Happy Birthday Uncle Ray!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Ray! We love you! This is a special picture, as it is the only one with Claire and her great grandfather. Thanks again Uncle Ray for encouraging us to go visit Sunrise that day. Hope you have a great birthday and a great year!  

Infant Cognition Study

There are many good things about living in a college town: sports, lectures, cultural activities, studies etc. Yes, there is always some researcher that needs subjects and last week I noticed an ad for an infant cognition study in the Psychology Department, so I signed Claire up (more info about the research here: http://bengal.missouri.edu/~luoy/index.shtml). It was pretty interesting. She did a great job, didn't cry at all but I think she was more interested in looking at her pacifier than the pumpkin.

Deep Thoughts

The first picture was taken on our amazing Troutwine trip to Oregon in '07. Notice that Ben and Adam are both in deep thought about something funny, arms up/scratching their heads. This is something Adam does quite often, and I think Uncle Ben is prone to the habit as well. They seem to have inherited the trait from Doc (Grandpa Bob), who is also a head scratcher. Recently we have caught Claire in the act (and I don't think she is itching her cradle cap--coconut oil  seems to have have cured it)!

Daycare pics

Monday again...Mondays are always tough after a great weekend. Its hard to say goodbye to our girl in the morning. Receiving pics from daycare is one thing that helps us ease into the week. Its always good to see Claire smiling in the middle of the day. Here are some recent daycare pics (they look different b/c they were taken using the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone). Happy Monday to you!

Happy Easter!

We had a great time in Liberty this weekend. Claire was pretty fussy, but had some good moments. Of course, I regret not taking more pictures...This first picture is the only picture I took this morning, the Easter bunny (aka Nana and Doc) was/were extremely generous! Claire loved her soft bunny, her Jenny Jump Up, and cute Royals onesies. She is still trying to figure out how to operate the Jenny Jump Up as captured in this lovely, rather unflattering photo. I think she will get the hang of it soon though. We went to church with Nana, Doc, and Aunt Meredith and went to a delicious brunch together before a fuss free drive back to Columbia. I snapped this last pic of C in her little Easter dress before bed. Happy Easter!

Firsts...

Claire had her first (and hopefully last) ear infection this week. She is getting better though and taking her pink, bubblegum flavored amoxicillin like a champ! And she is really excited about spending Easter weekend in KC! 

What Should Claire Wear?

I have to give credit to Chelsie for the title of this post, thanks Chels! So Claire will be baptized on May 15th and we are looking at white dresses for $50 or less...you can spend a LOT of $$$$ on a little white dress but the practical side of me would like to spend $ on a baptism dress. So here are some dresses that I found, we want your feedback! Which dress do you like the most? What should Claire wear? Please see the poll above to vote for your favorite...
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3.

Stuff Claire Likes...

Kicking

Happy Birthday Aunt Mamie!

My Aunt Mary and Claire's Aunt Mamie (not to be confused with Auntie Mame, my sister Mary or Claire's Aunt Mary) is very special to me. I have always looked up to her and love her perspective on life and of course, her style.  Happy Birthday Aunt Mary/Aunt Mamie! We hope you and the boys are having fun in Louisville!! This picture was taken on one of Aunt Mary/Aunt Mamie's weekly trips to visit Claire when I was on maternity leave. We love you!

Stuff Claire Likes...

Taking a bath

Cheeks

Weekend

Does this look comfortable to you? Claire was exhausted after a fun visit from Nancy/Mom/Nana and running errands. She napped in her car seat for over an hour in this position on Sunday afternoon.

 Thanks for visiting and thanks for giving C these cute barrettes! We love you!

Claire's monthly photo shoot rewind

Claire with the hair

In the hospital the nurses started calling her "Claire with the hair". And she hasn't lost any of her beautiful hair since coming home from the hospital, in fact I think it has gotten longer. I love it!  She can easily sport a barrette (for Ella) and also sports a special rat tail in the back. She may be the youngest baby to need a haircut...maybe I should make an appointment now.

Get out the vote!

Weekend

We had a great weekend that included a walk up to Flat Branch for some cold beer on a hot day...the summer-like temperatures (89 degrees) on Sunday set a new record for Columbia. Claire enjoyed the little excursion. She also worked in the yard, helped Adam fix a headlight on his car, went to the farmers market, church, an estate sale, watched college hoops, smiled, laughed and ate a lot.

Firsts...

I'm sure we will document many firsts here on this blog, first words, first tooth, etc. but this is my first time to upload a video. Keri, this one's for you! The Flip video was my favorite Christmas gift (thank you, Nancy and Bob). I think you would like it too (it was super easy even for me to figure out how to upload it to blogger). Enjoy! And thanks for encouraging me to start this blog.

And Baby Makes Three...

Hello! I'm new to blogging...long time lurker/first time poster but thanks to the encouragement of blogging friends here I am. Hopefully this will be a great way to keep family and friends updated on what we are up to, as boring as that might be. My life became a lot more exciting on December  29, 2010 when we welcomed our beautiful daughter Claire into the world. She is now 3 months old, growing bigger each day. When I was pregnant people would often describe this love that you instantly have for your child. I knew I would love her...of that I was certain...but I never imagined how this little girl could make me feel from the moment I held her. Kissed her sweet cheeks. Fed her. Saw her first smile. We love our girl so much! Pic above taken by Jill Bruss (TwoViews Photography).