know she's ready to play. We also started a Mommy and Me swim class a few weeks ago and Clover loves it! She's definitely a little fish. Clover has fun roaming all around the house now, including up and down the stairs all by herself. She likes to sneak up stairs to visit Daddy while I'm making dinner sometimes. Clover loves to mimic us cleaning and has started putting her own toys away, yay! Her vocabulary gets bigger everyday and she is able to communicate her needs to us well. Among these new words, her favorite word is "NO" which she uses often to let us know, that she knows, whatever she is doing or touching is a "no, no". She also uses it to firmly stand her ground when she does not agree with use or like what we're doing, haha. It's hard to take her seriously sometimes because it's the cutest "no, no" you've ever heard. I do my best not to laugh tough.

Clover in the locker room after her first swim lesson. We had so much fun and she is a little fish!

Clover's poor little boo boo after falling on the front porch and tearing her finger nail off :(

Splashing in the puddles on one of our many rainy days. There was an amazing double rainbow outside too....not sure why I don't have a picture of that.

Modeling her pretty dress

Having a snack after a long hike up to Rattle Snake Lake on a beautiful Sunday.

Happy girl after her snack and ready to head back down the mountain.

All tuckered out after all that work :)

A little fun in the sun with my barefoot baby.

Bringing me her shoes to go outside...silly girl :)

Watching Daddy plant the apple trees he bought us for Valentines Day

Clover pushing her BFF and neighbor Sydney

Clover loves to play dress up with her Tinkerbell costume.

Charlie hitchin' a ride in the Radio Flyer.

Helping Daddy...or not...clean the bathroom.

Happy Valentines Day!!

Ready for story time.

Clover and her cousin Aresa at their dress up party

Trying out her new tricycle! Her legs are long enough to reach the pedals, she just needs to get the jist of actually pedaling and steering.

.....hitching a ride from Daddy until than :)

Just an evening around the house goofing around with the Weeb!

Proudly showing off her crazy hair during bath time.

Happy 1st Birthday Clover!

2010-01-12T18:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is one!! This has been the fastest year of our lives. Last January 14th (Clover's due date) I went to bed feeling suspicious that tonight just might be the night. Even Charlie was acting a little strange. At 2am I woke up with my first contraction and immediately couldn't walk, talk, or sleep through them, which is what my Midwife told me would be the sign that I was in real labor. Michael packed up the rest of our bags and loaded the car while I took a bath and we were out the door by 4am. It became clear during the drive in that I would definitely be needing an epidural. From the beginning, my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart lasting 1 minute each. We got checked in and the midwife told me I was already 5cm dilated. I got my epidural at 6am. By 10am I was 9cm dilated and they decided to break my water. It took 4 more hours to get to 10cm and then it was time too push. I pushed for an hour and out came Clover Ann at 3:17pm! 13 hours of labor, 1 hour of pushing, and the beginning of the best year of my life.

Clover's birthday was a special day. I was a mess the entire week leading up to it and once it arrived I didn't want it to end. We were happy to have our closest family and friends here to celebrate and had a great time.

Our good friends Jack and Terri Adishian sent this box to Clover, complete with Birthday balloons and a new Summer outfit! She played in the box for two days, played with the balloons for 2 weeks, and is looking forward to wearing the outfit in a few months! Thanks again...we love you!

The garage refrigerator all set with party food.

Ellie and Kaj aren't wasting any time on the Pirates Booty :)

My beautiful cupcakes! I've never made anything like this before and I'm really proud of how they turned out.

Fairy cupcakes up close.

Name that baby game. Michael's sister Heather won!

Clover's favorite snacks....cranberries, cheerios and blueberries. I put Michael in charge of counting. Our friend Greg won this game.

The happy birthday girl with one of her favorite gifts.....Mommy and Me swim lessons with our neighbor Sydney and her Mommy Christy!

It was a full house!

Clover opening all of her birthday gifts.

Clover eating her smash cake! I made a giant cupcake that matched all the little ones. She loved it! I put so much frosting on the top though that it took her awhile to get through it all to the actual cake. By that time she was full, so she ended up with a belly full of cream cheese frosting and ran around the house like a wild monkey for the next two hours.

When Clover was around 3 months old I had the idea to start organizing pictures for a slide show documenting her first year. I gave them all to Grandpa and he worked his magic! We played this slide show during her party. *Warning* you way want to grab a tissue :) Enjoy!

Thanks again to Grandpa for documenting Clover's 1st Birthday party on tape!

Oregon Coast

2010-01-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

We had our 2nd annual Lowe/Hughes reunion on the Oregon coast in November. Last year I was 5 months pregnant and the house was full of three rambunctious dogs. This year we had an energetic 10 month old added to the mix. A lot can change in a year!

The weather wasn't great. We spent a lot of time inside working on puzzles, playing games, eating and drinking. We only went into town once where we did some shopping and watched a huge pack of Sea Lions camped out under the docks, which Clover loved. It was nice to have an excuse to stay inside, spend relaxing time together, and let Clover get to know her Uncle Brian, Aunt Valerie, and fur cousins Edwardo and Otis.

