Thanksgiving

We obviously have so much to be thankful for, especially this year! We are so blessed to have Claire in our lives and to have been entrusted with raising this precious little girl.




We had a nice Thanksgiving with Brenda's side on the Sunday before. Claire loves seeing Amber and Amber loves playing with Claire!




We needed a picture of grandma and grandpa on the blog, so here we go! :)




"These are the kittens that grandma got me shortly after I was born. Grandpa even started letting them in the house once in a while." -Claire at age 4




Thanksgiving Day in the pretty dress Mommy got Claire! We had a great time in Minneapolis at Robyn and David's. We were pretty happy to get to spend this Thanksgiving with Tante Christine, Opa, and the rest of our family and friends.




The 11 pound chicken I made!! Doesn't it look like it's right out of the pages of a cooking magazine? Just call me Giada! (I'm pretty proud!)

I heart flannel.

Pre-Thanksgiving weekend, Saturday evening, was spent with Mark's side of the family for Jordan's birthday. It was fun getting together with everyone as we don't get to see them too much. Claire loves her great grandpa and was intrigued by his flannel shirt. She studied it for quite some time and reached out to touch it. Thank you grandpa for wearing such interesting clothes. :)




Clearly interested in our feet now, too. Don't tell Omi, but the "no-slip" socks she got just for Claire over-promise with that claim. We still really appreciate the thought! :)




Even Tyler and Carter played with Claire a bit. Carter really liked her, I think! Jordan stayed clear but was a good sport by running out and getting diapers, etc. from the car. Thanks Jordan!

Claire and Opa

I'm catching up on the blog a little. This was the pre-game for game day - Thanksgiving. We all went up north on Friday and went out to eat with Mom, Alex, and Jaclyn. Saturday Claire had some much needed bonding with Opa, who hasn't gotten to see her nearly as much as Omi. Opa and Claire had so much fun together. They cuddled, read books, and even invented a new game - the stair game. Claire loves going "up and down the stairs, up and down the stairs." She would giggle every time Opa would do it. Mommy took the time that Matt, Opa, and Claire spent together for a much needed nap...thanks guys!

Picture me rollin'...

That's right everyone...Claire rolled over!! It was so fun. Matt and I both saw it and agree that Claire probably wondered "Why are these silly people smiling and clapping at me?" She did it four times on Saturday. She hasn't done it since, but maybe she's just taking a break. :)

Fun-filled Weekend

Who's that pretty baby in the mirror? It's fun to watch Claire's reaction as she sees faces in the mirror. This time we happened to be looking right before bath time, as seen by the naked jaybird picture. She even tries to reach out and 'touch' the other baby. :)




At first, we weren't planning on dressing up for Halloween. Then, Omi and I found this sweet costume for $3 at Affordable's in Mason. We had to buy the schnaeppchen (good deal)! I had no idea how fun it would be to dress her up. Isn't she adorable? I had a huge smile across my face! Claire napped during the 'official' trick or treat hours, but when she woke up we went to the three neighbors' houses that we're friends with. We spent about 15 minutes at Marie and Paul's, 30 minutes at Joe and Jen's, and then hours at Mark and Amy's. Amy even got a couple pairs of special little Halloween socks for Claire since she can't eat candy. :) By the way, the debate was on whether this was a cow or horse...the verdict is horse, because it has a mane.

Side note: Matt came home to change into his 'costume' for Mark and Amy's party...he was a bicyclist, complete with spandex shorts and helmet - sorry folks, I didn't get a picture!




Aunt Chris came to visit (!!!) from Saturday through Monday for Claire's baptism. Saturday evening we went out to Flying Mango, which we highly recommend for great BBQ. Just take a look at that 'big chop' on my plate...I got four meals out of it! Claire was in a fun mood after dinner and we got some great smiley pictures. It's so funny how everyone focuses on the baby in a restaurant. We had an awesome time with 'Tante Christine' and can't wait for her next visit!



