Field Trip

On Thursday, February 24 Clara Grace’s Grandma took her on an outing to the pet store. Clara Grace watched hamsters and mice running, fish swimming, birds fluttering, and snakes slithering. Only the rabbits were a bit of a disappointment providing little more than nose twitching for Grandma to comment on. Her grandmother reported that she watched all of this with rapt attention. Clara Grace returned home to her well-rested mommy, proudly baring a crinkly bag of doggie biscuits for her own puppy.

Hard Habit to Break

Somewhere in her fourth month, Clara Grace became fascinated with her mommy and daddy’s faces. At times, while sitting with her mommy on the couch, she reaches upward and tenderly strokes her mommy’s cheek or softly pats her mommy’s nose. Then, she finds a few wisps of her mommy’s stray hair and combs them with utmost delicacy until, on a whim, she yanks them right out of her mommy’s head. Other times, she goes straight for the eyes without warning. One of her favorite tricks is to lull her parents into complacency by patting their cheeks lovingly. Just when they smile approvingly she digs in her fingernails and twists the loose skin until their faces are grossly contorted half from her yanking and half from pain. Clara Grace’s daddy remarked, “I didn’t have jowls until Clara Grace got a hold of my cheeks.” On another occasion, Clara Grace’s daddy awoke from a deep, morning nap to the sensation of his ear and nose being tugged simultaneously. His eyes popped open, which sent Clara Grace into a fit of giggles.

It' Don't Mean a Thing

A lonely red and blue baby swing had dangled from the gingko tree in Clara Grace’s backyard for months. Her mommy and daddy had paid two dollars for the swing at a yard sale the previous summer. Their shrewd bargaining was a good thing since it had taken twenty dollars for the rope and chain needed to string it up. The gingko’s leaves had turned yellow and fallen to the ground by the time Clara Grace finally arrived. During the long pregnancy and exciting first days of Clara Grace’s life, her mommy often pictured her daughter in that swing for the very first time.

It is when she voices excitement about things like this that mothers of older children often chide her for wishing away the baby’s early moments. Though Clara Grace’s mommy nods politely, she secretly believes there must be a way to enjoy each of her daughter’s moments while at the same time looking forward to each of the coming changes and experiences. That long anticipated first swing ride finally became the present moment On February 12. Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy took turns pushing their baby back and forth. She laughed when daddy twisted the ropes, causing the swing to spin gently as it arched away from him. Clara Grace’s mommy listened and made a mental note to pick up a tire if they should happen to chance upon one at this summer’s yard sales. She smiled, picturing a tire suspended from the same sturdy branch and the little girl with curly brown hair and the same light blue eyes giggling as she whirled and spun beneath the gingko.

English Rose

Clara Grace celebrated her fourth month with a tea party at the English Rose. Those in attendance were herself, mommy, daddy, grandma, and Aunt Amy. In honor of the grand occasion, Clara Grace enjoyed her first teething cookie. Clara Grace’s waitress called the cookie a Rusk and told her family that it had come all the way across the ocean from England. The eager baby gummed the entire circumference making a general mess of both herself and the Rusk.

Deep Water

Clara Grace is becoming quite a swimmer. She attends swimming lessons twice a week and seems to enjoy them thoroughly. Her mommy is becoming spoiled by the heated pool though and may never swim anywhere else again.

X's and O-o-o-o's

Clara Grace gave her Mommy a kiss. To be fair, Daddy had a lot to do with it. He brought the baby close and Clara Grace puckered up to plant a big slobbery mouth on mommy’s cheek. “You gave mommy a kiss!” her mommy said excitedly then felt warm, wet drool running down her face. “We couldn’t find a rag,” Daddy admitted with a grin.

She Grasped the Gravity of the Situation

Clara Grace has developed quite a strong grasp. Her Mommy first noticed this on January 22nd when Clara Grace made a game of taking pens from Daddy’s pocket and tossing them down to the floor. Since then, she has been quite dedicated and vigorous about grasping Mommy’s hair, however forkfuls of food that can be dumped onto Daddy’s lap are also intriguing.