The day before we left Clover came down with a 102.6 fever. She didn't have any other symptoms of being sick aside from being a little fussy and clingy, and after speaking with the pediatric nurse on the phone we were pretty sure she had Roseola. Roseola is a viral illness most commonly affecting kids between 6 months and 2 years old. It is usually marked by a sudden on set of high fever lasting several days, followed by a rash just as the fever breaks. We were given the OK to travel so we packed up. Clover did great! She acted like her happy joyful self and entertained us all. She even did great in on the 10 hour drive to and from the beach house. We had her on a schedule for Tylenol and Motrin to keep her fever down and by the last morning of our trip it was back to normal and her rash showed up, which didn't seem to bother her in the least.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Clover being a good girl on the road!

Clover and Uncle Brian reading stories together

Silly time with Grandpa

Posing like the little ham that she is

I love this picture of Brian and Clover. The second I saw it I remembered the next picture of him kissing me from the bathtub when we were kids.

Michael and Charlie turning in early on the first night

Clover and Auntie Valerie

Grandma and Grandpa

An afternoon out shopping during a sun break.

Clover loved watching the Sea Lions!

Happy girl enjoying Thai food on our last night

One big happy family...fur babies and all!

Clover's First Christmas

2009-12-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Walking, Talking, and Stair Climbing

2009-12-12T10:43:00.001-08:00

Little Miss Giggles

2009-12-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Clover's first steps!

2009-11-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

10 months and 1 week old.

Clover's 10 month update.

2009-11-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast the time goes by. I feel like I'm always saying this now, but it's true! Only two more months and Clover will be One! I realized the other day that I need to actually start thinking about her party because it will be here before we know it. Clover is very close to walking and loves pushing her wagon around the house and the neighborhood. She can push it all the way around the block! She babbles constantly now, experimenting with new sounds everyday. Her favorite word is "Dada" and she cheers this while jumping up and down and flapping her arms or clapping whenever "Dada" enters the room. It must be nice to have a fan club. She can say "Mama", but doesn't very often. When I try to get her to say it she responds with "Dada"! HA, what are ya do? Clover loves to wave to everyone and everything and say "hi" or "bub, bye". Her newest trick is clapping and she'll do this in celebration of just about anything you can think of. This morning she watched me open the refrigerator door and promptly started bouncing on her knees and clapping before crawling over to look inside......the refrigerator and the dishwasher a both a big hit in this house! Clover is a great little sleeper (knock on wood)! She sleeps 11 hours stretches now and even goes back to sleep for another hour in the morning after I feed her. She also happily takes two 2 - 2 1/2 hour naps during the day. This is great news for Mommy, because anyone who knows me well, knows that I LOVE sleep and can't get enough of it. I'm thankful she inherited this hobby of mine :) Oh, and I almost forgot....Clover finally got her first tooth!! It's her bottom right one. I expect to see more soon, but you never know....it took nearly 10 months grow his one.

Happily enjoying the Cheerios that Great Grandma and Gran'dad sent in her Halloween card!

Bundled up and pushing her wagon around the block on a cold November day.

Helping Mommy unload the dishwasher.

Chowin' down on some bread at the Olive Garden for Daddy's Birthday!

Practicing her stair climbing. She likes to go up and down the first 2 stairs, but doesn't really seem interested in going any further.....what a cautious little girl!

Walking practice with Grandpa

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

Clover's first Halloween was so much fun! She was very cooperative with the ladybug costume, in fact she spent quite a bit of time playing in it during the days leading up to Halloween and loved seeing herself in the mirror all dressed up. We took Clover to two of the neighbors houses to show off her costume and collect some candy for Mommy and Daddy to enjoy :)

Clover proudly models her Ladybug costume in the mirror.

Trick or Treating at Sydney's house, but she was taking a late nap. Clover picked out a Butterfinger and enjoyed chewing on the outside while Mommy and joyed eating the inside :)

A Ladybug and a Bumble Bee! Sydney came by after her nap for a visit.

Ready for her next house with Daddy!

On the front porch of our neighbor's Curtis and Brynja. They had a special goody bag for Clover and she was ready to dive in!

This was the day before Halloween at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Clover is playing with my old Fisher Price wind-up record player.

Mommy and Daddy dressed up too! We went to a Halloween party at our neighbors house and dressed up as Juno and Bleeker from the movie Juno. I wanted this to be our costumes last year when I was actually pregnant, but nobody had a party and I was too tired to go anywhere anyway.

For those of you who aren't familiar.....here are the characters from the movie.

The Pumpkin Patch!

2009-10-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

Michael and I are very excited about Halloween this year because we haven't been to the Pumpkin Patch in years and now we have a good excuse! We went to one about 30 minutes from our house at Remlinger Farm's with our good friends (and neighbor's) who's baby, Sydney, is the same age as Clover. I don't know what was in the air that day, but both girls were less than amused. Sydney was tired....Clover was cranky.....we made the best of it and still managed to snap a few good pictures. Just to give you an idea though, at one point the girls had a cry off while we tried to get a picture of them in front of the corn maze. The adults enjoyed it and we even got a kick out of the whole crying fiasco as we caught it on video tape....I know, we're sick.

Happy girl at the beginning.

Trying to turn Sydney's frown upside down :)

Christy and Sydney...at least one of them was happy!

Success....we managed to snap a good family picture without the binky!

This is the cry off in full swing, haha.

She doesn't look amused

Trying for another family picture, but it wasn't working out.

Finally, one more good smile before we completely lost her and decided to head home.

Courtesy of Grandpa, here's a video of Clover and Sydney's visit to the the pumpkin patch.

