Nana has arrived

Glen's mom Lyn arrived on July 1st to spend 5 weeks with us! We had a relaxing 3-day weekend so that she could recover from her jet lag, mostly just shopping and settling in, but we did celebrate 4th of July with a BBQ and fireworks at my parents' house in Kirkland. Jeremy and my dad both bought some cool stuff at the Indian reservation. I wasn't my usual pyro-self this year now that I'm a mom, but I think the men and Gina really enjoyed themselves. I also started back at work this month and that's been good so far. It hasn't been too difficult to leave Claudia because I know she's at home being well taken care of by her Nana.

Neely and I had our 32nd birthday over the weekend. On Saturday we had beautiful weather, so we took a dip in the pool and then that evening Neely planned a dinner with friends to celebrate. After dinner they all went out dancing too, but it was past my bedtime, so I elected to skip that part. On Sunday, we all went to the Mariner's game, which was a ton of fun. It was Lyn and Claudia's first baseball game. And tomorrow is Glen's birthday and he's going to be even older, 34!

Claudia is 3 months old now. She is doing well sitting up with just a little support, as well as standing up on our laps when we hold her under the arms. She is doing better at bath time with Lyn's encouragement and we even got her to dip her feet in the pool this weekend. She likes to blow spit bubbles, coo, and squeal. She's a bit behind on the rolling over, mostly because she hates being on her tummy and I'm not very good about enforcing tummy-time.

Claudia would rather take a nap than shop, just like her dad.


It's hard to catch a smile on camera, but I got a grin.


Mariner's at Safeco field.


So tall. The height chart starts at 24".

Happy Father's Day

Last weekend was Glen's first Father's Day. All he wanted was to watch golf on TV with his little girl and "have a good food day" so that he did! On Saturday we went out to lunch at Azteca (including Aunt Gina) and then I made him Australian meat pie for dinner, which he could hardly eat because he was so stuffed from lunch. Luckily, it was good as left-overs too. On Sunday, the Olson family had a gathering to honor all of the fathers, so that of course was a good food day too because my mom sure can cook.

This last week we've been busy finishing up projects and chores at home in preparation for Nana to arrive and for me to go back to work. I was able to do several more fun outings with my girlfriends, and attend Brenda's bridal shower and Conner's 3rd birthday. Claudia had her first visit to church and was welcomed very warmly by Pastor Rich and the congregation.

Our baby is learning new things every week. She now makes a variety of squeals and reacts to us when we make silly faces at her. She has learned how to get a couple fingers in her mouth -- let the drooling begin! She is most happy in the mornings and everything seems to amuse her. She does get grumpy in the evenings and we can see her struggling with wanting to play, but being too tired. We've got a good bedtime routine down of swaddling and then walking around the dark bedroom while singing songs to her. Yes, I'm singing, don't laugh -- Claudia hasn't figured out yet that I'm tone deaf. We're still struggling with sleep. She wakes us up 1-2 times every night to eat and then she is up in the morning by 6 or 7am.

Dressed up for Father's Day.


Smile!


Nap time.

So big

Claudia had her 2 month appointment and she's now 11 lbs 3 oz and in the 50th percentile for weight and height. She's outgrown all her newborn clothes and most of the 0-3 month ones are getting snug. Her development is right on track. She is able to track objects, she's starting to grasp soft toys, and her neck control to hold up her head is great. We still have lots of smiles and curiosity. She has started to look at herself in the mirror and she really lights up when she sees me and Glen's faces. She also makes cute noises now like "woo" and "ah goo". Her only problem has been constipation, which has been solved with a little prune juice in her bottle, although it kind of makes her poop explode out, so we're working on finding a balance.

We had 29 days straight without rain in Seattle (we tied the record) only to broken by a rain storm overnight, so Claudia and I have had many fun days enjoying the sun. She got a night with grandpa and grandma so that I could attend my friend Alisa's bachelorette party and Glen could go on his boys weekend to Alta Lake for the quadmanthalon (golf, poker, darts, and pool). I'm proud to say (roll my eyes) that Glen won! We also had a kids party at my mom's work (NW pediatrics therapies) so Claudia could meet all her coworkers. We've had lots of help lately, as Neely watched Claudia one night so Glen & I could go on a hot date, and another night, grandpa and grandma watched her again so we could go to a Seattle Sounders game. The only un-fun thing we had to do this week is I had a colonoscopy. It was just a screening and as expected, I got a clean bill of health for another 2 years.

In the Bumbo.


Playing with her whoozit toy.


I forgot to take photos during the game, but here's the band as we were leaving. They tied 3-3, so it was an exciting game with lots of action.


At Ibiza for Alisa's bachelorette. That's Neely, Katherine, and the bride-to-be!

