Season's greetings!

The good news: After logging nearly 100,000 miles on a airplane this year, we are done with traveling for the year! The better news: we have lots of time to spend with the Bear. Last weekend, when Lynn was in Seattle, I took Claire to see santa. First, let me preface this story by saying that for the two week prior, we had been preparing Claire to meet St. Nick. "Santa!, Santa!, Santa!" was all we heard for two weeks. Our neighbor has a life sized santa is his front yard and we would visit Santa daily.

So the moment of truth arrived last Saturday when I took Claire to visit Santa, who made a special trip to our neighborhood clubhouse. We walked in and Claire sees Santa and starts pointing and saying "Santa!". It pretty much went downhill from there, as we approached Santa for the photo op, Claire's grip around me tightened and the waterworks came on. After several minutes of trying to get Claire to sit with Santa, we abandoned the idea. It was a far cry from this! You can see more Santa photos here.

This morning, we needed some family time. So we took Claire to the local bounce house. $7 for the three of us to get in - what a deal! At first Claire was tentative, not wanting to get in/on the various houses/slides. But after a few minutes of mommy and daddy bouncing around, she got into the spirit of it. Her favorite thing by far was the slide. After an hour and a half, mommy and daddy were exhausted. We will send Uncle Paul and Aunt Taya here with Claire when they come next week! More photos from today and a video are located here.

update from lynn

so, it is true. mark is a slacker :). he hasn't updated the blog in forever, so i (lynn) am going to try.

claire and i have been in florida this week visiting my parents. we have had an absolute blast. we went to the beach (bear is still not a fan of the sand) and saw three dolphins, we swam in the pool every day (bear wasn't keen on it at first, but now we can't get her out of the pool!), we colored and danced and sang and bear followed grampy around like a shadow! photos from our trip can be found here.

we are gearing up for the holidays and will put up our holiday decorations upon our return. bear can "help" this year!

baby #2 has been very active lately and was actually kicking his/her sister last night as bear sat on my lap to watch shrek.

hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving. hug those nearest and dearest to you and send out virtual hugs to those that you can't put your arms physically around.

thanks to all of you for being such important parts of our lives

-lynn and bear

updates...

Ok, ok. I haven't posted anything in nearly 3 weeks. We have been so busy. After returning from Greece, Lynn spent the following weekend in Rome with our friend Suzanne and her mom. They came to Montepulciano for 4 days and also visited Florence and Pisa. the next weekend a former student of mine and his wife came to visit for 2 days. The program wrapped up uneventfully the following week and at 1 am on Nov. 4, we headed to Rome for our flights to Frankfurt and then on to Atlanta. Claire slept on the bus ride to Rome. Once at the airport, Lynn discovered that she was booked the Nov 6 flight from Rome to Frankfurt and the Nov 4 flight from Frankfurt to Atlanta. It took nearly two hours (at 4am in the morning) to sort this out. Claire slept all the way to Frankfurt. On our flight to Atlanta we got a basinette for Claire, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She stayed awake for the first 5 hours and then slept for the last 5 hours in Lynn's arms. Lynn was pretty sore by the time we got to Atlanta.

It took us nearly 90 minutes to clear immigration, customs and security, and then another 90 minutes for Lynn's parents to pick us up. We forgot to call them when we landed. They were staying at our house on their way to Florida, and just left this morning. We certainly enjoyed having them with us and I am sure Claire did too.

It took a couple of days for Claire to get over jetlag, but now she is back on track with respect to her sleeping schedule. I am sure Claire won't remember any of our adventures in Italy, but hopefully this blog will serve as a travelogue for her to read one day. The ladies at her daycare were sad to see her leave - that's them in the photo. It was a great experience for Claire. Overall we had a great time in Italy, but we are not sure if we want to do it again. I was asked to be the director for the Fall 2011 program. It is a lot of work and admittedly Lynn bore then bulk of the parenting. I think it would be more than twice as much work with 2 kids. Plus I would be on call 24/7, dealing with things such as doctor's visits, missing linen, bus schedules, etc.

The day after we returned home, Lynn and I went to the doctor's for an ultrasound. Claire's sibling is healthy and growing. 10 fingers and 10 toes, and no, we don't know the sex of the baby. Claire went to the doctor's the following day for 4 vaccinations and boy did she cry. She was measured at 35 inches, but we didn't think that was right. When we got home we remeasured her and got 33 inches. I think she will end up being 5' 10" when she is older.

On Friday night, I am heading to Chile to present a paper at a conference and will return on Thursday morning. Lynn and Claire are heading to Sarasota on Thursday morning, so we will have breakfast together at the airport. Claire's trip to Florida will be her second last free flight, as after she turns 2, we will have to start paying for her to fly. I think we definitely got our money's worth from free flight for her.

That's been our last 3 weeks in a nutshell. The traveling for us ends in mid January, as the due date approaches. We will have a full house for Christmas and hopefully lots of photos and stories to share with everyone.

-

Weekend in Greece

We went to Athens, Greece this past weekend with 4 students. It was so nice not to eat Italian food for a change. Of course, our one full day in Athens was spent in the rain, but a at least it was not a heavy a downpour as it was in Venice last weekend. We took Claire to the Acropolis to see the ruins, including the Parthenon, but she was asleep as we walked to it. Once we got there, strollers were not permitted, so we got her up (she was craaaaaanky – just like her mom). Fortunately for us, Claire really likes the students who came with us and they like her, so we could pass her off to them for a break. Anyway, some photos of the weekend are here.

Normally I don’t like to ask people for favors, but I am making an exception this time. We have some friends who have been trying to adopt a baby for a while now. They have hearts of gold and will make phenomenal parents. They have a lead on a potential adoption. I am asking for your prayers for them, the baby and the mother of the baby that everything will work out.

Next up, Suzanne and Joanne come to Italy.

Rain, rain, go away...

Another whirlwind weekend. This time Venice was the place and did it ever rain. We stayed in Padua and took the train (30 mins.) to Venice on Saturday. It was sprinkling when we arrived at the train station in Venice, but after boarding the ferry, the sky opened up. We got off the ferry at St. Mark’s square and immediately got drenched. Claire fared a little better as we were using our umbrellas to try to keep her dry. We ducked into the world famous Harry’s bar to wait out the rain and get a bloody Mary - they were $30, so we went back out into the rain – staying dry never cost so much! After an hour, the rain let up and we headed straight for a jewelry store (not my idea). I was never so glad not to have had that Bloody Mary (or ten of them), as I needed the money to pay for Lynn’s jewelry.

