Packing

I hate packing. When Bud decided we could have the military move us the last time we moved, I did a happy dance. The thought of not having to pack anything but the few things we needed to last us a week made me oh so happy. I have been dreading packing for this trip home, because not only do I have to pack for myself, Bud and the dog, now we have a baby. And, that just adds a LOT.

I started packing for Claire last week, and this is what I have accomplished for her so far. I wish I could say that was everything. But, 2 weeks is a long time in baby world....that means a lot of diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets, burp clothes, so on and so forth. And I do realize that I could just pack a few things and do laundry every couple of days, but who wants to do that? Not this girl. I hope to only have to do laundry twice for all of us while we are at my mom's. That would be enough of a Christmas gift...only doing laundry twice in two weeks?!? Fabulous! (I doubt it will happen, but one can wish...)

This is the start of our mess. Bud is easy to pack for. He could pretty much care less what I pack for him as long as he has clean clothes to put on every day. So, he is almost done. I, on the other hand, pack like a typical girl. "What if I need to dress up? What if I need to have comfy clothes? How many layers? How many shoes?" Sigh.

And then there's this gal. You'd think she'd be the easiest to pack for, right?!? Wrong, Bud is easier. We have created an incredibly spoiled dog that is quite particular. (You may have noticed she is laying on her bed and blanket ON the futon mattress...one can't be too comfy!) We have to have the obvious food and water, then bones, and raw hides, and a kong, and peanut butter, and her bed with at least one extra blanket (we wouldn't want to poor fur ball to be cold!), and how could I forget just normal treats.

Oh well. I have 3 more days to get it all done. We are going to pack the car Thursday night so we can head out ASAP when Bud gets home from working and start this loooooooooooooooooooong trip we have ahead of us. Wish me luck!

Pictures

I uploaded a bunch of pictures this afternoon, so thought I would share a bunch of them because, well, she's just so darn cute! :)



We have been meaning to read to Claire since the day we brought her home, but it just hadn't happened yet, and then I was packing the other day and decided to take a break and read and see what she thought. She LOVED it. She stares at the pages and kicks her legs and coos like crazy. It is so great. So, I had Bud get a picture last night when we were reading bedtime stories. I am looking forward to keeping this tradition for many years to come.

Those of you who know me well know that I have a (more than) slight obsession with all things ducks for babies. I bought this pair of jammies and the blankie before I was even pregnant. (Crazy? Slightly.) I knew we were going to be trying in the near future and I just couldn't pass this up, how precious is it?!?

Last Saturday Bud went to play football with some guys in his class, and this is what my girls and I did. :) After Bud got out of bed, I shoved his pillow and blankets all away so Claire could lay next to me and we could chat, and we all ended up falling back asleep.

We have been trying to get Claire to entertain herself for small periods of time, and this works great (for about 5 minutes.) :) Bud's aunt and cousins got this for Claire for my shower, and it is awesome. The colors are so bright and there are so many different things to look at...I think we have more fun with it than she does. :)

Claire enjoyed a hockey game last night with her daddy. :) Her belly was hurting a little bit, so he did this and she immediatly locked eyes with the TV and stopped fussing, it was pretty funny.

Another attempt to teach her to be alone for a bit with out freaking out. She does enjoy this one a lot right now, but it vibrates and sings to her and looks more comfy than the lazy boy, so I don't think she has much to complain about!

This picture is just too cute to not post. Lacey's favorite part of the day is when Bud gets home from work. She is always waiting at the door with her tail wagging so fast her butt shakes...it's about the greatest welcome home he could ask for. Soon enough he will have that and a little girl shouting, "Daddy!"....I can't wait for those days!

And last but not least, our little angel, middle finger and all. :) Think she is trying to tell me she has had enough of the camera flash?!?

Update

Between being back at work and all of our visitors, I have been awful about updating. It only take 5 minutes to update, but, not gonna lie, I would much rather spend my 5 free minutes holding my baby than updating my blog!



Claire is doing very well. She is about the easiest baby I have ever taken care of, thank goodness. Bud and I are scared to find out what our next one will be like with how easy this one is! :) She is about 23 inches and about 12 lbs these days...she is growing like a weed. Her neck is incredibly strong, and she is very alert while she is awake during the day, she loves to look around and stare at different things. She was also very alert last night from about 1:15 to 2:30 AM. :) She is sleeping very well most nights, typically 6-7 hrs. I would attempt to get her on a good schedule since she is such a good sleeper, but I know that will be thrown out the window while we are home for Christmas, so I'm going to wait until after that.



The second weekend of November Bud's mom, Marie was able to come for a long weekend. She was able to be here on her birthday, and Claire loved helping her Grammy celebrate her birthday! The birthday girl's only request was to see the beach, so we spent the afternoon with our toes in the sand.

We also went to the air show in Pensacola to see the Blue Angels...it was VERY cool. I had never seen them before, and it was pretty amazing. Bud got some really great pictures, but I haven't gotten them on the computer yet. Check back for those later this weekend.