Clover's first plane trip

2009-10-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I took Clover on her first plane trip to meet her Great Grandma and Grandad in Lee's Summit, Missouri. I was a little nervous about how she would behave on the plane, but I was pleasantly surprised! We booked a direct flight and Clover feel asleep during take off both ways. When she woke up she was happy and didn't fuss at all the rest of the way.
We had a great time. Clover got spoiled of course by her Great Grandma and Grandad. She was greeted with new books, stuffed animals, and all the blueberries she could eat! In return, Clover happily provided endless entertainment for everyone :)

Helping Mommy pack up the suitcase!

I loved the big airport windows where I could see all the planes outside.

Everything was new and very exciting!

Playing with Grandma and the new toy she bought me for the plane ride.

Catching a little shut eye before meeting Great Grandma and Grandad. Mommy loves to snuggle with me when I'm sleeping :)

Great Grandma bought me new books and we spent a lot of time reading them together.

Hanging out with Great Grandad

Wearing my new Tinkerbell backpack from Great Grandma and Grandad's neighbors Kirk and Linda.

Playing Peek-A-Boo. We did a lot of this because it's my favorite game, and Great Grandma will spend all day paying if I want her too :)

My first picture will all four generations of "Ann's" Jane Ann, Margaret Ann, Megan Elizabeth Ann, and Clover Ann

Posing for another picture before we head off to McCormick and Schmick's for Sunday brunch.

Playing Patty Cake with Great Aunt Janet at brunch.

Sitting with my Great Uncle Jerry!

On my Great Grandad's lap playing with one of my favorite toys of the weekend.....measuring spoons!

Great Aunt Janet reading me the lady bug book she bought me.

Stilling playing with the measuring spoons....Mommy should really think about saving up to buy some of these!

If you still haven't had enough, here are the video's we took of Clover with G. Grandma and Gran'dad.

Long overdue update

2009-09-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that it has been over a month since my last update. We've been very busy and a lot of new things are happening! Clover was invited and attended her first kids birthday party. Her cousin Aresa turned 5 and had a fairy party. We took our first trip over the mountains to Sandpoint, Idaho where Michael's family lives. It took us roughly 5 1/2 hours each way and Clover did great! She was on her best behavior the entire trip, we are very proud. Clover is also speed crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, cruising along coffee tables, benches, even the walls. She has recently started hovering a few seconds without holding on before sitting down. She'll be walking before we know it! Between her curiosity and this new level of mobility, Clover is certainly keeping us on our toes. This is a long post, so make sure to scroll all the way down so you don't miss anything!

Clover discovered the fun of toilet paper while Mommy was taking a shower.

Clover was excite to be at her Cousin Aresa's 5th birthday party and loved being included in all the games with the other kids.

She received her own pair of fairy wings and was proud to wear them!

Being silly with Daddy. It's fun to watch Clover start to mimic what we do.

This is what I wake up too every morning. Not a bad way to start off the day :) Clover is always in a great mood when she wakes up - smiling and jumping up and down when we go in her room to get her.

Still playing with her fairy wand! It's one of Clover's favorite toys right now....she is such a girly girl.

Big girl now, feeding myself!!

Pushing my new wagon around the yard! This used to be Cousin Aresa and Eliot's and now they gave it to me. Thank you!

Looking for a snack on my own in the fridge.....who need Mommy and Daddy?

Working hard on the laptop....just like Mommy and Daddy do it! This probably makes Grandpa proud :) ......maybe I'll need my own laptop soon Grandpa!

.....just being silly in the kitchen while Mommy gets my breakfast ready.

This is my wild-naked baby before bath time. Clover gets all wiggly and silly when she's naked.

Clover's first trip to Idaho was a lot of fun. She becomes less attached to Mommy and Daddy and more social with others everyday. This makes Grandparents and Great Grandparents very happy!

A day of firsts.....Clover's first time out to the cabin and her first time seeing a horse! Clover met Nick and Dancer - Grandma Kay and Grandpa D's horses. She didn't really know what to think of such a large animal, but she seemed to like them!

We saw Grandma Kay's huge garden and she showed us everything she was getting ready to harvest!

We spent time with Great Grandma and Papa Kinney too! Clover liked to cuddle with Grandma Kinney.....I'm pretty sure it went both ways :)

Doing something she's gotten very good at....showing off! Clover loves to be the center of attention and entertain a crowd.

Our good friend Matt Blaine, A.K.A. "The Dude", drove over from Spokane to visit during our trip. Here's Clover and The Dude reading the Sunday paper together.

Clover is 7 months old!

2009-08-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast Clover is growing up. Only a few more months and she'll be 1! She is doing all kinds of new tricks and showing us more of her personality everyday. As you can see from a few posts down, she is crawling! It's been fun to see what kind of things she gets into. Clover is so curious about everything and will spend a good 5 - 10 minutes examining something like the stroller wheel, haha! She really likes to figure out how things work. Her favorite toys right now are the doll house and her Leap Frog learning table. She's also a huge fan of kitchen utensils! She still loves baths....or any water for that matter. We've retired the baby tub and put her straight into the big bathtub now. We fill it up a few inches and she kicks around on her belly like a frog....it's very cute! Clover loves to be outside playing in the grass or trying to eat the flowers. She's also started pulling herself up on everything. It started with pulling up on her knees, but just today she started pulling all the way up. She is very proud of herself :)

Clover dumping out all of her toys from the toy basket. She also loves Charlies bed, which she's using for a chair in this picture.