Lynn and Claire headed back to Padua after 3-4 hours in Venice so Claire could nap. Lynn said Claire had a meltdown on the train. I stayed in Venice, as the sun came out and I enjoyed a beer overlooking the Grand Canal. By the time I got back to Padua (around 5pm), my clothes were complete dry – it’s amazing what a good beer can do! Saturday night, Claire wouldn’t sleep in her travel cot, so Lynn brought her into our bed. She took up about 50% of the space in the bed, lying sideways. But of course, you don’t wake a sleeping baby, so I made do with my 10%. She was an absolute angel on the four hour bus ride home, playing with several of the girls sitting near us on the bus. On Sunday evening, we got the final grades for our Italian class. There were only 5 students achieving an A+ among the 31 of us taking Italian. Yes, Lynn and I were among those 5.

Some photos of our weekend in Venice and Padua are posted here. Next weekend calls for more rain, this time the setting is Athens, Greece. Stay tuned and stay dry.

Don't you look cute!

Someone got her first haircut today! Yes, it was time for the mullet to go. We were turned down by 2 hair salons, before finding someone brave enough to try to cut Claire's hair. There was only one client in there at the time (getting her hair colored – and she didn't seem to be impressed). As expected Claire was not happy about getting her hair cut. Fortunately for her, the whole ordeal lasted less than 4 minutes. But I must say it turned out pretty good – didn’t think it was possible for my daughter to be any cuter. And the hairdresser didn’t even charge us. She was either really amused or terrified by the longest 4 minutes of her life. Check out the video below.

Last weekend we went to the Almalfi Coast and toured Pompeii and the Isle of Capri. Pompeii, as you remember, sits in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius and was destroyed in 79AD by a huge eruption. Some of the excavations at Pompeii revealed spectacular houses and cobblestone streets complete with ruts made for wagons. The streets were not made for Claire’s stroller, however. Lynn and I spent more time carrying Claire around in her stroller, than actually pushing it.

The following day we took the hydrofoil from Sorrento to Capri. I visited Capri 6 years ago with my mom and brother and found it pricey then. Not much has changed. We were sitting down in the main plaza for lunch, and as I opened the menu to see 20 Euro appetizers ($30USD) listed, Claire lost it and had a meltdown, prompting us to get up and leave (and look for a cheaper restaurant). We did find one restaurant with a great view of the Mediterranean which we decided on. Claire was asleep in her stroller as Lynn and I shared a bottle of water, a side salad and a 10” pizza. After paying $54USD for our filling lunch, we set out to burn off those expensive calories.

The bus ride back to Montepulciano was nearly 5 hours and Claire was a trooper. The only time she cried was when Lynn passed her to me. I have posted some pictures here of our weekend here. Up next, Mark goes to Hungary.

Como stai?

This past weekend we boarded the train and headed north to Lake Como, near the Italian/Swiss border. Sure it sounds romantic, but 6 hours with a kid whose curiosity is quickly becoming insatiable, makes for a long trip. We decided to splurge and stay at a nice hotel. Now 180 Euros a night doesn’t sound like that much, but when you see on your credit card statement that it cost $540 for 2 nights, you start to think differently. We spent Saturday on the boat traveling up the lake to a town called Bellagio – the place after which the casino in Las Vegas is named. After purchasing my beloved amber earrings, it didn’t take long to realize we were in the wrong tax bracket to spend too much more time there. And I still couldn’t find the casino.

So, we headed south to Como were the paupers live and spent the late afternoon window shopping. Claire was great this weekend and we think this was her first time on a boat. The weekend ended all too soon as another 6 hour train ride took us back to our 10 week reality called Montepulciano. Here are some photos of the weekend. On Friday, we head south to the Amlfi coast (Naples, Pompeii, Capri) where I intend to spend a glorious afternoon on the isle of Capri soaking up the sun and suds and teaching Claire how to play quarters. Until then…

When in Rome...

We spent the last weekend in Rome, where the students managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. We did the usual stops (Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s, Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Coliseum. Forum, etc.). She was not her usual cheery self this weekend, maybe because she had to share a room with us, and when she went to bed, one of us had to go to bed as well. We did spend time at Borghese Park, strolling the grounds and letting Claire burn off energy.

Today was another week of daycare. The ladies at daycare say she is adjusting to it and actually enjoys playing, though she cries pretty good when I drop her off and pick her up. Actually, all the kids there do the same thing.

One of joys of living in a small dense city is your neighbors are only feet away. Our neighbor is getting a new roof and the construction workers couldn’t possible make more noise if they tried. This precludes Claire from her afternoon naps. I am not impressed. Claire is an absolute bear when she doesn’t get her afternoon nap.

I also miss having a clothes dryer. We have 2 clothes lines, which we use to dry our laundry. It’s not that bad, but it is 2 stories up. So far we have not dropped anything. I also miss dryer sheets. And a larger washer, as our washer here is tiny. But at least we have a washer, as some students do not. The local Laundromat will wash and dry clothes for 1 Euro per kilogram (2.2 lbs). sounds like a great deal, but then it doesn’t take many clothes to make up 1 kilogram. But they use fabric softener. I also miss good towels. There is nothing quite like using a towel that feels like 40 grit sandpaper. Ok, enough complaining. We are in Italy for heaven sake!

Lynn is doing well. She goes for an ultra sound tomorrow. She is starting to show a little belly – but then I’ve been showing one for years. I posted some pictures from our Rome trip here.

Next weekend we are off to Northern Italy to Lake Como – just the three of us, so it should be a relaxing weekend. Photos to follow!

Daycare and Tomatoes

Well, our time in Italy is 10% over. We have started to get into somewhat of a routine. Claire started daycare on Wednesday. They require a parent to stay for 2 hours a day for the first week, so that the child can get accustomed to the new environment. On day one, Claire hid behind Lynn and cried for 2 hours. On the second day, I took Claire and she fared a little better, venturing away from me and playing with some toys. The daycare then has the parent leave for 30 minutes and return, so the child learns the parent will come back. When I left Claire, she was at the far side of the room, helping one of the teachers rock another kid to sleep (there are 7 kids in daycare, all around Claire’s age). The teacher told me to say “Ciao, Claire” and then leave. Claire heard me talk and started to run over to the door. As I left, she started crying and then all the kids cried. When I returned 30 minutes later, Claire was in the arms of one of the teachers, still sobbing. Monday will be day three of daycare.

Today we went to Florence to visit a museum, the Uffizzi, and Michangelo’s statue, David. At the museum, Claire spent her time running around the corridors, not caring much for the paintings and sculptures - takes after her old man. After lunch we went to see David, an amazing sculpture. She is too young to remember any of this, so I hope one day she can return and see everything again.

