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...