10.08.08 - Happy Half Birthday!

Claire reached the 6 month mark on Wednesday - can you believe we're halfway through her first year? Some of her favorite things at this stage:

• Jumping in her doorway jumper
• Blowing raspberries
• Seeing Daddy when he gets home from work
• Hitting the buttons on her Exersaucer
• Butternut squash
• Oatmeal cereal
• Bathtime with Mommy (except for hair washing)
• "Talking"
• Belly laughs
• Kisses
• When Mommy and Daddy clap and cheer
• Sassy rattle
• Skwish

I think we can now say Claire is officially able to sit up. She could do it for a few seconds at a time, but over the past two days she's had times where she was able to sit for a couple of minutes without assistance. I got a couple of pictures last night - they're a little dark because I was too close to her to use the flash (within arm reach!), but I think they're still cute.

We're also still working on rolling over - she likes it when someone helps her, but doesn't think it's much fun when she's supposed to do it by herself.

We had a busy week. My parents were here from Wednesday to Monday morning. I left on Friday for Miami, and Robert was gone for the weekend for the MS150 from SA to Corpus Christi, so Claire spent the weekend with Nana and Granddaddy. I had so much fun in Miami. It rained the entire time, so we weren't able to spend any time on the beach, but we enjoyed just hanging out. One of the highlights of the weekend was when Hulk Hogan and his girlfriend were seated next to us at lunch. We initially debated on whether he was with his daughter or a girlfriend - apparently we're not the only ones who think there is a resemblance.

After Mom and Dad left, Robert's parents and sister came to spend the day with us. Claire had a great time playing with them!

Coming this weekend - some pictures and a video from Claire's first cereal experience!

Fun at the Gardens

Claire's 25 Week picture with Elephant:

I think she's already learning that she's supposed to smile for the camera - lately I've only had to take a few shots to get a good picture. She starts grinning when the camera comes out. Afterwards, she wanted to compare legs with Elephant - hers definitely have more cute chub.

We've had a busy week doing some shopping to get ready for my interview next week with a local firm (I needed a new suit) and my trip to Miami this weekend for Lindsay D.'s bachelorette party. Robert is riding in the MS150 from SA to Corpus Christi this weekend, so Mom and Dad came to town to watch Claire for the weekend. We spent the morning at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. My favorite part was the "Old Fashioned Garden" that contains many plants that attract butterflies. They were everywhere, and so beautiful.

Claire enjoyed seeing all of the flowers and trees and just being outside. She has really been enjoying walks in her stroller, especially now that she can sit in the "big kid seat" rather than her carrier - she has a much better view. In the second picture, you can get a good look at her two little teeth.

I know I still owe everyone a post about her first experience with solid foods, but here is a recent picture where she was eating cereal. We always plan to give her a bath after spoon-feeding - such a mess, but so precious!

What the “TiFaux” is Watching – Fall ’08

Inspired by Lindsay, I’m doing my version of her regular “What the Tivo is Watching” posts. When we moved to San Antonio we decided to go with AT&T U-Verse, meaning that I had to give up my TiVo since I had an old one that was built in to a DirecTV receiver. Therefore, I’m calling the AT&T DVR “TiFaux.”

Based on the Entertainment Weekly Fall TV Preview issue and what we already regularly watch, this is what is recording. I’ll do an update later on to show what I actually ended up watching on our new gargantuan 50” plasma.

Sunday
Meet the Press
This Week with George Stephanopoulos
The Amazing Race
Mad Men

Monday
Gossip Girl – my guilty pleasure!
How I Met Your Mother
Heroes
Dancing with the Stars
Nightline

Tuesday
Dancing with the Stars Results (fast forward through this one to see who got kicked off)
Nightline

Wednesday
Project Runway
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Nightline
*Would also be watching Friday Night Lights if we still had DirecTV, so that one will wait until the spring.

Thursday
My Name is Earl
Kath & Kim
The Office
30 Rock
Grey's Anatomy
Nightline

Friday
Nightline

Saturday
Football, if anything

We also watch some of Good Morning America, ABC World News, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report regularly, although we don’t have TiFaux set up to record them. So, is there anything I should be watching? I would be watching Friday Night Lights if we had DirecTV, so that one will be on the list come spring when it’s on NBC. I thought Fringe sounded interesting, but I’m trying so hard to drop shows rather than add them! Since I know I watch way too much, I already dropped:

The Hills – Nothing ever happens, and I always feel like I just wasted 30 minutes every time I watch it.
America’s Next Top Model – Watched through the makeover episode. Every season is the same, and it’s getting boring. Plus, Tyra kills me with her campy “acting”, and I don’t think I can take hearing “Smile with your eyes!” one more time!
90210 – Not nearly as good as the original, and there’s only room for one ridiculous teen drama in my schedule (see “Gossip Girls”). :)

Something I need to remember

I just came across this idea in another blog. What an excellent way to record memories of your child, and a great way to get a pick me up!