Finally, I have a hot stock tip for you. Invest in companies that make tomato sauce. Claire has been eating so many tomatoes, she will single handedly consume all the tomatoes in Tuscany. Prices will rise on tomato products and you will get rich, while her complexion turns red. We are heading to Rome next weekend, but for now, here are some pictures from Florence.

New diggs

We made back to Italy. Claire was a champ as usual. She got her own seat on the flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

As you can see, she slept for part of the flight (4.5 hours out of 9). And Lynn said she slept the whole way on the flight to Rome (we were about 10 rows apart on that flight). After deplaning in Rome, Claire’s stroller was missing, despite handing it to the flight attendant on board the plane to gate check. He told me check the baggage carousel. After waiting about an hour and a half, our luggage finally started to come out, minus the stroller. Another hour in line at the missing baggage counter, we were on our way through customs, sans stroller. I felt bad that we held up the entire group, but we give out the grades at the end of the trip, and no one complained.

A three hour bus ride and we arrived in Montepulciano. Alberto and Heike (our hosts and owners of the school where we are teaching) made sure the three of us were whisked away to our apartment before anyone else. I feared the worst in terms of European apartments, but was pleasantly surprised. Out apartment is absolutely palatial by European terms. A parlor, living room, 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, big kitchen, and most importantly a washing machine (and clothesline outside our second story window). As you know dear reader, from earlier posts, Montepulciano is a very hilly town. Our apartment is near the highest point of the town, which means we walk home uphill. Hopefully I can lose a few pounds in our 10 weeks here. Heike also arranged for a crib for Claire, so we didn’t have to take the pack and play with us. We put Claire down at 6pm and she slept until noon the following day. She was a tired.

Yesterday I went on a tour of the city with the students and ended up at the cell phone store. I got a sim card for Lynn, so you can call her at: Remember we are 6 hours ahead of east coast time. I also went grocery shopping, which was an adventure. Did you know the SKU for bananas (4011) is the same here as it is back home? Anyway I went with a male student and I spent 48 euros on food for the 3 of us. He spent 28 euros on beer, tonic water, Tylenol and toilet paper. Those were the days! Last night we went to dinner with the group at Alberto’s restaurant and Claire gave Alberto a bottle of scotch she picked up at the duty free in Frankfurt. He was very appreciative. And Claire’s stroller was at the restaurant when we arrived for dinner. Things are falling into place.

This weekend is the town’s annual festival of barrel racing, in which each neighborhood pits its team of barrel rollers against the others. I can hear the drums and the church bells right now, summoning people to the piazza grande (main square). The festivities start at noon. I hope Claire is up by then, so she can see this event that she will not remember when she is older.

Lynn is feeling ok, but is tired – she claims my snoring keeps her up, but I know I don’t snore. School starts tomorrow. Italian 1001 at 8:30am every morning! Lynn is teaching Monday afternoons and I teach Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Claire will start daycare next week.

Some photos are here

On the road again...

Well, tomorrow is the big day. We are moving to Italy for 10 weeks! We have been packed for a couple of days now, which is amazing for us. Claire doesn't suspect anything, but the animals know something is up.

Similarly, and despite our repeated telling her, Claire doesn't suspect she is going to be a big sister come next March. Yes, Lynn is almost 13 weeks pregnant. At the ultrasound today we saw the baby wave at us and then stick its finger in its mouth. We will find out the sex of the baby, when it is born. The due date is March 5, the day before Claire's birthday. To the right is a picture of Claire's sibling at 12 weeks, 5 days. Everything looks great.

This afternoon we were at the pharmacy and Claire started to have a little meltdown. Lynn gave her to me and I walked around with her for a while. I spotted the blood pressure machine and sat down to check my BP. Well, Claire hits her head on the machine and starts to cry and walk away. Meanwhile, my arm is stuck in the machine as I am frantically trying to get to Claire. I am still not sure if I was more afraid of Claire hurting herself or Lynn yelling at me. In the end Claire was fine and Lynn was laughing at me. 123 over 80 by the way.

I hope to keep posting on the blog and uploading photos over the next ten weeks.

Ciao!

Colombia Cutie

Last week we packed up and headed for South America. Bogota, Colombia to be exact. We were headed there to do some work for our foundation. Lynn and Claire were fortunate to have Nancy seated across the aisle from them, as I was preoccupado in first class. While Lynn, Nancy and Betsy were busy working, I was looking after Claire. I am guessing it is unusual for a man to push around a stroller in Colombia, as we got several stares. Either that, or people could not believe how beautiful Claire is.

For the weekend we (the four of us and our friends Rudolf, Rose and their child Sergio) drove to a finca (a hotel in the countryside). I should mention that getting to the finca involved driving up the Andes mountains and then down the mountains (about 7 hours) and then another 3-4 hours. Yes, we drove almost 11 hours (one way) to get to the freaking finca.

But the finca was beautiful, complete with a swimming pool. We spent our one full day visiting an amusement park and then drinking beer at the pool in the evening. Claire couldn't go on the rides, but we did take her on a train ride, which featured a band on one of the cars. You can see Claire dancing in the video.

After a long drive back to Bogota and a short sleep (5 hours) we were off to the airport to return home. We got in line to check-in and before they issued boarding passes (but after they took our lugguage), we had to get in-line to have our passports stamped with the tax-exemption stamp. Next it was another line to pay the tax we were just exempted from. Back to the ticket counter to get our boarding passes... next to the immigration line, which was about 45 minutes long, but we used the baby card and walked to the front of the line with Claire. After immigration we got in line for security (X-ray machine), then into another line to have our carry-on inspected. After duty-free it was another line to have our carry-on inspected again, followed by another line to get into the gate area, followed by another line to have our carry-on inspected for a third time. Lastly, we got in line to board the plane. This time Lynn, Nancy, Claire and I all sat in first class. Betsy was in the back of the plane.

We got home in time for me to go play hockey at 10pm. It was the championship game, which we won 6-2. An incredibly long day, with a great finish. Now we have to get ready for going to Italy next week. Away, enjoy the video and some photos posted here.

Futbol

Here she is kicking the soccer ball around in Syracuse. Not bad for a 17 month old, but not as good as her old man. More photos posted here too.

Next week we are off to Bogota, Colombia for work involving our non-profit foundation, the Mango Tree Foundation. Check it out if you have a chance.