Taking Our Lumps

Clara Grace was never the “lump” that most people told her Mommy and Daddy to expect for a newborn. From the very first moments of her life she did so much more than eat and sleep. Even shortly after delivery, her personality poked through in beautiful smiles. Week by week, she has been giving her Mommy and Daddy even more glimpses of what they can expect in future years. Clara Grace laughs all the time now, but even more interesting are the things that make her laugh. Most of the time, she laughs whenever she hears someone else laughing. Her Mommy first noticed this when she was listening to a recording of her daughter’s laughter. Every time Clara Grace heard herself laugh, she giggled. Now she makes loud and funny noises and when Mommy or Daddy laughs, she joins in. It is also fascinating that she seems kind enough to reward her Mommy and Daddy with “pity laughs” whenever they are trying very hard to be funny for her. These chuckles are nowhere near as long and happy as laughter, which erupts spontaneously, but it’s the thought that counts.

Wokka Wokka Wokka

Almost two weeks had elapsed since the afternoon when Clara Grace’s Mommy excitedly met Clara Grace’s Daddy at the door and informed him of his daughter’s first laugh. Of course, the two spent countless hours during the next days and nearly wore their tongues out with wagging to produce the same reaction but apparently this joke was only funny the first time. Or worse, maybe Leanna was the only person their daughter found amusing.

But finally, early on Saturday of her fourteenth week, Clara Grace laughed for the second time. It happened as her Mommy held her on her lap facing out. Clara Grace wanted to stand up, so her Mommy supported her under her arms and the baby smiled proudly at her Daddy from her new higher vantage point. Unexpectedly, Clara Grace’s Daddy took the baby’s feet and swung gently back and forth like a hammock. Aware of Clara Grace’s easily startled nature, Clara Grace’s Mommy was about to recommend that he stop at once when the little girl erupted in giggles. This time, she laughed so hard that she gave herself the hiccoughs but she indicated by kicking and lifting her bottom that she would like another go.

And so the game went for at least twenty minutes until the baby’s eyes began to droop and she was ready for her morning nap. Clara Grace’s Mommy marveled again at how no laugh had ever sounded quite so beautiful and is looking forward to the time when her daughter’s laughter comes at regular intervals.

Babies These Days

Clara Grace’s Daddy took her on an outing to the post office early one Saturday morning. “That baby is so alert,” the attendant marveled, “How old is she?” “She’s thirteen weeks,” her Daddy informed. The post office attendant shrugged, “None of my kids were ever that alert at thirteen weeks, I guess they’re just making babies more alert these days.”

Magic Daddy and the Eternal Christmas Tree

It was an odd revelation for Clara Grace’s Mommy when the thought struck her that the baby had lived in a house with Christmas decorations for the greater part of her life. Could she even recall a world without red and green and a giant tree in the middle of the living room? So much of her development had taken place in the shadow of the artificial pine’s heavily laden bows.

Only weeks before, Clara Grace had dozed semi-comatose while her Mommy and Daddy decorated the entire house with bright and shiny Christmas regalia. She had taken only cursory notice of jingling ornaments or even the blinking Christmas tree in mid November.

However, when everything came down in early January she gazed with rapt attention as her Daddy unwound sparkling garland from the tree. Of particular curiosity to her was the mystery of how her Daddy went behind the tree on one side and then somehow reappeared again on completely the other side. This phenomenon happened over and over again as the garland wound lower on the tree and each time Clara Grace snapped her head to the place from where he’d popped out unexpectedly. What an incredibly vast amount of things there are for her new little mind to grasp. And how quickly Clara Grace is taking in her new world.

New Threads Already

It was thirteen weeks after Clara Grace’s arrival when her Mommy packed away all of her zero to three month outfits. As she refitted the seemingly monstrous three to six month apparel onto the vacated hangers, she felt the familiar stinging in her eyes and tightening in her throat that warned the job would be more emotional than expected. By the time the project should have been nearing completion, she found herself sitting dazed on the wood floor in the middle of heaps and heaps of disorganized clothing. However disheartening, the project’s necessity had become apparent when Clara Grace’s neighbor, Lillian Smith, had come to coo over the baby days earlier.