Week (and a Half) in Review

I almost let two weeks go by without a post - oops! As always, we've found ways to keep busy.

• On the wildlife front, we caught another baby possum and two more raccoons. Ugh. We're SO ready for everything to go away!
• I'm excited that the fall TV season has started! I need to follow Lindsay's lead and do a separate post on what we'll be watching.
• We had more visitors - Robert's grandparents (his mom's side this time) stayed with us last Friday as they made a quick tour to visit some of their grandchildren. We enjoyed visiting and eating our homemade pizza (one of our favorites!) on the patio. Claire had a lot of fun with Great-Grandmommy and Great-Granddad!
• My birthday was Monday, and we celebrated on Saturday with a nice dinner out. On our honeymoon we developed a love for Roy's and have since enjoyed some good meals at their Austin location. Since we haven't found a local babysitter yet, we drove to Austin so that Claire could spend the evening with Robert's mom and we could go out to a kid-free dinner. I got the butterfish, which is my favorite thing on their menu, and Robert got the fish trio, another good choice with salmon, tuna, and butterfish. We also splurged on an appetizer and two desserts - we can't seem to go there and not order one of the chocolate souffles. Claire had a great time with her grandmother - later I will post a video of them playing with a fun new toy.

• Claire tried cereal for the first time on Monday! We have a video and lots of pictures that will be in a separate post. She wasn't too excited about it, but I know she'll enjoy it eventually.
• She's really enjoying her toys now that she can easily grasp them and pull them to her mouth! We've been playing a lot and practicing rolling over (she's almost got tummy to back down, and we're working on back to tummy). We're also practicing sitting up - she can sit in the tripod position (holding one hand out on the floor in front of her to balance) unassisted for a few seconds, and it seems to get longer every day. We clap and cheer when she does it, and she gets entertained and falls over. :)

• She still smiles and laughs all the time, especially when we fake laugh - that really gets her going!
• Finally, a few more cute pictures that I wanted to share:

Playing with Daddy

Enjoying bathtime!

Chair Pictures

Week 23

Sitting pretty in a new outfit (she's just starting to fit into size 3-6 mo. clothes, tiny thing!)

Week 24

Something caught her eye... "I can reach it!"
"Oops!" "Well, now I can get it in my mouth." Pretty smiles!

More Wildlife Encounters

In the past week we had a few more brushes with wildlife in our backyard. First one was:

a SKUNK!

The thing we were most afraid to catch appeared in the trap early last week. It took us a day to figure out what to do. Animal control won't pick up anything other than dogs and cats. I heard about a wildlife rescue group that would come get wild animals, but they said that they've been overwhelmed with requests and don't make house calls anymore, but the lady I spoke with had some tips. Then, I called a couple of pest/wildlife control companies, and they both wanted to charge over $150 to come pick it up. Finally, I called my dad, and he spoke to my uncle who'd had a skunk problem. He used the same technique described by the wildlife rescue group without getting sprayed, so Robert gave it a try.

In case you ever trap a skunk in your backyard, here's what you do:

1. Decide if you want to take it out to the country or just release it where it is. Since we don't have a pick-up, we didn't want to risk having the car or SUV sprayed, so we decided to just let it go in the yard.
2. Get a tarp and hold it up in front of you, covering your feet.
3. Slowly approach the trap.
4. Drape the tarp over the trap.
5. Open the trap and quickly move away.

As Robert was making his way back to the house, I saw the skunk run out and head towards the fence. Success! The rescue group had suggested spraying for bugs (which we'd done once, but did again), sprinkling cayenne pepper on areas where they'd been digging, and soaking rags in ammonia and leaving them around the yard. We sprayed and sprinkled the cayenne. A couple of days later we caught a raccoon (which Robert released out in the country)...

...but nothing since then. Hooray! We've also been leaving the patio lights on to discourage them from approaching the house, and that may be helping as well. On Saturday night we saw a family of raccoons crossing the street near our house. Dang coons. At least it appears they left us alone that night.

When I went out to take a picture of the raccoon, this squirrel apparently felt I was invading his space and kept barking at me. I've got my eye on you, buddy.

22 Weeks

Can you believe that she turned 5 months old last week? Getting so big! She's really enjoying her Bumbo chair now, and we're spending lots of time practicing sitting up and rolling over.

