from the field

i usually don't post here as this is really mark's blog. but i wanted to share with all of you (and mark, too) claire's most recent accomplishment. it may seem small to some of you, but at 4am there is nothing small about waking up to a screaming baby who managed to roll over onto her tummy and not be able to roll back. as mark noted, claire worked on rolling from her tummy to her back this week (thanks, lori!). she is quite proficient at it. but, what was more amazing was this morning when i went in to check on claire while she was napping and found this (see above). so, it now appears that claire can both roll over completely and also be okay sleeping on her side/tummy.

we miss daddy (a.k.a. mark) a lot and send him lots of love and prayers for a safe trip every day. we know we only have 6 more days until we get real hugs from him. we can hardly wait.

otherwise, things are going well (i labeled this entry "from the field" and although mark is out in the field doing fieldwork - yes, really that is the term - we are also "in the field" - that is, claire's field). our friends and neighbors have been checking in on us (the estes, the mcdermotts, the samsons, and the skibinskis from NY), feeding us (thanks, tinsleys), and mowing our lawn (thanks, robbie). claire did really well with two babysitters this week (thanks ann and lori!!) while i went in for departmental and school meetings. and, we spend quite a bit of time enjoying the sunshine and breezes on our front porch.

today, we are expecting the rich family to visit. talk about good friends - they are stopping in atlanta on the way home to dallas (driving). did i mention that they were coming from florida! not exactly on the way, but very very much appreciated. this will be the first time andrew, caroline and jason get to meet claire. benjamin and kim have already been to see her (see previous posts). we can hardly wait until they get here!

UPDATE: unforunately, the rich clan couldn't join us as they are sadly passing around a nasty stomach bug and decided it would be prudent to head home. while we are disappointed, we totally understand and send healthy vibes to everyone. we'll see them in september when we make our annual trek to dallas for birthday parties.

thanks for indulging me!