Anticipating Puerto Rico...Early Christma

It's been a long week of too much work, planning, organizing and frigid temps (a few days of -25 below when I left for work). This makes the fact that we're leaving Tuesday for a week in Puerto Rico all the more appealing. I was trying to visualize myself on the beach below (the one right outside our hotel!) while getting dressed this morning in long underwear, hat, gloves, scarf, and heavy coat to go to church. It's hard to imagine that we'll be in such a different climate and might even be swimming on Christmas Day! Since most of the country is having nasty winter weather right now, I know you're all jealous! : )

We opened a few presents we're not bring with us this afternoon. Claire loved her box of musical instruments from us and the musical storybook from Grandma and Grandpa. Of course, in short time she decided all the packaging was just as much fun!

Fashionista?

Claire found her way to the dryer this afternoon, managed to find two matching socks, and put them on herself. Of course, they had to be the one pair of patterned socks I own, which makes the picture even cuter.

Winter arrives with a vengence

As I type, it's -1 degrees outside and the wind is blowing 20-30 miles per hour, as it has been doing since 4 AM this morning. It's the kind of day that makes us thankful for a warm and secure home. We're stuck inside as it's not the kind of weather we like to be out on the roads in, even Hem has no desire to be outside. Good thing I have an enormous stack of papers to work on grading this weekend. Yeah, right. I do have to admit, it is a bit cozy as Nate has a pot of venison chili in the crock pot, and the Christmas tree adds cheer to the living room. Plus, it makes the fact that we'll be in Puerto Rico in a little over a week that much more appealing!

Below are a few pictures from the week. Just this morning I learned what happens when I leave Claire alone with a box of Cheerios while trying to read email during breakfast.


Nate spent a morning hunting ducks this week on the Madison River.

He also managed to combine a trip to get our Christmas tree with a little pheasant hunting...how convenient : )

Thanksgiving Weekend

Somehow the week has passed without my posting pictures from Thanksgiving weekend. That must be because Claire got sick this week with a fever, and a sick child and working parents makes for major stress. Anyway, we spend Thanksgiving night in West Yellowstone on a mini-road trip. While we intended to cross-country ski while there, snow conditions and mild weather thought otherwise. We made the best of it by visiting the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, going to the park to swing (one of Claire's all time favorite activities at the moment), and swimming in the resort's indoor pools. The Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center takes bears and wolves that would otherwise face euthanasia and gives them a home, which they use for a basis for education and fundraising. Claire loved seeing live Grizzlies and wolves, and we had a treat of hearing the wolves join in quite a chorus of howling as we left. We had a nice night away--well, minus the fact that Claire was up at 3 AM jumping on the bed yelling "Wolf, wolf"--and a scenic drive there and back through the Madison and Gallatin River valleys. We wished for our fishing gear though; it was that mild!

Link to YouTube Videos

http://www.youtube.com/sjlagerwey

Claire got a new pair of shoes this weekend, and ever since we went swimming on Thanksgiving she's been obsessed with her bikini. Here's the outfit of her choosing today as captured on video. Sorry about the sideways thing...I guess the video camera doesn't work exactly like the digital camera.

Visit Flew By...

We had a nice, long visit with my parents over the weekend. They got to see Claire in action as a busy toddler, both the good and bad. We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal and lots of free babysitting. Nate and I actually had a night out on the town together, and since I had one day of meetings at work, my parents watched Claire all day Tuesday. The pictures in the slide show reveal some of her latest obsessions--torturing the dog, wearing my shoes (I finally hid my ONE pair of heels so she'd stop trying unsuccessfully to clomp around the house in them), her new personal chair, going to the park, and books! Great to see you mom and dad!

Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

Note to Self:

1. Do not feed daughter peanut butter and jelly in the backseat of the car as she enjoys nothing more than opening the sandwich and smearing jelly all over herself and anything within her reach.

2. Do not turn back on daughter while she is operating the salad spinner, unless you'd like to rewash the lettuce after it spins itself all over the kitchen. (Note to guests: maybe pass on the salad at our house, who knows where the lettuce has been.)

3. Do not expect daughter to enjoy a rare morning shopping trip to Target as much as you or somehow expect her to behave because you actually have a Friday off and some time to browse. Instead, expect that she will spend the entire time screaming to get out of the cart and flinging things you give her to stay quiet out into the aisles.