First slice of watermelon on a hot Summer day. She loved it!!

First time in the lake. We went to the beach with my friend McKenzie and her son Jackson. Clover loved sitting in the water and splashing in the little waves.

She liked the sand.....playing it and eating it :)

Peeking at me while I work on the computer. This was the beginning of trying to pull herself up on things. She got the hang of it pretty quickly

Standing up proud and showing off her awesome ponytail!

A family picture taken in front of our giant Sun Flowers that are about to bloom. This was taken on our 4 year Wedding Anniversary after we got back from dinner. I'm sure the restaurant was glad to see us go. Clover was all over the place and grabbing at everything. At one point she got a hold of the salsa dish and in the process of getting it back Michael spilled his coke everywhere. Lovely!

Here is the after math of Clover feeding herself lunch one day.

Megann's Wedding

2009-08-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago one of my best friends Megann got married!! The wedding was at a beautiful beach house on Fox Island in Gig Harbor. Michael, Clover and I spent the whole day at the house on Saturday while all of us girls got ready. Here are some pictures from the big day! My friend McKenzie, who is an amazing photographer, also took some pictures of Clover that turned out really well.

Clover's first Coke! Well, not really....but she sure did like the cold glass agaist her gums.

This was taken down at the beach the night before the wedding. Megann (the Bride) is in the middle. Even Clover got in on the jumping :)

I just ordered this picture to fill the 16 x 21 inch frame we have above the fire place.

I really love this picture of us. I think I need to get this developed too!

Clover's Crawling!

2009-08-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Clover has been doing an army crawl for awhile now, but has officially mastered a proper crawl! She loves zippin' around the house finding new things to get into. One of her favorite things to do right now is crawl over to our drum table and bang her hands on it. She also likes to chase Charlie! Here is a video of her new moves :)

Rattle Snake Lake

2009-08-06T10:18:00.001-07:00

We took Clover on her first hike up to Rattle Snake Lake with our friend Greg. Clover loved it and actually slept part of the way up the mountain. It's not a very long hike (only 4 miles round trip), but we weren't really sure how cooperative Clover would be in the backpack. Now we know we're ready for big hikes.

Water Baby

2009-08-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Clover is a true water baby who loves splashing around with the hose and in the pool. During a record high of 109, we spent an afternoon at her cousins house, where she spent much of the afternoon happily kicking around in their kiddie pool. Since we don't have AC and there was really no escaping the heat, I knew we had to get our own pool for the house. Unfortunately, everyone in Washington had already had this idea. After 2 hours of searching with no luck, I finally found a water play mat. It's smaller than what I was looking for, but it gets the job done and Clover seems to like it....at least for this summer. We'll upgrade next year :)

This first set of pictures of Clover playing in the hose happened while I was watering the plants one morning. It was so hot out that Clover was slipping out of my arms because we were both so sweaty. I sat her in the grass and laid the hose down to grab a few things and this is what happened. She entertained herself for 45 mintues and would have played longer but we were already late to meet a friend.

The next set of pictures are of Clover playing in the play mat I finally found at a little toy store in Gilman Village. She spends hours (broken up of course) playing in this most days. As you can see we started the first day in diapers, but after going through so many every time she uses it we decided to dich the diapers and go all natural.

She spent a while trying to figure out how this chair worked :)

Daddy's Girl!

2009-08-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

It's been great having Michael home for the summer. He has really gotten a chance to bond with Clover, who is now a huge fan of her Daddy and just about anything he's doing. Clover spends a lot of time out in the shop keeping Michael company while he prints shirts. She even goes on trip with him into Seattle to drop off and pick up orders. Michael especially likes this because he can drive in the Carpool lane :)

Michael with his little Weebit

Michael with both of his weebits!

Clover hanging out in the garage with Daddy while he prints shirts.

A day a the park

2009-07-30T21:04:00.001-07:00

I took Clover to one of the baby park swings in the neighborhood for the first time. I wasn't sure if she would like them or not, but it looks like they are a GO! She was SO cute laughing and smiling while I pushed her. I try to stop by them when we go on walks now.

This is my new Turtle face that I do when I'm deciding what I think about something.

Chewing on my fingers

Weeeeeeeeee!

Of course I had to taste the swing.....and it was good.....even though Mommy said NO!

Basking in the sun

2009-07-30T20:51:00.001-07:00

With all this hot weather we spend a lot of time outdoors playing. Clover already loves to be outside, so we just set up shot out on the porch some days and take it all in. Michael and I spend a lot of time working in the yard and gardening, and Clover plays on the porch or rides around in what we call the "kangaroo pouch".

Doing some gardening with Mommy

Taking a break with Daddy on the porch

Daddy really loves me :)

I love to go upside down and be silly!

Playing in the sun

2009-07-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

Clover loves to be outside and play in the yard. We explore the plants and flowers and go on walks together. As usual she tries to put everything in her mouth, so I have to keep a close watch. Here are some pictures after our new daisies bloomed last week.

A little Clover love in front of the daisies.

Clover with "Brother Dog" Charlie.

Mommy said "we don't eat the daisies", but I still try, because they're so pretty!

