++New look++

I thought it was time to add Claire into the mix. Like it? Now maybe I should work on updating that family shot next. It's only about 18 months old.

++Our Little Girl++

I can't believe she's two months old already. The time has gone by so fast. It's so cliche but I really can't imagine life without her now. I'm hoping I don't regret writing this but she is such a good baby. She doesn't need to be held much (to the point that I have to remind myself to hold her sometimes because I feel guilty ignoring her just because she is happy). She doesn't really cry...just whimpers a little. She has been sleeping well and eating well. What's not to love? She isn't a huge fan of the bottle, but in true Claire fashion it's more of a passive protest where she just doesn't eat much from it, but she doesn't really get mad about it. Right now she's lying under her play gym just kicking and talking.

She loves her swing. Or maybe it's me who loves it. It's right in our family room so most of the time it's where I plop her if I need a free hand.

This photo is a little old (we're in shorts here these days) but I wanted to photograph her in her hand knit glory. I'm still working on finishing up that sweater I posted the picture of way back when. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

She still is working on her neck control. This is her mustering all her might to lift it up this far. We put her on tummy time daily. She spends most of the time face down on the floor...but doesn't complain about it until about five minutes have passed.

Just looking at this makes me smile back. I read somewhere that you can tell social smiles because they smile with their whole faces. This certainly applies to miss Claire. I love how the nose crinkles up too. This is a face I never want to forget!

And one more for good measure. Can you tell I'm smitten?

UPDATE: We went to the doctor since I originally posted this. Claire weighed in at 11 lbs. 10 oz. A far cry from the 13 lbs. 13 oz. her brother sported at this age. Thank goodness. I'm really hoping to keep my baby looking like a baby for as long as possible.

++Random Jottings++

It's been a while since I have done one of these. I feel like all I have done is recap big events. Believe it or not, day-to-day life does go on.

++Spring is in full effect in Tennessee. This is by far the nicest time of year here. If it wasn't for the frequent rain, which leads to the soggy yard, it would be perfect.

++Claire is now sleeping in her own crib in her own room upstairs. I much prefer it to having her right next to us grunting all night. As part of my weight-loss efforts I moved all the diapering stuff up there too forcing me to climb the stairs all day. Mark isn't so thrilled that this now applies to him too.

++Mark's work threw us a shower this week. Claire wore her very first dress. If you ask me she looked cute and silly all at the same time. It just seems like a lot of fabric. Since we didn't really need anything, we asked for books. We were given some really cute ones as well as a nice gift certificate with which we bought some girly stand-bys: Madeline, Olivia, Beatrix Potter, etc.

++Is it me or are the return policies in stores these days just ridiculous? I tried to exchange a box of diapers that Claire is clearly going to be too big for and because of receipt was "out of date" I had to pay $8. In my eyes it was an even exchange. A box for a box. I guess Babies R Us didn't see it that way. So annoying.

++Wyatt only has ten more days of school before the summer break (but who is counting?) I am really going to miss it---and I think he will too! Mark and I comment frequently about how we thought having one baby was hard. Claire is easy. It's entertaining the toddler that remains the challenge.

++I had my six-week post-baby check-up and am now cleared for exercise (which is humorous because pregnancy seems like a distant memory to me). Claire is also old enough to go to the health club day care. We went once last week but I'm super-excited that we can get back into that routine. All the ladies missed Wyatt. It was fun to go back. I'm enjoying all this stuff until the window closes and Claire will need to nap at home. Maybe I'll resort to exercise videos.

++We now have a cleaning lady. It's fabulous. It even forces us to corral our clutter to make it easier for her to clean. My only wish is that she would use natural products as her stuff is a little strong smelling for me. I'm afraid to ask as I don't want to be "that girl."

++Wyatt learned how to pedal his trike! It's great. Now we can go for walks and he can go on his trike and I don't have to worry about pushing two things at once. The only bad part is that he hasn't quite learned how to pedal and pay attention to where he is going which is dangerous if other kids are around.

++Did you know there are no economies of scale when it comes to buying for two children? Diapers, clothes, shoes...whew! I often think of those people with all those kids and wonder how in the world they do it.