8 weeks old

We've had a super fun couple of weeks and the weather in Seattle has been amazingly beautiful. We went over to Alta Lake with Ryan & Nora and her two boys. The boys really enjoyed the lake and playing with all my mom's toys at the house. The pool at our condo complex opened, so Amanda & I and the girls hung out one hot day and enjoyed the water. Claudia slept poolside in her carseat most of the time (she's not into water yet), but Victoria loved swimming. Another day, Carey and I and our babies walked Greenlake. And another day, I got to meet Melissa Robbins and Melissa Scott's babies because we all went to the zoo! I think Paige (who is 4) had more fun than the babies.

We've been having some adult fun too. I played my first soccer game in 9 months. It was a blast, but I had quite a few sore muscles after that. Glen got the opportunity to go on Jason's boat a couple times and cruise around Lake Union. And we attended our friends Alex & Laura's wedding last Saturday.

Claudia is growing and changing so much. She's now smiling a lot and does this silent giggle. She is holding her head up fairly well now, although still somewhat of a bobble-head, and she can bear weight on her legs to stand up on our laps. She likes to stare at us and focus on objects around her. Also, she loves to swing her right arm and hit toys. Hopefully she will learn how to use her left arm soon.

Alex & Laura's wedding reception.


Trying to steal the spotlight from Alex & Laura with her cuteness.


The bouncy seat is a good place for Claudia to sit while I do chores.


She can whack this ball for about 30 minutes before she tires of it.


She ate too much and fell asleep in the Boppy pillow.

Springtime fun

The weather has been sunny for the last week, so we've been able to get out a lot. We've been to Ravenna Park, Magnuson Park, and Woodland Park Zoo. We got to visit Ellie and her new baby Arielle. Also our friends Pat & Joy threw a party on Sunday so we got another opportunity to show off the baby and hang out with friends.

Claudia is now 6 weeks old and she's learning lots of new tricks. She started "real" smiling, she is getting stronger at holding up her head, she can purse her lips in a little "o", and she's starting to reach for toys, although she can just hit them. She is also getting better at sleeping at night. She's still up every 4 hours, but she is going down easier in the middle of the night and we can see her winding down and getting drowsy in the early evenings.

Chillin' with Dad at home.


Playing with Victoria at Magnuson Park. They have a cool playground.


Her hippie outfit.


At the zoo in front of the flamingos.


Elephant.


Eagles.


At Pat's condo on Queen Anne (thanks Beth for the photo).

1 month old

Claudia had her 1 month appointment today and she's 21 1/2 inches and 9 lbs 15 oz and in the 75th percentile. Wow, we have a 10 pounder on our hands! We've had to move her up to size 1 diapers, but she's still wearing newborn clothes.

Last week was busy with a few more visitors and I finally got organized enough to order baby announcements, so those will be in the mail this week. I'm also back to school with my UW extension class (biomedical regulatory affairs). It's only one evening a week, so a nice break from mommy-land.

This last weekend we went over to Alta Lake again and this time grandpa and grandma came too, so it was a lot of fun. Glen and my mom both had one of their best rounds of golf on Saturday and the weather was perfect, around 80 degrees. Claudia and I enjoyed visiting with friends (Dan, Diane, and the "boys") and neighbors, eating my mom's good cooking, and just playing together.

Bath time and her buddha belly.


She's really attached to her binkie, can you blame her? It's good stuff.


She kept scratching herself, so we tried out these mittens, which she actually liked.

First Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day and Claudia was the big entertainment at our family's celebration. We had a busy day starting with the Breast Cancer Network of Strength 3-mile walk on team Grant Thornton (Neely's work). We joined my mom, auntie Pam, Gina, Neely, and friends Janet and Sara, Scott & their kids (Sara works for GT too). Claudia had lots of helpers to push her stroller. After the walk, we went home and took a nap, and then we met the extended family in Kirkland where my parents hosted a nice dinner and Claudia got to meet more relatives and everyone enjoyed taking turns holding her. I also received some nice gifts for my first Mother's Day.

Claudia is almost a month old now and she is growing and changing every day. She's more lively and alert now, which means more fussing, but also more entertainment! She's able to focus her eyes on things and have more dexterity with her hands including reaching for toys and trying to suck on her fingers, although the binkie is still her favorite. Overall, I think she is a fairly easy baby. Glen can usually get her to sleep for a 3 hour stretch at night, sometimes two times. During the day with me she is usually happy as long as I take her cues and hold and entertain her when she needs it and give her quiet and calm when she needs that. We're able to get out most days for an errand or a walk. I also started attending a moms & newborns group once a week and my friend Amanda and her daughter Victoria (who is almost 2 years old) and I started weekly play dates. And we've had several other friends stop by to meet the little one. Glen started back at work a week ago and so he's learning to function during the day on less sleep.

All snuggled in for nap time.


Sucking her thumb after bath time.


Playing with her hands. I didn't pose her -- she did this herself.


Great Auntie Pam feeding Claudia.