One Year Ago...

Well, I don't have any new pictures of Claire to post, so I thought I'd include a few from last year around this time. We were gearing up for the fishing season, hitting the opening of the Madison and Yellowstone Park. I was getting used to my new fly rod--a gift from Nate for earning tenure. We haven't been hitting the rivers the past few weeks, but that doesn't stop me from believing we will be out there again, even this summer with Claire in tow!

Claire had a check-up yesterday. She's up to 8 pounds 5 ounces and has grown an inch, so she's right on track. Some of her newborn sized clothes are already getting small for her. We are looking forward to an upcoming visit from Grandma Norris next week when Claire will get lots of grandma hugs, kisses, and snuggles!

Start of Summer

We had some friends over for a barbecue last night (Jeanette and Kendal with children Devan and Natalie). We enjoyed some nice early summer weather, playing Bocce ball on the lawn and hanging out on the front porch eating ice cream. We are bringing Claire outside a little everyday--trying to foster a love for the outdoors early.

The tarp and posts are in the background because Nate has been busy the past two days building a fence around the front patio to protect some of our plants from the deer and from Hemmie running through the middle of the planting area.

In other news, Claire spent her first night sleeping in her nursery last night. We finally decided her grunts, groans, and squeaks were causing us to be more sleep deprived than we needed to be. She did well, waking at 2:30 and 5:00 for feedings, and we slept a little more as well. At this point we'll take every extra 15 minutes we can get!

One Month Old

Claire is one month old today. I can't believe how fast time has flown. (Of course, the first two weeks were a blur.) She doesn't seem like a newborn anymore; she is a changing baby. It's fun to see how she is developing--staying awake for longer periods, controlling her arms better, watching faces, becoming more aware of her surroundings, and getting ready to smile. She likes sitting in her bouncy chair and "playing"on her jungle gym play mat when she's not eating or sleeping. We are "developing" along with Claire--figuring out how to balance the car seat on all the various shopping carts, how to nurse and change a diaper in the back seat of the car, how to soothe her when she's cranky, and how to prepare and eat a meal while holding a baby. As the cliche goes, "Learning is a life-long process." Claire has just begun, and we are continuing with this new stage in our lives.

Showing off at School

On Friday, I lived up to my promise of bringing Claire in to my Advanced Placement English class. She was quite the little star, and after watching my pregnancy advance since the beginning of the year, the students were excited to meet Claire. Word travelled quickly, and soon she had a whole line of teachers and staff wanting to hold her and ooh and ahh over her. Once she started getting hungry though it was time to leave...I didn't relish the idea of finding a private place to nurse in a high school!

Claire finally surpassed her birth weight yesterday! Yeah! She weighed in at 7 lbs 6 ounces; this means we can stop going in for weight checks and just keep up the one bottle at night supplement. I braved a trip to the grocery store after the doctor's appointment; Claire slept through the whole thing until we got back on the interstate headed home, then she decided to start wailing. I ended up getting off the interstate to feed her since the 30 minute drive home seemed a long time to listen to her cry. Other moms assure me I'll get used to hearing her cry. I can say Nate might do the shopping for a few more weeks (which he is more than willing to do).

On Our Own

Today is our first day on our own without Grandma. Claire treated us to a whole five uninterrupted hours of sleep last night, so I am feeling rested and up to the challenge. Claire missed snuggling in my mom's arms in the morning, but she stayed happy in her bouncy chair during my shower this morning. I've even managed to get a batch of brownies in the oven this morning! (A priority since I seem to be craving chocolate more now than when I was pregnant.)

We have another weight check tomorrow (her three week birthday); we are hoping for lots of ounces!

Mother's Day

I had a memorable first Mother's Day. Of course, I loved that I am, in fact, now a mother, but the day was even more meaningful because my own mother was here to share it with me. We all went to church in the morning. (Claire didn't even make a peep.) Later in the day we enjoyed a turkey dinner, and in the evening we watched some home videos my parents had brought--a walk down memory lane.

My mom has been the real hero of the last few weeks, helping me to bring Claire to doctor's appointments, getting food, going to Target, tackling some spring cleaning jobs around the house, giving us tips on how to diaper, burp, and soothe Claire, and generally keeping me company and keeping me sane. She leaves this afternoon (my siblings are anxious to have her back in Washington for their own grandma time) so we will truly be on our own for the first time since Claire was born. She demonstrated in the past few weeks all the love, generosity, and sacrifice of motherhood once again. Thanks Mom! I love you!