So today was quite a day. I know that this blog is supposed to be about Clare but today was an amazing day overall. To start off and to state simply: I defended my theses statements and earned my Master's Degree today. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work and time. What made it even greater is that Julia and Clare joined me for the ride to Durham and were there when I received the news (further note: major commendations to my advisers to invite then into the room to here the news first hand). So now that I have explained why I am riding on cloud nine, let's talk about Clare.
One: She has rolled over, both ways. She has mastered the belly to back roll and the always complicated back to belly roll. In this process not only did she demonstrate that she is advanced but also that she is 100% an Irish woman like her mother and both of her grandmothers. You see Julia and I had realized that she was very close to rolling over and we did not want to miss this moment. We watched her carefully for three weeks. In addition, we had the camera on her and captured approximately 45 hours of almost roll overs. We even sent the camera with Nana, just in case it happened during the day. Well, it happened during the day. And to prove that she is an independent Irish woman who does what she wants, she did it on the day that we forgot to send the camera and when Daddy would not be coming home until late. So I was lucky enough to catch her fourth or fifth roll over.
Second: Right now I am downstairs drinking wine. Not because I earned my Master's, but because tonight is the first night that Clare will not be sleeping in the bassinet. It was tough on Mommy to send her to the other room. I played tough supportive husband and let her know that she was just next door and she could go look at her if she needed to. The truth is that I am not sure how I am going to do. I am about to go upstairs to a room that is not overwhelmingly white noise and has Clare right there. I'll be honest, I will be heeding my own advice, I'll take my time going to bed and I think I may just have to sneak a peek.
Finally, Clare is just over four months old. If time continues to move this quickly then Clare will be in college in a few days: I CAN'T HANDLE THAT! She is growing so fast and time seems to be in warp speed. I am anxious to be able to take her to her sports games or other functions, I look forward to being able to talk to her. However, I will forever miss these days right now. The days that she can't talk but she knows me when I am in the room and lets everyone know through her eyes and smile. I never understood what being a dad meant. I truly believe that no one can know until they are. I can not express the feeling of have a baby smile because they know you are in the room or having a baby collapse in your chest because that chest is "their" chest. I won't say that there is no feeling like being a dad because I know there are comparable experiences. But I can say that there is no feeling in the world like being recognized as a four month old's dad.
In conclusion, it has been a long, exciting day. I am on cloud nine. Needless to say wine has been involved, I thank you all for reading and your support. I apologize for the typos but hope you may this once understand.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
It's kinda been a while
So yesterday in the mall I received my 100th "When are you going to blog again?" so I decided it was probably time to update you all and make a commitment to you all to blog at least once a week. I would love to be able to update you all on all that has happened since I last posted but let's be real- that is way too much. So instead let me just tell you where we are and we'll go from there.
Clare is now 3 and a half months old. She is almost turning over onto her stomach, she is ridiculously long and strong, she has a wicked cold which makes her cough her self awake at night (which has been great for our sleep). In addition to all of this I believe that she is only a few days away from writing her first thesis, solving complicated mathematical theorems, and performing a series of self written one act plays. OK that is a little bit of hyperbole, but only slightly.
On the serious side, this weekend was her debut performance. She got to play the role of all roles- that of baby Jesus. I am completely serious about that. She and Julia performed in a liturgical dance performance and the church was left without a dry eye- mine included and I had seen the performance a number of times. One lesson that I learned and can be added to the list is that babies make you lose all control over your emotions. I cried, and I couldn't control it and I didn't care. It was a very strange feeling for me. OK I am starting to tear up again so let's move on.
This week is Easter, and what better way to start it off than Clare's first ever Easter Egg Hunt. Clare and I crushed the competition. We found our allotment of 6-8 eggs in record time. I obviously did most of the work, but I couldn't have done it without the careful plans and strategy that Clare laid out for me in her series of coded non-conspicuous coughs, laughs, coos, and farts. I knew exactly what she wanted me to do and we accomplished victory.
Finally, Julia and I have had to deal with the reality that eventually Clare will have to sleep without the swaddle blanket. We decided that we would slowly transition her out of this. Last night we decided we would let one arm free of the swaddle blanket. Now I want all of you to imagine Clare swaddled but with one arm sticking straight out like it is independent from her body. Got that image? Good. Now bask in the creepiness of how it looks and that is exactly what we thought, but you know what? It worked so tonight will be night two of creepy one arm sleeping Clare.
That is all for now but I will leave you with one anecdote and a promise to post again before the end of the week (look for it on Facebook). The other day Clare met her new best friend. Julia was walking around the house with her in her arms. When all of a sudden Clare spotted this new person in the house. She gave the new friend a flirtatious smile and then hide her face. After a few moments she let out a big smile. She reached out her hand to touch hands with her new friend. Then embraced for a bit but then it was time to leave. From time to time we have taken Clare to see her new friend and every time she becomes excited to laugh with this friend and play with her as well. This friend of course is her own image in the mirror. She loves herself. Some may call this vanity, I simply see it as Clare having the same feelings for herself as we all do.
Until next time..... Back to those diapers now.
Clare is now 3 and a half months old. She is almost turning over onto her stomach, she is ridiculously long and strong, she has a wicked cold which makes her cough her self awake at night (which has been great for our sleep). In addition to all of this I believe that she is only a few days away from writing her first thesis, solving complicated mathematical theorems, and performing a series of self written one act plays. OK that is a little bit of hyperbole, but only slightly.
On the serious side, this weekend was her debut performance. She got to play the role of all roles- that of baby Jesus. I am completely serious about that. She and Julia performed in a liturgical dance performance and the church was left without a dry eye- mine included and I had seen the performance a number of times. One lesson that I learned and can be added to the list is that babies make you lose all control over your emotions. I cried, and I couldn't control it and I didn't care. It was a very strange feeling for me. OK I am starting to tear up again so let's move on.
This week is Easter, and what better way to start it off than Clare's first ever Easter Egg Hunt. Clare and I crushed the competition. We found our allotment of 6-8 eggs in record time. I obviously did most of the work, but I couldn't have done it without the careful plans and strategy that Clare laid out for me in her series of coded non-conspicuous coughs, laughs, coos, and farts. I knew exactly what she wanted me to do and we accomplished victory.
Finally, Julia and I have had to deal with the reality that eventually Clare will have to sleep without the swaddle blanket. We decided that we would slowly transition her out of this. Last night we decided we would let one arm free of the swaddle blanket. Now I want all of you to imagine Clare swaddled but with one arm sticking straight out like it is independent from her body. Got that image? Good. Now bask in the creepiness of how it looks and that is exactly what we thought, but you know what? It worked so tonight will be night two of creepy one arm sleeping Clare.
That is all for now but I will leave you with one anecdote and a promise to post again before the end of the week (look for it on Facebook). The other day Clare met her new best friend. Julia was walking around the house with her in her arms. When all of a sudden Clare spotted this new person in the house. She gave the new friend a flirtatious smile and then hide her face. After a few moments she let out a big smile. She reached out her hand to touch hands with her new friend. Then embraced for a bit but then it was time to leave. From time to time we have taken Clare to see her new friend and every time she becomes excited to laugh with this friend and play with her as well. This friend of course is her own image in the mirror. She loves herself. Some may call this vanity, I simply see it as Clare having the same feelings for herself as we all do.
Until next time..... Back to those diapers now.
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