6 Months

I can't believe our little girl is half-way to 1 year old! I know everyone says that time flies with babies, but it's true. Jonathan said he wished the 6 month stage would last for at least three months. I agree with him. She is so much fun right now. She's full of smiles, constant babble and curiosity. Earrings, ties, necklaces, and especially daddy's work name tag are no longer "safe" from the Clarinator. She is into everything within reach! I know we will have many great ages/stages ahead, I just can't help wanting this stage to last a little bit longer!

Here are her percentiles this time around from her doctors appointment yesterday...

Head = 70 %

Weight = 50 %

Length = 90 %

She's pretty close to her stats from last time, although she hasn't gained weight at the same speed as before. Thankfully her cheeks remain nice and chubby so she at least has the appearance of a chubby baby (I've really been trying, Leah. I'm sorry!)

We started rice cereal this week and she's actually liking it. At first, however, she was much more interested in this bib...

On a recent trip to see daddy at his office. Clara LOVES her daddy. I do too:).

Just one more picture...in a really outrageous headband. I know I have lots of big bows, but I think this one takes the cake...

Team Jacob

Some friends have cited the resemblance before, but I wasn't 100% sure until I came across this photo from Jonathan's senior year of high school. Do you see a werewolf, anyone?

I'd always considered myself more of a Team Edward kind of girl. Maybe I should reconsider.

On the Mend

Today marks day #14 of illness (not that I'm counting or anything). What was my sickness exactly? I'm not really sure because I never was officially tested for H1N1. I am pretty sure that this little flu/sickness (whatever it was) was a special all-in-one package because I experienced just about every symptom that one can imagine while sick. Except an eye infection. I didn't get one of those, thankfully:).

One of the worst parts was that I was really quite certain that the grand finale was my left ear drum bursting late Saturday night. I thought all the nasty fluid would just escape from my ear and - wala - end of illness. Little did I know that there was a surprise encore in store: pneumonia. Now I'm on antibiotics and just need my eardrum to fully heal so I can hear with both ears again. I'm already starting to pray that Clara did not inherit my ridiculous ear canals.

But I seriously think I'm on the mend. Any day now I will spring out of bed with an intense desire to go on a run, make some homemade apple sauce, or do something productive. The last two weeks have been a little sad in the Hook household - mostly consisting of eating, sleeping, watching Clara play and sleeping again.

Actually this whole thing may have been just fine if I had a better attitude about it. It really hasn't been the end of the world or anything. The problem is with ME. I was always that kid in elementary school that hated being sick because I was missing out on everything at school. Maybe that's why I became a teacher...I just couldn't get enough:). I have just hated the fact that I've been missing out on life and haven't been able to fully enjoy Clara like I usually do. I hate that.

I did do a couple of things in the last two weeks though (maybe contributing to the fact that I am not yet better). I know I probably jumped the gun, but oh well. I went to the district volleyball tournament on Saturday (Halloween) and to a little Halloween gathering Saturday night. We even managed church on Sunday morning and a baby celebration at Europa that evening. It was really nice to get out of the house and I don't regret them, though I probably should.

Here is Clara in costume. I know you already got a sneak peak and this shot isn't much better. Here she is asleep at the vb match, dreaming of the day when her mommy will come back from the dead...:)

Next year I'll have some amazing Halloween post with cute pictures and fun stories and I'll wow you. You'll be thinking, "Wow. The Hooks are really cool. They have cool halloween parties and neat treats. And that Clara is so cute in her little costume that Amy made from scratch" (okay - a little far-fetched). So, make sure and read my blog next Halloween, okay.

#1 Fan

Here are a few more of Clara's tiger outfits. She's gotten much use out of her orange and black this fall. My JV season ended on Thursday with a win and, ironically, a loss - I got the flu literally hours after our last match. Kind of funny when you think about the hours of exposure I've had this season to all kinds of sickies. I'm surviving though. It's day #4; it can't get much worse, right? The only part that really stinks is it happened on the eve of a family trip we'd been planning around Jonathan's PT conference for months (so much for Ikea, Trader Joes, BJs, and a hike at Mt. Rainier). We still went on the trip, of course. I just stayed in the hotel room for 36 hours straight with my poor little baby who played contentedly on the other side of the very large king bed. Boo hoo for me, right? I shouldn't complain because I haven't been sick in almost two years. And my little lady is just fine, so things could be much worse. Anyways, here is the little girl in some of her outfits throughout the season...

And a sneak peak at her Halloween costume. I know. I really wanted her to be a chicken, but I knew she'd get even more use from this costume. I'm glad we went with the tiger. She wore it for the last home game and the girls loved it:)!

My Little Bro

So my little brother isn't very little anymore :(. I still remember feeding him baby food, painting his nails blue and green (convincing him it was masculine because of the colors), twirling him up-side-down over my arm, and making him promise never to grow up. So much for promises. He is now a senior in high school and certainly taller than me (6'2", for now). I am okay with it, I guess. After all, the other three Vaughn kiddos are old and married. It only makes sense that Eth would grow up a little too.

I am posting my favorite of the senior pictures Jonathan took for him a few weeks ago. I know it's not his favorite because his smile is "too big". I love it, though. And I love my little bro:)!

Spokane Marathon

So I didn't run the marathon. Nor did I run the half-marathon. What I did run was the 5 mile race. My friend, Kristin, and I have been running with our little girls (Eleanor is 9 months) for a few weeks now. We thought it would be fun to train for a small race together. I meant to sign us up for a 5K. Kristin has never really run before (I haven't either in a long time...) so I convinced her that 3.1 miles was not that bad. Well, after I had signed up for the 5 Mile, I realized my mistake. The small difference between a K and an M is about two miles. Oops!

We ended up doing just fine, nonetheless. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but the temperature was somewhere in the 20's. Let's just say it took us about half the race to start feeling our toes. It probably could have been worse, though, since the sun was shining. We had run the race loop a few times and I could definitely tell the difference between pushing the stroller and running without! And to think that our runs will only get harder as the munchkin gets fatter! At least it will be a gradual increase, huh?

The next best part of the day?? Smoothies, an egg/sausage scramble, potatoes and coffee cake made by our wonderful husbands in celebration. What could be better:)?!

Portland

We took a quick trip to Portland this past weekend to visit my brother, Devin, and his wife, Larissa. It was kind of spontaneous and a little bit crazy. We didn't leave Spokane until 8:30 pm on Friday night (since Jonathan had to work at an LC football game). We arrived into Portland about 2:30 am and then left right after church on Sunday afternoon. We filled the time in between mostly with hanging around their place, eating good food (Jim & Patty's for breakfast and great Thai takeout for dinner + some Office season 5) and enjoying time together.

Jonathan has spent hours researching convertible bike/xc ski trailers and so we made a slight detour in Seattle on the way home to pick up one he found on Craigslist (let the adventures with Clara begin/continue...). This certainly impacted travel time, though. We made it home last night at about 11pm. It was quite the whirlwind weekend, but we are so glad we made it. Time with Devin and Larissa is always sweet.

The best part of our trip? Getting to see prego Laris, who just found out she is carrying a BOY! Yeah for our first nephew!! They're due Valentine's Day. Hip, hip, horray for the growing family!! As you can see, Clara is excited about her newest cousin...