Claire's 6 Month Pictures

Claire turns 6 months old today! I took her 6 month pictures a few nights ago. Here are a few of my favorites! You can see the rest of the photos from the shoot on my photography blog here. Happy 6 month birthday Claire Olivia! I love you too much.  I'll be posting your letter in the next blog post when you take your next nap :).
Disclaimer: I know this black flower headband is HUGE.  I thought I'd take a few pictures with her wearing it and see if I liked it.  At first I hated it, but then when I was editing the pictures it kind of grew on me.  I'd probably never have her wear it in public, but it's cute for pictures ;). 

Catching the Last Few Rays of Sun

Last night after Claire was fed, bathed, and in her jammies we had a few extra minutes before bedtime so I grabbed my camera and we headed outside to catch the last few rays of sunshine.  It's not like this blog has too many pictures of Claire already ;)

I love her little dimpled baby hands.

It's pretty evident in these pictures that she LOVES being outside.

Homemade Apricot Baby Food

Since Claire will be turning 6 months old this Saturday I've slowly been increasing her intake of solids to 2-3 times a day. The only baby food I have bought so far are prunes, all the rest I have made myself. It is so easy to make and so much cheaper than buying it! I have made avocado, banana, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cherries. We have an apricot tree in our yard that is finally ripe, so I made some into baby food today.  I thought I'd post the recipe in case any other moms out there want to try their hand at homemade baby food. 

You can pretty much adapt this to any fruit/veggie just the cooking method and amount of time will differ.  
-Avocados & bananas you don't need to cook; just puree and freeze.  
-Sweet Potatoes bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (until soft). Puree & freeze.
-Cherries bring to a boil in a pot on the stove with a little added water & simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Puree & freeze.
-Green Beans steam until tender.  Puree & freeze.

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Next rinse the apricots really well (I used 8 small apricots and it filled an ice cube tray full). After they are rinsed cut them in half and remove the pits.  Add 1/2-3/4 cups of water to a baking dish.Place the apricot halves in the pan with the skins facing down in the water. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes (or until fruit is soft). Let the apricots cool for a few minutes and transfer them to food processor or blender. (You can remove the skins or keep them on. I kept them on since they are full of really good nutrients.) Puree fruit until it is desired consistency. After the fruit is pureed, spoon into ice cube trays. Place ice cube tray in freezer for several hours. After the fruit is frozen remove from tray and store in ziploc freezer bags.  And that's it!  Super easy, and it makes quite a bit of food.  I love that it is frozen so you can still make it when the fruit/veggie is in season even if your baby isn't quite ready for a certain food and use it later.  You can store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.  When you are ready to use it just grab a square out of the freezer and microwave for 30-45 seconds.  

Beach Day

This past weekend we took a little trip to Pineview Reservoir and had a family beach day. We found a nice little set up in the shade so Claire wouldn't get too much sun. We had a picnic and splashed our toes in the water. Claire really liked splashing and wiggling her feet in the water.  We had a lot of fun but we only had time to stay for a few hours so we're hoping to go back again next weekend.  We want to find a baby floatie or something so we can take Claire out into the water and have her swim with us!  
I love weekends when Bryce gets to be with us all day. Family outings are just the best!

Claire Olivia Week by Week: 25 Weeks

Claire turned 25 weeks old today. We are working on transitioning to a 4 hour schedule now that she is eating more solids. I'm slowly starting to feed her solids twice a day and eventually we'll move to three. The newest foods she has tried are applesauce, green beans, and prunes. She HATES applesauce, tolerates green beans, and loves prunes. A new thing she has discovered is tags. She loves tags! She finds them on blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals and tries to eat them all the time. She will be 6 months old this upcoming Saturday! I'm trying not to be too sad about it and enjoy it instead.  I want to soak up and enjoy every minute with this sweet girl.