Playing in the pumpkin patch

Yesterday we took Claire to the pumpkin patch for some pictures. We had a good time and she seemed to enjoy looking at all of the people and activities going on. It will definitely be a fun place to take her when she gets a bit older since there were lots of activities for little ones including a hay ride, train rides, slides, and mazes. This year we just got to enjoy taking pictures of our little "pumpkin" sitting among all of the pumpkins! Hope you enjoy!

Aquarium with my daughter on a Thursday

I can distinctly remember the first time I saw this commercial. We had just found out we were pregnant and I said to Sheila that this commercial represents my goal as a father.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OC5_wJLxZU

Yesterday we had the chance to turn the commercial dream into reality. When I got off work at 3:00 we decided to head downtown to the Aquarium. We both new that Claire was way too young to really enjoy or remember it but we couldn't help ourselves. It was great fun to walk into the Aquarium and watch her just stare with amazement which was very similar to Visa's take on the experience. The only disappointing part was that we couldn't take many good pictures due to the poor lighting but I wanted to share with you the ones that we did get.

Getting cooler

We have finally started to cool down here. The weather this week is in the mid 70's to low 80's as highs. It sure feels good to be able to walk outside and not instantly sweat! We have finally received some good news on the house. It is looking like we should be able to close next week...although Jeff and I are not holding our breath since we have been told we had a closing date many times. This time all the paperwork is completed so we are more hopeful it might actually be true! We are very excited to get out of this apartment (which is full of packed up boxes for the past month since we were originally told our closing would be the end of September) and into our new home. It will be so nice to have more room and to finally have a place we can call our own.

As you can see from the pictures (I know I have an addiction to taking pictures and should probably get some help!), Claire is growing so fast. She is still working on rolling over. We have come so close many times and she just needs that little push to get completely onto her back from her belly. We keep working on it even though she doesn't care for it too much. I have gotten her to sit up a few times too but only for short periods and then she tips over. If she leans forward enough to have support from her belly, she can sit for a bit longer! Good thing she has her stomach to support her! I took the picture of her in her Bumbo seat last night when I got home from work. She was so intent on watching the baseball game on TV that I couldn't even get her to look at me for a picture! We have so much fun with our amazing little girl and are savoring each and every day. Before we know it she will be walking and talking! We talk about nanny and papa coming lots and when Claire hears their voices on the speaker phone, she gets smiles on her face. We are all very excited to see nanny and papa and the Streich family for Thanksgiving. If we are lucky, we might even get Owen and Ellie to change Claire's diapers while they are here! If not, I am sure we can get them to sing to Claire...she really misses her cousin's singing to her.

Keeping Claire Tough

This post is for all our friends and family in MN. We know you are all quietly thinking that Claire is going to be some softy that cannot handle the cold weather. Because of this, I decided to toughen her up a little today. I dug deep in her closet to find a coat so that I could take her out in the cold Houston morning. We bundled up and were ready to go. I then realized that I needed proof that Claire can handle the cold so I snapped a quick picture before she changed her mind and wanted to stay inside. When I first put her in the stroller, I could swear I almost saw her breath.....but then I realized she was just making spit bubbles. She did really well on our walk; we only had to stop at one store to warm up. She is such a trooper. This was big step for her since she is only use to 95 degree days. I say bring on the snow and the sledding next; or maybe we'll start with pictures of snow and sledding and work our way from there.

Working on rolling over

Claire is awesome and such a joy in our lives. We are so very lucky and blessed to have her and each day gets to be more fun with her. Right now we are working on getting Claire to roll over. So far, she has rolled from her tummy to her back two times on her own. She gets very close but can't quite seem to get all the way over most of the time. Today she was so happy most of the day. It almost seems like she is learning that when we point the camera at her, she is to smile..wonder if that has anything to do with me taking at least 10 pictures of her every single day! Claire definitely recognizes mommy and daddy now and does okay around strangers as long as she can see mommy or daddy. She gets to spend tomorrow and Sunday with the nanny and we hope she does well for Emily. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Rough day

Today has been tough for Claire. After sleeping for 8 hours straight (mommy loved this!) she woke up with a cough, runny nose, and congestion. Then at 8:30am she threw up. She had her 4 month check up today so when I talked to the pediatrician about it, he said she most likely threw up from mucus draining all night and getting into her stomach. No more vomiting since then so that is good!

Claire weighs 15 pounds 12 ounces which puts her at 90% on the charts (down from 97% at 2 months). She is 24.75 inches long which is 75% on the charts. She is growing so fast and keeping up with her growth curve. On top of not feeling well, Claire had to get her 4 month shots. It was a rough day for our baby girl!

By this evening, she was shot and ready to call it a night at 7pm. We hope she sleeps well though the night and wakes up without her cold in the morning.

Getting Sick

We have been battling a nasty cold at our house this week. We aren't sure where it started but I would be willing to bet it was with Sheila's flu shot. Everyone says they help but I'm not so sure. Anyway, Claire has been watching us run around the apartment with blue surgical masks on for the last five days. There is nothing like being congested and then having to wear a mask with a runny nose. I guess this is what they mean when they say you have to make sacrifices for your kids. All in all, it's not too bad.
We are still waiting to hear from the world's worst mortage company on when we will be able to close on our house. I bet if we are all really quite, we can hear them not e-mailing me back. If they weren't giving us such good terms we would have looked elsewhere but I guess that is just the way it goes.
I hope you enjoy the video of Claire as much as I enjoyed making it.

Lovin' tubby time!

Had to share a few awesome pictures we got today of Claire during her tubby. She loves this time of day, as you can see from the pics!

Claire's first laugh!

Hard to believe Claire is already 15 weeks old. Where has the time gone? She is so much fun now. She has really started to babble lots and smiles all the time. We have been blessed with one of the best babies ever. She usually goes to bed around 7:30 or 8pm, gets up around 1 or 2am to eat and again around 5 or 6am to eat. She usually sleeps until 8 or 9am (sometimes even until 10am but only on days when Jeff is home with her!). She has been taking two to three naps during the day but only for 40-50 minutes each. I do not have any problem with that though since she sleeps so well at night.

We got to hear Claire laugh for the first time today. I was playing with her on my lap and making noises with her hands and she started to laugh! It was so amazing and awesome to hear her laughing! We cannot wait to hear more of this as she continues to grow.

The first two days with the nanny went very well. I thought for a while that we might have to look for another new nanny because Emily came for the second day and told Jeff she thinks she might have allergies to cats! I was so stressed and bummed because Emily seems to be a good fit for us. However, she had taken allergy medication and was willing to try another day. The second day went well and she said she would like to continue to watch Claire...thank God! I was not looking forward to trying to find yet another nanny to watch my baby.

We are still waiting to hear on the house. It turns out we can put in a pool, now we just have to wait for the final paperwork and a closing date. Hope you enjoy the pictures and thank you whoever it was (the ONE person) that voted for Claire looking like me...I know it was a sympathy vote but I appreciate it!

Time with family and friends

Just sharing some more pictures of our big girl. She is growing so fast. It seems like each day she gets bigger and more interactive. We are having so much fun with Claire. Saturday will be the new nanny's first day. Wish us luck. We pray that Emily ends up doing a much better job at taking care of Claire than the first nanny did!