4. Do not expect daughter to go to heated, indoor swimming pool and actually want to stay in the water. Instead, expect that she will find trying to run around outside the pool with mom chasing her and life guard scolding mother much more amusing.

5. Do not expect that on a dreary, rainy Saturday the family can go leisurely browse at our favorite local bookstore. Instead, plan on mom and dad taking turns frantically looking at covers while the other parent chases daughter around the second story while she squeals in glee at the top of her lungs. (Note to other customers who thought they'd have a relaxing moment in the bookstore: sorry.)

6. Do not expect daughter upon arriving at park (where parents detour after bookstore in order for her to get some wiggles out) to want to even so much as walk to the slides or run around. Instead, she will want to swing--in this case, perfectly content to be confined.

Halloween Activities

We had a few fun Halloween activites this week--baking Halloween sugar cookies, carving a pumpkin, and meeting some friends for downtown Bozeman's treat or treating yesterday.



We've been having some very warm weather--up to 70 degrees, so I only put the top half of the costume on Claire. We actually didn't even treat or treat. Because she doesn't quite get what candy is, I thought we could put off eating mass quantities of it for one more year. While strolling the streets of Bozeman filled with all kinds of creatures and costumes, Claire was most interested in seeing dogs. We played at the park for awhile with some friends. Since almost every other kid in town was downtown trick or treating, we had the place to ourselves!

18 Months Old

Claire had her 18 month check-up yesterday, and, thankfully the last of the shots until she goes to Kindergarten. After our trip to the ER last week, she was not such a willing patient for the little prods and pokes that go with a check-up. She weighed 23 pounds 11 ounces (50th percentile), and I'm not sure about her height since she was in such a complete screaming tantrum about getting measured, I didn't catch it.

After the visit, we met my mom's group at Rocky Creek Farms for a hayride, pumpkin buying, and playing in the hay mazes. It was a perfect fall afternoon for the activities, and offered perfect photo-ops for all the moms!

Nema's Visit; Road Trip; ER...in that order!

We've had an eventful week around here. Nema (Nate's mom) arrived Tuesday afternoon for a fall visit. She came bring many wonderful gifts for Claire, including the new playhouse seen below.

Claire put on a good show for about a day and then came down with a fever. I was supposed to leave Wednesday afternoon for a conference in Missoula. However, after Claire got sick I didn't feel comfortable spending my first night ever away from her while she was ill, so I decided to postpone leaving for a day to see if Claire improved. She did improve and seemed back on track Thursday morning, so we decided it might be fun if we all went to Missoula together. Nate and his mom could take care of Claire and see the area while I attended my conference. Unfortunately, by the time we got to Missoula (about 2 1/2 hours away), her fever had returned and got progressively worse. When it reached 103 degrees we decided to get her to the ER. They initially treated her with more Tylenol and Motrin there, but the fever still keep climbing--up to 105 degrees. At that point the doctor recommended a whole spectrum of tests--strep, chest x-ray, urine, and blood. Those of you who have gone through this can relate to the understatement that holding your 18 month old down while these tests are administered is horrifying. Nate did most of the hard work as I felt I had to leave the room while the nurses tried to find a vein. After three failed attempts we told them to stop and NOT do the blood work up. At that point, Claire's temp had finally started to drop. We left the ER with a prescription for antibiotics, a bottle of Tylenol and ibuprofen, and a traumatized child and parents. No diagnosis. We had to go back to a hotel room and pass the night, mostly sleepless, before heading home the next day. Nema was a great comfort and help through it all! I never did make the conference. In the picture below, Claire was over the worst of the temperature and I'm showing the faceless, genderless doll the nurses gave us, but Claire couldn't quite figure out (if you look closely you can see the face Nate drew in).

After the evening in the ER, we did take a brief walk around Missoula in the morning to stretch our legs and get some fresh air.

For some reason, I thought riding a carousel would cheer Claire up. She wanted down after about 30 seconds. Thank goodness we got down before the ride started because it actually ended up moving quite quickly!

