Constant Beginnings

Five months, ten days.....the last time Chris and I had the opportunity to sleep in. We arrived in North Dakota around midnight on Friday, stayed in Grand Forks with my parents, shopped a bit and came home Saturday. It has been a whirlwind ever since. I talked my sister, Jessica into wrapping my presents. Another yucky job that I didn't have to do. Yay. Jessica, Claire, my Mom and I visited my Grandpa at the nursing home. He looked very well and displayed the witty personality he has always possessed. It was a nice visit. We returned home and began Christmas baking. We made krumkake, which is a Norwegian cookie, cherry balls (the name says it all) and frosted sugar cookies, which could be the single factor for a 10 pound weight gain this holiday season. Yummy! Anyway, back to my explanation. We went to sleep and awoke around the usual time of 5:30 Eastern Time. I tried to get Claire to go back to sleep, but she had other ideas. Party time. We layed in bed for awhile longer when a v

Claire received her first Christmas gift from our friends, Mark & April. It was an adorable ride-on butterfly. Claire took some time to check it all over and finally gave it her seal of approval after a taste test. That seems to be the way she approves everything at this point. It is a cute little thing that makes noises when you squeeze the antennae. The seat is positioned in a way that supports her without needing to be held. She really liked it. The best part is that this is something she'll be able to use for a couple of years. Thanks Mark and April!!

Okay, I admit it, our home is not childproof. Childproofing it has not been on our list of priorities. I knew eventually, the time would come that this would have to be done, but I thought I had another month or three. Not so. Claire decided to nibble on a plant this afternoon. I had her in the walker (which is somewhat deceiving as she isn't able to fully use yet, but can somehow move backward) when all of a sudden, I see her sucking on leaf. I immediately gasped and went for my camera. Chris was a bit annoyed that I would go to capture this moment instead of taking it away first. No way. I wouldn't miss this mischievious moment.

After shoveling 12 inches of snow from our driveway last winter, we were bound and determined to get a snowblower this year. We found a used one for $150. It isn't fabulous, but it gets the job done. Chris was quite excited when word came about our first major snowfall. The snowblower was ready to go. It was put to the test as we ended up getting 1-2 inches per hour for 6 or so hours. It was quite the deal.

Today was a good day. My subtle hints into cyberspace were successful as I received an early Christmas gift. Since my Grandma passed away, we were not expecting to receive her usual, generous monetary gift. However, my Mom and Aunts & Uncles decided to do it one final year from my Grandpa. We were thrilled! Chris and I had planned on putting this money toward our basement repair, but Mr. Budget changed the plans---1/2 to the basement and 1/2 to "something else". That "something else" is the camera I so desired. Yay!! I hated the thought of putting my final Christmas money toward this moneypit of a house, but had sort of come to terms with it in the hopes of a positive outcome when we sell. Now I will have one more thing to tie my Grandma's memory to and what better gift than a camera to capture our family's memories! The differences between my old and new cameras are amazing. Can you guess which picture was taken with which camera? My old camera is a g

We had our Christmas pictures taken last Saturday. It took awhile & several phone calls to finally get the pictures emailed. Anyway, I am not sure why the pictures are so small. I tried to change them but they became distorted. I guess you'll have to wait until you receive the real deal in the mail to get a close up look. Chris and I are far from pleased with our fat selves, but Claire looks adorable. Needless to say, it was motivation for healthy eating!

Ok, so we have kind of an ultra-conservative pediatrician. Don't get me wrong, she is great. She takes her time at each appointment, thoroughly reviews her notes and brings up previous topics of discussions to check up with us and has genuine concern for our child. I also appreciate the fact that she is aware of Claire's appropriate growth and development and follows-up by offering words of support for our efforts as first time parents. That being said, she is still quite conservative. She recommended not beginning cereal until 6 months of age. Around month 4, Claire began eating like a horse. I am talking 8 oz. at a time. Try extracting 8 oz. of milk, 4-6 times per day from your boobs, not to mention while working full-time. It was not happening. Needless to say, we began mixing half and half of mommy milk to formula. This has been working well. Claire seems satisfied. However, I was reading an article in Parents magazine, which talked about when to begin your child on cer

Claire spent some time this morning before church on her tummy. She squirms like a worm, but goes nowhere. It is funny. She really enjoys the view from below, although her happiness is sometimes short-lived.