Wonderful Week

As an educator, this week was incredible, as Claire's vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds. Both in terms of her comprehension and her speech. I can hold a short conversation with her; granted the topics are limited and the diction is low, but it's just like teaching students at my job. Please, play, bubbles, ball, and froggy are some of the new words the bear learned this week.

Now that a bunch of her teeth came in last week (4 molars!), she is doing much better. She still is a momma's girl though, preferring mom over anyone else - just try and pick her up when mom is present. Today we flew to Syracuse via JFK and Claire was awesome on the flight, sitting (and sleeping) in mom's lap. She also has learned to climb up on the sofa. She is growing up so quick. Tonight, uncle Larry is over and we are watching Finding Nemo for the millionth time, while mom tries to clip the bear's toe nails - good times.

Beach baby? Not!

This week we are off to Maine for our annual vacation. If you recall last year, we missed the last flight of the day and the airline put us up for the night at a “hotel” near the airport. The last flight of the day is the cheapest flight and we got tickets on that flight again. But this year, Lynn called first thing in the morning and got us on the first flight of the day. Not only that, but she managed to get herself and Claire upgraded to first… and left me behind in coach. I see a pattern emerging.

Anyway, last year when we were here, Claire couldn’t even roll over. Now she is running and dancing everywhere. Except for the beach!!! For whatever reason she is scared of the sand. She cries when she gets sand on her hands and looks to Lynn to clean them for her. We got some photos to prove it.

Claire got to meet her newest cousin Brennan (Mark and Erin’s newest addition) who is 7 months old. Claire exclaimed “Baby!” when she first saw Brennan. Overall Claire is the center of addition and loving it here. We will continue to work on the sand thing.

Dancing Bear

We're leaving for Maine on Saturday, but first here is a video of Claire dancing and singing in the living room. Too cute not to pass along. A definite keeper for her wedding (in at least 30 years). It's a long video - no need to watch after 6:00 minutes.

Good times in Canada

Last week we flew to Seattle, enroute to Kamloops for my brother's wedding. Claire did well on the plane (sitting in first class no less). We spent a couple of days in Seatte with our friends Andy and Keely as Claire adjusted to a new time zone. We rented a car that was so stripped down, we were lucky that it had tires. We had to use our feet for brakes a la Fred Flintstone.

Anyway we drove to Kamloops and Claire got to meet some of her cousins for the first time (Sammy and Alex in the picture). My mom's sisters were also in town from various points across the globe and naturally took to Claire. Claire also met her cousin Sophie from LA. Claire was in the wedding party and looked great in her dress, but not a beautiful as Taya (it was her day after all!). She partied with everyone at the reception, until she crashed around 10pm. I am sure we'll have fun getting her back on her normal schedule. Anyway, congratulations to Paul and Taya.

We next drove to Maple Ridge to visit with our friends Andy and Jen and their kids Brendan and Kieran. We spent the day playing in the park and watching Monsters, Inc. Here are some more photos from our awesome trip. Next up, Maine!

Rhode Island Weekend

This weekend we took Claire to Rhode Island for Lynn's cousin Ken's wedding. Claire was pretty good for the flight. She got to meet her second cousin, Alex for the first time, along with great uncle Joe and aunt Kathy, and cousins Ken and Sherri (newlyweds), Julie and Joe (Alex's parents). Of course, grammy and grampy were there along with Uncle Larry and Auntie Char. While Claire was sleeping for the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception, she did get to go to the wedding, albeit viewed from the crying room - we didn't want her to overshadow the bride!.

Sunday morning we found out the our flight back home was canceled. Lynn talked Delta into putting us on another flight in first class. when we got to the airport to check in, Delta gave us $200 for our troubles as well. We got home by 6:30pm and Claire went to sleep without a peep. Around 7:30pm, Lynn kicked her suitcase (accidentally) and broke her toe. We spent the next 2 hours at the hospital. Our neighbor Nick (of Nick and Kristi fame), who had been baby sitting Kayla all weekend at his house, got to babysit Claire tonight. Anyway, here are some photos from Claire's adventure in Rhode Island.

Doctors and Dancing

Today we took Claire in for her 15 month tune up. Everything looked fine under the hood. She is almost 22 lbs and 30.1 inches in height, which places her in the 25th - 50th percentile for height and weight. She also got 3 needles and cried like a baby (but only for a little bit - brave girl!). Trust me, it was more painful for me to watch.

We are busy reading books to Claire everyday. Usually the same 8 or 9 books. So if you feel like sending us a new book to read. please do so - just not Goodnight Moon. Anyway, below are a couple of videos, showing our first dance with Claire, which will no doubt be a hit at her wedding in 30 some odd years from now.

Dances with Dad

Dances with Mom

New Parenting Technique

The other day after dinner, we took Claire upstairs to the media room to let her run around and burn off some energy before bed. Lynn and I end up falling asleep on the couch, only to be awoken on occasion by Claire sticking her face in ours and saying loudly, "Hi!". I am not sure how long we were sleeping, but fortunately the gate to the media room was locked, so she couldn't get too far. We had a good chuckle over that incident.

Today was hot again, so off to the pool we went to work on undoing Claire's farmer's tan. She is getting so brave, walking in waist-deep water. She'll be swimming by the end of summer. Here are more photos from today.

Pool time

Around noon today, we decided to take Claire to the pool. At first we went into the adult pool (5-6ft deep) and Claire wanted nothing to do with it. Granted the water was a little cool. Then we took her over to the kiddie pool and she was a little hesitant at first, but soon ventured up to 5 feet away on her own. She didn't go in past her knees. I think with time she will get use to the water. Fortunately our neighbors Jeremy and Beth were there with their daughter Alexis (3 weeks older than Claire) and they brought toys. We need to gets some pool toys for Claire. Here are some more photos of our time at the pool.

Welcome Maria Jesus Marin Ibanez

I just wanted to share some wonderful news with you. Our good friends in Chile, Jorge and Angeles (we flew down (10 hrs each way) for the weekend to attend their wedding) had a beautiful baby girl on May 20. Jorge and I met 4 years ago in Chile and have worked on research projects together. I asked him if he's enjoying changing diapers and he said, if I can't feed her, I guess I'll clean her.

Calm weekend

We celebrated our tenth anniversary (May 22) this weekend with the arrival of Claire's 7th tooth. Only 13 more to go. She has been drooling like crazy. She has started to do this jig dance thing, which I am trying to capture on video, but she pretends she is a member of riverdance. I guess she is 1/8 Irish after all.

In preparation for Paul and Taya's wedding, we had Claire outside today in a wifebeater t-shirt to try to get rid of her farmer's tan. It's pretty evident, but hopefully a couple of days in the sun and she will darken right up. She is 1/4 Filipino after all.

