palouse - day 6

So we're still having fun in Palouse, but we've heard Boise weather is a lot nicer!  Even though its been raining like crazy, we stopped at Washington State University in Pullman for some amazing ice cream at their on campus shop called Ferdinand's.  Students make and sell ice cream and cheese, and I may have had the very best waffle cone of ice cream that I've ever had (and I'm an ice cream connoisseur).  I had cappuccino chip and Emily had apple crisp crunch.  Delish!

 Then we drove 8 miles down the road to Moscow, ID and ate Chinese food at Brian's work called Chang Sing.  He got to see his cute niece, and of course we made him pose for a photo op or two!  Sweet apron!

 This is the little Palouse river that is completely flooding because of all this rain!  See the picnic table and road closed sign in the middle of the river.  Yeah, it isn't usually like that!

 Here is Clara.  She is growing like the winter wheat up here (like crazy)!  Look at that belly and those little, chunky legs!  She looks a little freaked out in the pic, but I was changing her diaper and thought I had to post a pic of how much she is growing!  She is now fitting in three months clothes perfectly!

We've shopped so much, and we have more shopping planned.  Sat. we are headed to Spokane, WA to hit Nordstrom Rack and a few other downtown shops and meet up with Steve and Teenie who fly in that morning!

more time in palouse.

So we've been having fun and WORKING HARD in Palouse while Steve and Teenie are enjoying some sunny weather.  Clara went to Winco for the first time.  She made it about halfway through the store and then seemed to get a little overwhelmed.  She started crying and couldn't settle down, so I had to carry her for the rest of the trip.  I don't know what I would have done if I'd have been grocery shopping alone.  Probably would have just left the cart and headed home. 

Emily was having so much fun, riding in the crazy cart with Ben and Clara.  Can't you tell?

 The two babes almost always fall asleep during car rides which is awesome!

 We met up with Uncle Brian for lunch at the alehouse in Moscow.  It was great to see him.  Clara slept through the whole lunch, but she listened to his funny stories and I know she enjoyed them!

Here are Emmy and Dalton with Ben.  Ben's hamming it up as usual in front of the camera!

 Mom and I at lunch!

 Clara is enjoying Cousin Ben's swing.  We just need to get some batteries for it!  We've been pushing it by hand as we play cards at night. 

Today we're off to shop around Pullman!  Emily is meeting us there, so we'll have some reinforcements to help us care for the children!  I can't imagine having more than one at this point!

day 3 in palouse.

Well we were a little worried that we weren't competent enough to care for two babies when Steve and Teenie left on Sunday am, but now we're feeling a little better.  We left the house yesterday to go for a walk, but otherwise just stayed in playing, eating, and having fun.  Today, we may even venture to the Moscow mall and the grocery store.  Here are some cute pics that we've taken during our stay here!

Here is Clara in cousin Ben's newborn napper attachment of the pack and play.  She loves it and feels so secure in it.  Give her another couple weeks and she'll outgrow it though!  The girl is getting big!

 And here she is on the kitchen table.  Is that really safe?  She doesn't seem to mind it!

And I tried to capture her smile on video once again.  She gives a shy smirk here, but not her big beaming smile.  And the annoying thing is, she was smiling like crazy right before I turned the video on!

we're off.

At 4 weeks of age, Clara decided to head 6 hours north for a week.  My mom, Clara, and I left on Saturday to come to Palouse, Washington to stay with Ben and Emily for a week while Steve and Teenie went to California for work and play.  We got here Saturday afternoon and Steve and Teenie promptly left to go to what Teenie calls "farmer prom" at Steve's fraternity.  Mom, Emily, the babes and I decided it would be easy enough to go out for dinner and then go buy groceries for the week.  It ended up being a complete fiasco!  I won't share details, but it left us with little confidence in ourselves to care for two children under the age of 1 for a week (and it left us laughing like crazy for most of the night!).

Here is Clara on the road.  She woke up at the halfway point in Riggins to eat and be changed, and slept for the rest of the trip.  She is already a pro at roadtripping!

 This is what she has been doing since we got here.  She's a good baby!

 Here we are today!  After our shenanigans last night, we vowed not to leave the house or get out of our jammies for the entire day today.  It has been fun!

one month.

Clara is a month old now!  It has gone by so quickly.  She is still doing well.  Every time I tell someone, "She sleeps great!" we have a terrible night.  SO I won't say much, but we're all doing good.  Clara loves baths, walks, being held and cuddled, and in the evenings during her fussy time, she loves laying on the floor all by herself (I think we can be a little overstimulating).  Here are some things we've been up to lately!