Brother Dog keeping a close eye on me to make sure I don't eat any more daisies.

Clover is very curious and loves to explore new things.

More Clover love....it's hard not too :P

Give me blueberries or give me.......nothing?

2009-07-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Clover is obsessed with blueberries. So much in fact that she is having a hard time adjusting to some of the other foods she should be eating....like sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots....just to name a few.
I've learned that if you just mix it with blueberries she will eat it! I guess I'm going to have to use this as a tool to introduce new foods and slowly change the proportions until she doesn't realize she's eating something else entirely, haha. The other day I actually mixed together sweet potatoes, green beans, and blueberries.......and she ate it!! What a crazy little girl :)

An afternoon with Reese

2009-07-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

We had your niece Aresa (Reese) spend the afternoon with us a few weeks ago. Clover is Aresa's first girl cousin so she is very excited and loves to hold her, play with her, and sing her songs. Reese is a very good big cousin and excited to teach Clover some big girl things :)

BFF'S

2009-07-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is Clover's next door neighbor Sydney :) The girls really do love each other. They get very excited when they see each other and play on the floor......well I was going to say for hours, but that would be a bit of an exaggeration ;) Let's just sway, for awhile.

Clover and Sydney on the 4th of July neighborhood BBQ.

Clover at Sydney's house. They are so cute together!

Look at the progress already!

2009-07-06T19:01:00.001-07:00

She's up and ready to go and very proud of herself :)

A 4th of July meal

2009-07-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

Clover started solids on Saturday. It's been fun watching her experience new textures and tastes. We are making our own baby food, so that has been a fun project for me. It took her a bit to warm up, but she is starting to really enjoy everything. In the video she is eating rice cereal, avocado, and apple sauce. The pictures were taken the second day and you can see that even in one day she was enjoying her food more. This morning she tried blueberries!

Day 2: Starting to get the hang of things

Licking my bowl clean

I stole the spoon from Mommy....I think I can feed myself :)

Slurping up every last bit of food to save time on clean up!

Day 3: The verdict is...

...I love blueberries!

Clover trying to crawl!

2009-07-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is a great video of Clover talking, playing, and trying to crawl. I thought I figured out the whole video editing thing but it wasn't going well for me when I tried to edit down this one. So, once again another unedited video. But, in an attempt to keep the blog up to date I decided to just post it as is and move on. I'll give it another shot next time :)

A teething babies best friend's

2009-06-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my previous post that Clover has officially begun teething. She can be really cranky and most of the time it just comes out of nowhere. I have discovered two lifesavers that are getting us through this trying time.

First are Teething Tabs. They are a homeopathic combination of natural substances packed into small 1 grain tablets that melt instantly on their tongue. It relieves the restlessness, whining and irritability that come along with cutting teeth.

Second, is our friend Sophie the Giraffe (She is "Giraffey" at our house). You may have seen her in some pictures with Clover already. We take her in the car, the stroller, and drag her all around the house with us. Sophie is made of 100% natural rubber and food-grade paint, so she is completely safe to chew, just like a bottle nipple. Her soft texture and chewable parts (ears, horns, hooves), feel great on sore gums. Clover loves chewing on her and has recently discovered that she squeaks too!

5 Months old!

2009-06-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

I realize I'm a little late with posting this entry. Clover is actually 5 1/2 months now. I wanted to share some recent pictures of our big girl. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! Right now Clover is rolling and scooting all over the place. We expect to see her crawling any day now. She is getting close to sitting up on her own, but is usually too curious to sit still very long and ends up falling over while reaching for something. We have officially entered teething which can make for a very cranky baby. Between teething tabs and Sophie the Giraffe we are making our way through it. Clover is still a huge fan of Baby Einstein, the Jumperoo, and bath time. We've also discovered that she enjoys a little quiet-alone time. We've been putting her up in her room with a few toy either on the floor in front of the mirror or in her crib, and she is happy to play by herself for 20-30 minutes at a time. I love listening to her talk to herself on the baby monitor and spying on her through the bedroom doors. This morning I actually got 30 minutes of yoga in while I listened to her play and talk up in her crib.....it's better than music!

Clover is putting EVERYTHING in her mouth right now. If you extend a hand to say hello, expect it to get chomped on :)

Clover enjoying a little girl talk with me in the morning while I make coffee. This was before she got to wiggly to wiggle herself right out of the Bumbo. If you don't know what a Bumbo is....it's the purple chair you see her sitting in. They are made for babies to sit in before they are able to sit up on their own ;)

Daddy and Clover playing on the floor during their morning time while Mom sleeps in!

Clover looking very proud of herself after completing her first finger painting. She helped me make Michael his first Father's Day card. She is getting over a cold here, which explains the running nose and red eyes.

Clover and Daddy reading stories before bedtime. Their favorite story right now is The Lorax!

Siblings at play. Charlie and Clover love playing together on the floor. They think it's OK to share toys, so you have to keep a close eye on them.

Sibling love! Charlie and Clover really do love each other. Charlie stays close by wherever Clover is and Clover is always looking around trying to see what Charlie is up too.

This was during Monica and Jackie's visit. Clover Jumperoo'd herself right out!

Just looking as cute as can be!! I love that green shirt on her :)

Clover thinks Ellie is pretty cool.

A visit from Fresno!