Claire's baptism went great! We were so glad that much of our family and friends could join us. The day was rough for our little girl without much napping time, but she finally fell asleep around 3:00 and slept for hours. Fortunately, she was well-rested and happy when she woke up...just in time to play with Aunt Chris. She sat in the same 'seat' that Uncle Alex and I used to sit in when we were babies...man, the benefits of having long legs! :)

Side note: No pictures of the actual baptism because I didn't take any, so send them my way if you got some on your camera. :)

Thank you, Lord!

We have so many things to be thankful for recently, that I just wanted to share some of them with y'all!

1. Why I love kids...

Last Monday night, we had our monthly 'friends dinner.' Our friends Sarah and Marty have two girls - Tori, 4 years old, and Samantha, 3 years old. I gave Claire to Tori to hold and of course, with sisterly love, she kept telling Sammy that she is "not old enough yet to hold Claire." (Do the math, they're only a year apart!) Sarah reminded Tori that she has a friend at preschool named Claire, and Tori replies..."Yes, her name is Claire, but her last name isn't Baby Claire." Too cute!

2. No H1N1 in our house...

Same dinner, same people. Tori and Samantha love babies, and of course, were all over Claire and Kevin and Theresa's baby girl, Norah, 1 yr. old. Wouldn't you know that I get a call from Sarah the next morning. Guess who woke up complaining of sickness and with a fever....yep, Tori and Samantha! She'd already taken them to the doctor, where an Influenza A test confirmed that they had H1N1. You may recall that we were just with these people the night before, and the girls were in very close proximity to 'my girl.' Theresa always has a positive outlook and is very realistic - she reminded me that Norah and Claire would have been exposed at some point anyway, and now at least we know they're exposed. :) With an incubation period of 1-7 days, we can thank God that we are officially in the clear! (Norah, too!)

3. Sage Elizabeth...





Claire has a new bestie! Our friends Amber and Ross welcomed Sage Elizabeth into the world on October 17th. She is 6 lbs. 14 ounces, and 19 1/4 inches long. We were in Swaledale when they called with the news, but as soon as we returned to Des Moines on Monday we visited them in the hospital. Was Claire really that small at first?!? It's so hard to believe! I do remember that Annabelle looked huge compared to Claire at only 3 1/2 months. Sage is technically a premie, because she was born several hours before the '37 weeks' full term cutoff, but she was suppose to come out because she was very healthy! Maybe God didn't want her to get any bigger for Amber's sake. :) Sage is a beautiful baby girl and we're happy to have her join us!

4. Warm fall days...



We did get ONE of these this week! Matt, Claire and I took advantage of the temperatures and took a walk outside. It was so fun watching her observe her surroundings! We hadn't been on a walk in a couple of weeks, and she was loving the fall colors. She cranked her neck to look straight above her at the trees and was so alert the whole time. We can tell she's getting smarter by the day!

5. New discoveries...



Speaking of getting smarter, Claire has now figured out - "Hey, I can move this birdie with my hand!" It was great to watch her discover this for the first time. It may have been accidental at first, but after a couple more tries I could definitely tell she knew what she was doing. Now, whenever we put her down on the activity mat, she goes straight for the red bird. She's even gripped it! This keeps her busy for while, and the whole time she's moving it, she's also studying it intently. She's so fun!

"Haha"

Claire laughed! Daddy was playing with her on the floor and making her talk and smile. Out of the blue, there was a definite "haha" in conjunction with a smile...I don't know about you, but I call that a laugh! Uncle Alex was here to see it too. We were so proud of our big girl!