We took a scenic detour on the way home and stopped in Phillipsburg, an old mining town that has found new life with a slight "yuppie" vibe. We had some buffalo burgers for lunch and strolled the scenic streets.

After arriving home Friday night, Nema had to leave Saturday morning. We felt bad that Claire was sick most of her visit, but thankful for her help and good cheer in helping us deal with the situation! Claire is improving more each day, and none of the tests ended up showing anything, so I guess it must have been one of those nasty viruses kids can catch.

New Word for the Day: "Snow"

Was it just last week I was complaining about the heat? In typical Montana fashion, fall lasted about two days. We've had our first winter storm this weekend--right when I had finally scheduled a hike with some other moms without kids! However, Nate still watched Claire at home yesterday while I went to town to a big consignment sale where I found Claire's new-to-us snowsuit, just in time! She wasn't sure about how to walk once she was all bundled up and outside in the snow, and, of course, once we were inside and all undressed she started asking about going outside again. Claire's not having much difficulty with the word "snow" since it's so close to another of her favorites "NO."

Drinking Horse Mountain

With my "outdoor mom's group" we hiked the newest trail outside Bozeman this week, Drinking Horse Mountain. We had six kids, four dogs, and five moms. The weather felt like August, hot and dry, and the kids' favorite part was the top where we had snacks! Claire pretty much tried to steal all the other kids' treats, especially this stuff called "Pirate's Booty." (I know a name with many connotations...) Anyway, we found some at Costco, and it's her favorite thing in the world right now--though I'm not sure what name I should teach her to call it.

Indian Summer

The weather throughout most of September has been in the 70s and 80s. We've enjoyed some hikes with my Mom's Group--though now our little ones want to walk part of the way so we actually can't hike as far as we could last year when they were babies. Claire loves to play on her slide everyday, and Hem likes to hang out with us on the lawn.

Shoe Drama

Some kids have pacies, some kids have blankies, some kids have teddies, my child has a pair of shoes as some kind of security object. Although the weather hasn't gotten cool yet (and we're wishing it would), in anticipation of cooler weather I decided it was time to find Claire some fall shoes. I spied some great little Merrell's at our local shoe store last weekend, so I decided to bring Claire back yesterday to try them on. Little did I know.

I managed to trick her into trying on one pair--too small. After that it was her sandals or nothing. To make matters worse, they didn't have the next size up in that location, so I had to drive across town to another store to try on the next size. Once there, Claire threw an absolute fit about taking her sandals off. Picture: screaming, running away, and when I catch her, feet-kicking temper tantrum. I managed to calm her down with the bribe of a fruit leather, but still no luck trying on the shoes. I just bought them and (a little red-faced) said we'd try them on at home.

Once home, it took us hiding her sandals and about 15 minutes of talking the new shoes up before she'd put them on. They do fit, and the picture above shows her happily walking around in them! (However, this morning when she found her sandals she did a little dance of glee.)

We had some fresh Montana corn for dinner last night. Claire ate two ears and it was the longest she's sat at a meal in months! We need to have corn every night!

Warning: Political Commentary Follows

As I've been watching and reading the coverage of Sarah Palin's selection as a running mate for John McCain, I've been getting more and more worked up. I realized as Nate and I were walking the other day and I went off for about ten minutes, that I felt strongly enough about the issues this raises to spout off to a broader audience. And, though it may not seem like it at first, this actually has less to do with the values espoused by the Democrats and Republicans and more to do with my disappointment in the way the public responds to females in politics.

Aside from their political views, both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have received criticism from the general public on their roles as women, their strong wills, their roles as wives, and their outspoken demeanours. However, in my view, both women are smart, extremely well-educated, and have successfully managed career, family, and marriages. They both have made steps to create new opportunities for women and provided an alternate model of a politician's wife. Still, they are no favorites of the general public, especially conservatives.

Sarah Palin, in contrast, from the moment she stepped on the stage has become an instant celebrity and darling of the voters. I wish I could say it was due to the same characteristics I listed for Clinton and Obama. Unfortunately, according to what I read/hear, she's well liked because: "she's hot," "she's a soccer mom," "she's a good public speaker," "she's a hunter," "she's fresh" and so forth. Clearly, Palin has leadership skills and is a smart and polished person. However, it seems ironic, and tragic, that the reasons for accepting her onto the national stage have little to do with her preparation, career, or education.

