Grandma Judy came for a visit in late August. Highlights included lots of playtime in the bathtub, reading books, feeding Juliet, and a tricycle ride with Claire. Judy stayed at home with Claire while Stu and I got away for a weekend with Juliet in San Francisco, where we enjoyed the relative calm and luxury of caring for only one child. Included are a few pictures of Juliet playing on the bed in our plush hotel. Click on the picture of Judy reading to Claire for a slideshow.
Here’s our next set of photos from this summer. We’ve included lots of pictures of the girls together, including Juliet eating her first solid food, both of them sharing a ride in a swing, some fun at the beach and in the swimming pool, plus a shot of Claire trying on Stu’s sneakers. Click on the below picture of Juliet’s first bites (with Claire in the background showing exactly how to spread food all over the face) for a slideshow.
We took Juliet for her 6-month checkup this morning. Everything looks great. At 27″, she is at the 89th percentile (about the same as her 91st percentile at 4 months). At 17 lbs, 3.5 oz, she’s at the 74th percentile (up from 66th two months ago, as evidenced by the additional folds of baby fat on her thighs!). At her 6-month appointment, Claire was 96th percentile in height and 80th in weight.
When on the east coast a few weeks ago, we also visited my parents in Connecticut, where Claire enjoyed a great visit with her Nana, Poppa, and special guest Aunt Eileen, plus a yummy homemade birthday cake and her first small town 4th of July parade. Also included are a few pictures of berry picking the day after we returned. Click on the picture below for a slideshow.
My extended family gets together every two years for a family reunion. This year’s was held in Stowe, Vermont, where Claire and Juliet were part of an influx of young children from the next generation. Highlights included Juliet sleeping on the floor under Claire’s feet on our cross country flight, more birthday cake and presents, visiting the Ben & Jerry’s factory (and enjoying some samples at the end of a tour), lots of fun times with the Jack and Sharon, playing with Laura, Will and Rob, Claire smooching her cousin Elliot, a bathtime playdate for Claire with two of her cousins, and cousin Robbie doing a slide show on a sheet hung from the fireplace mantle. Click on our family group photo that Uncle Bob took for a slideshow.
Grandma Judy visited us for five days last week. Among other things, Judy joined us for Juliet’s 4-month checkup. At 25.5″, Juliet is at the 91st percentile in height (compared to 70th percentile at 2-months) and a quarter-inch taller than Claire was at 4 months, so it looks like we’ve got another Amazon on our hands. At 14 lbs, 4 oz, she’s in the 66th percentile in weight down slightly from 67th last time and exactly even with where Claire was at that age. Other highlights included Claire and Juliet enjoying long walks with grandma (including three over the course of just one day), early presents for Claire’s second birthday, the two girls sitting together on their “potties” looking out at the backyard, and a barbeque dinner where Claire ate mostly ketchup. Click on the photo below for a slideshow.
The girls’ world-traveling Aunt Mona had a layover in San Francisco last week on her way from India to Seattle so stopped by the house for a quick visit. Claire and Juliet were thrilled to see her and we all had some fun. Also included are some pictures from a warm afternoon when we tried out our new Slip ‘n Slide in the backyard with our neighbors and their kids, plus a cute video of Juliet gurgling and giggling. Click on the picture below to see.
Over Memorial Day weekend we rented a condo in Pacific Grove, a cute little town on Monterey Bay. On the way down, we stopped at a strawberry picking farm, where we picked three baskets of strawberries and Claire ate at least 30. We had a relaxing time, going for long stroller rides along the ocean, taking the girls to their first visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, sighsteeing along 17-Mile Drive, and even discovering a brewery that makes tasty English ales. We also got a cute picture of Juliet in her strawberry-themed pyjamas, which was one of our favorite outfits of Claire’s. Click on the photo below of Claire “picking” a strawberry for a slideshow.
Grandma Sharon came for a visit last week, and we had a fun time with her on all sorts of adventures including drawing on Claire’s new easel, going out to our favorite burger and milkshake place, and visiting the San Francisco Zoo. We’ve also got some pictures of Claire sharing her new easy chair with Juliet and a Mother’s Day picnic in a nearby park where Claire and her friend Laura blew bubbles and Juliet hung out with her friend John. Click on the photo below for a slideshow.
We had a fun Easter two weekends ago, including a very important milestone: Claire’s first Easter Egg Hunt. We headed to our local town park for the occasion, a half-day celebration hosted by our local fire department. It was a zoo, with 80 or 90 kids under two-years old running around and their parents trying to take pictures. But it was fun, and we ran into lots of people we knew. We then headed up to San Francisco for a tasty Easter Dinner prepared by our friends John and Bam Toth (with their daughter Tori for Claire to play with). As usual Bam cooked us a phenomenal meal, made all the more special by Easter lamb cake, which is about what it sounds: a cake in the shape of a lamb. Other highlights included Juliet sleeping soundly through the entire dinner. Click on the photo below for a slideshow.