++We are finally done with phase one of our attempted Ipod transition. We are so musically out of it. We have 3 Ipods in this family (two were given to Mark) and we don't use any of them. We finally decided to upload all our music from CDs onto our computer so we could have it on our Ipods. That was a task. We laughed the whole time at our severely out-of-date music collection. Put it this way, when Itunes groups the music, most falls into the category "90s music". So sad.

++This was the scene the emerged from my closet the other day. These are his "tools". Lovely. Can't wait to curl my eyelashes next time.

++I'm working on a photo recap of the last couple of weeks with Claire. Don't think the lack of photos of the little one doesn't mean hundreds weren't taken. Check back soon. Then I should be all caught up...phew!

++Easter Sunday++

Happy Easter! Just a few photos to recap a VERY low-key day for us.

The kiddos awoke to baskets full of goodies. Wyatt was supposed to find his but the Easter Bunny (of the male variety) forgot to hide it before going to bed. Wyatt spotted it right away on the kitchen table. Needless to say he was thrilled to find a street sweeper truck in his basket. He has been asking for one for weeks now. Finding one was no easy task. Note to other parents: Plamobil makes some pretty cool, obscure, construction trucks if you are looking for them. I have been alerted to most of them by my son who has studied that little catalog that comes in the box. As I alluded to before, Wyatt was egg-hunted-out so he didn't really have a lot of interest in finding the eggs in the living room---it would require him to put down his street sweeper truck.

Here is our little one in her Easter outfit. So glad I bought it at a consignment sale for $5 as this will be the only time she wears it.

This was not posed. He really does look at his sister lovingly on a regular basis. He also coughs in her face and other not-so-loving behavior on a regular basis too.
No family photo this year. We had to divide and conquer. This is how most of our time is spent these days. Mom and baby...Dad and Wyatt...

We attended church where Wyatt goes to school. It's a non-denominational church. It was a nice service but very non-Lutheran or Catholic like we are used to. The church thing has been a bit of a struggle for us here. It's on the top of our list of what to solve in our next location. I made a ham for dinner and cinnamon rolls for breakfast to try to make things seem a little special. Other than that it was a quiet day for this family of four.

++Happy Easter++

From our little bunny...
note: more posts to come back-dated below this one so keep reading!
note 2: yes I knit the hat :)
note 3: since I have been remiss in postings, news of her smiles did not get out (gasp!). To be honest, these were some of the best I have seen---in response to my camera. I like this girl!

++Egg Hunting and visitors++

Uncle Matt and Taylor stopped in for a quick visit over their spring break, ending our month of visitors. During their visit Wyatt had his first of four egg hunts. By the time the fourth one rolled around on Easter, he wasn't really interested any more.

Wyatt really had the hang of it this year and was quite successful. I was able to capture the hunt from outside the baseball field using my new zoom lens (fun!)

He was really excited to share his findings with us (and sample them!)

At the egg hunt their was also a petting zoo. Wyatt dragged Uncle Matt all over to see the animals.

Back at home the boys did lots of playing outside (the weather felt tropical to the northerners).

And, Taylor got lots and lots of Claire time.

This almost looks like a family photo if I didn't know better. Funny, now that I think of it, I don't even think we have any pictures of the four of us yet!

Our neighborhood also hosts an annual egg hunt. Wyatt and his buddy Olly had fun tracking down treats.

Wyatt preferred the cookies they were handing out.

They also hunted eggs at school. And, of course there was Easter morning. Wyatt was not at all interested in meeting the Easter Bunny this year. I didn't force the issue like I did with Santa. Maybe next year. As for Claire, she enjoyed the festivities from her stroller...and got plenty of Easter candy via her mother's milk.

++Pretending++

I like to pretend to be a photographer. I'm still learning lots (by trial and error). I need more practice but I don't really have time to do it. I end up switching my camera to the "auto" setting when I know I really need to get a picture as I don't want to risk getting all white or all black (which is what seems to happen). I've been practicing more with Claire though. She's a great subject. She doesn't move.
When L&C came to visit I decided to test out my skills on them. Larson did great---all for the promise of three jelly beans! Cora was even better. She's at that great stage where everything makes her smile. I'm so excited for Claire to get there. I also tried out some new Photoshop "actions" (basically shortcuts that make your pictures look better, or give them a vintage feel, convert to b/w without losing depth, etc.) that I bought with my Christmas money. Again, still learning. Here are a few highlights.

Sure doesn't hurt that I have the cutest niece and nephew ever...does it?