Pipsqueaks

We went to Pipsqueaks this morning with another Mommy that has 2 kids close to Gabe and Claire's age. Pipsqueaks is an indoor play area that the United Way has made available throughout the winter. It was our first time going but Gabe loved it so we may have to go back before it closes in April.

Elias liked to be right next to Claire. He even tried to climb on top of her a few times.

Here he is trying to bite Claire's hand but she's not too excited about him touching her.

Gabe and Asha rode the merry-go-round together. Gabe insisted on riding the one that looked like a lion due to it's yellow body and light brown mane.

Asha liked to drive the car but couldn't figure out how to get out. Gabe opened the door for her but she thought it would be better to climb under the car to get out.

7 months old

Claire is now 7 months old and she is definitely growing. She sits independently now and is crawling a little. Gabe is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Claire now likes to play with his toys as much as he likes to play with hers. Sharing is definitely a lesson to be learned this month.

Steak'n'Shake

On the way to Illinois on Tuesday, we stopped for lunch at one of our favorite places. Since we got some good pictures of the kids there, I thought I would put them up for all to see.

This is the look Claire likes to give these days when she is trying to get us to give her something she really wants. In this case, it was peas.

Beautiful weather

We took advantage of the nice weather on Thursday and went out to Wildlife Prairie Park. Gabe loved seeing the animals and Claire just loved being outside in the sun with the breeze blowing.

Gabe loves horsies and frogs so when we saw these statues, he wanted to climb on them. We compromised by taking a picture with them.

At Grandma's house while we were waiting for dinner to cook, Gabe drew on the sidewalks and learned how to play baseball. He wasn't too good at hitting the ball but he sure can throw. I guess all that practice playing baseball on the Wii is helping him get better.

Family Time

While we were back visiting, we spent our days playing and our evenings with family. We didn't get too many pictures of the family with us but here are some of the things the kids did while we visited.

Claire worked on refining her mobility. She is pretty effective now at getting across the room if she really wants something. She was especially fond of the dog and the dog's toys.

Claire also worked on her social skills. She almost always had a smile on her face when a new person would hold her. Of course, she already knew Grandma Connie from when she visited us in Minnesota on Valentine's weekend.

Gabriel has a knack for finding cars and trucks no matter where we go. Great Grandma Bonnie made a special effort this time to have some toys available for him so Gabe didn't play too much with her model cars and antiques.

Sam spent most of her time with us feeding her face. It's not her fault that we had food every time we got together with them.

After a long day with the family, Claire finally got her nap (even if it only lasted 20 minutes).

Claire's Baptism

Claire was baptized when we were back visiting our families in Illinois. Her sponsors were Aunt Samantha, Uncle Matthew, Uncle Ryan, and Kristin (Ryan's girlfriend of three years). She wore the same dress that Mom and Aunt Stephanie wore for their baptisms. She wasn't sure what to think when the water was sprinkled on her head but she really liked trying to eat the dress.

Food!

With Claire's weight gain slowing down for the last few months we held off on starting solid foods until just a few days before she was 6 months old.

She opens her mouth like a little bird!

She just can't get enough food. Next week we may move on to veggies.