Crawlin at ya!

Claire is on the move, crawling commando style whenever she can and testing her ability to push up on her hands and knees. She is also starting to try to pull up on furniture. We could wait awhile for that one.

She also thoroughly enjoys playing- with friends or by herself

Sunday afternoon at the pool but it was a little bit too cool for baby swimming

July 1st party

July 1st is Republic Day in Ghana. Since Richard's sisters, Janet and Joyce are both home from Canada for a short visit, as well as his cousin Martha from Denmark, the whole family gathered at his mom's house to enjoy the holdiay together.

The family from his mom's side

Starting to cook

Funeral weekend

Over the weekend, Richard and the rest of his family buried his uncle, Mike Adu, who died suddenly in early May during his first trip home to Ghana from Canada in seventeen years. It was a sad weekend, but a very befitting funeral for a man who was much loved here and in Toronto.

Claire and Da Joe

Richard with his cousins Kwabena (DC) and Kwame (both in red) and two friends

Claire with her Grandma Auntie

Manger!

Claire is an enthusiastic eater- she eats three times a day now and is loving rice cereal mixed with banana, peas, carrots, potatos, beets (well, sort of), avacado and another cereal mix of barley, oats and wheat. Sometimes she gets a little over-enthusiastic and spits the food back at you with pursed lips and a big smile or laugh, but usually that is only when she is feeling full. I am still breastfeeding her, so she is definitely putting on the pounds and getting longer. I forgot to pay attention at her 6.5 month visit last week, but I think that she is somewhere between 16 and 17 lbs. FYI- its the flash not fatigue that makes her eyes close.

She's six months and a real cheeky monkey

All cheeks

Already following in her Dad's footsteps

A Sunday afternoon attempt at nap time

Sitting & Eating!

She's sitting by herself now!

Bitter carrots.....we'll have to find sweeter ones next time,
but she LOVES rice cereal

Pink rebel

The five month mark

Claire hit the five month mark on the 19th of April. She has grown so much since we arrived- 2.5 lbs between the beginning of March and mid April, so that now she is weighing in at 14 lbs. Claire is talking/razzing her lips/smiling with squeals/screaming at everyone she interacts with and mouthing everything she can get her hands on. She is also a very solid member of the roll-over club and is working towards her badge in sitting up. She is pretty good at siting, but after a minute or so always end up tipping over.

This past week Claire, Becca and Comfort travelled to Ada in eastern Ghana so that her mom could facilitate a conference for Peace Corps. The conference was in a pretty little town that is situated right where the Volta River enters the sea. Claire wasn't very impressed with the ocean.

Check out the "faux hawk" as Chris calls it

Richard says that she looks like a priestess in this nightgown. She never wears it, except for dress up with Comfort

Reading with Akosua