Hanging out...

Claire has now been with us for 3 weeks, aside from a few routine doctor visits she has been at the house the entire time... You know, getting to know the lay of the land.  This weekend we are headed out for our first outing to Kara and Gordie's house to see them, Makenzie, and some family.  Should be fun! Our time so far has been pretty uneventful... which surely is a good thing! Here are some pics of our time at home...

Happy Sleeper

Tired dad...

Happy mom!

This paci is a life saver

Little girl, big chair!

Bath time, this has gotten much better!

Drying off...

Changing table, Claire's favorite place to "go."

Speaking of the changing table... Auntie Meg, Uncle Ryan, and the cousins, Collin and Mads, came over on Tuesday for a visit, which is always a great time! I was changing Claire and Collin came into the room, just being a curious 4 year old... Well, right on cue Claire started pooping and peeing on the table, perfect timing.  Collin, being his inquisitive self simply asked "why is she doing that?" and promptly walked out of the room... Collin, if I had an answer to that question I would be much better at keeping the changing table clean and diaper changes! I surely wish I knew the answer to that one! haha

2 weeks old!

Our sweet baby Claire is now 2 weeks old... While Andi was pregnant we got a lot of advice and information from people, all of which was very much appreciated.  One of the most common things people told us was how fast it would all go, that "time would fly" and "don't blink." Well, if the first two weeks were any indication of how fast it all goes, it is indeed going to fly by.  We can't believe she has been with us 2 weeks already and can't imagine what life would be like without her... She has had a great first few weeks of life, full of love and visits and gifts from family and friends.  The love and generosity that has been shown to our family has been truly unbelievable and overwhelming.

At the doctor yesterday we were happy to hear she is thriving, she is already 8 lbs, 7 ozs.  Her doctor noted that she has some pretty big hands, and that maybe someday she will be a volleyball player... If this is the case she surely will have plenty of great coaches to learn from!  We can't wait for the many weeks, months, and years to come!

Baby Spartan

I love to watch sports, I always have.  I get this from my dad, who I have been watching sports with my whole life.  It is one of my favorite things to do, and if I had the choice to pick one person to watch a game with (so long as it wasn't UM vs. MSU, haha) it would surely be my dad.  I have learned a ton about sports from him over the years and have always enjoyed that bond.  To this day we regularly discuss what's going on in the sports world, what our teams are doing that we like, dislike, etc. etc.  When it comes to sports, there is no opinion or view point I value more than my dad's.  In the sports world, I was raised a UM fan... I was die hard, my dad is die hard.  This all changed in August of 1999 when I moved into my dorm at MSU.  I remember thinking to myself that it may be hard for me to root for MSU, after all the years of rooting for UM and against MSU (gasp!).  My first football game at Spartan Stadium was on a Thursday night vs. Oregon (a dramatic late MSU win), the second I got into my seat in the student section everything changed.  I was a Spartan. My blood had turned Green. 

I remember the day Andi and I met we had a surface level conversation, just getting to know each other, I remember her telling me she went to MSU and thinking "man, everything seems perfect, AND she went to MSU!!" Over the years we have enjoyed watching Spartan sports together, along with our Spartan friends and family.  We have long discussed the day when we would be able to dress up a little Spartan in MSU gear and watch games with him or her... About a week before we had Claire, I half jokingly told Andi, "I would love it if the baby was home by February 5th, that way I can watch the MSU/UM bball game AND the super bowl with our baby!"  Well this rather silly wish did in fact come true, and we got to watch my first MSU game with our beautiful daughter Claire on Sunday, Feb. 5th. I hope over the years we can watch many games together, just like I always have with my mom and dad.  One thing is for sure, she will be raised to fight for the only colors, Green and White!  Since she was born we have watched 3 MSU basketball games, granted she has slept through them all...we'll work on that.  Claire is a perfect 3-0, with wins over UM, Penn State, and Ohio State (on the road, a big win!).  Claire surely proves that girls look great in Green and White!

Welcome Baby Claire!!

On Wednesday, 2/1/12, we welcomed Claire Dawn McGuire into our family.  To say that we are thrilled is to say the very least! We have had a tremendous amount of support from our friends and family, we are so grateful to all of you... Thanks to everyone for all of the love they have shown us and Claire, we are blessed to have such wonderful friends and families, and blessed to be able to call little Claire our own. 

Much more to follow soon!