The big five-monther.

Yep, as of yesterday, it's been five months since this little chub-a-lub burst onto the scene. What a joyous five months it's been!

Clara's name means "light and clear," and it's beyond fitting for her bubbly, excited personality. She is always smiling, babbling and cooing at us like we're the best thing since sliced bread. She's a bright ray of sunshine!

Clara figured out how to roll over from back to tummy earlier this month, and now it's her favorite way to be. She holds her head up really well and it's so dang cute. See?

I mean, really. I could stare at this adorable face all day. I pretty much do, come to think of it! I kiss it a whole lot, too.

Clara hasn't officially started on solid foods yet. But the other night, she was teething and fussy, so I held a cold apple slice to her mouth so she could suck on it. And boy, did she go to town on that thing!  She cried when I took it away. Haha! Still no teeth, though she's been drooling, sucking and biting (yowch!) for nearly two months now. Come on teefers, pop out already!

In other news, we highly suspect Clara is allergic to cow's milk. As I said before, I went off dairy pretty much right away because it seemed to upset her stomach whenever I ate it. I started to reintroduce it to my diet in small amounts (aka bowls of ice cream -- no judging) last month and she didn't seem to mind. I still don't eat a whole lot of dairy products, but I'm not worried if I eat a bit here and there because it doesn't affect her disposition.

A few weeks ago, I went to the temple for a friend's endowment. I was gone for four hours and Clara of course had to eat some formula. She's had it a handful of times previously, so I wasn't worried at all about how she'd do. A few hours later, though, she started vomiting like crazy. It was pitiful! I had her on a towel on the floor and was just laying by her, rubbing her back and crying because tiny babies should never have to throw up. It went on for about 2 1/2 hours and then it was over. At first, I thought it must be a stomach bug, but she never had any diarrhea and the rest of us were just fine. She also has other symptoms of milk allergy, like runny stools, frequent spit-up and eczema. I'm going to have her tested for allergies soon to confirm it.

I can't believe Clara's coming up on half a year of life. Next month, her chair picture will be extra special because she'll be wearing her Halloween costume, which I am beyond excited about. You'll just have to wait and see!