I wonder how much her ready acceptance has to do with the fact that she's characterized as an "everyday woman"--a soccer mom, PTA mother, fashionable dresser, etc? (Not that there is anything WRONG with any of those.) I wonder if the public feels less threatened by her than women like Hillary and Michelle? I wonder if we are more willing to embrace her because she's going to be mentored (or patronized) by the older, masculine, McCain? Thus, she is still in a safe place for a woman as opposed to Clinton as President. I wonder if we really are taking a step forward with the way her candidacy as vice-president is being characterized?

It certainly doesn't feel that way to me.

Finally at 16 1/2 Months...Walking

I've been trying to get this video up for two days...here she is on two feet WITHOUT holding our hands!

Progress

We are settling in to the routine with much less angst these days. Claire is no longer crying when I drop her off in the morning, and I'm feeling a little more organized at school.

The distance Claire is willing to walk increases slowly. This weekend she managed about the length of the rug in the living room. She also walks more willingly holding ONE instead of both hands--so we are encouraged that maybe she still won't be crawling when she heads to kindergarten.

Claire's also adding all kinds of new words to her vocabulary. This weekend the refrain seemed to be either "bubble" "duck" or "cracker," but she's also added "nana" (banana) "baby" "Hem" "kitty" "horse" "cow" "home" and several more. When I pick her up after school she goes into these long strings of semi-intelligble words/phrases--just like she's telling me all about what she's been up to for the past few hours. It's fun to see her communicating her ideas to us, and we are working hard on "please" and "thank you" as the next words to learn!

The picture reveals how much Claire is learning by imitation! I think she can move a mouse better than some of her grandparents...ha ha!

Back to School

We were back to school this week. The adjustment was actually harder this year than last year as I have a bit more of a work load and Claire is adjusting to a new daycare. We are still working out the kinks of the schedule allows a balance for all of us for work/play/household chores and so on. Of course Claire caught a cold the first week and has passed it on to all of us, so we are spending a wet/blustery Labor Day trying to recover (although Nate did hunt in the rain for a few hours this morning). We did have a nice day yesterday in the Paradise Valley. We did a short hike in the morning, went to Chico Hot Springs and swam, and then had an early dinner in Livingston. (no pictures--sorry forgot the camera) Claire is STILL not walking--though we can get her to take a few steps between us and sometimes walk holding ONE instead of BOTH hands. Talk about baby steps. Literally.

I never did get a chance to post some of the incredible pictures from Nate's climb to Granite Peak. They actually didn't quite make the summit as a few pitches from the top they determined that having ropes would be prudent. Nonetheless, the terrain and views are spectacular.

Granite Peak behind Nate and his friend Dave.

Some of the views from "Froze to Death Plateau" where they camped before attempting the summit.

Last Day of Summer

It's Friday, the last day of summer break for me. I'm back to school on Monday, and although a week ago I didn't feel ready, I can say I'm looking forward to it by today. We've spent the last week transitioning. I spent two mornings at school, and Claire spent a few hours at daycare. While I still have some anxieties about a slightly different teaching schedule (though I'm still just teaching mornings) and Claire changing daycares, I do feel ready to get back to a regular schedule and have a different kind of interaction each day. Claire seems to be needing some more stimulating interactions with others too. Since we've been back from Washington she seems bored with all her toys, unwilling to play independently, clinging to me, still not walking and not really wanting to crawl either (meaning I spend A LOT of time during the day holding her two hands as we do loops around the house or outside--as seen in this picture from Washington), in short, my patience has been worn thin most days.

Nate left early this morning to climb Granite Peak with two friends. It's the tallest peak in Montana and about a ten mile hike just to set up base camp. When he gets back I'll be sure to post some of the pictures. In the meantime, I might be facing two long days alone until he gets home late Saturday night.+-

Back from Washington

We arrived home Wednesday night after spending two weeks in Washington with my family. It was an action packed visit with plenty of socializing with cousins for Claire. My sister Christine and her family were also visiting from Indiana, so we had the whole Lagerwey clan together. Nate drove over for a long weekend as my parents rented a house on the Olympic Peninsula that was big enough to hold all 12 grandchildren and their parents. We spent time at the beach, hiking, and even got in a mountain bike ride together. Claire has now been on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts this summer! Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting us and all you did to organize the family reunion; we had a terrific visit!

