Tue 26 Aug 03
Ugh! Someone has been Spamming the comments on this website! Some #$@%$! has been clogging my email (since these comments get sent to me) with ads for some online casino. If anyone actually reads this site, please be aware that I'm not stumping for some fly-by-night piece of crap spammer! Geez!
Fri 15 Aug 03
What Grant forgot to mention was that his long held, deep-dark fear posted on June 3 of worrying about when Claire will be able to say car keys has come to pass. It's her new favorite phrase and she says it ALL the time! So Dad, how does that make you feel?
Fri 15 Aug 03
Have I mentioned that Claire is calling me "Daddy-O"! I've been so preoccupied with her heart problem that I haven't taken time to realize all the great things she's learning! She sees a bicycle and says "Bike-ee", or passes Cousin Ian's house and says "Ionnggg!".
Gretchen and I have felt so relieved since the doctors told us that Claire wasn't suffering from premature heart failure that we've just been reveling in the little things. We took Claire to Round Table Pizza tonight and she was an absolute doll. Wow, I love her.
Fri 15 Aug 03
There's so much to say, and only a little window to say it in.
We've had a scare... Claire has been coughing for the last couple of months. We were told by the doctor that since there was no accompanying fever, that we shouldn't worry. Well, our doctor should have clarified! We took Claire in for a checkup to look at the cough. Our doctor surmised that it could be the result of one of two things: a sinus infection or premature heart failure. Guess which one caused us to shit a brick?
Long story short... the doctors discovered that there were chest x-rays left over from Claire's visit to Mason county general, and upon comparison, they discovered that there has been no degeneration of the heart condition over the last 6 months. (for those of you not following at home, this is good news). For now, we're just treating the sinus infection with antibiotics, and as of today, she's stopped coughing and we're anticipating the eventual (non-eventful) closing of the ASD with non-invasive surgery. TTFN
Sun 15 Jun 03
Today is Father's Day #2! How is it better than Father's Day #1? Well, I took Claire to Starbucks at 6:30 this morning (letting Mom sleep in). Armed with my Grande Americano, I led Claire up and down the slide; the first ones at the park. Safeway was our next stop. Claire spied the crate of watermelons..."Ball!" she yelled. She tried to heft one of the watermelons out of the crate, but it was a lot heavier than the dodge-ball we've been letting her play with.
I took a 25-mile bike ride with my dad, then went to the mall with Claire and Gretchen to show off my nuclear family (That's "Nu-cle-ar", Dubya, not "New-kew-lar").
Why was it better than the first one? Probably because Claire can say "Daddy"!
Fri 13 Jun 03
Claire says "Eat!", "Bite!", "UP!", "Mommy", "Daddy", "Please" and "Doggy" (although it sounds like "Daw-dee!"). Adding new words every day. I dread the day she can say, "Car Keys!"
Fri 23 May 03
It's 6pm and there are no diapers in the house...Mom's at COSTCO buying more... OK, don't panic, I manage to survive with no diapers!...wait, Claire's poopy ...
Oh My God! - What did you eat? It looks like earthworms!
OK... no diapers...I'm a college graduate, I can make something work...here's a cloth diaper... and here are two safety pins!
Hold still...ouch...hold still...OW!...Claire!...OK, Done.
[10 minutes later] Screwit, how 'bout a bath until Mom comes home?
Thu 15 May 03
Claire went to her 15 month check-up on Monday. She got five shots (whew! THAT was fun!), is 31" tall and 23 lbs., 4 oz. She is 55th percentile in everything..including her big head. Let's hope that percentile doesn't carry over to grade percentages (she'd flunk my class). The only bad news is that she has to see a little baby cardiologist. She's had a heart murmur (no big deal, right? It's a family thing!) since she was born that the doctor insisted would go away by a year or so, but it hasn't; it's actually gotten louder and more pronounced. Better to make sure I suppose. But I'm starting to doubt my doctor when he says "it'll go away." That's the same thing he said about ear infections and we all know how well that worked! Actually, Dr. Rapp's the best and we trust him implicitly; he's helped Claire through some rough times and he's been a prince all along. (FYI: 360.892.1635--free advertising for Evergreen Pediatrics).
Thu 08 May 03
Guess who's getting another tooth! Finally after nearly 3-month's hiatus, Claire is finally popping out another chomper. We were worried that she was going to go through life with only seven teeth! Can you imaging trying to eat popcorn with only seven teeth? The upside would be that you'd spend less time brushing and flossing, the downside is that you could only get a job playing banjo.
Fri 18 Apr 03
What can I say about Claire? She's getting bigger by the day. She can now say "Mommy" and "Daddy" and when she picks up anything resembling a phone, she says "Hi". One thing that she definitely inherited from her mother is her temper. We're trying to curb her tendency to throw tantrums, but it's just so darn cute!
Thu 27 Mar 03
Poor Claire, she's sick again! Here's the rundown:
1. Ear Infection - Right Ear
2. Ear Infection - Left Ear
3. Conjunctivitis - Right Eye
4. Conjunctivitis - Left Eye
5. Fever
6. Snot from hell
That about covers it.
Sun 09 Mar 03
It is so neat to see such a healthy happy little 1 year
old. You two have done such a great job! My how time flies.I would love to be able to give her a big hug.
Maybe you could give her one for me o.k.?
Mon 24 Feb 03
Wow - it's been a year already!
I put the first year's worth of entries on their own archive page, that way, this page will load faster. You can click on Year One Archive above to go there.
Mon 24 Feb 03
Man, daycare is EVIL! (OK, not really E-V-I-L, just E-v-i-l...) - It seems like every day Claire comes home with some sort of new creeping crud, and then gives it to me! Daycare is like the movie theatre scene in Outbreak. One kid has the sniffles; next thing you know...boom, Ebola.
First it was a cold, then sneezing, then *hack* Pneumonia!
Gretchen and I are really hoping that this kid starts kindergarten with one heavy-duty-weapons-grade immunity.
Tue 11 Feb 03
Claire had a wonderful first birthday. Everybody ate chocolate cake (not everybody kept it down, however). The weather was great and we sat outside to watch Claire down her cupcake.
It's incredible that it's been a year since Claire was born. Every day is something new with her and I'm so glad she's my little girl!
Wed 05 Feb 03
Here it is! Claire walking!
walking.wmv 56k dialup
walking_big.wmv Broadband
Tue 04 Feb 03
Claire took her first real steps today! She walked across the room to Gretchen at daycare, then Gretchen brought her to work to show me! I'll tell you, it's not just a fluke; she is definitely on par with the other world class toddlers (in her weight class). Watch this space for video, coming soon!
