Elephant Growth Series - Age 2+

I seem to have abandoned the photo series with the elephant. Now I just take whatever snapshots I can get when she picks up the old guy. Claire thought I wanted portraits of Elephant and kindly held him out for the camera. Photo series or not, this kid is growing!

20 Months +

Finally have a growing Claire update after a several month hiatus. She sits in this chair often to read or just rock, but the elephant and my camera aren't at the ready.

Location:Clairview Ct,San Francisco,United States

One year, Four Months

New words: shoes, cracker (sounds like "taco"), apple, buddy, dada (old word, new meaning: banana) gesundheit (might have been a fluke, but 3 of us heard her), all done
New teeth: lots of molars
New activities: giving hugs and more coordinated kisses, sitting on laps unsolicited

Fifteen Months

A few days (week+) late, here's Claire and the elephant at 15 months. Miss Busy was not interested in sitting still in the chair - so I have to keep trying. Might need to try alternate ways to capture her growth!

14 Months

Ever on the move, Claire makes this task challenging! She is fully walking now, going from a few furtive steps to walking over just a few weeks. She will occasionally drop to her knees but will rise when prompted.

Claire's vocabulary has increased to include up, down, more, please and the ever-popular "no." "Please" is almost always accompanied by the sign and she will string two words together - generally "up please." She is learning her manners - thanks to Ellen's day care!

1 Year, 1 Month

Taking more and more steps everyday, Claire is putting the toddle in toddler.

One Year!

Claire is one whole year old! I am in a state if disbelief but am loving it. She is a character and it is so much fun to watch her and play with her.

She is just over 19 lbs and has 7 teeth. Her skills to date:
Crawling
Walking upright... on her knees
Standing up without pulling up
Taking a few steps now and then
Signing words including Daddy, dog, more, milk, ball, "all done" and my personal favorite: sleep!
Speaking with words: dada, mama, woof, kitty, agua, dog and a variety of indiscernible sounds that surely mean something, we just don't yet know what.

Happy Birthday Claire!

11 Months

Eleven months old and staring down her first birthday, Claire continues to explore the world. She has yet to take her first steps, but will stand a moment without holding on - until she realizes it, panics and grabs on. She crawls, cruises and walks upright on her knees. She has 5 teeth, crazy hair and is 18.5 pounds. I call her my little hillbilly on account of her hair and "summer teeth*".



*Summer teeth: some are there, some aren't.

10 Months

The elephant appears again and again we had some trouble capturing a still shot. Here's the bug at 10 months!

Excellent posture, as you can see!

Making her escape

9 Months

As expected, Claire is at an in-between stage for taking her monthly portrait. She is too old and mobile to get a good still shot, but too young to understand "stay still!" So, here is her 9 month elephant portrait in a series.

This is all I could get of her sitting still. This was immediately followed by...

I thought I'd try a standing shot.

The elephant didn't fare very well.

At her 9 month doctor appointment on 11/3, Claire weighed in at 16.5 lbs, 27". She has 3 teeth - I'm not sure why only one top tooth has appeared but hopefully the second will follow soon.

Eight Months

The lighting is strange in Claire's room in the morning, so the strange glow is from the iPhone flash. Below is another photo from the same "photo shoot" as it's getting harder to have Claire stay in one place. She wants to move!

She's always on the run, unless strapped into a seat of some kind. The purpose of the crawling is usually to get to higher ground, i.e. climb to a stand. She is not a fan of diaper or clothing changes - again because those activities take away from exploring.

7 Months

Claire poses with her elephant at 7 months (& 1 week, I kept forgetting). She is a crawling, climbing, standing, 2-toothed*, happy baby.

*Two bottom teeth have poked through as of 9/11/10

Six Months!

A few days late, here is Claire with her elephant at six months. She is sitting up on her own and gets on her hands and knees and rocks. She is starting to nosh on solid foods and appears to have two bottom teeth ready to break through.

5 Months

Celebrating Independence Day!

Four Months

Here she is with her elephant at four months old

Three Months

Here she is with her elephant at three months old

8 Weeks Old!

Here is Claire at 8 weeks, weighing in at 9 lb 1 oz.

Claire, one month old

Taken on her one month birthday, Claire posed again with the elephant. She certainly has grown, though I'll admit the first round with the elephant, she was a bit slouched. Anyway, she weighed 7 lb 9 oz at her one month visit at the pediatrician, more than a pound over her birth weight. Hooray! She measures 21 inches - 2 inches longer than at birth.

Claire, 11 Days Old

Taking inspiration from many other new parents, I'll endeavor to take a series of photos of Claire with the same object to show her growth. I can't guarantee any regularity of these, but I'll try!

The object of choice for scale is an elephant made by my crafty mom some time early in my life. She made the elephant for me and a hippopotamus for Betsy out of my dad's worn out Wranglers.

So, to start the series, here is Claire at 11 days old. She is donning her going-home-from-the-hospital outfit, which already fits better and won't fit at all soon.