A quick update from Washington

After arriving and finding some cool/rainy weather for a day or two, we've been enjoying some of Washington's best: blue skies, beautiful mountain views, gorgeous water, and a break from the heat of Montana this time of year. We are getting in lots of time with my parents and siblings and their families. Claire is enjoying all the activity--though she did need to catch up on some sleep by yesterday night. After a two hour nap this afternoon, she was back to her cheerful self and ready to mix it up with the whole crew.

Claire with cousins Elly VandenBosch and Jessica Sheeres.

Aunt Chris and her first little pig tail!

Uncle Tim telling her it's been a while since he had one this little.

15 Months Old

Last week Claire reached the 15 month milestone. She's now about 22 1/2 pounds and 30 1/2 inches long...and still not walking, though we are getting closer. We're hoping that while I spend two weeks in Washington starting later this week all her older cousins will inspire her to join the two-footed crowd. Claire's favorite activities at this point are playing outside on the deck/patio with water and scooping up gravel, pushing her little toy dog around on the floor (she loves dogs), reading books, playing with shoes, and climbing on anything. She's developing a vocabulary little by little and does lots of chattering. We are down to one nap a day, though it's usually only about an hour long. Interestingly, as the night progresses she gets happier and happier and goes from her crankiest at about 5 PM to being positively full of it by bedtime, not acting tired at all. We head out to Washington on Thursday, and I'll try to post from there at some point.

Stress-Reliever Weekend

I shouldn't have asked, "What Next?" (see previous post) To culminate our lovely week last week we received a letter from our daycare provider on Friday telling us she was closing as of August 1st. I managed the Lyme disease and rattlesnake without breaking into tears, but this one put me over the edge (thanks mom and dad for providing long-distance shoulders). I am a planner, to put it lightly, so not knowing where our child will go when school starts up again at the end of August was distressing. We had wonderful care for Claire last year in a small, in-home daycare. I was frantic wondering if we'd find a place with an opening, much less a similar situation. Thankfully, it's just for the mornings and not full-time. Yesterday I did find a place for her in a daycare down the street from school which everyone raves about; it's just bigger than we were hoping. I'm sure Claire will love the activity, and now that she's a little older she can add to the bustle herself.

We did need to blow off some steam this weekend. Nate went for a long hike with a friend Saturday, catching some native cutthroat trout in the lake beneath the peak they climbed (see picture above). We took turns fishing on the Madison on Sunday, though my kind husband let me hog most of the time. I got my first post-baby trout! It felt great to just lose myself in the rhythm of the water, thinking about nothing but where a fish might be hanging out and how to get my fly out to it.

First Ticks, Now Snakes, What Next?

For a family who loves the outdoors, Mother Nature isn't loving us back lately. First, when we were out in Massachusetts we found a deer tick embedded in Claire's arm (major Lyme disease area). After consulting with a local pediatrician out there, we were told all we could do was wait to see if any symptoms like a rash, fever, loss of appetite or fatigue developed. Nate and I were both kicking ourselves because we had noticed the tick earlier but didn't recognize it as a tick because it was so small. So, of course, we were watching Claire carefully, and she seemed fine...until Monday night when she didn't eat dinner. Tuesday morning she had a fever and was pretty subdued, so I called the doctor's office (of course my doctor was out so I had to talk to a nurse on call). The doctor felt we should bring her in for an examination where she ruled out any other obvious sources for the fever. After consulting with an infectious disease specialist and a pediatrician they all agreed it was best to play it safe and put Claire on a three week/three time a day course of antibiotics. We're happy to say the fever responded immediately, though Claire still seems a little out of sorts. The doctor says this treatment "should" take care of an exposure to Lyme Disease.