Closing thoughts on Italy

• Claire's eyes are turning light green from blue. Must be from all the veggies she eats.
• One of the workers at the hotel we stayed at thought Claire was adopted since she "looks Asian". The worker was Filipino.
• One of the guests at the hotel said, "there is no doubt she is your (my) daughter, she looks just like you." She was drinking wine at the time (not Claire, but the guest).
• We arranged daycare for Claire in the fall 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Thursday.
• She is back to being an absolute angel. We are reconsidering our self-imposed ban on foreign travel with her.
• I love this child so much.

We're home!

After a 10 hour flight from Rome, we made it through customs/immigration and Atlanta traffic to arrive home. It was a long day. It was a long trip. I think the whole ignorance is bliss bubble that Claire has allowed us to live in, popped on this trip. First, let me say that she is the best baby in the world and has the best mom in the world. With Claire's jet lag, messed up internal clock, teething, bathing in sinks, sleeping in strange beds, diaper rash, change of diet, change of scenery, Claire cried a lot on this trip. Probably more this week, than in the rest of her life combined. Yes, we were frustrated, but our frustrations melted away with one of her gapped-tooth smiles. Still, we are not foolish enough to try this again, anytime soon - at least not until the end of August - Claire and I will cancel our trip to Bogota in early August. Don't worry, we are still doing our summer domestic travel plans.

Our day back started out great - though we were down to 2 diapers. Lynn bought 22 diapers and some wipes at the airport for 13 euros ($17.55 US). The plane was packed, but we were fortunate that most of the people who sat near us on the plane were either, incredibly understanding because they have kids of their own, or were wearing noise cancelling headphones. Claire watched Finding Nemo about 3 times (all without sound, as she wouldn't keep the headphones on) and would regularly kiss the monitor. She got cranky a few times (gets this from her mom), but her ears really bothered her when we were descending into Atlanta - first time that has happened - a few sucks on her bottle and she was fine.

Anyway, she went to bed at 6:30pm last night and is still down (it's 6:30am right now). Last night at 10pm, I had a hockey game - the championship game no less, but I was just too tired to make it. I found out ths morning that we won in double overtime - darn, I wish I went! Anyway I am rambling because I am tired. A final recap of our week long adventure, next posting.

Montepulciano

Well, today is our last day in Montepulciano. The bear has been a little cranky and her sleep schedule is definitely off. But when we are out and about, she has been great. She is the town's little sweetheart, especially with the students and grandmothers. I think we will have a great 10 weeks here in the fall. We are going to put Claire in daycare in the fall so she can pick up a little Italian - language, that is. We are desparately looking for vegetables for Claire, as her diet has consisted largely of milk, cheese and bread.

Tomorrow we take the train back to Rome and fly home on Tuesday... just in time for Claire to get adjusted to the time zone here. More photos are posted here.

Ciao bebe

Claire managed to sleep about 10 hours last night, a little shy of her usual 12 hours. So, her morning nap was longer - about 3 hours. When she finally woke up around noon, we headed for the Vatican. First we visited the Vatican Museum, with stops at the Sistine Chapel and more importantly, at the Map Gallery. We also went into St. Peter's Basilica. Claire started losing it (after about 3 hours of behaving well) so she went outside with mom and I went up to the top of the Basilica. We concluded our time at the Vatican with some cold beer. Once back in our hotel area, Lynn sought out and found some gelato!!! Anyway, tomorrow we are going to Montepulciano in Tuscany. I'll posted more photos tomorrow, but in the mean time, here are more from today.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who offered to wire us money and help us out of our money predicament. We found an ATM that was willing to give us some money, despite of the fact our ATM cards had expired!

Buongiorno!

We made it to Rome. It was a long trip, but Claire was a real trooper. We call Delta a couple of days ago and reserved a basinette (aka sky cot) for Claire which hooks on to the bulkhead and she can lie down and sleep. But our flight attendent deemed Claire too large for the basinette and refused to give us the basinette - without even trying to see if she would fit! So Claire spent the whole filght either in Lynn's arms (mostly) or my arms (leastly). But so many people told us either a) what a good baby, or b) what a beautiful baby. In walking around in Rome, you don't see kids, which in part is leading to the declining population in Italy.


I think Claire only slept for 3-4 hours on the flight to Rome. I got in about 6 hours and not sure about Lynn (too afraid to ask). We spent about an hour at the airport looking for an ATM to get some euros, but couldn't find one. We got to our hotel and the three of us took a 3-4 hour nap. We continued our quest to find a working ATM, and visited the Colosseum and Forum along the way. A funny thing happened on our way to the forum, we realized that both our ATM cards had expired - Lynn's in Feb and mine in April, and while they both still worked in Atlanta, they didn't in Rome. No wonder we couldn't get any money out. We called our credit union, who turned out to be even more useless than usual. Lynn about had an ATM card from HSBC, but she couldn't remember the PIN and after 5 or 6 tries, the ATM took her card. So, we got about $23 US between us and will be looking for things to do that are free or take credit cards. We'll figure stuff out in the morning when we are not so tired. And i'll post pictures from our outing.



Buona notte

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mother's who read this, happy mother's day. we had a semi-relaxing day. I cooked Lynn breakfast and then we went back to sleep. Got up with Claire around 11am and took Lynn out for lunch at Costco (visit enough food sampling stations and you're full). The bear was great as usual. Here are my girls on the back deck enjoying the sun. If you look carefully, you can see Claire's farmer's tan. I posted some new photos here from today's activities.

On Tuesday, Claire makes her first international trip. We are heading to Italy for 5 days for work. It's a long way to go for only 5 days. I hope she sleeps on the plane. So this will be my excuse for not posting next week.

Walking and talking

Lynn and I are exhausted. This child does not slow down. Walking everywhere, talking all the time. Actually it is a lot of fun. She is really starting to interact with us, even if it means wanting us to read the same book 10 times a day to her.

She is starting to grow taller and her hair is getting a little curl. She is blowing kisses. We are truly blessed to have this little angel for our daughter. Anyway, it has been a while since I have posted new photos, so here are some.

Video updates

Ok, in a weak attempt to compensate for my lack of posting lately, here are a few videos of the bear, who is no longer a baby, but now a toddler!

As some of you may know, when we leave the house, Kayla knocks her bowl over, scattering her food everywhere. It's a pain to find dog food all over the kitchen floor. Now we have a Claire 2000 model to take care of our problem.

