Photo Shoot

Claire had her first professional photo shoot last Friday. Here are some of my favorite shots!

It's a miracle!

Claire slept through the night for the first time last night, but she did not go down without a fight! I've been having a hard time getting her to sleep in her crib since day one so I have resulted to putting her in her swing or (GASP) bringing her into bed with me. I called her pediatrician yesterday and explained the situation and he gave me some great advice including elevating her mattress and letting her cry it out. So I did! I put her to bed with a full tummy and dry diaper at 9:00 and she cried for a good 2 hours before going to sleep. I checked in on her twice and changed her once, but once she was out she slept until 6am! I woke up at 4:00 and couldn't fall back asleep because I was convinced she was going to wake up at any minute. I had to keep peeking into her crib to make sure she was still breathing. I nursed her and put her back down around 6:30 and it is now a quarter to 10:00 and she is still sleeping. Here's hoping this is the first of many restful nights!

Claire has the travel bug!

These past couple weeks have been very busy. On April 19th we drove to Long Beach to celebrate Claire's Great Aunt Dana's birthday. It was Claire's first beach trip and we were so fortunate to have beautiful, sunny weather. We walked on the beach, window shopped in town, and learned Grandpa Darren's sand dollar dance. We can't wait to go back when Claire is big enough to make sand castles and jump through the waves. At the rate she's growing it will be sooner than we know it!
The following weekend my parents went to New York so Will came down and stayed with me and Claire. We spent most of the time being lazy at home and enjoying the quiet, but as soon as the sun came out we made our way to the Mima Mounds. They are all the rave around here! We didn't know what to expect, but as it turns out they're just miles of grassy hills that were created thousands of years ago by a glacier. There is a trail you can follow around the mounds but we didn't have Claire's carrier and it was kind of cold so we just took some pictures and called it good.
On our way to take Will back to Bellingham we stopped at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Claire slept in her stroller the whole time, and I got so caught up taking pictures of the animals that I forgot to take any of her. Whoops!

When we got to Bellingham we got to visit a lot of people including a surprise visit to Grandma Ann's classroom. Claire enjoyed being the center of attention and the star of show and tell. We're looking forward to going back again. Next time we'll give a heads up so grandma doesn't get in trouble for not showing Claire to all her friends!

From Bellingham we traveled over Steven's Pass to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival. We got to visit Ben and Jodi and then got lost trying to find our way back to Amanda's house. Once we found our way we were overwhelmed by all the cousins that were staying there. In addition to Amanda's parents and 3 siblings there were 5 extra people visiting! The good part was there were lots of hands to help out with Claire. I don't think she ever got put down until it was time for bed! We had a great time at the parade and food fair and found the perfect gift for Grandma Ann at the craft fair. It was gorgeous and sunny for most of the trip. I'm so bummed that I didn't get any pictures. From now on I am going to keep my camera in my diaper bag with extra batteries at all times!