As of March 18th, Jen is 30 weeks pregnant. She's looking a bit plump (in a good way), her mood-swings aren't in tact (thankfully Jen is a pretty good pregnant gal), and we've seen little Baby Brunsman several times on the Ultrasounds (which is always cool!).
For a Christmas present, our roommates, Ian and Anita, gave us a 4D Anatomic Ultrasound appointment.
Here's a picture of the anatomy of our baby. Can you tell what it is?
We're having a boy - due May 27th, 2014!!!
And, before you even get the thought into your head, we're not even going to discuss names, possible names, or recommendations for names. Sorry :-)
This 4D Ultrasound appointment was really stressful for us because (and we're backing up A LOT in the Brunsman story right now), it was through (and during) our appointments with Insight Ultrasound that we learned Claire was going to be born with a defect. Needless to say, we have very visceral feelings towards this place - through no fault of theirs (they were great and, in actuality, we credit them with saving Claire's life - if you're lost, you may need to back up and read the very first post on this blog. The link is HERE).
We didn't know it at the time, but this Christmas present was EXACTLY what we needed in order to find some closure on everything we'd been through during the previous 15 months.
Here's a picture of "The Whole Stinkin' Family" - Baby Boy Brunsman on the Ultrasound Machine, of course :-)
Claire is obviously thrilled, as shown in the picture above. - haha!
Once we entered into the 2nd Trimester, we sent a very early Christmas Letter to our family and friends (if you didn't receive one, we don't have your address), announcing that we are expecting a new baby in May. The letter was funny because it just briefed everyone on the goings-on in our life, and then, on the very last line, it stated, "Oh yeah, we're expecting Baby #2 in May 2014!" Several people outside of the immediate family (family already knew about the pregnancy) responded very excitedly. It was a fun way to make our official announcement.
SETTING UP THE ROOM!
We've finally gotten our bedroom arranged for the Baby Boy Invasion of 2014. Now, we have two cribs, Jen's nightstand is stacked on top of mine, and space is a crucially under-appreciated commodity.
CLAIRE LOVES BALL
Dave has been playing intramural softball through the City of Santa Clarita for about 2 years now. The team he organized through our church, St. Clare's (actually a bit of a coincidence), plays almost every Friday night all year long. Claire comes along to cheer the team on from time to time.
O' HOLY CHRISTMAS, BATMAN!
For Christmas, we wanted to do something special for both Claire and our family. Several people in our family still hadn't met Claire, but more importantly, everyone in the family missed her beautiful Baptism, which we had to do in California because of the impending surgeries. Even though the Baptism ceremony was great, and we received an enormous outpouring of support from our California friends, we always suffered from a slight degree of sadness because our family wasn't able to share in the beauty of this most blessed day in Claire's life.
Our idea was to drive home and organize a (for lack of a better term) "re-baptism," so that our family could enjoy the beauty of the Sacrament.
In Catholicism, we celebrate only one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, so a complete re-baptism wasn't possible, but we were able to, at the advice and guidance of our parish Priest, organize what's referred to as a "Rite of Reception" at a Catholic Church in Lexington, KY. The Rite of Reception is a ceremony that can be arranged and is as close to a 2nd baptism as one can receive. The ceremony was very similar to the original Sacramental celebration. The only missing would be the actual pouring of water over the head (that can only be done once).
On the way to the Midwest, we wanted to camp for a few nights because, after Baby Boy is born, camping is going to be put on hiatus for a while.
DEATH VALLEY, CA - A PLACE TO STAY AWAY FROM
Because we don't like hanging out in 120* weather, the only real time to visit Death Valley is in the winter, when temperatures are in the 40's-70's. Upon learning about our (next National Park) camping intentions, Jen's grandfather responded with, "Death Valley? Now that sounds like a good place to stay away from!"
Death Valley is actually quite beautiful - don't let the name of the National Park fool you. I really hope we can make it back sometime.
Here are a few pictures from Badwater Basin - the lowest point of elevation (-282 Feet) in the United States!
The first picture is a view from the basin. In the middle-top area is a very small white sign which shows how below sea level the basin is. The second picture shows a close-up of the small white sign which shows the sea level, which demonstrates how low below sea level we actually were.
The Badwater Basin is really interesting because these amazing salt crystal formations, which are quite delicate, have formed into polygon-type shapes (you can see the semblance of a polygon on the wide photo above). Here are a few photos of the area (close-ups and wider), so you can see the expanse of the area.