Here she is in action. Walking everywhere. No wonder I am tired by the end of the day.

talking and walking

I am amazed and how fast Claire is learning to walk. She is just walking everywhere and fast. You can't turn your head for a second. The other thing is she is a talker. While Lynn likes to talk to me just 5 seconds before I fall asleep, Claire is talking all the time - whether there is someone to listen to her or not. Of course, I have no idea what she is saying.

Today she wanted to Skype with someone, anyone. Around noon, we couldn't find anyone one skype. She was visibly upset. But you should see her reaction when she hears this. She immediately stops whatever she is doing and makes a beeline for the computer.

We decided to take Claire with us when we go to Italy in May. Initially we were a little apprehensive about having her sit in our lap(s) for 10 hours on the flight, but then we figure she is such an easy, happy and carefree baby, that the other passengers around us won't mind. Plus we save about $700 not having to buy her a ticket. It will be a dry-run for our trip to Rome in August, when in addition to the bear, we'll have 30 other babies (students) to look after as well.

the little mimic

a note from lynn:
claire just cracks me up. today at lunch, i was feeding her some hot mac-n-cheese. of course, being the good mother i am, i blew up on it first to cool it down. well, that just made claire howl with laughter. tonight at dinner, i was feeding her some peaches from a spoon (slippery little suckers!) and she blew on them first. what a riot.
claire is now the walking queen. she is fairly steady on her feet and will walk quite a ways before looking for something to grab onto.
two new teeth are coming in on the top, but she still looks like a bit of a snaggletooth with only one front tooth showing (she'll really appreciate that comment in 12 years when she reads this - love you, bear!).
will try and get some pics this weekend of her marching around outside and having a ball.
until then, walk steady.

Easter Pictures and Video

Happy Easter!

Claire and I started the day with pancakes and bacon for breakfast. I am astounded by the amount she eats. After lunch we had an Easter egg hunt on the front lawn. Granted the eggs weren't all that well hidden and the grass posed difficulties for Claire to walk. Of course, a few of the neighbors came out to see Claire in her Easter dress (second video below).

After a quick nap (both Claire and dad), we headed over to the Samson's for ham, mashed potatoes, etc. Claire ate more than the two boys (Zack 8 and Alex 5). While Jason Rich (Dallas, TX) is sure his son Benjamin will be Claire's husband, Wendell (next door neighbor) is sure Alex will be Claire's husband. This will be interesting!

Anyway, you can see more pics here!

Walking around

Easter egg hunt

a mother's love

hi all. i wanted to share a little story with you (and it isn't even mother's day yet!). kayla and i were out walking yesterday and happened upon a mama bird and her 2 baby birds. mama bird was squawking at her 2 babies as they were standing in the road and she wanted them up on the sidewalk. they were so tiny, that i didn't think they would be able to get back up on the curb because it was too high. she saw us and started flapping her wings and making a racket - to distract us from her babies. well, we kept walking and then on our way back, we saw the mama bird again. she was in distress, as her babies (now 3 of them) were in the road. even daddy bird was hollering at the babies. but they were just too tiny and couldn't get up on the sidewalk. so, i went over (with kayla patiently at my side) and picked up two of the baby birds and put them on the sidewalk where mama bird was. i had to stop traffic to get the third one as s/he went running across the road. i scooped him/her up and brought him/her back to the side where mama bird was. these babies were soo incredibly light - maybe 3-4 oz apiece. when i put them on the ground, they were a bit stunned but then toddled away. during this of course, mama bird was absolutely beside herself. imagine how we must have looked to her. gigantic predators coming to harm her babies. well, she went crazy, pretending she had a broken wing, lying down and just squawking like mad. i wanted to her to know that i wasn't going to harm her babies but instead wanted to help. i didn't want the babies to get run over!
i suppose this year, i was affected more deeply by mama bird than i may have been in the past. this mama bird would do ANYTHING for the safety of her babies. we are all the same, you know. all of god's creatures have a special bond between mother and child. now that i am a mother, i too would do anything for the safety of claire. i hope that if i am ever in a similar situation, someone unexpected would secure her safety.
until next posting, show some kindness and love for all god's creatures on this day (easter) and every day. you never know when might need it back.
lynn
p.s. easter pics are coming. mark is going to put them up later today.

What a great baby!

Well, Grammy and grampy left today. I think they enjoyed their time with Claire - I know I enjoyed their time with Claire. We did the quintessential woman thing - shoe shopping. Admittedly, I did buy a pair of sneakers.

She is walking everywhere today! Thank God for baby gates. I think the shoes really help. Her curiousity level is amazing. Nothing is safe anymore. Tomorrow, Lynn is taking Claire to a puppet show at the library. We try to take her out at least every other day, even if it is just to the park.

And in case you have forgotten, Claire turned 13 months old today!

These boots were made for walking...

Well, sufficed to say, baby didn't get a new pair of shoes. In fact, Claire may even up going to a Community college. I am done with Vegas until next March madness.


Claire is walking up to 7-8 steps unaided. She is really working on her balance. She has a new favorite thing to do, open the cardboards and empty them of their contents. Of course, the lack of baby proofing in our house hasn't helped matters. Atleast we have locks on the liquor cupboard and the kitchen sink cupboard.


In terms of eating, Auntie Kim would be proud. Claire doesn't like tomatoes. In fact, she throws them on the floor... along with everything else when Kayla is around. She gets a big kick out of it.


Tomorrow, Grammy and grampy are coming to visit for a few days, on their northern migration back home for the summer.

911 Operator...

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Claire loves to play with my Blackberry, which I lock the keyboard beforehand. Well, the other day, Claire was playing with it and managed to call 911. I hear someone talking on the phone, so i grab it from Claire and find out it's the 911 operator. I meekly apologise and tell the operator, that my kid accidently dialed and that everything is ok.

Anyway, tooth #3 is well on its way out, her mullet continues to grow, and walking is only days away. I am back in Las Vegas this weekend for a conference and boys weekend. Hopefully, I can add to Claire's college fund. Until next week (when I am not paying for the Internet), baby needs a new pair of shoes!

Guess who's starting to walk...

Yup, the bear took 4 steps (unaided) on 3 separate ocassions today. Of course, everytime I got the video camera she wouldn't walk or would sit down. And the slightest of breezes would suffice to knock her over. But she's trying. Suddenly her range is increasing and we'll have to be more diligent about baby proofing - ok, we'll have to start baby proofing the house. Here's a video of her kind of walking - more so in her mother's mind.