Thus, I spend Tuesday and Wednesday basically holding a sick, fussy child and was hoping to get out this afternoon and take Claire to the county fair for a few hours. We had been playing outside in the morning and I left the garage door open after coming inside to put Claire down for a nap. After she woke up and had lunch, I gathered our belongings and heading out to the garage to load the Subaru. I briefly considered letting Claire crawl down the few steps into the garage as she likes to do but for some reason just decided to keep holding her. Thank Goodness! As I passed the front bumper to get around the car, I saw and heard a coiled rattlesnake about two feet away right in the garage. I know I let out a scream and dashed back inside the house. My next thought was, "What about the dog?" I didn't see him on the porch so I'm worried he's already been bitten and is off licking his wounds somewhere. I'm calling Nate and screaming for the dog at the same time. Hemmie thankfully was just at the entrance to the garage and actually decided to listen for a change, coming directly inside instead of investigating farther. I had to leave a voicemail for Nate, explaining that we were safe, but trapped in the house because there was a rattlesnake in the garage. Nate was just about to take lunch so called me back within minutes and decided right away to come home as we didn't want to NOT know where the rattlesnake was or let him out of the garage to reappear later. (I am now considering the idea of learning at least to shoot something with snake shot.) When he got home, Nate was able to corner the snake and shoot it, and, for a prairie rattler, it was big--about 38 inches long.

We were both shaken thinking about all the worse scenarios that could have happened with a snake and a small child crawling around. We've had snakes on the property before but never this close to the house. I know we are going to be very vigilant about looking at corners and shady spots before taking Claire outside. In both of these situations, scary though they have been, we see how they could have been much worse (i.e. not finding the tick and thus dismissing Claire's fever or having Claire encounter the snake at ground level). Still, when Nate got home I had to ask, "Are you ready to move to a condo in the city yet?" (by the way it's dead in the photo above--don't worry we didn't stop in the middle of the whole situation to take photos for the blog)

We're Back!

We arrived home from almost two weeks on the East Coast late Saturday night. We had a wonderful visit with Nate's family and friends. Claire managed all the transitions well, and while flying with a squirmy 14 month old isn't exactly relaxing, we thankfully were not the family getting dirty looks from the rest of the passengers. In fact, on the way home we had evening flights and Claire fell asleep at the very end of the first flight and slept through the layover and all the way through the second flight, phew! She definitely learned to enjoy being the center of attention on this trip, and I'm afraid coming home with only mom and dad to entertain her will be a bit of an adjustment.



Some highlights of the trip:

--Several days to enjoy the swimming pool and living room full of toys at Nema's house

--Fresh, local produce and delicious meals from Nate's mom's farmstand and garden

--Nate and his dad spent two days striper fishing off Plum Island

--We took a trip to Cape Cod to visit dear friends of Nate, Dick and Linda Colville, and got to enjoy the beach and delicious seafood which we love

--Spending four days in Southern New Hampshire with the whole family, getting in some hiking, swimming, and more amazing meals courtesy of Nate's sister Sarah and her husband Bruce

--Little shopping trips to Keane and Peterborough without Claire : )



In general, we had fun just hanging out with family, watching the cousins play together, taking walks, good food, good conversation...thanks so much Susan, Sarah and Bruce, and Charles for all you did to host such a wonderful trip for us!

Trip to Massachusetts

14 Months Old and Other News

Claire reaches the 14 month mark today. We enjoy seeing her personality develop as she ages. She's still a pretty laid back kid, but we are being to see a bit of a temper when she doesn't get her way or is frustrated. Her vocabulary thus far includes "mama," "papi" (dad), "ni ni" (nite nite), "doggy," "ba ba" (bottle), and, of course, "uh oh." I've experimented a bit with going to one nap a day, but as you can see from the picture on the right, she doesn't seem quite ready for it! Our days don't have much structure right now anyway, so it's probably not the best time to be introducing a new routine.



In other news, we celebrated our fifth anniversary on Saturday by trying Bozeman's newest restaurant "Ted's Montana Grill" (as in Ted Turner who owns a chain of these which specialize in bison and beef but ironically just opened the first one in Montana). We didn't plan enough in advance to arrange for a babysitter, so Claire came along too and loved the bison ribs and steak we ordered. On Sunday we took a day trip to Georgetown Lake (see picture) where we hiked some trails we had skied this winter and Nate got in a mountain bike ride while Claire and I enjoyed some "beach" time (picture reflects a pretty normal Montana beach). We are now anticipating our trip to visit with Nate's family in Massachusetts as we leave on Monday.