From there, we did a short, yet rugged hike up Natural Bridge Canyon. Here are a few pictures of that area.
Here's a view of Badwater Basin from the Natural Bridge Canyon area (coming down from the hike to the Natural Bridge).
When planning our trip to Death Valley, we didn't really understand how rugged and barren the place was going to be. The trails in Death Valley are much more rigorous (and not as clearly marked) as we've seen in other National Parks (Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, Arches), which makes the hiking all the more difficult.
The problem is that this type of rugged hiking shouldn't really be done with a baby and a pregnant wife.
So, after a half-day of Death Valley, we abandoned our camping plans and left the park - hopefully to return someday. Bust #1
As ill-advised as this trip was, and even though our enjoyment of the park was tampered with, we still managed to get our "traditional" family photo at the entrance sign to the Park - for Claire's National Park Book, of course!
LET'S GET BACK ON THE ROAD
We got back on the road and drove until we couldn't drive anymore, making it all the way to Las Vegas, NV (no, we didn't gamble).
The following morning, we left Las Vegas - destination Denver!
We saw some beautiful mountains driving through Utah en route to Colorado.
And then the snow started. As we were crossing over the Vail Pass (10,662 Elevation), the snow really started coming down and we had to stop at a rest area for a moment. Take a look at the temperature reading on our truck thermometer. That's a negative sign next to that number!
When we got back on the road, driving about 20mph (because the snow was so treacherous), with the radio off (concentrating on driving), we thought, "If we're at over 10,000 Ft. Elevation, how can Denver be referred to as the 'Mile High City?'" We were assuming that Denver would be situated in one of the higher elevations in Colorado - with all of the "chitter-chatter" we hear about it being the Mile High City and all. For the record, Denver's elevation is right at around 5,200 Ft. That answers that question! Denver is the Mile High City.
Our intention was to get up early in the morning to drive through (quickly) Rocky Mountain National Park (I had been there before but Jen had not), but, as a result of the blizzard, all of the roads were closed. Bust #2.
After spending the night in Denver, we hatched an idea. Since we had made up a day of travel by not camping in Death Valley, we were going to be around South Bend, IN on December 24th (Originally, we were intending to be spending Christmas Morning in Des Moines, IA). We thought it'd be a cool idea to go to Christmas Eve Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. And while we are there, perhaps we could get a Notre Dame onesie for Baby Boy Brunsman for his trip home from the Hospital.
Everyone was in agreement that this was a good idea (including Claire (I said "yes" for her) and Peyton (Jen said "yes" for her)), so we decided to drive a bit further than our original destination of Des Moines and to hit Davenport (why is an Iowa city named after a sofa, I ask you?) so that we could get to ND in time for Mass at 5pm.
Claire was given a book called, "My First Notre Dame Words - Go Irish" from a long-time friend, and my childhood babysitter, Beth Scott. The book is adorable and Claire loves it - and she's being brainwashed in ND lore at a very early age, which is also good. Brainwash early and often.
This is a picture of Claire with the book at Christmas 2012 (my, how she's grown!).
Since she's seen drawings of Hesberg Library (a.k.a. "Touchdown Jesus"), The Grotto, The Golden Dome (all sites pictured below (I didn't take the pictures) for those of you who aren't familiar with Notre Dame campus), and other ND landmarks, we thought it'd be cool to walk briefly around campus to show her the real-life places (Claire is extremely bright with reference memory so we were certain that she'd recognize the locations).
Claire is able to identify Mary on the top of the Dome and at the Grotto (the white statue in the center of the photo). She's also able to identify Jesus on the Library.
Back to the Church story, though... The trouble was that the ND webpage stated that Mass was to be celebrated at 5pm. When we arrived at ND at 4pm, a sign on the Church door stated that Mass was to be celebrated at 4pm. OK, that's a little bit of a change of plans, but we can make that work - good timing!
So we sat, and sat, and sat - for one whole hour until 5pm - by which time Claire started getting fussy. So, Mass, while we did attend, was a bit of a bust because of the distractions, and then, by the time church was over, everything was closed. No special ND onesie for Baby Boy Brunsman and no walking around campus to show the landmarks to Claire. Bust #3
The inside of the Church really is beautiful. If you ever have a chance to go - even if you are not Catholic - we both feel that you'd have great appreciation for the wonderful architecture and decor of the sanctuary. We didn't really feel proper taking a ton of photos inside the Church, but we did snap one, which of course, I don't have because I accidentally deleted a ton of photos off of my phone from this trip (this "bust" is listed later). So, here's a few photos for those of you who are interested. Again, I didn't take these photos.
