Clara 6 Months

See, this is why I need to be a better blogger, Clara is now 8 months and I am just now posting pictures from 6 months!

Six months is when she really started sitting up well on her own and when the world opened up for her with regard to solid foods.

She really started to get busy at 6 months with rolling more and trying to move.

She is such a sweet girl!

Clara's Nursery

I am a terrible blogger, but I aspire to do better.  I started this post on 1/26, which means it took me more than two months to get it posted.  I'll do another post to update on why the past two months have been such a challenge.

Before Clara was born I spent a lot of time on her nursery, as most new moms do.  I had a few more things I wanted to accomplish in the two weekends before she was born, but then she was here!  Early!  No more time!  In honor of her six month birthday, I finished her room.  I must admit, it was a lot easier to select the finishing touches now that she's here and I've gotten to know her.  I'm actually glad I waited.

*Disclaimer--the pictures are way too dark as they are taken in the dark after a full day of work and I failed to used the flash in a lot of them.  Hey, I do the best that I can.

Here's my favorite picture of the nursery.  Why?  Because toothless Clara is playing on the floor.  The walls are Soothing Green by Benjamin Moore.  In retrospect, I think I should have chosen pink, but I do love the color of green.  The valances were made by Quincy's mom's best friend from childhood, Jenny Moore.  The fabric is P. Kauffman Watermelon Paisley backed with the Tuti Fruity dots and edged with the stripe.  Jenny picked these fabrics for her daughter's room at college and we just love them.  I bought the bunny lamp before I knew whether Clara was a boy or a girl.  I got it at the big Bulluck's Furniture accessories sale that I went to with Anna Wilson and her family.  The little duck is a humidifier.  The first thing Clara went for when she started to be able to move was the duck.

From here you can see a lot more of the room.  The chandelier is from Land of Nod.  I got it for myself for Christmas, couldn't pull the trigger until then.  Clara's Grandma Janet made the little quilt on the glider.

Here's a picture of the crib.  The crib skirt is the same polka dot fabric that lines the valances.  The bunnies hopping over the crib are vinyl decals I got off of etsy.  (I really should have taken better pictures).

I wish you could see this better.  The book shelf originally belonged to Quincy's McCall grandparents and was in his closet forever.  Grandma Janet had it hand painted to match the fabrics in the nursery.  Above the crib is a cross stitch of the traditional "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" prayer.  Quincy's Aunt Carol (his dad's twin) cross stitched this when Quincy was born.  I re-framed it to update it and match the room. 

Here's her changing table with the quilt she will eventually use hanging on the wall.  I just love the little birds.  It was the first thing I bought and I matched the rest of the room to the colors within it. 

This is a close up of the top of her dresser.  You can get a better look at the bunny lamp (it looks small, it is actually about 2 feet tall) and the paisley monogrammed clock.  The box was made for her by her Great Uncle Joe. 

Joe's father was a shop teacher (I think?).  He carved the ballerina just for Clara.  The box is a purple wood and it is just beautiful.  This picture does not do it justice.

And here's the main event!  Clara sleeping in her crib.  The multiple pacifiers are on purpose and not just lazy.  At the time this was taken (5.5 months), she was just mastering finding her binky on her own and getting it back into her own mouth.  At this point, she's a pro!

So there it is!  Wish the pictures were better, we just love her cute little room!

The Wake County Public Schools

This morning Raleigh Mayor Meeker criticized the members of the Wake County School Board stating that, in short, they are failing to live up to the dream and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A bold statement. 

Here's the article on wral:
http://www.wral.com/news/education/wake_county_schools/story/8951438/

I haven't read all there is to read on this issue and I am afraid I don't know all the facts, but here's what I do know:  I am a product of the Wake County Public School system, and I went to magnet schools for 11 of my 13 years.  My elementary school was actually in the best part of town, but my middle and high schools were in the worst parts of town.  My brother got body slammed by a bunch of gang members from the projects across from our middle school.  He was 12.  Kids got beaten up for their shoes.  They had to lock us in with chain link fences.  It was not ideal.

I believe my education was superior to what I could have gotten elsewhere in the county.  I sailed through undergrad and did well in law school, and I attribute a lot of that to the fact that the magnet schools taught me how to work hard and how to study.  But here's the thing.  I don't think I'd put my daughter in the magnet school system as it was then.  I'm just not sure it was worth it. 

It's true that the schools were integrated if you looked at the numbers, but news flash for everyone yelling about re-segregation, my classes were not integrated!  Magnet schools fix the numbers, but they do not fix the integration problem. 

Plus, the magnet schools had gotten completely out of hand.  When I went through, there were several magnet elementary schools, three magnet middle schools and one magnet high school.  The attraction was more strenuous and advanced academic classes and that was it.  I was mystified the first time someone asked me what kind of magnet school I had gone to.  When this school board made the decision to return to neighborhood schools, there were magnet tracks, arts magnets, museum magnets, and all kinds of other stuff that made no sense if integration is the end goal.  People pay serious money to live in the school district for Daniels Middle and Broughton High School.  They were both magnets!  White kids from North Raleigh were getting bussed in to attend them.  If the end goal is integration, that doesn't make a lick of sense!