“Oh, my gracious, her looks sooo cold.” Lillian commented in her syrupy Georgian drawl. Clara Grace’s Mommy paused in order to think of a way to respond politely without admitting she’d wantonly put her baby at risk of double pneumonia.

“I guess it’s hard to know how to dress them on one of these 70 degree days in January.” She tugged in vain at the cuffs of her daughter’s pants wondering why on earth they refused to cover the bottom half of the baby’s bare legs. This was certainly an unexpected development since the very outfit had practically engulfed Clara Grace just a short time ago.

Mrs. Smith smiled sweetly, albeit disapprovingly, and shuffled back across the street hunched against the spring-like breeze in her, two undershirts, flannel, and down coat.

And so it was that the very next weekend found Clara Grace’s Mommy knee deep in outgrown bows and ruffles. A few hours and several tears later, Clara Grace’s closet was functional once more. It was harder than anticipated for Clara Grace’s Mommy to let go of the seven pound fourteen ounce newborn who remained curled up against her chest just like a little turtle several minutes even after she’d been taken out of her bassinette. However, she did have to admit there were distinct advantages to the twelve-pound growing infant who had recently learned to smile and stretch out her arms when she wanted to be picked up from the bassinette.

The Best Medicine

January seventh brought the most delightful milestone in Clara Grace’s development to date. It all started with Her Mommy holding her facing out while Leanna conversed with her in all manner of “Goos” and tongue wagging. It must have been that something struck Clara as particularly more hilarious than anything she’d heard in the last twelve weeks and five days because she all at once burst out into genuine laughter. These were not just polite giggles; Clara Grace was smiling so big that her eyes squeezed shut and guffawing so vigorously that she almost choked. As Liana put it, “Well, good grief, she’s cracking up.”

Fish on the Wall

On January sixth, Clara Grace finally took the trouble to notice the masterpieces with which her Daddy had spent months adorning the walls of her nursery. As her Daddy rocked her to sleep, she gazed with particular interest at the orange and white clown fish swimming lazily just above his shoulder.

Rollover Minutes

On Christmas Day, Clara Grace was exactly two months and eight days old. This was precisely the day she chose to roll over for the first time. It all came about as her Mommy laid her tummy down on a turtle which Clara Grace’s first cousins once removed, Wendy and Mark, bought for her. She held her head high and watched animals floating beneath her in the turtle’s water-filled belly, and then, over she went. It was all done with a flawlessly executed push-off from her left arm. Her Mommy put her back on the turtle to continue her play and over she went once more. If words could be attributed to her expression, Clara Grace would most likely have said, “I don’t have any idea what just happened, but I will take the next few days to evaluate future benefits to this new locomotion, and be advised that I may perform it again at a time when you are least expecting it.”

A Better Use

“Do you need a pacifier?” Clara Grace’s mommy shouted to her husband above the ruckus her daughter was making. “Yeah, would you mind passing me two of them?” Clara Grace’s daddy answered, “one for each ear.”

A Crib of Her Own

Two nights before Clara Grace’s three-month birthday, her parents moved her permanent sleeping arrangement to her nursery crib. Clara Grace enjoyed one of her most peaceful slumbers to date, both her parents, however, hardly slept at all. While her Mommy anxiously analyzed each variation in the static from the baby monitor beside her pillow, the twelve feet across the living room grew into an enormous gulf lurking with drafts or pests or even greater dangers she didn’t want to consider. She let her arm fall from the bed and touch the satiny lining of the empty bassinette.

How quickly the days had gone of reaching out in the darkness and stroking her baby’s downy hair or letting Clara Grace hold on to her finger in one hand and her thumb in the other until she drifted off to sleep again. Certainly Clara Grace would want her own room eventually, but helping her take that first step away was difficult. Clara Grace’s Mommy lay on her back and let her mind drift sleeplessly over all the steps that would come in future years. Some were small and some were larger. Some were steps away in literal distance and others, the harder ones, were emotional steps apart. There would be her actual first step, which meant less time in Mommy’s arms, solid foods, Kindergarten, slumber parties, college, and a wedding. Pondering all these things brought a twinge of sadness, but also a spark of excitement.

