On Wednesday, March 28, Claire tried some solid food for the first time! We were having sweet potatoes for dinner, so I just stuck some of them into the food processor & whizzed it up (yes, that's a technical cooking term) with a little water. She ate maybe a teaspoonful altogether, but was pretty wary of them & mainly just looked weirded out by the whole experience! Here's some video footage of the hilarity.
Video of Claire trying out some Sweet Potatoes
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Katie & Claire's Vancouver Adventures!
As Zach mentioned in his last post, Claire & I spent March 10th through March 22nd up in Vancouver, while he toiled away in Pullman. We had a great visit with the family, and it was really awesome to be able to spend more than a few days there, since our standard visits are usually pretty whirlwind-ish! We really missed Zach, though!
This time, we had the chance to visit with lots of friends & family. Of course, Claire got lots of Grandma Shepherd time, as well as lots of time spent with my sister & brother, Claire's Auntie Megan & Uncle Dave. We also hung out with my youngest brother, Greg, but he was busy with work & other obligations, so didn't see as much of him as possible. Claire really loved spending time with her cousins, Emily & Matthew, who were wonderful with her & seemed to really enjoy playing with her (except when she cried...then she stopped being cool for a few minutes!). On the family front, we also visited with my aunts & uncles, as well as my brother-in-law & his family. We also headed out to Chilliwack with Grandma Shepherd to see my mom's cousin, Gail, who I hadn't seen for a number of years. Dave is staying with Gail while he is substitute teaching in Chilliwack. While we were there, Claire got to meet her first cat - she only grabbed it's tail once - the rest of the time she just kept an eye on it (as it did the same!)
It was SO nice to see everyone!
Claire got to visit with a number of my friends on this trip, too - she was a popular baby! First, we caught up with my friend Kelly & her 7 month old, Lucas, who is Claire's future husband. They behaved themselves for the most part - Claire tried to pull off Lucas' sock & Lucas tried to grab Claire's face...sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship, right?!
Claire & I also got to hang out with my best friend, Linsie, a couple of times and even met Linsie's ADORABLE 1o month old niece, Delyla. I'm sure Claire was jealous of Delyla's abilities to speed-crawl and stand up, but what Claire was MOST impressed with was Delyla's deluxe Jumperoo...at that point, Claire had been away from her own beloved Jumperoo for a couple of weeks, so when I put her into the deluxe Jumperoo, she jumped like a maniac for 15 minutes or more - she was so into it that she jumped both of her socks off!
Another day, my Mom & I took Claire to North Vancouver to have tea with my friend Jenn & her mom (and their huge dog, Holly, who was quite taken with Claire!).
Finally, Mom, Claire & I went to our family friends, the Penafiels. Claire had a great time with Julie (who is a couple of years younger than me), and got to sit in a high chair for the first time - so many firsts!
Again, it was wonderful to have the time to be able to catch up with so many friends!
When we weren't visiting with family & friends, we just enjoyed spending time around Vancouver. We went for walks, played with cousins, and Claire even got to hang out with her D0g-Aunties, Cassie & Sydney!
We capped the fantastic trip off with a fun road trip back to Pullman, thanks to the stellar driving & passengering skills of my brother Dave & sister Meg. They are both SAINTS for putting up with Claire (and me!) for so long...Claire did pretty well for most of the trip, but had a screaming meltdown for the last 45 minutes of the trip. Thank you, Meg & Dave, for not kicking us out on the side of the highway! We had a great time with you!
We had an excellent trip, and just wish that Zach could have been there with us. Next time, he will be!
Here are some pictures (ok, A LOT of pictures...), as well as a few videos for your enjoyment...yes, every single picture & video features Claire...what? Is that surprising?! :-)
Claire March 2012 Pictures!
Claire Rolls Over Video
Claire in Car Seat Part 1 Video
Claire in Car Seat Part 2 Video
Claire and Emily Video
Claire Raspberry Video
Emily, Matthew, and Claire Video
Claire Bouncy Seat Video
Claire Raspberry Video Part 1
Claire Raspberry Video Part 2
Claire Reaching for a Spoon Video
This time, we had the chance to visit with lots of friends & family. Of course, Claire got lots of Grandma Shepherd time, as well as lots of time spent with my sister & brother, Claire's Auntie Megan & Uncle Dave. We also hung out with my youngest brother, Greg, but he was busy with work & other obligations, so didn't see as much of him as possible. Claire really loved spending time with her cousins, Emily & Matthew, who were wonderful with her & seemed to really enjoy playing with her (except when she cried...then she stopped being cool for a few minutes!). On the family front, we also visited with my aunts & uncles, as well as my brother-in-law & his family. We also headed out to Chilliwack with Grandma Shepherd to see my mom's cousin, Gail, who I hadn't seen for a number of years. Dave is staying with Gail while he is substitute teaching in Chilliwack. While we were there, Claire got to meet her first cat - she only grabbed it's tail once - the rest of the time she just kept an eye on it (as it did the same!)
It was SO nice to see everyone!
Claire got to visit with a number of my friends on this trip, too - she was a popular baby! First, we caught up with my friend Kelly & her 7 month old, Lucas, who is Claire's future husband. They behaved themselves for the most part - Claire tried to pull off Lucas' sock & Lucas tried to grab Claire's face...sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship, right?!
Claire & I also got to hang out with my best friend, Linsie, a couple of times and even met Linsie's ADORABLE 1o month old niece, Delyla. I'm sure Claire was jealous of Delyla's abilities to speed-crawl and stand up, but what Claire was MOST impressed with was Delyla's deluxe Jumperoo...at that point, Claire had been away from her own beloved Jumperoo for a couple of weeks, so when I put her into the deluxe Jumperoo, she jumped like a maniac for 15 minutes or more - she was so into it that she jumped both of her socks off!
