An autumnal post.

Lest you think that our little family has been exclusively focused on helping Clara perfect the art of blowing raspberries, Katie and I wanted to assure you that we've been at least as busy as bees (especially considering their sluggish nature in such chilly temperatures as we've had recently).  Here are a few of the other activities that we've been engaged in over the last two weeks:

Ah, good ol' New England exercise.  Strangely enough, we found all of these leaves (and more, since the pile heads around the corner) in restful repose upon our lawn on the weekend before the vacuuming truck came by.  I am presently harboring a sneaking suspicion that our neighbors conspired against us in the dead of night and stealthily moved hundreds of pounds of crinkly leaves into our backyard right under our proverbial noses.  As additional words will undoubtedly fail to accurately express my possibly irrational sentiments, allow me to conclude the description of this picture thus: if it were possible to perish from the condition of sore leaf-raking muscles, I would not be writing this post right now.

It is indeed fortunate that the sense of satisfaction that accompanies a well-groomed backyard invigorates and enlivens the constitution, and my muscles were "back on their feet" (as it were) in no time.

(now, back to more baby)

After such an endeavor, what better way to recuperate than by gorging oneself on turkey, stuffing, cranberry super-yum, and other assorted treats?  Thankfully, Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and we were able to soothe what ailed us by eating large quantities of delectable delicacies.  Which consequently caused a series of different ailments, but that's a story for a different day...

Seeing as Clara hadn't yet really gotten on the solid food bandwagon, my mom decided to prep her for the meal by introducing her first solid food: tree bark.

Clara thought it was pretty freakin' delicious.

Afterwards, we had a little rest.

Katie and Clara peacefully preparing for the gluttony which will shortly ensue.

(pictures of eating excised for the

purposes of good taste and decorum)

After the feast, we had to hose Clara down, as we do every night, and my mom was kind enough to fluff up the towels in the dryer before they were used.  Clara thereby discovered the joys of warm towels, and rolled around in them for about ten minutes before the excitement (and heat) dissipated.

 

 

(the little cutie.)

Katie and I were fortunate enough to have our friends Joe and Marcia visit us over the holiday as well - they moved back to Minnesota a few years ago, but are kind enough to constitute the (adopted) Midwestern segment of our family, and so they came out to meet little Clara and hang out while enjoying the beautiful weather that we had in Boston over Thanksgiving.

 

Clara winds up for a full-body attack on Mel the Squeaking Moose.

Joe tried teach Clara how to do a Charlie McCarthy bit, but every time he tried to do the ventriloquism thing, it just sounded like a baby crying.  Maybe a little more practice will do it next time.

Finally, Clara's been practicing her up-sitting in the boppy.  Here she is looking skeptical after being told that it's a useful skill - will anything be as comfortable as being carried around?  She may have a point...

Is your Mama a Llama?

Perhaps we've read that book too many times, because Clara clearly thinks her Mama is a llama. It's the only explanation for why she repeatedly tries to communicate with us in llamaese.