2 Months

Claire will be 2 months old this Sunday!  It's amazing how fast she has changed and grown, obviously she is getting much bigger physically, but it has been so fun to see her little personality develop and watch her observe and discover the things around her.  She is becomming more and more observant and alert, but the best part of her growing up has been seeing her smile so much, it just never gets old.  Sleep wise she is doing quite well, most of the time sleeping around 5-6 hours at a time at night, so mom and dad will surely take that! She is quite happy and all things considered a pretty easy baby.  She does, however, get quite crabby when she's hungry, just like her mommy... :)  She has had an eventful first few months, she has made trips to Lansing, the mall, out to dinner, friends houses, our schools, the grocery store, and many other places. She does AWESOME in public... She either sleeps or just stares and takes it all in, this is so nice for us! We continue to be amazed at the love and support we have received from our family and friends, we have so much help and people that love Claire, it has made our lives much easier.  We have been given so many gifts for Claire that we have been asked several times when people come to our house if we have had another baby shower... And that's after we had put most of the gifts away. Unreal.  So here she is at 2 months, it will be fun to see how much different she looks a month from now!

Daddy's 31!

Yesterday we celebrated Michael's 31st Birthday!!  I have to say, Claire and I are some very lucky ladies to have Michael in our lives.  Not only is he an amazing husband, but an amazing father as well.  Seeing him with Claire over the last few weeks has been truly special and has brought my love for him to a whole new level.  Michael is so kind and gentle with Claire that it melts my heart every time I see him with her.  I'll never forget our first night in the hospital with her as he walked around holding her and starring into her eyes.  She was daddy's little girl right from the start.  Going through the joy of welcoming our first child together has reminded me of how lucky I really am....throughout the pregnancy, Michael was always patient and supportive, never once missing a doctor's appointment and constantly catering to my every need or wish.  Since Claire's brith, he continues to be supportive and is such a hands on dad, changing diapers and feeding Claire with me both day and night.  But it is Michael's laid back and always joking personality that brings a perfect balance into our home....every time I get anxious and think something is wrong with Claire, Michael's response of "Babe, she's just fine" is all I need to bring myself back down to earth.  I know that I can count on him whenever I need him, he is my rock.  One of my new favorite questions that Michael asks every day while he is at work is, "So how are my girls?"…so simple, yet makes me smile from ear to ear every time he says it.  My response is always, "We're wonderful!" and it is in large part because of you, Michael.  You make Claire and I so incredibly happy each and every day and we are so thankful to have you in our lives!  Happy Birthday, Baby!!  We love you!

Love, Your Girls

Daddy's Girl

Birthday Celebration!



Happy Birthday Collin!!

Today is Collin's 5th birthday!!! I can't believe he is already 5 and on a collision course with Kindergarten in the fall... If you were to see him walking down the street, you would think he is at least in second grade. He is a big boy, not wide, but tall and lean! He was proudly showing me his big biceps yesterday at my birthday party, I must say, pretty impressive for a 5 year old.  After seeing his guns I was quite sheepish about pulling up my sleeve and flexing. Collin is such a wonderful kid, he is full of energy and is very fun to be around... He is becomming more and more inquisitive, which has made for some interesting questions, especially since Claire has been born!!! :) Collin has a shadow, her name is Madelyn.  She loves him and looks up to him and he is so good to her, he tests her at times and may push the limits a bit (what big brother doesn't?), but when push comes to shove, he is always in her corner.  He has great concern for her well being, just like a big brother should. They are the same age spread as me and Meg, I pray they have a bro/sis relationship just as special as ours is as they grow older.  So happy birthday buddy, we love you very much and can't wait to celebrate many more!!!                                                   

       The March Birthday Gang

Happy Birthday Mads!!