We did also walk (just down the sidewalk from the Church) to the Grotto, and Claire immediately recognized it and she pointed to the statue of Mary (because she loves pointing to Mary in the book). We couldn't snap a picture there because it was too dark outside.
ROAD RAGE
At this point, we'd pretty much missed out on everything we'd planned for our trip TO the Midwest, so I (more than Jen) was beginning to get a bit mad. The tipping point was when we stopped in a gas station to fill up (and to get some coffee). After filling up a cup of coffee, I learned that the lids didn't fit onto the cups. So, I went to the station attendant to inquire about the problem, and he responded with, "I've never heard of this problem before. They fit!"
He continued by explaining to me a step-by-step method of how to put a lid on a coffee cup (I'm not kidding!). Being a smart-aleck, I did exactly what he said to do, in front of him, obviously to no avail. Then I said, "Thank you very much! Have a nice day." Bust #4.
So, just be aware that, if you're ever in a situation where you can't figure out how to place a lid on a cup, a station attendant is more than willing to help with your lid-placing-on-the-cup problems.
We arrived in Fremont, OH later that evening. I wasn't in the best of moods, but it certainly was nice to unpack for a while and to be able to stay in one place for a couple of nights, even if we did have to spend that time with our family - haha.
FREMONT, OH
Claire had a huge time meeting a ton of family members for the first time!
BUT, before she met a bunch of new people, we took the opportunity to re-introduce her to some folks she'd already met. Here's Claire with Great-Grandpa Simon (Jen's Grandpa). Claire really likes Great-Grandpa.
Here's a 4-Generation Photo (Jen, Claire, Lynda (Jen's Mom), and Great-Grandpa). Why do you always have to ruin the photo, Claire? Here's a second one for posterity.
Claire with Jen's cousin, Andrea. The 2nd picture is of Claire with Jen's aunt, Diane (at least half of her). I accidentally deleted a ton of photos from my phone so, I asked everyone in the family to send me their photos and, I guess this is the best one that Diane had of herself with Claire. Way to take a selfie, Di!
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This is Claire with Jen's soon-to-be step-father, Bob. She really likes her crunchy treats (they were a Christmas present)!
And this is Claire with Great-Grandpa Simon again. The guy in the background is Geary (Diane's husband). One of the other tragic losses from my accidental phone pictures deletions was a really good picture of Geary reading to Claire. Just close your eyes and imagine a really cute picture of him reading to her. Priceless!
And finally, here are a few videos for you to enjoy.
Click HERE to see a video of Geary playing with Claire. Two videos in one - Claire really likes Peppermint Ice Cream (who doesn't?) and Geary is happy to oblige.
Click HERE to see Claire playing soccer (or Futbol) with Bob.
OFF TO LEXINGTON!!!
On the 27th, we got back into the truck and headed to Lexington so that we could watch the Notre Dame/Rutgers Bowl Game (which ND won) on Saturday with my Grandfather (the biggest ND fan you'd ever likely meet), followed by the Rite of Reception ceremony for Claire on Sunday.
Here's a photo of Claire watching the Notre Dame game with Great-Gram and Great-Grandad (Dave's Grandparents).
And here are Great-Gram and Great-Grandad enjoying the game a little bit later in the day (it was a really good game).
Here's one of (almost) the entire crew. Sammy (Dave's nephew and Dave and Jen's Godson), Dave, Art (Dave's Mom's new friend), Dave's mom, Phil (Dave's brother), Gram and Grandad, and Grace (with her back to you - Dave's niece.)
This first picture just HAD to be included here. I KNOW that this is going to break a few hearts in Jen's family (which is partly why this photo had to be included - for posterity, you know!). The second photo is of Claire in her new bouncy ball house, courtesy of Aunt Jen (Dave's sister) and Uncle Evan. Of note: The "Senor Frogs" onesie that Claire is wearing is the SAME onesie she came home from the hospital wearing. So, OK, she was swimming in it when we left the hospital, but it's a 6-Month outfit and here, she's 15 Months old and finally fitting into it. She's a dinky little thing.
And this is Claire with Lillian (Phil's daughter) and Grace (Jen's (Dave's sister) daughter). They really had a big time together. There are more "cousins" pictures coming up soon.
