Wednesday, September 16, 2009

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! :-)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

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!