2009-06-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last week we had some special visitors from Fresno! My best friends Jackie and Monica few up with Monica's boys Domenic and Giovanni to meet Clover. This was also the first time for us seeing Giovanni since he was 2 months old. Clover loved watching the boys play. Domenic could get her laughing pretty hard by singing and dancing in front of her while in her Jumperoo. You could tell he was pretty proud of himself for that :) Giovanni just loved, lovin' on Clover, hahaha.....we'll you'll see.

This was a common theme among Clover and Giovanni's interaction. It may look like he was being rough...well maybe he was...but he really is just giving her the best "love pat" he knows how :) She never really seemed to mind!

Giovanni was REALLY lovin' Clover here. I half expected Clover to let him have it, but again she didn't seem to mind. I think she enjoyed his attention :)

We tried to get a picture of all six of us but we didn't all fit. This is a good picture of the four of them though. Monica and Jackie look great of course, but aren't Domenic and Giovanni gorgeous!

On the last day of their trip, Jackie took pictures of Clover and I at the park with her new camera.

Here's a cute one we got of Domenic. Unfortunately, Giovanni wasn't being very cooperative during our photo shoot.

Photo Shoot!

2009-06-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been amazing! Most people have been complaining and hiding in their homes, but being the Fresno native that I am, I'm embracing it and taking advantage of every second.

Today Clover and I went on a walk in hopes of finding some good spots for pictures. I am NOT a photographer or anywhere near one for that matter, but I am very pleased with my results. Enjoy your Clover fix :)

I can make a new sound!

2009-05-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Clover and I were playing yesterday and in the middle of cooing and laughing a new noise came out. She looked very surprised, like "was that me?" She's been practicing this new noise all morning and I was lucky enough to catch it on tape. It almost sounds like she's upset, but I assure you she's having great time!

Look out Michael Phelps

2009-05-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend at Lake Chelan

2009-05-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have been going to Lake Chelan with my girlfriends over Memorial Day Weekend for about 8 years now. Over the years the group has grown to include boyfriends, fiances, husbands, and now kids! This was the first year with a baby, which definitely changed the dynamic of the weekend, but in a good way.
The weather was great and the LePages have a big pool, so we took Clover swimming for the first time. She loved the water and did great! It was so much fun to watch her enjoy herself, and she looked so cute in her little bathing suit.
I'll post a video soon!

Midnight snack

2009-05-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Another video...still not edited. This was from a few nights ago when Clover had woken up in the middle of the night to eat. Michael was still up printing shirts and was coming in for a snack when I came down to feed Clover. Don't mind Michael's ridiculous commentary, haha!

Chatty Cathy

2009-05-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

This video is from yesterday morning. Clover is always in such a good mood in the mornings and has a lot to say! It's a little long, so bare with me....I haven't learned how to edit videos yet.

A girl after my own heart.

2009-05-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

I had last week off of work so I took advantage of only having one baby and tried to get some shopping done. On Tuesday I met up with my friends Megan and McKenzie. McKenzie also brought her 1 1/2 year old son Jackson. We headed into Seattle for some shopping and had a great time. Clover behaved perfectly and sat in the stroller taking it all in. When she was hungry she let me know and I handed her a bottle which she fed to herself and then fell asleep on her own.
This was also the week of our neighborhood garage sale. My neighbor Christy and I put the girls (Christy has a daughter named Sydney who is 2 weeks older than Clover) in the strollers and spent almost an entire day garage sale shopping! It was so much fun and the girls had a good time. We both found quite a few good deals on toys for the girls.
I love having a little shopping buddy :)

Oh yeah, and Clover turned 4 months old on Friday. I can't believe it!
Now she can hold a toy and bring it to her mouth, she can also flail it around and hit herself in the head, haha.....that really confuses her. She can roll from her belly to her back and is trying very hard to role from her back to her belly. She can hold her own bottle...for the most part...sometimes she chooses not too. She loves to talk and laugh and has been watching me very intently when I eat. They say that when babies do this they are about ready to start solids. We're going to hold off until 6 months though.

See, look what I can do!

Clover riding around on Mommy and wearing one of her new bibs from Great G&G Paul. Boy do she need them too. She is a drooling machine these days.

This is Clover's friend Cruz. Aren't they so cute together! It looks like they are trying to hold hands, haha :)

Playing on the floor on a hot summer day. Like most babies, Clover loves to be naked! She is drooling so much now. We could have used one of her new bibs here....instead we just got that blanket fully saturated, mmmmm

Finally the weather is nice and Clover can start wearing some of her sundresses.

This is Clover's friend Peyton that I watch during the week. The girls love to play together on the floor. They are really starting to interact with each other and it's so cute to watch them play.

Big girl bed already?

2009-05-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

Clover has been a busy girl! I meant to update last week but the time just got away from me.
Clover has officially made the transition into her crib in her own room. I think it was a lot harder for me than it was for her. I had been putting her to sleep swaddled up in her swing chair while she was sick to help with drainage since she was so congested. She was still dealing with some of that when we moved her into her room I stacked a few books underneath the legs of one side of her crib so that she was propped up when she slept and could still drain. It seems to work because she is sleeping great now and only waking one or twice a night for about 15-30 minutes just to eat.

Clover is really starting to like to play on the floor well with her toys and loves to sit up like a big girl! Of course she still loves her Jumperoo too!

