Gk and Cliona - we didn't get many pictures of Cliona this weekend as she was asleep for most of it. I think she was too busy growing - her ears and hands definitely look bigger now. And they measure bigger too! Only joking, I'm not measuring my baby's ears or anywhere else :)

Another super-cute picture of Stephen and Avery - she is such a happy little baby.

Back at the cabin - Dana with her three nieces

Up on the trail - perfect summers day.

Clio couldn't nod off as the sun was bothering her so Stephen came to the rescue with his big fishing hat.

You might think that two babies would slow us down a bit - but you would be wrong. Off we go - Avery on her Dad's back, Clio on her Dad's front.

Up to Big Bear again - this time with the Philps - Stephen and Gk on guitar, Dana the lead vocalist and Avery as backing vocals with her kool dance moves.

All About the S

"Sleeping and Screaming" is how Orla described Clio's current phase. It's not all bad though-- she has been smiling and squealing a lot more, but boy oh boy is she getting to be a handful. She really does miss having the grandparents around and seems to get kinda bored with Orla and I. You can keep her entertained for about 10 mins and then she wants to move on to something else.

And when she wants something she can let you know in no uncertain terms. Her little grunts and groans have been replaced with a scream that most closely resembles the whistle of a bomb dropping. She can hit an octave that was previously unheard in the Philp household. Even the hummingbirds outside will stop feeding and peek in to see if everything is OK. Roxy hides in the closet and Orla and I run around like a team of field medics under enemy fire trying to find the right combination of things to calm her.

"Blanket! We need the blanket!"
"Where is that bloody soother?!"
"I'm going to try the bouncer, she's too overstimulated from the swing she--"
"It's too late she's going into a meltdown!"
"Oh quick get her out of that swing, she's escalating!"
"Swaddling blanket! Get that swaddling up here front and center!"

Swaddled tight, shakey shakey shakey, shhhshhhshhhshhh, stick her soother in... And just like that-- snap! It's over. She's laying on her pillow smiling in her sleep. Not a care in the world.

Yesterday I noticed for the first time I have some grey hairs sticking out of my head.

Did I tell you she gave me a big huge gummy grin this morning when I started talking to her? :)

Clio and I stayed watched from the shade.

Roxy loves chasing bubbles.

Out for a stroll on Fathers Day

Fathers Day

Stephen's first Fathers Day

Cliona - nearly 2months old.

The Parish-Philp's

Family photo.

Getting to know each other.

The Dads with their girls.

Grandma with her two grand-daughters.

Cousin Avery came to visit and is cuter than ever.

Cliona really likes her baths nowadays.

2 Month Checkup

Little Cliona is nearing her two month mark and got her first round of shots today. She handled all three shots like a champ and stopped crying as soon as they were over. Orla and I both thought it would be a lot worse, but it was pretty hard to see our little girl in pain. Luckily we have another couple of months to wait till she gets round two.

Her pediatrician was very proud of her and she measured 22 inches and weighed in at 10lbs 5ozs. That is nearly a pound a week since her last checkup. After a slow start, she is now measuring in the 50 percentile for weight, length and headsize for her age.

She has started a 4 hour feeding schedule, with some variations now and then. Although she slept for 5 hours straight last night from 10pm to 3am, that is not the norm. Her pediatrician said we could expect her to keep waking up for a few more weeks. Oh no! Where did the grandparents go?

Family photo

Family photos - Nan, Grandma, Cliona and I.

Grandma has arrived - June 8th

Clio has started to smile - her first one appeared on June 2nd and she gave her Dad a huge grin on June 6th up in Big Bear. Since then she has been smiling more and more.

Clio with her Nan.

Listening to jazz band

Big Bear June 3rd-5th

Cliona's first trip to Big Bear went really well. On Sat her Nan and Grandad planted some lovely flowers in the front garden and Stephen cooked delicious steaks on the grill. I puttered around inside, hanging up curtains and re-arranging furniture to make room for a bed for Clio. That evening we all went out for a lovely meal and then headed upstairs to listen to a jazz band - they were really good and fairly loud but Cliona slept through the whole thing. Then on Sunday we all went for a walk around the lake. The weather was perfect and the lake was a couple of feet higher then it had been last summer due to the wonderful white winter we had. Over the weekend Nan and Grandad liked to play the solitaire game. Not the card game but a different solitaire where the objective is to jump balls to make balls disappear and end up with one ball left. They both set a cabin record of only having two balls left.

Kool tee-shirt all the way from great grand-uncle Larry in London

Chillin' with Grandad

On her activity mat at 6 weeks

Memorial Day at Manhattan Beach - first family photo.

Nan and Granda, a.k.a. the Clio sitters. Stephen and I have already got out to see Star Wars - and have a couple more outings planned before they leave.

Grandad arrives