We celebrated one month with Clara yesterday
Yesterday we marked Clara’s first month, and it has been a sweet, sleepy, sometimes chaotic stretch. She seems to blend traits from her older siblings: fussy and restless during the day like Nora, but a pretty good night sleeper like Simon. One night last week she even gave me a solid seven-hour stretch of sleep, which felt miraculous.
Clara wants to be held most of the time, so my baby carrier has become essential. She enjoys eating, napping, and creating a steady stream of laundry. Physically she already looks different from our other three children—she has a lot of dark hair, a slightly darker complexion, and no dimples—though her eyes appear to be blue like the rest of the family.
This month I haven’t done much besides the basics: laundry, using up freezer meals, writing a couple of blog posts, ordering pictures, and grabbing groceries now and then. Mostly I’ve been at home, holding a baby through much of my day. It’s exhausting at times, but I’m reminded that the newborn stage is temporary and this quiet, close work is not the worst way to spend time.
As for the rest of the family…
Dave had a short week with school for Teacher Convention and surprised the kids with donuts one morning, which was an instant win—food is definitely our kids’ love language. He’s been incredibly helpful playing with the older three and sharing nighttime wake-ups. I’m grateful he’s usually home by mid-afternoon so we can eat dinner early and get the kids to bed on time.
Nora continues to love school and the bus. She seemed to learn to read almost overnight and now gets excited about new words. She’s already planning for Halloween and her sixth birthday: she wants to be a gumball machine for Halloween and have a Little Mermaid themed party for her birthday. Nora lost another tooth recently and has a few more loose ones, and she’s suddenly looking so tall. Her current interests include playing with neighborhood friends, Perler Beads, collecting leaves, writing a book about birds, Shopkins, and chewing gum.
Simon is as silly and sweet as ever. He adores Clara and showers her with kisses, and he tells me every day how cute she is and how much he loves her. Right now he’s into superheroes—Spiderman, Batman, and Superman—and is thrilled about a Batman costume we found for Halloween. He’s also giving us a preview of the “threenager” attitude: stubborn, strong, and occasionally a handful. He had his first dentist appointment this week and did great, proudly announcing he’d been a “big boy.” Simon enjoys singing, anything blue, pretend homework, filling his backpack with random treasures, treats, and coloring inside the lines. At dinner recently he ended his prayer with “A-lady” instead of “Amen,” and delivered it so casually that he left us laughing.
James remains the happiest, most affectionate member of the crew and is such a mama’s boy. He loves the new baby—“New Baby Cwara”—but still wants to be held constantly and will tell me he “just needs” me when he’s upset. He copies everything his older siblings do and is surprisingly coordinated for his age. Simon and James play together beautifully most days, rushing outside to ride bikes or play in the sandbox first thing in the morning. James’s favorites are breakfast foods (especially eggs), the color yellow, bubbles, singing, riding his bike, reading with Mom, and drawing angry faces.
We’ve been taking advantage of warm, sunny fall weather and spending lots of time outdoors. Having a long driveway and a big yard makes it easy to let the kids play freely without constant close supervision, which has been such a gift this month.
Instead of fighting crowds at a commercial pumpkin patch, we let each child pick a pumpkin from my parents’ garden. They still got the pumpkin-picking experience, but without the drive, the crowds, or the steep prices. It was a low-key, happy way to celebrate the season.
I’ll be back to full-time blogging next week Wednesday with my Favorite Things for November
For now, I’m enjoying the slow rhythm of newborn life and the small, joyful moments with the rest of the family. Wishing everyone a great weekend and a happy Halloween—I’d love to hear what costumes you’re making or buying this year.
