Safe and Sound

Our move was successful. We wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of Andrew's cousin, Kevin. Kevin flew into Shreveport Thursday of last week and flew out of Lexington last Tuesday. Andrew and Kevin loaded all of our belongings into a 26 foot long truck last Saturday while I entertained/took care of Claire. We pulled out of our Shreveport driveway Sunday morning at 8 am central time. The drive took a total of 15 hours including stops and Claire was a real trooper. If you added up all of her crying time it may have been an hour. We pulled in front of my mom's house at midnight eastern time. After spending the night there, we drove to Berea (about 50 min. away) the next morning after sleeping as much as we could. Andrew and Kevin unloaded furniture and boxes, my mom watched Claire and Molly, and I tried to bring items to their correct locations and get the house organized. That evening, my aunt and uncle, Jane and Robbie, as well as cousins, Robert and John, brought us a delicious barbeque dinner and helped bring in the rest of the boxes from the truck. We are settled in for the most part and trying to relax a little.

Kevin and Claire.

Moving in.

Claire falls asleep pretty quickly in the sling.

Jane served dinner where she could find a clear place in the kitchen.

Our first dinner in the new place.

The move exhausted Claire.

Enjoying some relaxation time.

Kevin and Claire spent a little time together before he left for Washington.

Claire is just over 2 months old now. She has changed so much. She smiles and "talks" much more frequently. We know she isn't really talking, but she is making a lot of vocal noises especially after feedings that we love. Her "vocabulary" consists of goo, hi, what, mmmm, and when I asked her to say, "momma" she said, "da da."

Our Little String Bean

Claire had her 2 month check-up today. She'll officially be 2 months on Sunday, but we'll be on the road on Sunday. Her pediatrician called her our little string bean. She weighed in at 11 lbs. 0 oz. which is the 75th percentile and measured 23 3/4 in. in length which is the 90th percentile. Her head measured in the 75th as well. She's very healthy and slept through the exam only to wake up for the dreaded shots. She had four vaccinations, one by mouth and 3 shots. She did very well. She stopped screaming as soon as it was all over. This will be our last post in Louisiana, so you may not hear from us for a few days until we get cable and internet running again. We'll catch you up on our move once we've settled in a little bit in Berea.


Claire likes to play the air guitar while she sleeps.

Enhanced Respect for Single Moms

While I have always respected single moms, that respect was enhanced this past weekend. Andrew was hovering the commode off and on for all of Saturday and some of Sunday. Needless to say, he didn't come within 10 feet of Claire or me all weekend. On top of feeding Claire every 2.5 to 3 hours, I did all of the burping and diaper changing. I also made my own meals, and did as much packing as I could squeeze in between the previously mentioned tasks. On Saturday I also took care of Molly and prepared Andrew's one meager meal. Yesterday, Andrew was able to take care of Molly some and make his own meals, but I'm exhausted. On top of the constant movement during the day, I wasn't able to sleep well at night because there isn't that much distance between our bed and the master bathroom. Andrew is feeling better today and thinks he can help with Claire when he gets back from work this afternoon. Yay!

Andrew's 30th Birthday

Yesterday, Andrew turned 30 years old. We celebrated by not going into work, watching a movie we had rented the night before, watching a Mariners game on tv, going to dinner with our friends, and to a friend's house for cake. Claire and I bought Andrew some new shirts, but his "big" present is that he can pick out whichever flatscreen tv that he would like after we move to Kentucky. Our friend, Greg, made Andrew's cake and Greg's son, Finn, wanted to add a Thomas Train candle to it, so Andrew let him.

We went to Rollin' in the Dough for dinner which has become our favorite restaurant that we will truly miss when we move.

David and Hayden (who really wasn't up for photos).

Lilly and momma, Ann.

Finn and daddy, Greg.

Katie and son, Kyle.

Claire and Momma.

Andrew had to keep a watchful eye on his french fries, otherwise, Lilly would help herself.

Claire wasn't as thrilled about the cake as we were.

Prior to celebrating, Claire was very photogenic for us.

Andrew went to change Claire's diaper and she decided she wanted to lounge around a little.

Smiling on Daddy's lap.

Priceless!

First Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day. We did some relaxing, packing, and walking. Here are some photos of my girl and me.






The past couple of weeks Andrew has been going to work in the morning, coming home to eat lunch with Claire and me, then all three of us go back to work in the afternoon.



For several days we've been trying to capture Claire's smile in a photo. Here are some attempts and finally success.

Goo!

Claire is six weeks old today. She has been smiling more often. When we burp her after eating, she makes a noise that sounds like, "Goo." Andrew is certain that she said, "hi" the other day too, but I have yet to witness this.

Tummy-time usually means constant crying. This is an unusually pleasant moment.

Family Resemblance

I thought I'd scan in a baby photo of myself and one of Andrew to compare to Claire. My photo was taken when I was just over 4 months, but because I was 2 months and 20 days premature, I figure it's kind of close. I'm not sure what age Andrew is in his baby picture, but I imagine it's not too far from Claire's age (6 weeks today)!

Mary Robert on March 16, 1980 (her brother, Todd's, 2nd birthday) a little over 4 months old.

Andrew's baby photo. (I apologize for the quality. It was a scan of a scan.)

It looks like she might have my eyes, but I'm not sure where she got her nose.

First Bath From Daddy

Andrew gave Claire a bath for the first time this evening. He did a great job. Here are some photos from the event.