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.