I was cooking dinner one night and brought the Jumperoo into the kitchen so Clover could keep me company. I stuck charlies bed/pillow under her feet to give her a little traction on the wood floor and when I turned around a few minutes later this is what I found....what a little stinker! I guess he showed me, haha!

Playing on the floor with Daddy. Can you tell she adores him?!

Clover all wrapped up after a bath. Have I mentioned that she LOVES the bath?!

Posing for the camera like the little ham that she is :) Also sporting her first piece of jewelry that her Auntie Jackie sent her. It even says her name! Thanks Auntie Jackie :)

Does it get any cuter then this?

2009-04-26T23:29:00.001-07:00

Video of Clover over at Grandma and Grandpas for Sunday dinner.

Good Morning Clover!

2009-04-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

This video is kind of long, so watch what you want. She was talking for so long though I didn't know when to cut it off. I'm not great at the whole editing thing either...so I didn't even attempt.

I just can't stop...she's too cute!

2009-04-18T21:33:00.001-07:00

More pictures of Clover! She is still sick, unfortunately, but she has been surprisingly in good spirits.

Bath time!! I think I've mentioned before...Clover LOVES the bath!

How could I choose just one??

Cuddled on the sofa with one of her favorite blankies that Great Aunt Kit made her. She loves cuddling up to watch a little Baby Einstein :)

Sportin' her new shades

Daddy snuggle...can't beat that!

Watching more Baby Einstein with Grandpa. She loves it!

Ha, givin' Grandma a look while jumperooing. She loves to show off.

Spending some time on the sofa while she doesn't feel well :(

Just for fun.....

2009-04-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

As I said in my posts below, we had Ellie last week in addition to Peyton, and Clover was sick. It was an exhausting week to say the least, so Clover and I had to catch up on some sleep. Of course Charlie never misses out on a nap or a cuddle :)

Here Clover is posing in her Easter pajamas with her fancy "Peep" friends, hehe!

I bought Clover some hair accessories yesterday and thought we'd show them off. She is getting so much hair and I think she looks so cute with the bows in her hair!

Smile Clover!

2009-04-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last week we had Ellie at the house during her Spring Break. She was such a great helper with Clover and the other little baby I take care of, Peyton, who is 4 1/2 months old. Both girls loved her! Here is a video of Ellie getting Clover to smile for me :)

3 months ALREADY?

2009-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe Clover will be 3 months old in just a few days! The time has really flown right by and she is getting to be so big. Clover is constantly doing something new and it’s so much fun to watch her learn and grow.
This week she is experiencing her first cold :( She’s been a good sport though through all the coughing and the snotty noses. Hopefully it will clear up in the next few days.
Right now she is smiling and cooing a lot. She loves when Michael makes up crazy songs to sing to her and when we read her stories. She loves watching Baby Einstein movies and will even sit through an entire 30 min. show while I eat lunch or get things done around the house. She’s really into licking things right now. It seems like her tongue is always busy. She sits in her chair in our bathroom and licks her blanket for about 20 minutes while I take a shower, haha! She also LOVES taking a bath. She kicks around splashing the water everywhere and never cries when I wash her hair!

These are some of the things Clover has been up too!

Clover hangin' out with her big brother Charlie and of course trying to lick her pajamas :)

Playing in her first big kid toy! She loves being able to stand up and bat around the toys on the tray in front of her. In the first picture, no doubt she's planning on licking one of those toys. I love the second picture. That is such a Daddy look....very mischievous and always up to something :)

Well, this isn't a picture of Clover obviously, but Charlie is still important too! He love sleeping in Clover's car seat when she's not occupying it.

Clover with her cousin Aresa. They already love each other so much! Aresa is great with her too. She loves holding Clover and telling her stories or singing to her.

This is Clover in her new Jumparoo, courtesy of Auntie Heather! She loves jumpin' around in this thing and playing with the toys. She just figured out today how to hit the buttons and make the music and lights go off! She can spend about 15 minutes in it at a time entertaining herself.

We had our first sunny day here in a long time! Clover loved spending time outside in the sun.

A visit from Aunt Janet

2009-04-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

Clover’s Great Aunt Janet came to meet her two weeks ago. They spent lots of time cuddling and talking and Janet even got a few smiles and coos out of Clover. Janet watched Clover for an afternoon while Mommy went to get her hair done and they had a great time getting to know each other better :) We miss you Aunt Janet!

2009-04-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday night dinners have been a Lowe family tradition since College. Some good friends of ours in Fresno, the Adishians, inspired this. Sunday nights have recently become a lot more fun now that we have Clover as our live entertainment. We get her all set up in her car seat and pull her right up to the dinner table with us while we eat. She loves to be a part of the gang and has started to have a lot to say! Here is a video Grandpa took last week of Clover.

Hello Kitty!

2009-03-28T20:52:00.001-07:00

Clover just had her 2 month appointment this week...well, more like 2 1/2 month appointment. Poor baby got 3 shots, but the Hello Kitty Band aid made it all better :).
She screamed of course, but she was fine. She slept through the trip to the grocery store on the way home.
Everything else looked great. She weighs 10 lbs. 14 oz. and is 23 inches long now! What a big girl!
That night she slept for a record time of 13 hours straight. She is quite the little sleeper :)

Grandma Kay is coming to town!

2009-03-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Grandma Kay and Aunt Kit came to visit Clover! This was the second time for Kay to see Clover since her birth and the first time Kit got to meet her. Clover was on her best behavior, hamming it up to both of them. It was a great visit and we all had a lot fun!

