10 months already?

Claire is growing up so fast! You can't see it but she now has her two bottom teeth growing in. She is constantly feeling her teeth with her fingers. So cute! 

 When I pull out the camera and she instantly smiles! 

 I finally took the leap and actually put Claire in the cart at the store. I know it sounds silly but she is so light it is still pretty easy to pack her around in the car seat. Also, I think without realizing it I was trying to keep her from the "outside world" as long as possible. My sister gave me this cart cover and she loves the toys attached. 

 When the teeth were coming in I gave her part of a Popsicle. She liked it for a minute but then just wanted to swing the stick around. I tried. I guess Tylenol was what she really wanted. ;) 

I think she started getting her first tooth the same time she had Hand/Foot/Mouth. A week after she was feeling better Shaun felt in her mouth and to his surprise there was a tooth. 

EATING: This month Claire actually starting eating food from the spoon. At her 9 month appointment the doctor was telling me I may have to take her to a feeding specialist (1.5 hour drive away) if things didn't improve. At that point when I tried to feed her she would close her mouth so tight I couldn't get an ounce of food, cereal, etc in. When I would occasionally get some food in (by distracting her) she acted like I was feeding her poison. My sister suggested yogurt and within a week she was actually opening her mouth for another bite. I started crying I was so relieved that she wanted food! Since then I have gotten her to eat several different things. YEAH! 

Also, my sister, Seleta, and our friend, Alyssa, went to the awesome store Wegman's and got Claire some wheat free snacks that she can feed herself. She is in Heaven! When I go to visit my sis later this month I will be stocking up! 

I still have such a dainty girl. I often find her sleeping with her feet and hands neatly crossed. 

Some highlights about her:

• She is getting closer to crawling. She is starting to get really frustrated that she can't get to where she wants to go without rolling or maneuvering herself little by little. Although I am not looking forward to her cruising around the house I think she will love the independence. 
• She was doing so well at sleeping long stretches at night until HFM virus hit, so we are working on getting back on a better night schedule. My goal is to get her to sleep 12 hours without eating ASAP. 
• She loves to turn the pages when we are reading the board books. 

I know I say this all of the time, but Claire really is such a sweet girl and I love spending my days with her!