This one's just weird and had to be included - Dave's sister, Jen, with her dog, Yogi.
THE RITE OF RECEPTION
Claire's re-baptism was wonderful. The priest who presided is named, Fr. Nick Pagano (no relation to Chuck Pagano - for all of you Colts fans). For Claire's Baptism in California, she wore Dave's Baptismal gown so, for this one, we thought it'd be nice if Claire wore Jen's Baptismal gown.
At the beginning of the ceremony, everyone in attendance draws a sign of the cross on her forehead. To the family - please don't be offended if I don't include your photo here. We obviously had a TON of photos from this ceremony (and specifically from this part of the ceremony). We definitely mean no offense by leaving your photo out (have to keep the blog somewhat readable and as non-cumbersome as possible (yeah right!)).
Claire REALLY wanted to receive the Chrism Oil.
Here's Claire receiving her Baptismal Candle (2nd one!). She loves fire!
Apparently Claire isn't mad at Fr. Nick anymore (after that whole Chrism Oil debacle). Claire really likes to forgive.
I have NO IDEA what's going on here, but this photo is just to surreal NOT to include it here - haha. Quick, come up with a caption and respond to me. Funniest one wins!
The entire immediate family was in attendance.
This is Claire meeting Dave's childhood babysitter, Beth (Go Irish book), for the first time. I don't think Beth is in the babysitting business anymore, but perhaps we could twist her arm to convince her to take Claire off of our hands for a while.
This is Jen's side of the family: Merle (Jen's Dad), Suzy, Greg, Claire, Jen, Dave, Michelle, Jay (in back), Jackson, Lynda (Jen's Mom), and Bob. This photo marks the first time that Jen's entire immediate family was together with Claire.
This is of Dave's side of the family: (Adults) Bob (Dave's Dad), Jen (Beauchamp), Evan, Jen (Brunsman), Dave, Mike, Phil, Grandad, Gram, Kathy (Dave's Mom). (Kids) Holtz, Grace, Claire, Parker, Sammy, Lillian. This photo marks the first time that Dave's entire immediate family was together with Claire.
The whole bunch of 'em: Added into the group is Mike's girlfriend Ashley and Babysitter Beth. This photo marks the first time that all immediate family members were together for the first time with Claire.
The ceremony was about 15 minutes long and, of course, in true Dave Brunsman fashion, it was also filmed. So, if you'd like to watch the ceremony, click HERE .
Afterward, we all went out to a restaurant to celebrate.
These next two pictures just couldn't be left out. Sorry Mom. Sorry Gram.
OTHER FAMILY PICTURES FROM LEXINGTON
Don't mess with my daughter. Seriously! Otherwise, you'll have to answer to these guys (more like, the business end of that bat).
Storytime: When Phil's daughter, Lillian, was born (December 2005), the three of us posed similarly. The photo was intended to be used when Lillian is a little older (perhaps dating age) as a deterrent for unwanted male callers.
The guys celebrating Claire's birth and Baptism.
Grace feeding Claire (Lillian watching). The girls really had a good time together.
The cousins. Hey, if you can get 6 kids to smile together at the camera, good for you!
I have no idea what's going on here - just a funny photo.
Claire had a wonderful time playing with all of her cousins (this was the first time that all of the Brunsman cousins had been together). Thankfully, Claire also likes being passed around to a bunch of strangers.
OFF AGAIN - CINCINNATI, OH
Jen's sister and brother-in-law, Jay, moved to Cincinnati earlier in 2013, so we really wanted to see their new house and town. Thankfully, we were able to get Claire together with her other cousin, Jackson (first time they had met too!). That night, Jay, Merle (Jen's dad), Suzy (Merle's wife), Jen and I, got the kids to bed at a decent time so that we could enjoy the Clemson/Ohio State (Jen's ENTIRE family is OSU fans - YUK!) BCS Bowl Game. While the outcome wasn't wonderful for the OSU fans, there was at least one football fan who was happy with the outcome (who shall remain nameless (Dave)).
Even though Dave was rooting (vocally) for Clemson, we all really enjoyed being able to get rowdy watching a football game together as a family - this doesn't really happen much for us, so we really had fun.
FIRST TIME IN THE SNOW!!!
Claire had never been in the snow before, so we got the kids bundled up, and headed outside. The fun lasted all of about 2 minutes.
Click HERE to see a video of Claire riding a sled for the first time.
