If you don't like the way I drive, get off the sidewalk!

7 and 1/2 months old and Claire's ready to take to the road with her little freedom machine.

And she's off...

By the 3rd week in July at a mere 6 1/2 months Claire officially crawled. Crawling as an amusement in itself didn't last long. It quickly became a method of getting somewhere to pull up. Our baby hulk is now pulling up by shear arm strength on anything (furniture, toys, people, shoes, appliances)! Check out this early video of her feats!

Along with her new found mobility came the inevitable bumps and bruises. My perfect little unscathed angel is now a rough and tumble kid. She's quite adventurous and is getting into everything. Jon and I really have to be on our toes! Fortunately her dismounts are improving, but not quite worthy of gold medals. "Eyes on the prize, Claire" ;-)

July

Claire had quite the momentous month in July. She turned six months and within days was saying "dada" and almost crawling. Check out her six month poses that were nearly impossible to take. She will not sit still!

In the middle of the month we had lots of fun with friends and family. The Dobson's had a cookout and Claire got to hang out with all the big kids. Jon got to be a kid too with a marathon session of RockBand with all the boys. We all got to congratulate the gals on baby #2's on the way (Annie, Tina, Joanna, and Beth).

Claire and Sofia hanging out

Sofia and mom Claudia

Brett Michaels eat your heart out.

Annie, Tina, Joanna & Beth - can't wait to meet the little ones!

The next weekend Claire got to finally meet some more family. Christi's cousin Dave and his family Beth and Berklie came to visit. We had fun at our favorite carousel at Glen Echo park. It was so hot that day we had planned to see an air-conditioned puppet show, but too many people had the same idea. The girls still enjoyed each other and the carousel, then we all cooled off at the Irish pub.

Berklie and her Ostrich!?

The weekend was also Claire's first time meeting cousin Clyde who flew in from Shreveport. We all had the opportunity to get some quality family time and celebrate birthdays. Dave celebrated his 32nd and Clyde had a special milestone - his 80th! In honor of his big day we took Clyde to "Clyde's" in Ashburn. We had a great lunch and he got a special treat that his cousin Dottie came down from Pittsburgh. They hadn't seen in each other in over 50 years!

Grandma introduces Claire to Clyde!

Dave's new threads

New pals Berklie and Claire

Claire has the perfect pinky for drinking tea from Berklie's tea set.

All dressed up but Berklie's pig tails didn't last long..

Clyde, Dottie, and Nancy

Beth, Linda, Don

Birthday boy Clyde and Dottie

Beth gives Claire hugs and smiles.

Cruisn'

We took a cruise to the Carribbean the first week of July and had a great time! We started out of Miami and stopped in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Martin, however, I think we enjoyed our ship Freedom of the Seas the most. That boat was so huge and had so many things to do. The food was great and we had a great time relaxing and taking part of all the activities. We saw a show, lost at bingo, Jon sang karaoke, enjoyed the pools, watched surfers (including Rick!) ride the "Flowrider", and ate our way from one end of the boat to the other! Claire did great and we really didn't have any problems with motion sickness. The room was a little tight to begin with, but add an infant and a pack n play, and it was impressive that we survived the week. It was so dark in the room that we all lost track of time and slept in really late. I love vacations! The only thing we didn't get too much of was sun. We were so busy we only got in our swimsuits a few times. I definitley think the Howards will cruise again! Check out our photos:

June

June was a busy month for the Howards. We started off with a couple of playdates with Christi's friends from South Lakes HS who all had babies within a few months of each other!
We first got together with a grill-out at Rachel's and the food and company were quite enjoyable. We of course had to get the kids lined up for the group shot even though little Teagan slept through it all. :)

The lineup: Ella, Claire, Ethan, Teagan...I think Ethan enjoyed all the ladies!

Class of 1995 and 2026

Later that week when Kyndra and Hayden came in town, everyone came over to brave the

blackout at the Howard house. The playdate was all talk of the little ones and lots of chaos.

Ella and Claire playing footsies.

The lineup again: Ella, Claire, Ethan, Hayden & Teagan...before

The lineup...after the fall! The audio says it all.

Claire played hard this month. She's sitting up pretty well and getting more balance everyday. She's pretty dexterous with her hands and VERY strong. Toward the end of the month she was getting up on all 4s and rocking and even starting to scoot! Her favorite things are feet (hers and others), making raspberry sounds, and putting things in her mouth. She also loves other babies. The teacher at school even said she's been kissing on the younger boys in the class. Lookout!

Are you trying to say something Claire? I know..you are getting too big for the playmat.

Jumping is so exhausting!

Claire at 5 months. These pics are getting hard to take, she won't sit in her chair anymore. She's on the go (and a bit drooly)!

In June Aunt Elise, Uncle Leo, and cousin Tristan came to visit so that Leo could finally meet Claire. The weekend was hot but lots of fun. We stayed cool indoors by watching Tristan and uncle Jon perfect their Guitar Hero skillz. Claire is quite the groupie!

We celebrated Jon's first Father's Day with another trek to Glen Echo Park. Jon loves the creek and natural setting and Claire loves the carousel. Afterwards we had lunch and beers at the Irish Inn. That night Claire sported her new bib and gave daddy his new flip flops with "beverage opener" in the sole. Getting geared up for our cruise!

The next weekend Claire got her share of fine dining experiences. We celebrated a belated Father's day with Papa and Grandma at Tuscarora Mill in Leesburg. I can't believe how well Claire behaved. She was all smiles and made friends with people at other tables.

We also took Granny out for dinner at Chez Francois to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary. Luckily we weren't the only ones in the restaurant with an infant. Our waiter was great and very accomodating. Claire did pretty well but got sleepy toward the end of such a long meal. I still can't get over how much she has done already at only 5 months!

At the end of June we took Claire for her six month doctor's appointment. We wanted to get her shots before we hit the high seas the next week. She weighed in at 16 lbs 15 oz and 26 inches long. She was 75% for height and weight, but 95% for head circumference. That's one big noggin! She loves to play (um..destroy) the paper bench covers and looked so cute while we waited for the doctor.

To celebrate their 40th birthdays Jon and his pals Dave, Doug, Andy and Marcus took a "Mancation" to the Grand Canyon and Vegas at the end of June. They had a great time hiking the canyon but I think Jon was definitely feeling his years after that. I'm just glad there wasn't a need for a helicopter rescue! They rounded out the week with a night on the town in Vegas, but who knows how that was. As they say...what happens in Vegas...is kept from the wife! :) Just kidding. Sedona, the canyon, and the Hoover dam were all beautiful and amazing. Pics to come...

May Re-Cap

The rest of May was fun. Claire was practicing sitting up and getting very good at it. She also got to start using her cool shades!

Christi celebrated Sandra's wine-themed wedding shower. It was a great time catching up with the ladies and tasting a little vino!

We also celebrated the christening of Claire's pal Allison Richard. It was a great afternoon getting all the girls together. While the babies and moms chatted upstairs the men played Rockband in the basement. We did get the daddies to do a feeding though!

Congrats Allison! (Sara & Eric too)

Erika/Ella, Christi/Claire, Sara/Alli, Amanda/Anna (what's w/ the same first letters?!)

The end of the month was memorial day weekend and we went to the Sleeger's for a BBQ. Some of our friends are expecting baby #2 (Congrats Annie, Joanna & Tina!) It was a relaxing day and Claire got some QT with her pal Sofia.

We also got some great bathtime shots of our little honey bunny. She's so cute!