We had a busy week last week. We have a lot more unpacked, although we haven't touched the garage or the stuff that is going upstairs. Plus, we still don't have anything on the walls, but that will be one of the last things to happen.

Claire started "school" on Monday. The teachers really like her, especially the lead teacher. Every time I drop Claire off, she scoops her up and is cuddling with her as I leave. Each day they've commented on how smiley and happy she is!

We also spent some time trying to find a new pediatrician. We were so happy with the one we had in Dallas that we were not excited about the search for a new one. I took Claire in for a preliminary visit today with one we were interested in, and she weighed 13 lbs., 5 oz., so up a little more than a pound since her 4 month check-up a few weeks ago.

I think he will work out. I had heard good things about some of the other doctors in the practice, and something I was looking for was an office where I would feel comfortable if we weren't able to see our usual doctor. He took his time with Claire, and judging from this preliminary visit, I like his philosophies - don't give medicine unless it's absolutely necessary, instructions on feeding, etc. One of the other things we talked about was making our own baby food, which is something I'd already planned on doing. He thinks that if you make it from fresh vegetables/fruits, it makes the transition to table foods much easier since Gerber's version doesn't usually taste the same as fresh. Plus, you can have more variety that what is available in stores. Besides, I just think it seems healthier, not to mention cheaper!

My transfer to the San Antonio Junior League went through last week in time for me to attend the September meeting, and I think I'm really going to enjoy it. An acquaintance that I used to work with at the firm moved to SA a few years ago, and I found out that she is also a member. She saw me almost as soon as I walked in, and I was so happy to see a familiar face. Having someone to talk to and sit with made the meeting much more enjoyable. I was also able to meet some of her friends. The SA League is a little more laid back. I was pleased to find yummy appetizers and a cash bar - something you would never find at a Dallas meeting. There you couldn't even bring in a bottle of water! The transfer program seems to be pretty robust, so I'm excited to get involved. I'm hopeful that I will make some new friends through the League and learn more about the community.

Robert's mom is in the States, and she came to visit over the weekend. We had a fun time and especially enjoyed visiting the Botanical Gardens and the McNay Art Museum. SA has so many places to explore, and I know that we will soon make return visits to both.

A Few Firsts

Claire turned five months old today, and she decided to celebrate with a few firsts!

• On Friday, we saw her first tooth coming in. She's been chewing on everything (teething rings, burp cloths, her fingers, our fingers, etc.) for a few weeks and hadn't been any fussier than usual, so she surprised us. By the next day we realized that another one was coming in beside it, so it shouldn't be long before I can get a picture of her new little teeth. I'm so glad they don't seem to be bothering her too badly!
• Yesterday she rolled over from tummy to back by herself for the first time. She was so surprised! Robert and I were both standing there, so we cheered and clapped for her - she started smiling and seemed pretty proud of herself.
• Today was her first day at her new school. This is the temporary one - our favorite doesn't have an opening for a couple of months, but we wanted to go ahead and start her somewhere so that I can get a job. She had a good day - when I went to pick her up, her teachers said that we "have a beautiful baby" and that she was so good and happy. They kept commenting on how smiley she is. She was having a good time playing with some toys on the floor when I got there, and was overall in a great mood. I'm glad she's going to have an easy adjustment.

Mom and Dad came for a few days last week, and we really enjoyed our time with them. Claire loved the extra attention, especially her walks around the yard with Granddaddy and playing the piano with Nana.

I never posted her chair picture from last week, so here it is. Another to come soon!

A couple more pictures I wanted to share - we recently got her Exersaucer set up, and she really likes looking at all of the toys and bright colors. She's still a little small for it to be comfortable for very long, but I know she'll grow into it soon.

Catching Up

I'll try to cover the highlights of the last couple of weeks - it's been a whirlwind!

• The move went really well. Movers were supposed to come on Wednesday (the 20th) to pack, load on Thursday, and deliver to SA on Friday. They called on Tuesday and said that the driver wanted to pack and load all on Thursday. Something happened, and they ended up switching drivers. We could tell that the new driver wasn't too pleased with the previously assigned guy for making that call, but they managed to get it all done. Both of the crews that packed/loaded and unloaded were very professional. We did have one mishap, but it's repairable, so all in all we were happy with how it went. It was so nice to have someone else pack our stuff, but it has made it more difficult to find things! We've made quite a bit of progress, though, and are happy to be in our new house.

Movers outside our house (no, our stuff did not fill up that semi!)