Today is our niece Madelyn's 3rd birthday, she is getting so big!! Mads has a personality that is infectious and a smile that could light up even the darkest of rooms... She is about as outgoing of a kid that you will ever meet, the type of kid that as soon as she sees you will run up to you and give you a big hug.  Mads has enough spunk and energy to go around, from time to time she will show a bit of attitude and sas, just to keep us all on our toes.  She is no pushover, she is a tough cookie and is very quick to defend what she thinks is right!! Which usually means battling with her brother for things and defending what she thinks is rightfully hers.  Most recently we have been able to see a side of Mads that we really haven't seen too much of, her soft side.  Since Claire has been born Madelyn has proven to be a very tender and loving cousin.  It never gets old hearing the stories of Madelyn "playing dolls" and pretending the doll she is caring for is Claire.  Watching her hold Claire and seeing the joy in her eyes is enough to melt anyone, hearing her soft pleas of "don't cry baby, don't cry" when Claire is upset is as precious as it gets. I'm sure these two are going to be partners in crime in NO time... Mads will surely be showing her the ropes! As if all of our energy wasn't already sapped enough... ;)

We love you so much, Mads!!! Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Too Cute Not to Share

Well, if you couldn't tell by now, Claire is most definitely our pride and joy and we think she's awfully cute too! :)  Michael and I are constantly grabbing at our camera and snapping away with every new face, pose, and experience that she has!  I can only imagine how many pictures of her we have already taken in her first few weeks of life.  But, in our defense, we just can't help but try to capture and hold on to every second of every day with her!  Here are a few more recent pictures of Claire around the house that I thought were too cute not to share with you all....

Just chillin' in Daddy's arms- one of Claire's favorite places to be!



Look at those long Neumann legs- oh yeah! :)

Having fun cheering on Spartan Basketball!  Go Green!

Just a typical lazy morning in the sun room...

Our happy angel

Just discovering her mobile on top of her swing!

Visiting with Great Oma and Opa!

To Grandmother's House We Go!

This past weekend was one we'll always remember.....Claire had her first visit to both Grammy and Papa's house as well as to Grandma and Ops' house!  The visits both were a great success, Claire was the angel that she usually is and handled each visit like a champ!  On friday night we enjoyed a nice dinner and long visit with Grammy and Papa then woke up Saturday morning for an overnight visit in Lansing with Grandma and Ops.  We even fit in her first trip out to dinner with the family Saturday night, which once again, she did magnificently!  Michael and I have always felt so incredibly lucky to have such amazing parents.  We grew up showered with endless love and support and in homes that were always filled with smiles and laughter.  It's crazy to think that we are now parents to Claire and it's our turn to be the rock in her life that our parents were and still are in ours.  The best part about it all, is that Claire now gets to experience the same love from them that we have been lucky to experience for so many years.  To Michael and I, there is nothing greater than knowing that Claire is surrounded by so many people who love her.....Claire is one very blessed little girl to have Grammy and Papa and Grandma and Ops in her life!  We can't wait for many more visits to come and all the great memories we'll get to share!  Let the visits, outings, and sleepovers begin! :) 

Claire just hanging out at Grammy and Papa's



Looking up at Mommy- one of my favs :)

All bundled up and ready to head to Lansing!

Out to dinner in Lansing at the English Inn - Little Bean looks so tiny in her big car seat!

Proud Ops!

Our sleeping beauty in Grandma and Ops' bed

One Month

Claire is exactly one month old today... As I think about it, before she was born I never thought of a single month as being a big deal, because they really never were. Days, weeks, and months fly by, they turn into years and we all sit back and wonder where the time went.  Claire has given us a healthy dose of perspective, it's hard to believe she has been with us a month already... This last month has been the most rewarding, challenging, fun, confusing, worry filled, exhausting, eye opening, and most importantly, loving month of our lives.  We have seen a love and care far beyond anything we ever knew existed.  So we thank God for giving us Claire, and  thank Claire for showing us all of these wonderful and exciting things, and making days and months a heck of a lot more meaningful and exciting... pretty amazing that she does it without even knowing it!

This picture was taken before we put her in the car for her first big outing, we took her to see the Anderson and McPhail clans in Novi.  So, first big outing, dad driving, mom and Claire rolling cab-style in the backseat. Dad decides to drive through a yellow light turning left and gets pulled over. Great start. Thankfully the cop was nice, and I was able to use Claire as a little leverage stating "I have a newborn in the backseat, I didn't want to slam on the breaks" so the cop let us go with a warning... Claire has officially gotten her dad out of a ticket, thanks Claire!

She has those darn McGuire feet, you'll be able to drive a truck between those toes before we know it!! She definitely has her mom's long legs!!

Hangin' with mommy after a bath...