The three of us drove home to the farm on Friday evening. Matt wasn't going to help Mark because they thought it would be too wet in the fields, but Brenda mentioned that we could "come home anyway." I think she had been praying for dry conditions all week so she could see Claire! On our way home, we called and found out that Mark was actually combining, so right after we pulled in the driveway, Matt changed and went out to help him. Matt learned (or started to learn, at least...he says he has a long way to go) how to combine beans. It was a lot harder than he anticipated! My parents came over to see us Friday evening too. I was a little worried with both Omi and Grandma there...wink wink! Grandma R did a great job sharing Claire time, and then made up for it Saturday morning when I got to sleep in! Thanks Grandma R! As the picture proves, Grandpa R also had a great time playing with "Miss Claire!" Anyone who knows him won't be surprised by this, because we know that he's really just a big kid himself. (Reminds me of the way my Grandpa D was!)

Saturday morning we drove to Okoboji to go to Jerrod and Jenny's wedding. Jerrod and Matt grew up together at R-S and also worked many hours together back in the Wendy's days. We stayed at Carli's parents place...John and Deb's house. It is a beautiful new home on the lake and they are always so hospitable. We thank God that they're using their blessings to bless others - that's how it's suppose to be!

Anyway, at the wedding, Claire was amazing! She was so happy and content the whole time...sleeping at the ceremony, but awake for almost all of the reception. Random strangers came up and told me how good she was! Joel, Matt's roommate of three years, asked a couple different times: "Is she always this good?" I tried to explain that she balances herself out, but I'm pretty sure Joel wants a baby now. (Mindy, is that a good thing at this point or not?) Jk.

I took a really cute clip of Claire this morning in a great mood...we'll see if I can figure out how to upload it to the blog later. That's all for now, though! :)

Busy Bees

I love how Claire is smiling in this one! Lots of people take pictures with a stuffed animal (Kuscheltier) to see the growth of their little one...this is the first time we've done it, but she's already bigger than Mr. Bear.



What happens when you're alone? You have to take your own pictures in the mirror and you can't use a flash bc it flashes right back at you and blinds the picture. I'm documenting a new Moby position that Claire loves - facing out to observe the world, with freedom to kick and move!



A big smile for mommy! Claire is almost always in a very happy mood right after she fills her belly!



Hanging out with Amber (and Ross)! Claire is using Baby Mortenson as a ledge to sit on. She hung out with these three while mommy used the elliptical! She did a very good job being a good baby, though didn't like being read to. Hmmm...



Sound asleep. Good night! :)

Such a strong girl

Claire doesn't care for tummy time a whole lot, so we don't often do it. However, we do hold her upright a lot because she just loves to look around. In fact, when we try to cradle her like a baby now, she protests! Last week we tried tummy time again and I yelled at Matt to come see right away, because I was so excited to see how strong she's gotten! I went picture crazy, trying to capture how high she was lifting her head. I can't believe how excited I got for this, but I guess that's mommy-hood. For the record, Matt was smiling big about this feat too! ;)



A family picture at Lara Galloway's wedding (Matt's high school friend) on September 19th. It was a beautiful setting near Iowa City. The reception was in a round barn (built just for celebrations). Notice the stone arch in the background...it's not mortared together or anything. Once the creator added the middle stone, he was able to take down all the supports and it just stays that way (just like they built all the arches in old European times). At the Science Center of Iowa, they have this activity for kids to do with shaped foam blocks. I'll have to show this picture to my kids (can I still say that for my students even though we have Claire now?) after our SCI field trip this spring! That's all for now. :)

PURPLE - the color of choice!

Matt handed Claire to me all swaddled up tonight, then said it was cute and went to get the camera. After 'capturing the moment,' our conversation went like this...

"What do you think Claire's gonna say when she's older and looks at all these pictures?" -Matt

"She's pry gonna wonder why we took so many that look the same." -Lauren

"I think she'll ask 'Did mommy only own three shirts?" -Matt

(laughter) -Lauren

"And were they all purple?" -Matt

(more laughter...more than for Jay Leno, which was on TV) -Lauren

The pictures above, taken within a couple of weeks of each other, prove his point...GO PANTHERS!!! (Maybe I need some new t-shirts!)

Visits galore!