Big Girls Don't Cry

well, claire had her 1 yr doctor's appointment on friday. she weighed in at 19lb 13oz and measured 29 1/4 inches. all that means is that we have to wait another week or so to turn her car seat around. while that is true about the car seat, it also means that she is in the 25-50% percentile for weight and 50% percentile for height. we aren't sure that the height measurement was right as claire was pretty cranky at the doc's office and would stay still for the nurse to measure her.
we (okay, i - because mark is away at paul's stag party in vegas) finally got her back on her nap schedule today. claire was having such a great week with visitors (larry, charlene, kimmy, and jocelyn) that she didn't want to miss anything. hopefully the schedule will stick.
claire is still exhibiting some separation anxiety/stranger shyness when i am around. if i walk past her and don't pick her up, she cries. if someone else picks her up and i am there, she cries. while i am flattered, and of course, glad she is capable of forming bonds, i am hoping that this is a relatively short-lived phase.
otherwise, we are well and looking forward to mark's return. we hope he and uncle paul (and the rest of the boys) are having fun in vegas.
until the next posting, double down.
- lynn

Who needs a nap?

Guess who decided that morning naps are no longer required? Yes, since turning one, Claire has decided (unilaterally) that she no longer needs to sleep in the morning. Of course, mom and dad, don't quite see things her way. Her schedule is all out of wack. Yesterday we went for her 1 year photos and without that morning nap, the bear was not very cooperative. We should get the photos in a couple of days. I am not sure if there are any photos without her crying. Anyway, I am heading out of town this weekend, so mom gets to adjust to the bear's new schedule.

On another front, I am sure Claire is only days away from taking her first steps - walking! She is routinely standing on her own, without holding on to anything. I just hope her first steps don't happen this weekend.

Until the next posting, try to get a nap in.

Lordy, Lordy, Guess who turned 1 (and 40)

Guess who turned 1 yesterday. It's hard to believe the bear is one. Where did the year go? Uncle Larry and Auntie Charlene came to town to visit - driving all night from upstate NY's sunshine capital - Syracuse. We had a fun filled day, including a walk to the park, playing on the swing and slide. Around 4:30pm we Skyped Grammy and Grampy, and Lola and they were able to watch the real fun - Claire eating a cupcake. As you can see the cupcake came with sprinkles, which a couple of them made their way into her nose. After a quick clean up, we opened gifts - thank you to everyone for your cards, gifts and well wishes.

Yesterday was also our neighbor Sandy's birthday, albeit not her first birthday, nor her 39th either ;). Today we had lunch with the Tinsley's to celebrate both birthdays. Claire and Sandy were so well behaved. Anyway, below is the video of Claire destroying her cupcake and photos of her first birthday can be found here. Enjoy!

Goodbye Dear Friend

Yesterday we said good-bye to a dear friend. Four weeks short of his 16th birthday, we sent Caesar onward to the great kennel in the sky. His quality of life had been declining for several months with a heart murmur (4 years), back surgery (5 years ago), cancer (3 years ago), deafness (a year ago), going blind, tooth decay, thyroid problems (5 years ago), weakened back leg, falling down stairs, incontinence, and on and on. We knew this day would come, but at the same time never really expected it.

I remember the first time I met Caesar. He was 18 months old and wanted to play fetch. He got the fetch part down, but didn’t want to let go of the ball. I would grab the ball with his teeth gripping on and I would swing him around and around. No wonder he developed teeth problems later in life. He was always part of our lives. In fact he even led Lynn and her dad down the aisle at our wedding – unrehearsed! I remember another time when I took him up to the mountains in Arizona. He got into a creek and was all wet. I didn’t want to put him in my new truck, so I put him in the back. I started driving and glanced in the rear-view mirror to see him standing in the middle of the dirt road about 200 yards back. I often think if I didn’t look in the mirror, I would still be in the mountains looking for him.

Admittedly, we had not been paying much attention to him over the last year with Claire’s arrival. In one of life’s little ironies, most of the attention he did receive was from Claire trying to play with him. Of course, he wanted nothing to do with her. It's too bad Claire will never remember Caesar.

They say a dog’s tail never lies. With Caesar, his tail was his emotional barometer. It was up when he was happy and down when he was sad. I used to get a tennis ball and his tail would go round and round, excited to play. I can’t remember the last time when I saw his tail up.

Our decision was easy to make as it was clear Caesar was struggling. It was far more difficult and emotional to carry out our decision. The night before, we gave him a bath and spent time with him holding and petting him. The drive to the vet was 5 minutes, but I am not sure if it took 5 minutes or 50 minutes. The people at the vet were great. Lynn was able to hold him in her lap as he took his last breaths. After it was over, te vet kindly gave us a few final moments with Caesar…

So, Caesar is now playing with his friends Vinnie, Darwin, Lucky and Murphy – no doubt bossing them around. I know when my time comes, I will get to see him again. And this time I will finally teach him how to drop the ball when we play fetch.

Thank you everyone for your kind notes and words. Here are some pictures of our small brown dog.

Goodbye Caesar, we love you.

Lola's here!!!

Lynn left for Bogota last week and my mom came to visit. It has been wonderful having her here to help out. She just loves Claire and acts silly with her, as evident in the video.

Don't cry over it...

Last week I was in Canada for a few days and didn't have the chance to blog. Now today, Lynn left for Bogota, Colombia. So I called in the reinforcements. My mother (Lola Dely) is here "visiting" while Lynn is away.

This morning was bittersweet for Lynn (and me) because it was the last time she would breast feed Claire. Lynn said she would do it for one year. Next Friday (March 6), Claire turns 1. We still have bags of breast milk in the freezer, but once those are gone, that's it. Claire made the transition to whole milk without any problems. She continues to eat and gain a little a bit of weight - my weight gain is from beer.

I find it a little hard to admit she is almost one year old. The year has gone by so fast. Yet, on ther other hand, I can't imagine/remember what life (read: sleep) was like before her. When I turned 30, I had 4 big life events, namely, finishing my Ph.D., getting married, starting a new job, and buying a house. Now that I am 40, I change diapers - wouldn't trade it for anything (haha, already got my TV).

Last week, Lynn took Claire to the zoo, with Vanessa (a colleague) and her son, Luke. While I was not able to join them, Lynn said Claire laughed and laughed at the meerkats and thought they were so funny. That's one thing I love about her, she laughs everyday.

Another significant change is she is starting to show signs of separation anxiety. When we leave the room and she sees us leave, some times she cries. I guess this is normal at this stage, but it gets old quickly.

Anyway, we are planning an afternoon at the park tomorrow, and I hope to have photos to share with you. So, until then, there is no use crying over it.

