Oh man…Clara’s second month seemed to pass by twice as quickly as her first month! I know she’s still just a tiny baby and someday I will think of these as her early days, but she already seems so old to me compared to when I first met her! My tiny newborn has disappeared and a giant baby has replaced her.

Clara has “woken up” so much this month! She has grown out of her true newborn stage and seems much more like an older baby now. She’s super alert now and loves to look all around the room and stare at everything with curious eyes. She furrows her eyebrows and gets intensely focused on things and it’s fun to try to figure out what she’s thinking!

I think I will probably feel this way for the rest of her life, but I want it both ways: I want her to stay little and adorable forever, but I also find so much joy in watching her personality develop and seeing her discover new skills and interests. I didn’t think I could love her any more than the day she was born, but somehow my heart keeps growing as she does. She’s just my favorite little person and I love doing life with her.

The big updates this month:

1) My mom finally met Clara for the first time! She’s visiting from my hometown of San Antonio and staying with us for five weeks. She had COVID back in July, which was terrifying – when she first got sick, I was afraid she might never get to meet her first grandchild. However, she made a full recovery and because she tested positive for antibodies, she was able to safely fly to Boston. She’s here a couple more weeks until Thanksgiving, and we’ve been SO lucky to have this time with her.

Seeing her interact with Clara has been beyond special! I didn’t realize how sweet it would be to see her through my mom’s eyes – watching her fall in love with the baby has made me appreciate her even more. E and I have been isolated at home since March, and it’s felt a bit like having a secret pregnancy and a secret baby this year…so the social aspect of having my mom here has been a game changer.

2) E went back to work after five weeks of paternity leave. He has been such an involved and loving dad, and it has crushed him a little bit to not be able to spend as much time with her (if he could choose, he would hang out with her 24/7!) Thankfully, his office department is still working from home indefinitely, so he’s able to be around and sneak in some cuddles during his lunch break. I know we’re really lucky that he got as long of a leave as he did, and we’re also grateful that he doesn’t have to commute to work right now. That’s been another silver lining of COVID this year.

3) With the encouragement of my mom and my OB, I started physical therapy to help recover from birth. I had some lingering pain and discomfort that made it difficult to go for walks and get chores done around the house, and I’m thankful that things are improving and I’ve been able to get outside just in time to catch the tail end of the fall foliage here.

Some other favorite memories from Clara’s second month:

• Although her first awake smiles appeared at four weeks, she started really smiling in response to our faces at six weeks and that has been the absolute sweetest. One night she smiled so much that it reduced my mom and me to happy tears! 😭
• She gave us her first 8-hour stretch of sleep at 7 weeks old! We were so excited…until she hit a sleep regression this week and is waking up twice during the night again, aaahh!! We’re hopeful to catch up again on sleep soon – fingers crossed!
• E learned the song “We Are The Dinosaurs” for work and started singing it to Clara while marching her around the apartment. So fitting since we call her “Clarasaurus” sometimes, haha!
• She experienced her first snow…in October! That was such a bizarre but fun day!
• Her favorite things to stare at are the bookshelf, the TV (but only when it’s turned off because it’s a giant black and white rectangle, and the closet door
• The Biden/Harris victory gave all three of us so much hope for Clara’s future!
• She likes to watch the camera shutter open and close, so the best way to get her to smile is to quickly take a whole bunch of pictures in a row. As a result, I’m filling up far too many memory cards! I edit the photos during her naps and it’s been a good creative outlet and a fun way to recharge.
• We dressed her up as a granny for her first Halloween 🤓
• She absolutely hates tummy time on the floor but will happily do it if we rest her on our chest instead. She loves to lift her head up and look alllll around the room!
• She’s starting to request entertainment and will fuss if we keep her in one place for too long, haha! She’d much rather have us walk her around the room to check everything out!
• Even more than her play gym, she loves her Keekaroo pad and will happily wriggle around on it long after her diaper has been changed. We attached a little black & white card on the table above and she will just stare and stare at it!
• She’s not a big fan of bath time, but she does love it when we’re finished and we wrap her up in her little lemon bath towel. She’s so cozy in there!
• E and I have become masters at instantly tossing each other burp cloths across the room and catching them with one hand
• Along with her black & white books, we’ve added her first colorful board books! We’re loving the Sandra Boynton ones so far
• One time she was screaming inconsolably, and my mom brought her over to me and she stopped crying immediately. It might have just been a coincidence, but it made me feel like she’s starting to recognize me as her mama. With all of our feeding struggles in month one, sometimes I worried that she wouldn’t bond with me as strongly…so luck or not, that moment made me feel like I was doing something right ♥

Here are FAR too many photos from Clara’s second month, because I’m terrible at narrowing them down. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I loved taking them!

Here is the day that Clara met my mom for the very first time! We were so lucky to have Annmarie Swift capture a few family photos on the big day (she took the above photo and the two below). This is also the day that I learned that it’s extremely ambitious to pack a one-month-old for a short car trip and keep her from spitting up on her photo clothes. 😉

A very happy Grandma giving Clara a bottle for the first time!

Still loving her snuggles with Dad…he’s so good at calming her down!

Thank you Aunt Krysten for her sweet rainbow outfit! We love it!

Can you ever have too many photos with Grandma? I don’t think so!

The moment that Clara drooled all over my mom for the first time  😂

Hanging out on her Lovevery play gym. She’s obsessed with those black & white cards!

A huge thank you to my mom for snapping these next photos! I’m mostly behind the camera, so it’s really special when I have the chance to jump in a few photos with Clara.

The many faces of Clara…she’s getting more expressive every day!

This was a very special day because it was one of the first times I felt decent enough to go for a longer walk. I walked 5,000 steps almost every single day during pregnancy, and most days I walked to Forest Hills Cemetery. I spent lots of time dreaming about how I would take Clara to walk there in the fall after she was born, and it was nice to finally make that happen!

Catching the tail end of the fall foliage. This would usually be my busiest season of photographing clients, and it’s been strange to be home on maternity leave. I’m missing my job, but I’m also incredibly grateful to have this time with Clara.

Bath time! She’s not always a fan, but she was on this day 🙂

Now that E is back to work, lazy Saturday mornings are our favorite:

Big stretches every time I unwrap her swaddle…

Now that we’re finally getting out of the house a bit, I love taking her in the baby carrier! She loves to poke her head out and take in the outside world.

Usually we wait until Thanksgiving, but this year we put up the Christmas tree a little early so my mom can enjoy it with us.

E in his “office” AKA the nursery. I sneak Clara in for a few minutes once in awhile so her dad can grab a few snuggles. She’s a very popular guest on his Zoom calls!

Clara’s very first snow…in October! This photo of my mom holding her and looking out of the window is one of my favorites of all time:

Our little granny. 🙂

Big smiles at eight weeks old!

Checking out the lights on the Christmas tree…I have a feeling we’re going to be doing a lot of this over the next month!

I love her smiles but I also think her grumpy face is hilarious.

Last photos of month two from today! This was one of the first outfits I bought for her when I was pregnant (right after we announced) and it was beyond special to see her wearing it.

Until next month! Thank you for reading!