Another day, my Mom & I took Claire to North Vancouver to have tea with my friend Jenn & her mom (and their huge dog, Holly, who was quite taken with Claire!).
Finally, Mom, Claire & I went to our family friends, the Penafiels. Claire had a great time with Julie (who is a couple of years younger than me), and got to sit in a high chair for the first time - so many firsts!
Again, it was wonderful to have the time to be able to catch up with so many friends!
When we weren't visiting with family & friends, we just enjoyed spending time around Vancouver. We went for walks, played with cousins, and Claire even got to hang out with her D0g-Aunties, Cassie & Sydney!
We capped the fantastic trip off with a fun road trip back to Pullman, thanks to the stellar driving & passengering skills of my brother Dave & sister Meg. They are both SAINTS for putting up with Claire (and me!) for so long...Claire did pretty well for most of the trip, but had a screaming meltdown for the last 45 minutes of the trip. Thank you, Meg & Dave, for not kicking us out on the side of the highway! We had a great time with you!
We had an excellent trip, and just wish that Zach could have been there with us. Next time, he will be!
Here are some pictures (ok, A LOT of pictures...), as well as a few videos for your enjoyment...yes, every single picture & video features Claire...what? Is that surprising?! :-)
Claire March 2012 Pictures!
Claire Rolls Over Video
Claire in Car Seat Part 1 Video
Claire in Car Seat Part 2 Video
Claire and Emily Video
Claire Raspberry Video
Emily, Matthew, and Claire Video
Claire Bouncy Seat Video
Claire Raspberry Video Part 1
Claire Raspberry Video Part 2
Claire Reaching for a Spoon Video
Sunday, March 25, 2012
New Job and Pullman Trip
On March 5th I started a new job as a software engineer at Schweitzer Engineering Labs (SEL), based out of their Boise office. For various reasons, it was time for a job change. However starting this new job required that I spend three weeks in Pullman, Washington, for training. We were able to stay in a three bedroom corporate apartment just across the street from the SEL campus. We drove down from Boise on the 4th and this was mostly uneventful except for Claire crying during the last hour. The plan was that the three of us would stay in Pullman for my first week and then Katie and Claire would spend the next two weeks with the Shepherd family in Vancouver (maybe Katie will blog about that?).
My first week at work was dominated by new employee orientation. We spent some time getting to know Pullman during the week before the three of us left for Vancouver on the evening of Friday the 9th. Claire cried during the first couple of hours of this trip but went to sleep for the rest of the ride. We arrived in Vancouver around 1:30am and were tired! I spent Saturday in Vancouver before heading back to Pullman on Sunday the 11th.
My next two weeks in Pullman were pretty predictable - working, getting trained, and checking out the area as best I could. It was sad being away from my family for so long but I did get better sleep than usual! The weather in Pullman was kind of crummy while I was there (lots of cold, rain, and snow) but there was a decent weekend that allowed me to hike nearby Kamiak Butte, drive up nearby Steptoe Butte, and snowshoe Mt Spokane and Mt Kit Carson outside of Spokane. It's an interesting area for sure but I definitely like Boise a lot more!
On Thursday the 22nd Katie and Claire returned to Pullman after being driven down by Katie's siblings Megan and Dave. They had a fun road trip together and we had a nice dinner at the South Fork Public House before going to bed. Megan and Dave left Pullman on Friday morning and the three of us left right after I finished work on Friday evening. Claire behaved pretty well on this final drive and we arrived in Boise around 12:45am on Saturday morning. Instead of relaxing Saturday, I spent the day at the Boise Code Camp. But at least Sunday was a relaxing day highlighted by brunch at Bob's Sunrise Cafe with Gary and Bonnie!
Pullman Pictures!
Kamiak Butte/Steptoe Butte Hike Pictures!
Mt Spokane/Mt Kit Carson Snowshoe Pictures!
My first week at work was dominated by new employee orientation. We spent some time getting to know Pullman during the week before the three of us left for Vancouver on the evening of Friday the 9th. Claire cried during the first couple of hours of this trip but went to sleep for the rest of the ride. We arrived in Vancouver around 1:30am and were tired! I spent Saturday in Vancouver before heading back to Pullman on Sunday the 11th.
My next two weeks in Pullman were pretty predictable - working, getting trained, and checking out the area as best I could. It was sad being away from my family for so long but I did get better sleep than usual! The weather in Pullman was kind of crummy while I was there (lots of cold, rain, and snow) but there was a decent weekend that allowed me to hike nearby Kamiak Butte, drive up nearby Steptoe Butte, and snowshoe Mt Spokane and Mt Kit Carson outside of Spokane. It's an interesting area for sure but I definitely like Boise a lot more!
On Thursday the 22nd Katie and Claire returned to Pullman after being driven down by Katie's siblings Megan and Dave. They had a fun road trip together and we had a nice dinner at the South Fork Public House before going to bed. Megan and Dave left Pullman on Friday morning and the three of us left right after I finished work on Friday evening. Claire behaved pretty well on this final drive and we arrived in Boise around 12:45am on Saturday morning. Instead of relaxing Saturday, I spent the day at the Boise Code Camp. But at least Sunday was a relaxing day highlighted by brunch at Bob's Sunrise Cafe with Gary and Bonnie!
Pullman Pictures!
Kamiak Butte/Steptoe Butte Hike Pictures!
Mt Spokane/Mt Kit Carson Snowshoe Pictures!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Claire Early March Update
Here are a few recent pictures and videos of Claire!
Claire Early March Pictures!
Claire Getting Poked Video
Claire Jumperoo Video
Claire Early March Pictures!
Claire Getting Poked Video
Claire Jumperoo Video
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