I'm back

Ok, I was out of town from Feb 7-15 and didn't get a chance to post anything. My guilt was somewhat bearable until Connie from Canada, sent Lynn an email asking what was my deal for not posting in awhile. So, here is a shout out to Connie. Here is an article worth your while to read about Canada. Have I mentioned that Claire is also a Canadian?

So I am traveling last week - something I like less and less. Yes I missed my baby and wife, but we were able to Skype everyday. What a difference a week makes. Claire is now standing without using her hands to support her. Granted it is only for 3-4 seconds and I am sure she is not even aware she is doing that, but I am sure walking is only 2-3 months away. Crap, the house isn't even "crawl-proof" yet.

She has also started to mimic words we say - we think. Por ejemplo, cuando decimos, "hello", Claire dice "hola". Who knew she would be bilingual? And now (as some of you may have heard), Claire will have the opportunity to become trilingual, as we are moving to Italy in August for 4 months. Lynn and I will be teaching in Tuscany during the fall semester and of course the bear will be along for the ride. She'll be 18 months old when we leave for Italy, so her mind will be like a sponge.

Anyway, I have to install a baby gate in the media room, so until the next posting (this week some time) keep your english-italian dictionary handy.

A week in the life...

Last weekend Grandad came to Atlanta to visit Claire. It was the first time they had met each other. They both were taken with each other. My dad was able to get Claire laughing and laughing, just by waving his hand at her. It was too bad dad was here only for the weekend. Well, they will see each other again in July at my brother's wedding.

On Monday Claire had her second play date with Maggie. Unfortunately I was not able to attend this time, but Lynn said Claire wasn't too sure what to make of another baby playing with her toys. She also was not too keen on having another baby hug her. Maggie is 2 days older than Claire.

The bear's new favorite toy is the telephone. You may be getting a call soon from her - accidentally. When we take the phone away from her, she some times starts to cry. We'll have to nip that in the bud. After a long play date, Claire is ready for a bath. Hope you enjoy the video. You can see more photos too, posted here (scroll to the bottom).

Friends visiting

We had a fun weekend, with our dear friends Kevin and Suzanne from Syracuse. I am sure Claire was the main reason for their visit and not the 100+ inches of snow they have received in Syracuse so far this year. In addition to Lynn and I enjoying K and S's company, we know the bear sure liked having them around. Claire even went so far as to don the same outift as Kevin - or do I have that backwards?

We also visited K and S's friends Greg and Christine in Atlanta. They have a 4 month old boy, Alex. Claire and Alex got along great, but when Alex went down for a nap, Claire wanted nothing to do with that. She went straight down tonight at 6pm, without a peep. She needs her sleep as Grandad (my dad) is in town visiting next weekend.

Anyway, here are some pictures from January. Until the next posting, keep your snow shovels handy.

At the beach

If you remember the posting from July 31, 2008, you recall that I took her to the beach in Maine and she didn't care for the 60F water. So, this afternoon we went to the beach in Florida (Gulf of Mexico side). As you can see, she wasn't overly thrilled this time too. Admittedly, it was a little cool. Hopefully she will fair better this summer when we go to Seattle and Vancouver.

it's been awhile...

Yes, we are alive and doing well. I have started traveling again and school started on Jan. 8. So I have been incredibly busy and the blog pays the price by falling out of date. The bear has been very active as well, crawling every where, checking out everything, put everything into her mouth. Her bottom 2 teeth did come in - that was not a fun week. It appears now that her top two are starting to come in.

Yesterday, we flew to Sarasota, FL to visit grammy and grampy. Claire did ok, considering we sat on the tarmac for an hour, waiting for lugguage to be loaded. And of course, I had to change her diaper once we reached cruising altitude. The only flat surface was the toilet seat lid, on which I was able to get about half of Claire. She is still adjusting to her new surroundings in Sarasota, and as such, does not want to go to sleep - lest she should miss something. It has not been fun for her parents, when she cries and cries when you put her down for a nap. We go home on Tuesday morning.

She has started this new thing of trying to turn/roll over when you are trying to dress her or change her diaper. Sometimes it will take 2 of us to dress her. I hope this is a phase, or she'll end up wearing PJs and a dirty diaper all day. She is getting stronger everyday.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I have been traveling again. I consider myself to be a relatively experienced traveler, but I made the rookie mistake last week of forgeting my camera and other electronic goodies at home. I went to Nicaragua and was unable to Skype with Claire. I was able to see Claire on skype, but couldn't interact with her. I won't be making that mistake again.

Sorry to report I don't have any new pictures to post, but I am sure over the course of the weekend we will take some.

teefies

hi all. it's lynn posting this week as mark is out of the country (great way to start back to work, huh!). just thought i would let you know that claire has finally popped a couple of teeth. guess that singing on christmas eve kind of worked (all i want for christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth...--isn't that better than actually having to listen to me sing!). her two front lower teeth showed up on monday. guess that was what all the congestion was about. they have just barely broken the surface but are definitely there. almost 10 months to the day.
will post pics when you can actually see them.
until then, keep your floss handy...

Happy New Year!!!

Normally on New Year's eve, Lynn and I are hard pressed to stay awake and watch the ball drop in Times Square. So, I figured it was a given that we would be sound asleep by 11pm. We went to our neighbor's Nick and Kristi's for dinner. We put Claire down in her pack and play at N & K's. Around 10:30pm, Claire wakes up and starts talking. Lynn gets her and she stays up with us until 12am!!! I should also note that Claire was sick, with congestion in her nose and chest.

Amazingly, Claire was pretty good on January 1, considering she was sick and her sleeping pattern was out of wack. We took her over to Kelli and Wendell's (next door neighbors) for a wonderful lunch, followed by hockey and football on TV. It was cute watching the boys next door (Zach, 7 and Alex, 5) "look after" Claire. They would put their arm around her as she sat on the floor and would crawl with her as she moved around the livingroom. Of course Wendell, is certain that Claire will end up as his daughter in law. He'll have to wait until she is at least 30.

Today, Claire is still sick, coughing, runny nose, whiny, tired. Hopefully she will sleep today and wake up feeling better.

I am going back to work on Monday. I haven't worked since April 25. That's 8 months. Well, looking after Claire is not what I consider work. Lynn teaches on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we won't need to put Claire in daycare. But it does mean that we will each have to squeeze an entire workweek into 2 days. And we are picking our travel schedule.

Our road to parenthood has been a wonderful adventure this past year. Thanks for joining us along our travels. I hope you, dear reader, will join us this year and see where the road takes us.