She loves smiling at her dad!

 We've been having a little tummy time.  She's not sure she loves it yet!  She usually spits up.

 She's gotten good at sitting up on our laps.  She even listens to books being read to her.  She usually makes it through about two or three before she gets a little tired of listening.  We're working on attention span!  Today I got through 4 books and thought we'd broken a record, but then I realized she fell asleep - so it didn't really count.

 Here she is!  A one month old wearing three month outfits.  They fit her great!  Don't judge me because my child was still in her jammies at 4 pm.

 She still loves her baths, even though this pic looks a little scary!

 Having fun!

 And yes, she still HATES when we take her out of the warm water...

 but then settles down to get lubed up with baby lotion.

 This is what our dogs have been up to...watching us spend all our time with Clara.  Doesn't Mac look neglected?

 Clara's awesome hair!  So pretty!

 She's loved her binkie since we introduced it at three weeks.  I think she's already an addict!

Here is a little video of us trying to capture a smile on video.  She won't give it up in front of the camera, but it is so cute when she just beams with her big gummy grin!  We'll keep trying!

This Saturday, Clara and I head up north to Palouse, Washington to stay at Teenie and Steve's house while they travel to CA for work/fun.  My mom and I with Ben and Clara all week might get interesting.  Good thing Emily lives with Teenie and Steve and can help us out!  I'm sure I'll have lots to blog about!

a sh*@storm - literally.

So one of Clara's favorite times of the day is when she is getting her diaper changed.  She is almost always a smiley baby when she's getting cleaned up - which makes diaper changing a lot more pleasant for Kurtis and I.  Well, yesterday I was downstairs and all of a sudden I heard Kurtis laughing and carrying on upstairs.  I knew he had headed up to change Clara, so I knew something was up when I heard all that noise.  I got upstairs (with camera in hand because I knew it was going to be good) and our sweet baby Clara had exploded poop all over Kurtis' shirt, pants, and elbow.  She managed to remain completely clean, which makes the story hilarious in my opinion!  Here are a few shots I got of the event!

The good sport of a Dad!

 Clara was laughing almost as hard as I was!

 Watching her parents carry on like that made her a little curious.

 Cute baby!

we fon-dude.

So the last weekend Teenie and Ben were in town this time, Steve came down to join them.  We had a fondue night with the whole fam (besides Dad who went to the Stampede game).  We had a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue and it was delish.  We all had lots of laughs - especially when Emily started feeling overwhelmed by the two babies that are now in all our lives.  The Waldon clan has really changed and grown in the last year!

Here are some pics from the weekend and fondue night!

Here is Oma wrangling her two grand-babes.  Clara is a piece of cake at this point, Ben on the other hand is a mover and a shaker!

 Uncle Kurtis trying to keep Ben entertained.

 The Kaufmans fondue-ing!

 Us. 

(and our suitcase of stuff in the background - I had no idea how much you need to tote around when you have a small child)

 Here is Clara with Uncle Steve.  She has now met all her aunts and uncles!

 Uncle Kurtis and Benny boy!

 A quick funny shot of Teenie - this was right before they left town to head back to Palouse!

first REAL bath.

So Clara's belly button stump fell off.  We thought it would stay on forever, because she is over three weeks old, but finally, it came off.  So to celebrate, we gave her a real bath in her new bathtub.  We weren't sure what to expect, she's loved and hated sponge baths, but look for yourself...

 she loved it!  She was just silent and content the whole time!

 She's not fussing here, just making crazy faces at her parents!

 Love the curl above her right ear!

 After the bath we posed for a couple photos!

 This pic is to prove that she's getting chunkier! (not that my nose is getting larger, although I think it proves that as well - at least that is what Emily would say!)

 The instant after the last photo was taken, we heard water gushing on the bathroom floor.  At first I thought, "my water broke!" but then I remembered I wasn't pregnant anymore, and Kurtis and I realized Clara peed all over me!  What a little stinker!

 So we got a diaper on her fast!  Here is her new belly button!  So cute, and quite large!

 And here she is all ready for bed in her new organic cotton jammies from Oma.  She looks great, and smells even better.  I love the smell of baby products!

We thought she'd be all content for the rest of the night, but was fussy right after we got her all dressed.  Here is a video of her "voice" for those of you who haven't met her yet!  Someone has to teach me how to rotate videos!  Just watch with your head tilted sideways!