Logical, thinking people are afraid to speak out in support of the school board's decision for fear they will be called racist.  I'll be honest, I'm afraid of it too.  But, those who know me know there is not an ounce of racism in my heart.  I'm willing to speak out in support of the school board's decision for one simple reason:  what the school board was doing to integrate the schools was not integrating the schools in a meaningful way. 

My mom said it best--asking a six year old to ride a bus for an hour to live out your notion of social engineering is a pretty tall order.

Weekend Update

Since I am only working four days per week, my weekends with Clara usually start on Friday.  This Friday I headed into work for an all hands staff meeting and Clara got to spend some quality time with her Grandpa. 

This picture was taken on Christmas Eve, but you get the point.  My dad just loves a baby and especially his own granddaughter. 

Friday afternoon Clara had her first real experience riding in a shopping cart.  She loved it!  She can now sit up for short periods of time and that has really opened up her world (and mine).

Sitting up like a big girl.

Clara spent a lot of the weekend practicing her rolling:

Quincy and I got to go out to dinner TWICE this weekend thanks to both of our parents.  We also finished up Clara's nursery, something that was never completed due to her early arrival.  Pictures of the nursery to come! 

Christmas and New Year's 2010

Christmas is a marathon for us.  Quincy grew up going to both sides of his family on every holiday and he loves that.  Add my family and our own family of three to the mix and there are a lot of people to see and things to do.

Our Christmas celebration began on December 23rd when my parents and Grandma Huntington came over for dinner.  My Grandma lives in Ohio, so this was the first time she met Clara:

Clara meeting her great grandmother, Marion Clara Geiss Huntington



Clara and my dad

 On Christmas Eve we woke up and finished last minute wrapping and preparations.  Clara got dressed in her Christmas dress and did some playing:

Janet, Quincy's mother, and Tucker, Quincy's brother, came over to open presents mid-morning

Janet and Clara.



Clara and me in the mayhem.

 Then we headed over to Quincy's Aunt Leah's house to celebrate with his mom's side of the family.



Aunt Leah, Clara, and Great Grandma Honey (94 years old).




Juice.




Uncle Bob exploring the spices with Clara.



Clara and Lindsey.

The McCall cousins & their women.  Top row: Patrick David, Carter Quincy.  Bottom Row: Tucker, Emily, Lindsey, Clara, Allison (Madge), Bradley.

 Granny Call was sorely missed.  She would have loved to see this picture.


David and Clara.




Joe and Clara.

 Quick side note.  The whole family calls Allison, Bradley's girlfriend, Madge.  It's short for "Imaginary," because he talked about her for so long before introducing everyone to her.  At this point I think it's been 3 or 4 years since we all met her, so we're pretty sure she exists, but the name is still firmly with her.

After the McCall celebration we headed to the Bell Service at our church with the Hammonds, Janet and Tucker.  We were in a bit of a rush and did not take any pictures.  We'll have to do better with that next year!  Children come to the Bell Service and, true to it's name, there is a lot of bell ringing.  I love the service, but it is a little bit of a mess.  Clara was a little angel, she had a bottle and slept through the whole thing.

After church we had dinner with my parents, Grandma and Aunt Betty and opened presents:

Four generations of Huntington women.

I got my dad a fireproof racing suit for him to wear at the track.  He was pretty excited about it.

Then home to our house to read The Night Before Christmas and wait for Santa.  While visions of sugar plums danced in her head, Santa visited Clara!

Santa!

He mostly brought clothes, since Clara is moving up to 6-9 month size clothing.  He also brought her first baby doll and a few other fun toys.  He didn't go too crazy since she's not really into Christmas yet and he knew the rest of the family would be excited about buying presents for a little one.

We had cinnamon rolls and fresh orange juice as a family and then packed up to head to Quincy's grandmother's to celebrate with his dad's side:

Clara on the way to Lexington with the baby doll Santa brought.

Four generations of Kings.

Our first Christmas as a family of three.  The only family picture we got, but it's a good one!

Uncle Tucker.

Clara with her cousin Darden.  Clara adores Darden.

Clara and her cousin Natalie. 

Clara and Megan.  Megan is expecting Clara's newest cousin in July!



Picture taking and present opening.  Notice I had changed Clara into a sleeper.  She had reached her limit at that point!

 It started to snow at about lunchtime, so we packed up at about 2 and headed back to Raleigh.  By the morning there was at least 8 inches on the ground:

The creek by our house.

Uncle Tucker came over and we took some family pictures:

And a few with Clara and Uncle Tucker:

Then Quincy started having a little fun:

Clara is a really good sport and puts up with a lot.  We are only now getting her back on track with night time sleep from the holidays, but she did really well otherwise.

New Year's brought Uncle Danny and Aunt Jenny down from Chicago:

Visits with Grandma:

And we brought the jumpy chair out for the first time:

The jumpy chair is a hit!

I'll leave you with my favorite picture from the holiday season, taken some time the week before Christmas:

We hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family!

Clara's Play Date

My co-worker and dear friend Hallie brought her son over for a play date on the Thursday before Christmas.  It took him a couple of minutes to warm up to us:

And then he thought about playing with Clara in her exersaucer:

Eventually he decided that he WOULD like to play with her:

They had so much fun!  This lasted for 25 minutes, which is a REALLY long time for two babies:

Clara was so exhausted from all of the playing that she took a two hour nap while I entertained Dys with the Peanut Butter and Jelly song and, of course, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!