MORE FAMILY!!!
Jay and Michelle organized a wonderful family gathering (Jen's side) on Saturday, so that even more people could pass Claire around.
I did manage, while in Cincinnati, to delete most of the pictures (from this trip) from my phone, so I'm quite sure that everyone isn't featured who should be featured in this blog. Further, we had a lot of other photos that had been taken specifically for this blog, which are now gone. Wonderful! Bust #5.
Yes, I know that I can set my phone up so that all of my photos are automatically uploaded to Dropbox. I didn't do it on our trip because we were, often times, off of WiFi, and I didn't want to kill our data plan.
But alas, here are some photos. Claire with Jen's uncle Gary (not Geary as above - this is a different Gary (Merle's brother)). Second photo is of Claire with her Aunt Michelle (Jen's sister).
This is Claire with Barb (Gary's wife) and their daughter, Tori.
Working a "Jackson" puzzle with Tori.
Claire with Grandpa Merle and Grandma Suzy.
Time to eat with Pop-Pop.
Claire with Barb and Daena (Merle's sister).
Claire playing tea party with Keith (Gary and Barb's son).
And finally, Claire with Grandma Lynda, Jen's cousin (Erika) and Erika's daughter (Paige). Hey, if you can get two kids to cooperate for a photo, you're more awesome than us!
OUR OHIO DAYS, THEY BE OVER
That evening, we headed back to Lexington to gather up our things (and our dog), so that we could hit the road on Sunday morning - to hopefully miss the huge blizzard that was due to smash into the Midwest on Sunday evening.
Some of you may not know this, but I run a Fantasy Football League called the Notre Dave Football League (NDFL). It's gotten much more sophisticated with age, and deeper experience from the Commissioner (yours truly). We even have a cool NDFL Champs trophy (which lists all past winners and gets mailed to the newest champion every year) and prize money. A good portion of the family plays in the League, along with quite a few long-time friends.
Anyway, my sister, (also named) Jen, asked me to bring the NDFL Champions Trophy home for a photo op. As we were leaving Lexington on Sunday morning, Jen (sister) thought it'd be a good idea to steal the trophy from me. Some photo op, huh?
The reason for this whole story is one, so that you can understand that the League enjoys a fair amount of shenanigans, and two, so that I can steer you to the Official NDFL Youtube! Webpage.
Jen, while breaking the 8th Commandment (Thou Shall Not Steal), made a really funny video called, "Sit Happens!"
The Youtube Channel also celebrates a yearly "Live" Draft Extravaganza and a couple Awards Shows (among other things). You may enjoy this stuff, and you may not. Nevertheless, if you have a bit of time to kill, and you want to view some of our silly NDFL videos, click HERE. Sit Happens! is a bit down the page, but it's there. Enjoy!
NOTE TO MY NDFL PEEPS: The reason for the delay in getting all of the prize money out to you (I'm STILL waiting to mail out the Trophy) is because of Jen Beauchamp. I couldn't make the Awards Show video without the trophy, which I had to wait for Jen to mail back to me. Hey Champ, your trophy will be in the mail shortly!
THE BLIZZARD
The visit with everyone was really nice. Claire was wonderful and it seemed that everyone had a great time meeting (and hanging with) her.
We left Sunday morning (a bit behind schedule - it's hard to say goodbye), and, we hit some pretty nasty snow while driving across southern Illinois. About 6 miles outside of St. Louis, we got run off the side of the road by a semi-truck, and got stuck in a huge snow-drift. Of course, we tried to get out by ourselves (we own a pretty good sized truck, after all!), to no avail. So, we called 911. And we waited for 3 hours before calling 911 again, only to learn that they had misplaced our original call.
All the while, I was outside helping other cars who'd gotten stuck, pushing them out so that they could continue on their merry way. Surely this would score me some good karma (if you believe in that kind of thing)!
A tow truck responded rather quickly to us being stuck, and he explained to me that the charge would be $75. I walked away for just a moment to confer with the officer on the scene, and the tow truck drove off - hence the reason we had 3 hours on our hands to sit in the snowdrift.
There was no good karma at all! After our second 911 call, a truck did finally respond, and proceeded in damaging our truck, charging $225 for his service.
Unfortunately for you, I can't elaborate on anything else right now (which you truly wouldn't believe) because I'm likely going to have to take this fellow to court - things have gotten rather nasty between him and me.
Good times! Bust #6!