This one is for you Ross. You're right...how can we have a blog without a picture of Claire? This one was a couple of weeks ago. She's starting to grin now! Matt and I love it. Matt does especially...he always tries to get me to look when she's smiling and by the time I turn, Claire is done! No worries though...she will start smiling quite frequently pretty soon here. :)

Grandma and Grandpa R (that's Mark and Brenda) came to visit last night! Brenda called Sunday and wanted to come down. It's amazing how much more they visit now that little miss you know who is around! I thought they visited quite often before, but I was just comparing that to my parents. ;) We all took a walk, Claire nursed, and then we went out to eat at Fuddruckers! Claire took a long time to eat the the boys were getting antsy, but Grandma R would have waited for Claire for hours...hehe. She also happily took her before and after her meal. I think I even noticed that she ate a little more quickly than usual...jk. At Fuddruckers, I found a hair in my burger. I'm telling you this because of the eventual outcome, so be patient. First, I told the cooks very nicely and they offered to make me a new one. A few minutes later, that came, WITH a side of fries (I hadn't ordered any, so score!). After my meal, I went to the ice cream counter and asked politely (think sweet voice here) "Is there a complimentary shake for those that find a hair in their food?" The manager said "I can do that." DOUBLE SCORE! The cookies and cream shake was delicious, right Mark?!? ;)

For the record, Omi and Opa have visited a lot more too...especially Omi. However much she loves those dogs, and if you know her you know that's a ton, she obviously loves Claire more. In fact, it was funny because on our way home from 'home' Labor Day weekend, Matt shared an observation he made. He told me that Mom was holding Claire and that they dogs were coming over to them and wanting all the attention and love that they usually do, and Mom shooed them away. Matt said that was a sure sign that Claire is numero uno.

Anyway, we all love that family is coming to visit so much! :) If you'd like to visit, our Hotel R is open and in business. We'll get you a really good deal too! ;)

On a side note, thanks to the advice of Matt and Tante Christine, Claire and I have ventured out and about more these past couple of days. I have gone a little stir crazy never leaving the house, and they both told me to just get out and that it'll acclimate Claire more to 'normal' life anyway. Yesterday we ran errands and she did a marvelous job! Today we went to a 'Lunch with Jesus' Bible study at church. It's perfect because it just happens to be a six-week study, the exact amount of time I have before going back to work. I look forward to meeting other moms and seeing what God has in store for me to learn!

This train is now departing (this one's for Matt) ... Choooo - Chooooo! :-)

We're bloggers!

Make that I'm a blogger...I don't know if I'll get Matt to ever write one. ;)

Claire and I went to a Mommy and Me breastfeeding class today. We found out she's a good eater - 4 1/3 ounces at once! She's a little over 8 pounds now, which is what I had guessed. She seems like she's already so much bigger. She is also so alert now and flashes smiles for mommy and daddy! It's rewarding to know that she's happy to see us.

We had an exciting Labor Day weekend. It was our first time taking Claire home and she had lots of friends and family to meet. We were at my parents' Friday night for a great meal, the most fantastic chocolate cake ever, and lots of wonderful company. Saturday we took Miss Claire out with Mark, Brenda, and Lori on the new boat. She wore a little life jacket and slept most of the time. Aunt Lori did a great job using the golf umbrella and making sure the sun didn't hit Claire's delicate skin. We were thinking that it probably looked odd...a beautiful sunny day and trying to shade ourselves with an umbrella. Saturday night Matt and I had a wedding and Mom and Aunt Chris got to babysit! They did a fantastic job and Claire was content for most of the time we were gone. We had a great time at Chris and Kristen's wedding. Matt really cut a rug on the dance floor! Sunday we had a noon meal at Mark and Brenda's with family there. Tom and Amber even made the trip down from Minneapolis to meet Claire and we were very glad to see them! They got some practice in with her for sometime in the future. I can already tell that Amber is going to be a great mom someday!