the littlest Waldon is 19.

So Em turned 19!  Whoa!  She celebrated by shopping in the morning with Mom, meeting up with Clara and I for lunch at Olive Garden (can't beat soup, salad, and bread sticks at lunch), then we had a nice dinner at the 'rents house, and then I'm sure she was out all night with her crew! It was a great day and we're so glad to have her home in Boise!  She keeps us all laughing!

Here are some pics from lunch.

 Clara getting sleepy and cuddling with Oma.

 Some lemon cake that Em got for her b-day!

 Crazy baby smiling with the bink in!

 blurry - but cute!

 I had another "mommy brain" episode at lunch - I left my camera on the table at Olive Garden!  What?  I never do that!  Ugh!

Thank goodness Em had her camera handy during supper at my Mom and Dad's house!
I love this pic of Clara and her Opa!

 B-day girl with her cake!  Don't count the candles.  We could only find 17!  Ha!  And what's better is that they were sparkler candles!  What fun!

 Kurtis looks so contorted in this next pic because he leaned away from me at the last second, just to be a goofball!

We were happy to celebrate your b-day with you Em!  Here's to many more!

a "normal" summer evening.

So during the summer we always have lots of barbecues with both sides of our family.  One particular night, we were at my parents' house.  Things started out as they usually do...Dad took Clara out to the rim of their yard to look at the birds.  He always takes the babies out to look at birds. 

 Then things got crazy.  We started playing a particularly animated game of Tripoley!  If you haven't played that game yet, you should!  We always have a good time!  This is what we looked up to see my Dad doing mid-game...

 yeah...those are poker chips!

At the same time, we had to deal with Em and her crazy friend Charlotte being nutso across the table!  I'm shocked we didn't all pee our pants laughing at the shenanigans that night!

for Patty and Rocket!

These pics are for Patty and Raquel in Wisconsin.  They bought this little outfit for Clara a while ago and we've been waiting till it fit her to put it on and snap some pics!  Raquel - Clara is THIS excited to meet you!  (Patty too!)

cerveza.

So a little while ago, I took the greatest pics of Kurtis and Clara on the back patio.  Clara was only in a diaper and they both looked fantastic!  I immediately deleted them from my camera.  Why?  I blame "mommy brain"!  So you can imagine my delight when I saw Kurtis sitting with Clara on the patio the other evening.  I snuck out with the camera and found Clara licking Kurtis' empty beer can.  At least it was good beer!  I think she could be a little money-maker if we sent the pics into New Belgium!

5 months old.

Clara was 5 months old on the 22nd.  She is doing many new things this month. 

She can roll over (to the right) from back to front, and just this last week she learned to keep on going like a little steamroller and go from her tummy to her back! 

She has great motor skills.  She can take the binkie out, put it back in, she can pick up almost anything around her and get it to her mouth - watch out!  She can switch objects from hand to hand with ease! 

She is eating rice cereal like a champ!  She makes a mess of course, but gets it down just fine!  She eats rice cereal about every other day at dinnertime. 

She still sleeps like a champ!  All night long from around 10:30 pm-7 in the morning.  She sleeps a little less during the day now...takes fewer naps. 

She is getting so strong.  She can lift her chest off the ground while on her tummy with ease. She can almost sit up on her own, and sits beautifully with support.  She can stand with support. 

She weighs 14 lbs. 14oz.  She is 26ish inches long.  Her head is almost 17 inches. 

The best thing about Clara is her happy demeanor.  She smiles so much and her laugh is getting heartier each day.  She takes in everything in her environment and is curious to experience it all - by touching, looking, listening, and tasting.  She loves being upright these days.

We just love Clara so much!  Take a look at these pictures I took tonight after her bath.  Her hair is still wet, and she's just in a diaper cover, but she's so content just hangin' in her crib and smiling for the camera!

 I love this one!  She has been sucking in her bottom lip lately. 

 This may just be my new fave of Miss Clara!