We stayed in St. Louis for the evening (destination was supposed to be Amarillo, TX).
In the meantime, however, we did get to take Claire to a Steak 'n Shake. In California, we have something called In 'n Out, which is similar to Steak 'n Shake, but doesn't even hold a candle to it. While In 'n Out has good burgers, their fries stink. Steak 'n Shake is one of our hometown favorites and we try to go at least once every time we're back in the Midwest.
After breakfast, we drove for a little bit, and noticed that the alignment of our tires was off (thanks to the accident and the tow), and, eventually, ALL of our tires on our truck had gone flat.
We stopped at a gas station to get some gas and some air, which wouldn't have been a huge deal if we weren't driving through the frozen tundra. Temperatures were down in the negative 10s, and the wind chill was around negative 30(ish). Filling tires in -30 weather is, for lack of a better description, not fun. Bust #7.
HEY, MIDWEST? IT'S BEEN REAL!
All of these fun (seven in all) "busts" aside, the trip was really fun, but we were certainly excited to enter back into California - 50* weather (at 10pm), no snow, no rain, no nothing but beautiful!!!
For the next trip, perhaps we'll fly. Sorry Peyton!
AN ODE TO DAISY
When Jen gave birth to Claire, it was via C-Section which, apparently (I have no personal experience with this) is very painful :-)
As we left the hospital, Jen wasn't able to step into the truck because the truck sits pretty high off the ground, and after surgery, all of the stretching from moving hurts. So I had to get down on bended knee so that Jen would have a step for getting into the truck. Well, no offense to Jen, but I wasn't going to do that over and over.
So, I got a milk crate and tied a string onto it so she could stand on the crate to get into the truck while holding onto the string, and then, after in the truck, she could pull the crate up into the truck and throw it into the back seat. This system actually worked really well.
Jen's sister, Michelle, found a good amount of humor in this device and she nicknamed the crate "Daisy" because it sort-of looked like a dog on a leash. Thereafter, Daisy took on a life of her own, much to Jen's chagrin, of course.
Well, I promised Jen that, if she were to get pregnant again, I'd install some running-boards onto the truck so she didn't have to deal with Daisy anymore. RIP Daisy!
And here's the Ode to Daisy
Oh, Daisy. You were so helpful,
But we had to put you down.
Take no offense, dear Daisy.
We remember you not with a frown.
Good times and bad times,
Happy and Sad.
Always you assisted,
a real trooper, not bad!
A nice stepping stone you were,
to something bigger and better.
You've traveled quite a bit with us.
You're quite the jet-setter.
So now take your rest.
Just stay in my garage.
Holding some tools for us,
and a bit of hodge-podge.
Here are the new running-boards. I installed them myself so, if the truck comes off of the frame while we're driving, it's totally my bad - haha.
FEEDING OURSELVES
Claire has finally started feeding herself. I really had to pressure her so that, when Baby Boy Brunsman comes around, Claire will be as self-sufficient as possible.
Click HERE to see video of the first time Claire EVER fed herself with a spoon.
And here's a picture of some feeding aftermath.
TALKING UP A STORM
Since the palate surgery, when Claire also got all of the goop taken out of her ears (she can hear much better now), she has really started babbling a ton.
She has a hard time forming certain sounds, but we're working on it. Our roommate, Anita, took some video of Claire saying some words. Click HERE to see the video.
THE DUCK DYNASTY BEARD
The Duck Dynasty beard era came to an end in February, but not before a little bit of fun could be had.
That's a lot of beard hair in that sink!
ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
Jen and I wanted to try an experiment with giving Claire to a babysitter for a few hours, just to see how things go. On March 1st, we dropped Claire off with Ms. Sabrina and, of course, she fussed a little bit, but after a few whimpers she was fine.
We went to see "The Lego Movie," which, believe it or not, is really funny (and also good). If you're looking for a family-friendly movie, this would be a really good choice. And (if you've seen the movie, you'll understand) the music is great - EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!
Claire really likes her new friend, Ms. Sabrina.
THAT'S IT FOR NOW
On the next blog post, we'll cover playing in the sand and give some info about Jen's 34th Birthday. It's been quite some time since the blog has been updated. I can't guarantee that the blog will be updated again before May 27th (due date), but if not, the next time around we'll have a full write-up and a name-reveal about our new little one for your enjoyment.
As always, thanks for reading!
Love,
Dave, Jen, Claire, Peyton, and So-and-So