The Christmas season would not be complete without "A Christmas Story." I was first introduced to this classic by my parents, but my more recent memories are from my Mom. She loves this movie. I watch it once per season and quite honestly, once is all I can handle. TBS does the 24 hour replay, which is enough to drive me crazy. I bring up this movie because I am having a "Red Rider BB Gun" kind of Christmas. I don't want the gun because as we all know, I'll shoot my eye out too (I am the queen of clutz), but I do want one thing....All I want for Christmas is a Canon Digital Rebel XTI. The problem is that Chris and I don't give each other gifts. We stopped doing so about six years ago, knowing that we buy basically everything we want/need. However, since buying a house, new vehicle, having our baby and trying to save for her college and our retirement, our gifts to ourselves aren't what they used to be. SOOOOO, I am relying on the "big guy"

Claire has officially been bitten....by a virus. She caught a cold over the weekend, but has been pretty good. She began getting a runny nose when we were getting our Christmas pictures taken. The peak or so it seemed was Sunday evening. However, she seems to be improving one day and back to a thick runny nose the next. Our daycare provider thought she had done pretty well thus far as there had been at least one child sick for the past 2 months, but she had stayed well. I have enjoyed the extra cuddling, giving the extra love & attention she has needed, but must say that I feel pretty helpless when I see her glossy eyes. We also miss her bright smiling face, although she tends to throw one our way just when we need it most. She has also thrown the cold our way. I was convinced I would be invincible since I have been exposed to everything out there with my job in a school, but knew Chris was doomed. Instead, we are all sick. That being said, she is such a gift. We hope and pray s

Growing up, Thanksgiving traditions existed. & were cherished. We used to spend every Thanksgiving with my Grandma and Grandpa, but as we got older, we began to spend the holiday in Bismarck at my sister's house. My entire immediate family was there, everyone chipping in to prepare the meal. I have nothing but fond memories, especially of the Black Friday shopping adventures. Anyway, when moving to Massachusetts, I knew those family times would be something I would miss dearly, but thought we'd be making similar memories with Chris' family. That hasn't been the case for some reason. Last year we made our first turkey dinner and hosted Thanksgiving at our house, inviting his Aunt Barbara and Uncle Tim. It was nice, but not the same. This year, Chris and I embraced a different opportunity. We were invited to share Thanksgiving with our friends, Josh, Erin and Josh's parents & Grandmother. It was wonderful. This was my first Thanksgiving not in the company of

Claire is on the move....well, sort of. She is rolling---everywhere. She is now a master, rolling over multiple times--but only to the left. She can't seem to roll to the right. Strange, I know, but right now I kind of enjoy this fact. Chris and I swore before she was born that we would never have a "family bed." This changed quickly after the first five minutes of putting her in her own crib. He and I were both worrying, wondering if she was okay and since she was out of our view or earshot, we gave in. Claire, of course, was fine, but we weren't. Since then, she has been sleeping with us in our king-sized bed which has plenty of room for all of us. Chris and I have really enjoyed having her in our bed, waking up to her cooing, and feeling her next to us. Lately, Chris seems to be having second thoughts as Claire begins most nights next to me and ends them nuzzled up next to him. He is obviously on her left. I think deep inside, he too enjoys this. Before we kno

Chris, Claire and I took an extended weekend trip to Philadelphia the day after Thanksgiving. It was great. Chris and I were in Philadelphia a couple of years ago. At that time we had done most of the touristy things. The primary focus of this trip was relaxation. We didn't venture out to many touristy sites. Instead, we walked alot, shopped, slept and ate some great food. We did go to the Museum of Art since we hadn't visited it on our last trip there. Claire was a trooper. We bundled her up in the stroller each day and away we went. She loved looking at the people and buildings, not seeming to mind the cold. The weather was in the 40-50 degree range each day. We did take in the Macy's light show where they syncronize the Christmas lights to music. She loved watching it. Our most memorable meal was a Brazilian steakhouse. Chris and I had eaten at one in San Diego a few years ago, but enjoyed this one more. Waiters bring around 15 different kinds of meat on skewers a

Four months have flown by. Claire is changing daily. Parenthood has been an incredible experience. Chris and I finally feel that we have a pretty good idea of what we are doing. Amen! Claire is chewing on everything--her toes, our fingers, her toys, her chair. She is eating like a little piggy--7 oz. each sitting. We have resorted to combining some formula with her milk to help satisfy her tummy for longer periods. So far so good. We had her 4 month checkup today. She weighs 12 lbs. 5 oz (25 percentile) & 23 1/2 inches in length(25th percentile). Her doctor was impressed by her strength and overall development (rolling, cooing, beginning babbling). She is a healthy, happy, thriving little girl. I was finally able to get her rolling over on video. This has been a challenge for the past two weeks. Her eyes are still blue, which is keeping my hopes alive. We love our little girl. We have enjoyed every minute of the past four months (even the crying, diaper duty, & decrease in