Motivation

I am trying to run through the list of things I need to remember to do in order to prepare for vacation. Rather than checking things off of my list I keep finding new things that I need to add to it.

- get Disney tickets
- get Claire's birth certificate copied (for proof of age for airline)
- ask Jared to lay out his clothes
- wash swimsuits
- wash Jared's last minute clothes needs
- Take Shelby to the vet (she has a terrible skin allergy and will not quit scratching)
- Make a list of things to be done for Nathaniel (our very gracious house sitter while we are away)
- have Nathaniel over for a tour/instructions
- wash sheets
-

I just realized I should be writing these down on a piece of paper so that I can start checking them off when I do finally get to them...oh and I need to get to work so I will be ready to leave on Friday.

Woohoo! First family vacation as a family of three. So exciting.

I guess the good news is that I am remembering those things now rather than Friday morning or not at all.

Also, I have decided that babies are so cute and adorable because they are so much trouble. If they weren't so sweet and loveable everyone would be pitching them out of their windows because they complicate life so much. I did not imply that I want to pitch Claire out of the window with the previous statement. I am just saying that she makes everything a lot harder, but I love her to pieces and she is worth all the extra trouble. I am saying that it is a good thing she is so cute!

Okay, I am going to get to work on my list. I hope everyone is having a great week.

Packing up...

I am one of those people that likes to be prepared and have a plan. I make checklists and I cross things off. (I am a little bit of a perfectionist and very detail oriented). I might be slightly OCD, but I try not to describe myself as thus. Usually, I start packing for trips several weeks in advance. I like to pack my bag, unpack it and edit it, repack and edit, unpack and edit, repack. I want to make the most efficient use of space and also take along as much as I can without having to take nine hundred bags.

Having a baby has interfered with this pattern in so many ways. Here are just a few examples:

A) I do not have as much free time for all of the packing and unpacking of the bags. Babies are a huge time suck. If you didn't know this let me enlighten you. Claire wakes up around six at which time she is changed and fed. I pump. This is a pattern that will repeat itself every four hours throughout the day (10 am, 2 pm, 6pm, and then again at nine before bedtime) and is about an hour long process when I am home alone. She also has to take at least 2-3 naps - which can take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, or two, or three, or four to get her to take. I also like to (and feel obligated to) play with her for at least 30 min to an hour in between feedings, changing, and nap times. On a good day Claire takes one long hour to two hour nap. This is my magic time. Usually, I can only get my bag packed or unpacked, but not both during a Claire nap. This is my first baby induced obstacle.

B) Babies grow at an alarming rate. Let's say I get my bag packed and ready to go (at least round one of editing anyways - it takes the longest). Can I pack Claire's bag two weeks early? What if she outgrows the outfits or diapers I have packed for her? This is an obstacle I have not figured out yet...so Claire's bag has to wait until the week of the trip to be packed - which gives me anxiety and causes me to feel overwhelmed. (Yes I understand that this Type A, worry wart behavior could send me to an early grave, but what can I do about it?) If I have more than one or two things left to accomplish by a few days before the trip...you better just look out!

C) Babies need SO much stuff. Jared and I recently took a weekend trip to Little Rock (three hours away). We had the entire Subaru packed with items that we needed for the baby - a bassinet, diapers, changes of clothes, a blanket to lay her on, diaper bag, first aid kit for emergencies, bottles, nipples, pacis, loveys, etc. We are flying to Orlando for eight days. How on earth am I going to fit all of the things that I need and that the baby needs into one carry-on suitcase and a personal item?!?!? The baby's bag and my pump are already two carry-on items. : /

Let me just tell you that my brain is already on overload trying to plan out the logistics of this trip...and I have (only) two weeks left to worry about it/figure it all out.

Luckily one of my defense mechanisms is that I am totally capable of forgetting about all the things I need to do for short periods of time. Unfortunately, at some point I will have to think about it and start getting something done. Wish me luck!

P.S. I am super excited about the trip and I cannot wait to go. In fact one of the ways I get amped up about a trip is by making a list of the outfits I will wear each day and what we need to pack. I think packing is my way of showing how excited about a trip I am. The bigger and more exciting the trip...the sooner I start preparing/packing.

P.P.S. I made my packing list for this trip two weeks ago. ; )

Happy Fourth of July

Jared and I had a pretty laid back Fourth of July weekend.
 
On Sunday we went to church and left Claire in the nursery for the first time. I didn't like it very much. Jared had to let me hold the pager (in case she needed us) the whole time. I also tried to go and check on her once, but they have these safety doors that automatically lock until the end of the service -- which I fully support in theory, but they were keeping ME from my baby -- so I couldn't get in to see her. The nursery never paged us and she was asleep and being rocked when I went to pick her up. I am sure she was fine, but I am not sure I was. I think we might wait a few more weeks months before we take her back to the nursery. 

Sunday evening we had dinner with my parents and Jared's parents at the Wright compound. The food was good and it was fun having all the grandparents together with Claire. We also went swimming. Claire is so stinking cute in her little bathing suit and floaty. I also made a festive cake for the occasion.

We did buy some fireworks to set off on our way home from dinner, but it was late when we got home, so we decided to wait to set them off until the actual fourth.

On Monday we cleaned the house all morning because Jared had invited some guys over, but it ended up that no one could come and we just laid around (playing Dragon Age II and working on the blog) for most of the afternoon. It was a nice relaxing day as a family. Around 8:45 pm we took Claire outside and started setting off some of our fireworks. She seemed surprised about the noises, but she didn't ever get upset or cry. She was fascinated by the lights and flashes. We tried to give her a bottle while setting some off, but she was too distracted and we had to bring her inside to get her to finish and go to bed. Jared and I set off the rest of our fireworks and then called it a night.

(This is not a pic of our fireworks - some of our neighbors had some pretty spectacular fireworks though)

I hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July. Also, thank you, thank you to the men, women, and families that have and continue to sacrifice so much for my and my family's freedoms. I appreciate you more than I could ever put into words.

Claire Videos

Here is the first video footage I got of Claire laughing. 

I was sorting some laundry and she thought it was great.

Claire can scootch across the floor (with some assistance)

This is our first attempt to feed Claire rice cereal. She has gotten better at it, but not much. : )

Cut, cut, cut...

This is a video that Jared and I took when Claire was about two months old. This is also a test run for uploading videos to the old blog. I have some others that I hope to add soon. I hope you enjoy

Bike Ride!

I am hesitant to share this story for fear that I will be judged and called a bad mother (probably my guilty conscience...and because someone will be thinking it), but it is exciting news, so here goes:

A little over a year ago (before we knew about little Claire) Jared got me a new bike for our anniversary. I only got to ride it a handful of times before we found out I was pregnant and that I would have to stop riding the bike - I was a big fall risk. Women who are preggo sometimes lose their balance easily. Anyhow, I have not been able to ride my "new" bike for a long while...so, Jared and I took Claire for her first bike ride. No we do not have a bike seat, or a trailer thingy. She rode in a front carrier that Jared was wearing. I think the reason I feel so bad is because Jared and I both had helmets on and poor little Claire did not. I worried about her the entire ride, but I think she really enjoyed it. She was smiling and looking around at everything. I have read a few articles about when and how to take your baby for their first bike ride and the way we did it was not in the suggestions. Oh well...fortunately we all made it home safely. The only casualty is/are my thighs...they were burning by the end of the ride and will probably be very sore tomorrow.

I can't wait to get Claire a little bike seat and take her for many more bike rides. : )