• The new house is significantly larger (and there are a few things I've been anxious to replace, so we have some new furniture purchases to make. So far, we've purchased (and had delivered) a refrigerator, a TV, and an entertainment center. Pictures to come soon (when everything is a little more in place)! Still on the list: bedside tables for Master, table/chairs for breakfast room, table/chairs for dining room, china cabinet, guest room furniture, new living room furniture (old will go upstairs). First priority is breakfast room and master bedroom - the rest will happen as we have time.
• We closed on the Dallas house!
• Right before we moved in, the previous owner told us something was digging in the mulch, and he thought it was a possum. Robert bought a live animal trap at the hardware store. He set it out on the Friday we moved in, and caught a baby possum on Sunday morning. The bad news is that possums apparently have litters of around 20! On Tuesday morning we found a full grown raccoon who had dug up quite a bit of sod by the patio. Robert's research found that they smell grubs, bugs, etc. and dig up everything to get to them. After a couple of drives out to the country to let the animals go, he's trying some grub killer and hasn't reset the trap yet. We didn't know we were moving into an urban version of Wild Kingdom!

Baby possum

Raccoon

Torn up sod

• Most of last week was spent unpacking and shopping, and on Friday Ma & Bob (Robert's grandparents) came to stay with us before the big 60th anniversary celebration with the whole family in Fredericksburg. We all drove to F-burg on Saturday and stayed in the Fredericksburg Inn through Monday. We had a great time visiting with Robert's uncles and their families. Claire got lots of attention and especially enjoyed getting to nap in a couple of people's arms (including cousin Ashlee).
  
  
  
• Next up - Mom and Dad are coming on Wednesday to see us (meaning Claire :) ). We're all looking forward to seeing them!

New Chair Pictures and Stats

This is the first chance I've had to post Claire's 19 and 20 week pictures in her chair - things are finally starting to settle down a bit.

19 Weeks (Last ones in our old house!)

She's such a happy baby - she smiles easily and has started to laugh. It doesn't happen very often, but you can't help joining her when she does - such a joyful noise!

Two of her favorite things - sucking her fingers and grabbing her toes

That week she had her 4 month Well Baby check-up. She weighed 12 pounds (20th percentile), measured 23 3/4 inches (45th percentile), and appears to be in perfect health and developing on schedule.

20 Weeks (In her new room)

She's decided that she likes to try and eat Elephant.

Almost got it...

there!

Caught!

So many updates...

...so little time! We didn't get internet access set up until late Monday afternoon, and then it went out Thursday morning. It was repaired on Friday morning, but with all of the unpacking, shopping for the house, taking care of Claire, etc. I haven't had time to go through pictures or sit down to write a post. We're headed out of town to Fredericksburg to celebrate Robert's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary, but I will try to catch up when we return - and post new pictures of Claire!

We Arrived

I am hijacking the blog to let everyone know we have safely moved to San Antonio. We'll post more next week when we have Internet access at home!

Robert

It Finally Fits!

One of my first lessons as a new mom was that you should pack a coming home outfit in a Newborn size rather than in a 0-3 Month size. Yes, there is a difference, and I didn't realize it until I got Claire into her outfit to bring her home. Her little 0-3 Month romper completely swallowed her - notice the rolled up sleeves and pants legs (I also learned that caps had different sizes, and that you can't just buy one from the baby section and expect it to fit!).

A couple of days ago I realized that I hadn't dressed her in that outfit since and that it would probably be great for sleeping in. I almost waited too long - now at 4 months, it fits her perfectly, and the legs are almost too short!


It's fun to see such tangible evidence of her growth. Her 4 month appointment with the pediatrician is on Wednesday, so I'll be able to share updated stats then.

Claire's Story

Claire has a story that she wanted me to share with you (hit the play button below).

18 Weeks

We took this picture right before her morning nap as we were dashing out the door to San Antonio. She was pretty sleepy, but managed to perk up enough to give us a smile.

The medicine she is taking for the ear infection is working - she was quickly acting like her usual happy, energetic self again within a couple of days. Nana came on Monday to ride with Claire and me to San Antonio and watch Claire while we were at the closing for the house and while I visited a few day care options. The night before closing, Robert and I went over to the house to meet with the sellers. They wanted us to have a chance to ask any questions and to tell us a few things about the house. They are so nice and helpful, and we really enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with them. We also found out that they will be able to move out a week earlier than expected, and our movers were able to move up our spot on their schedule, so we will be able to all be together again very soon.

I also found a day care that I really like for Claire. They don't have any availability until November, but I found another place that will be good until our first choice has an opening. The differences among centers is striking. I'm so thankful that we can afford the very best center and don't feel like we have to settle because of finances.