Never leave the house without pickle juice....

2009-03-22T16:02:00.001-07:00

My sister in-law gave me a bottle of this at my baby shower and I soon learned that this stuff is like liquid gold!! We never go anywhere without it. It’s called Colic-Ease and you can only find it online. . It’s made up of dill weed seed oil (hence the smell and taste of pickle juice ;) ), caraway seed oil, cinnamon bark oil, clover bud oil, and cardamom seed oil. It’s all natural and calms Clover down the second it touches her mouth...as though she knows relief is near :)

At first I had trouble trying to spoon feed it to her so I went to PCC and bought a couple of empty tincture bottles. I keep one in my diaper bag and one at home. I measured out that 4 dropper fulls equals 1/2 teaspoons, which is the dosage for newborns.

I give it to her for every feeding as a precautionary and in between feedings as needed. If I'm nursing her I just give it to her at the beginning and if we feed her a bottle we just mix it right in! This is a MUST HAVE for all new parents!

Cradle cap be gone!

2009-03-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

Like every other Mother I was seriously dreading when Clover developed cradle cap. It's just yucky and if you're anything like me, it takes a lot of self control to restrain myself from picking at it. Picking at it makes it worse too because it causes the oils to spread. I asked around to all of my girlfriends and spent an entire afternoon googleing remedies for this. I tried a few things I came across, but nothing really seemed to work very well. It was finally the nurse at Clovers Pediatrician that suggested using the little funny brush that we came home from the hospital with to scrub her scalp with when we shampoo. I thought, Oh! That's what that things for? HA! I had no idea what it was when we got home and unpacked, but for some reason I held on it it.
The nurse was totally right. I started using it just as she suggested every time I shampooed Clovers hair. Ta Da, cadle cap be gone!

Smooth as a baby's bottom

2009-03-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

As you can see the Chickpea (or Besan) Flour worked great! Clover's skin cleared up within days and looks so smooth and beautiful. I washed her face with the paste twice a day for 3 or 4 days and it was totally gone. I stopped doing it after that and noticed it starting to creep back up on us so I started it up again. Now I just wash her with it during baths which we give her about every other day and that seems to keep it away!

This was a little tricky and annoying at first and I tried to find a way to make it more efficient so I didn't give up on it since it works so well. First I made a big batch of it and put it in a jar to keep up with her bath things. Well, that didn't work because it started to rise and smell like yeast, haha, I should have know this as flour and water are used as a starter for homemade breads.
So, now I keep the flour in a small tupperware by the tub with a little dish. Each bath I just pour a bit of the flour into the dish with a few drops of water and mix it with my fingers to spread on Clovers face...kind of like a mask. When I'm done I rinse it out and it's ready for her next bath! The consistency, in my experience, doesn't seem to be all that important. Over time you'll learn what works for you. I tend to like it a little thicker. When it's too runny it's hard to keep it from running down into her eyes and mouth while applying it.

You should be able to buy this at any grocery store, but if you have a local Indian market I would suggest checking there. I purchased ours at a local Indian market called Mayuri and it was only $2.99 for a huge bag of it. Can't beat that!

Baby acne is not teenage acne...DUH!

2009-02-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

Clover is getting some pretty bad baby acne. A friend of mine told me that her doctor prescribed some cream when her baby’s acne got bad so I thought I’d give that a try. Unfortunately our regular doctor was out of the office so our appointment was with some guy who looked like he hadn’t handled a baby in years. He also looked like Kernel Sanders, HA! He thought it was important to inform us that Clovers acne was different then teenage acne. Thanks buddy, because I was concerned I gave birth to a 13 year old until you just told me that. *eyes roll*
Maybe that’s not obvious though; so for those of you who don’t know what baby acne is let me enlighten you. During the final moments of pregnancy, a mothers hormones cross the placenta into the baby stimulating the oil glands in their skin and eventually causing baby acne.
Anyway, we left the office with a prescription for Hydrocortisone cream, which in my opinion was a waste of time.
Since then I’ve been doing research on line for different home remedies that might help clear her acne up. Most of what I found was to wash her face with mild soap twice a day and to wipe her face with a wet cloth after each feeding.
I have a friend from India who always seems to have home remedies for these types of things so I thought I’d see what she had to say. She recommends Chickpea Flour (also called Basen). You mix it with a bit of water to form a paste and then wash her face with that once or twice a day. I’m off to Mayuri our local Indian market to purchase some. I’ll let you know how it goes!

She rolled over!

2009-02-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Clover rolled over for the first time.
I set her down on the end of the sofa while I raised the blinds in the morning and she rolled from her tummy to her back!!

3 weeks old: Clover loves to spend time on her belly and sleep on her belly. She loves her binky and pickle juice! She calms right down when we give her any :). She hates being strapped into her car seat, but usually calms down once we are moving. She loves to sit up right against your chest and snuggle. She loves to be carried around in her sling while I do things around the house.

She already out grew her first pair of pajamas. It was very sad for me :( I can’t believe how big she is already getting.

Clover’s Uncle Brian and Aunt Valerie are in town right now meeting her for the first time. She loves to snuggle with her Uncle, you can tell he is in love with her already.

Here is Clover with her Aunt Valerie

Clover found her thumb!