Through the monitor, Clara Grace grunted in her sleep; her Mommy waited, but there was no crying. Proudly, she rolled over to try for a few hours of sleep herself, all the while picturing her daughter snuggled in the blanket she had knitted for her and surrounded by the bright fish, turtles, and octopus her Daddy had painted on the walls.

Clara Grace Earns Her Keep

It happened that Clara Grace’s Mommy was not feeling well on Sunday, the twelfth of December, so Clara Grace’s Daddy took the baby along with him to get his tires aligned. “You’ve got a slow leak in your back tire,” the burly mechanic informed him. “You can fix it but it’ll be an extra twenty dollars.” “Well,” Clara Grace’s Daddy shrugged, “I guess we’ll just have to, then.” When the car was brought down from the lift, Clara Grace and her Daddy made their way to the counter to pay. The same mechanic held out his rippling, hairy arms and asked, “Can I hold your baby?” Gazing down at the little girl he remarked, “It’s been twenty-seven years since I’ve held a girl this little. After he handed Clara Grace back to her Daddy he reached for the receipt on the counter and tore it in two. “No charge,” he said, “Thanks for letting me hold the baby.”

More Goo

While Clara Grace was turning exactly eight weeks old, she was practicing to repeat “Gooo,” after her Mommy and Daddy. She painstakingly furrowed her brows and concentrated to form her mouth in just the right O shape. She seemed to enjoy these “linguistic lessons” immensely and grinned more than she has ever grinned before. A happy side benefit to this is her Mommy and Daddy’s discovery that “Goo,” can also be used to get great smiles during photo shoots.

Imitation and Other Flatteries

This Thanksgiving brought two new advances in communication for Clara Grace. One of which her parents are quite thankful for, about the other, they are still deciding. The latter really should have been expected though. Every time Clara Grace’s Mommy or Daddy bragged to another parent how calm and benign their new baby was, the other parent would wag their head knowingly and predict, “Just give it a few weeks, then you’ll start hearing more from her.” Of course, Clara Grace’s Mommy chalked this all up to bitter parents who’d probably had colicky babies and were hoping for some company for their misery. Thanksgiving night brought the first enormous outburst from sweet little Clara Grace. Her Mommy made the very unwise mistake of changing her diaper before feeding her, and after watching the entire family gorge themselves on turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes, this was simply too much for Clara Grace to bear. Her parents responded to the tirade by feeding her immediately, and promising to purchase a wet wipe warmer the very next day, all the while assuring themselves that they do plan to implement a bit more discipline in the coming years. The other advance in communication took place that night after Clara Grace had regained her composure. She sat on her Grandma’s lap and watched while Grandma stuck in and out her tongue. After a moment, she responded by sticking out her own. They played this game for several minutes. Now, this had happened once before when Clara Grace’s Daddy was playing with her early one morning of her third week of life. She stuck out her tongue, so her Daddy stuck out his. They kept this up for several minutes until Clara Grace let loose an eruption in the diaper area. Her Daddy’s excitement faded immediately and he attributed the whole episode to gas. After everyone had left Thanksgiving night, Clara Grace’s skeptical Mommy asked Daddy to try the tongue game with her one more time to determine whether Clara Graces proud Grandma hadn’t been a little too hasty to attribute this new spark of intelligence to her five and a half week old grandbaby. Clara Grace played the game with Daddy for the second time, so that night, after her two o’clock snack, Clara Grace’s Mommy tried it out. Clara Grace smiled immediately and when her Mommy touched her lips, her tongue was sticking out just as everyone had said it would be. Clara Grace even advanced to making kissy mouths and went back and forth between the two. After a few rounds of the game, Clara Grace even grabbed hold of her Mommy’s finger and brought it to her own mouth. While feeding, changing and rocking the little baby have been wonderful, Clara Grace’s Mommy is extremely thankful and excited about this tiny window into her daughter’s growing mind.