Claire was "talking" up a storm today. All of her little syllables and sounds are so precious!

First Ear Infection :(

Claire has her first ear infection - poor baby. She's had a runny nose and congestion for over a week, but it hadn't seemed like it was really bothering her until yesterday morning. We were having to really coax her to eat, and then she would only take 2-3 ounces where she normally takes 5 each time. Then she started getting really fussy - crying every time one of us put her down. We were planning to all go to San Antonio in the early afternoon, so I stayed busy packing while Robert consoled her and then got her down for a long nap. We woke her up a little before we were planning to leave and realized she was really hot, so we took her temperature - 102.6!

My pediatrician has a nurse advice line that is always staffed, so I called. The nurse listened to the symptoms and asked some questions. She didn't think that we need to worry, but said that anytime a 3-6 month old has a fever over 102 they should be seen by a doctor, so she told us to go to the urgent care center at Childrens' Hospital and that she would call ahead so that we would be in the computer. Since this was our first experience with needing to see a doctor outside of normal hours, I was really happy to learn that we didn't have to go to the ER. The care center is only available by referral, so we didn't have an exceptionally long wait - we were probably there an hour and a half total.

The advice nurse also told us to go ahead and give her some infant Tylenol, and by the time we got to the hospital she was already starting to act like herself again. When the triage nurse took her temperature, we were pleased to find that it was back down in the 98's. The doctor checked her out and said that Claire was in the early stages of an ear infection, and that it was good we went ahead and came in so that she could get started on medication before it got bad. One of her eyes had also started getting really watery and a little goopy, and the doctor said that it was all related. They cleaned out Claire's nose really good and sent us home with a prescription for an antibiotic.

Robert had to go on, so we called Nana (my mom) to see if she could come and then ride with Claire and me to San Antonio on Tuesday (closing for the SA house is Wednesday morning). She was available and happy to come, so we were able to postpone the long car ride for Claire until she felt better. She did pretty good last night. She only woke twice - once for some cuddling, and once to take a full bottle. So glad she got her appetite back! Today she slept more than usual, but was back to her normal happy self when she was awake. I don't think it will be long until she makes a full recovery!

4 Months Old

Sweet Baby Claire is 4 months old today! She is quickly becoming skilled at grabbing her toes and sticking her fingers in her mouth at will. She's also started grabbing one of the toys on her vibrating chair, and it's fun to watch her looking at it intently before reaching for it.

On the house front, we got the list of repairs from the buyer and are saying "no" to all but one. I understand that she's already making plans for some kitchen remodeling, so she can just add the other things in with that. My agent told them ahead of time that it would be difficult for me to justify spending any money for repairs since the back up offer was higher. Plus, I also just found out that the house appraised (Yay!!!) so that hurdle has been taken care of. More updates as I know something!

House Update

The first person to view the house on Thursday liked it, and we got an offer on Friday! It was a really good offer, too - above list price with us to pay some closing costs, but the difference comes out to basically the list price. Plus she asked for some electrical work, but we put a max on that of $2500. The list price was about 25% above what I paid for the house 6 years ago, so we'll make a nice profit!

The only troubling thing is that she is getting FHA financing, which I'm learning is a real pain for sellers. They have to obtain an FHA appraisal, and if the appraisal is lower than the offer (including the additional amount for closing costs), they won't finance it. I was already at the high end of the comps, so we're hopeful for a good appraisal.

There were still several other showings over the weekend, and one of those resulted in a back up offer that came in today. So, if it doesn't work out with the first buyer, we already have a contract with another buyer. They offered $3k above list price, didn't ask for anything back for closing costs, and haven't already asked for repairs, so on a net basis, this one is higher than the first. It's nice to have a back up, plus I feel like this gives me more leverage when negotiating repairs from the inspection.

This is turning out to be a good time to be a seller in Lake Highlands. The activity has been so encouraging. If everything works out, we will close at the same time of our move, which is perfect! Please pray that everything will go smoothly.

Who's That Baby?

Yesterday I was holding Claire while I was sitting at the desk. I was supporting her so that she could sit up, and she was looking around (mostly focusing on the wallpaper – she loves all of the shapes and bright colors). I watched as she caught a glimpse of this photo sitting on the desk (one from her newborn photo shoot). She stared at it intently, and then a huge grin slowly spread across her face. She looked around a little more, saw the photo again, and once again slowly broke into a huge grin. She really enjoyed looking at "that baby" – I wonder when she’ll realize that it’s a picture of herself? Her reaction was so entertaining!