WOW!!!

One morning this week, we woke up and looked at Claire and saw this! She grew teeth! Sorry the photo is a little blurry (Lynn took it). Ok, she really doesn't have teeth. It's left over spit up. She continues to eat a lot and sleep almost as much. 10 hours last night. She can almost out sleep me.

I watched Claire for a couple of days last week while Lynn went into work. It's good bonding time for us. I love how she smiles at me and we have our little conversations. I sing A-B-C-D to her and she smiles and talks - though I can't understand her. I think she recognizes the melody, or she is thinking what I terrible singer I am (more on the latter later).

For those of you who are not aware, today is Canada Day. So as a dual citizen, Claire needs to celebrate this holiday. Hence the t-shirt from Roots (thanks Charlene and Carlos). We got invited to the Canadian Consulate in Atlanta (yes, we are bigshots) for lunch, but a prior commitment precluded us from attending.

In case you are wondering, the prior commitment was a planning meeting for teaching in Italy. Yes, the 3 of us are moving to Italy/Tuscany next year for 5 months (Aug-Dec). We will be staying in a small town called Montepulciano (it's on the map). We will teach from Aug to Nov. Afterwards, we are planning on heading to Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, etc., all the way down to Athens, Greece in time to return home for Christmas. Should be exciting.

July 1 is also an important day for another reason. Claire will finally meet Uncle Paul and Aunt Taya. They arrive tonight and Lynn and Claire are going to the airport to pick them up (I have a hockey game - part of my celebrating Canada Day). I am really looking forward to having them meet the Bear. Today, sadly, is also my last day in my 30s. Yes, tomorrow I turn the big 4-0 (when my dad was 40, I was 13!). Lynn is planning a party and in addition to a margarita/Daiquiri machine, keg o' beer, and plenty of friends, there will be a karoake machine. Fortunately, I sing better after a couple of beers, so I can sing ABCs to Claire and gauge her reaction.

Developmentally, the bear (or "Chubberella" this week) is progressing nicely. She has lept from the 3rd percentile to the 50th percentile for weight. She is almost able to roll over, which means we will have to be extra careful now and can't leave her alone on the diaper changing table. Her hair is started to thin and she has that bald spot on the back of her from lying on her back - she hates being on her stomach. She definitely has Lola Dely's nose. Her eyes are still blue.

Well, if there are any readers out there (other than the grandparents), I hope you heeded my warning about backing up your hard drive. I ended taking my hard drive to a repair/recovery shop. They quoted me $1400 to recover the data. I told them OK. Unfortunately, they were not able to recovery anything because the drive had suffered "severe physical damage". At least they didn't charge me. I am starting to ramble, so I will close here. Until the next posting, raise a glass for me and practice singing.