Moving for Dummies

A lot of people have been asking me lately about how I feel about our big upcoming move to Georgia. To be honest, it's still pretty surreal to me because it seems so far away. I can say, "We're moving to Augusta," like it's a programmed response. But I say it without really considering everything that really encompasses. But then I also have days when suppressed reality surfaces and my type A genes kick in full blast and suddenly all the hairy logistics of moving, coupled with the thought of reinvention in a new place (after just getting settled here) begin to mimic minor IBS-like symptoms.

On one such day last month I figured I would ease some anxiety by making some calls to a variety of moving companies to gather quotes. It seemed to be a pretty logical and responsible thing to do to start mentally planning financially. In other words, I needed to know how much to cut back at Target and Amazon. Well who knew that Little Miss Planny Pants here would be practically laughed to scorn?

So I suppose my calls maybe did sound a little ridiculous after all:

"And when is your moving date, Mam?" 

"June."

"2012, Mam?"

"Yep."

Awkward silence ensued on every call as each rep conjured up the nicest way in their heart to tell me that I'm basically crazy and to try back again next year. 

I suppose I will have to be patient. But in the meantime, if any of ye have wisdom to shed on two young novices in regards to moving cross-country, we would love to hear your two-cents. Perhaps you have an opinion about the different options (pods, hiring movers, shipping cars, Uhaul, etc.) ... or you know a thing or two that we might not consider. Either way, thank you in advance.

Reno

While Niels was jetsetting the U.S. for 9 days interviewing for residency programs, me and the little lady decided to take a quick trip to Reno to visit Aunt Jessica. Sadly, I somehow managed to delete about 20 great pictures from our adventure whilst uploading them to Picasa. I don't even want to talk about it. Pictures are such treasures to me and I was really upset about it. BUT, the silver lining here is that I had emailed a handful of them to Niels while we were apart so he could get his daily pixie fix.

She was just a little excited about the whole airport/flying thing.

          

She loved playing with her cousins!

Niels' dad and stepmother live in Reno as well so we stopped in for a quick visit with the grandparents.

Fish out of Water

Claire had never seen a splash pad before and we figured she would be scared since she cant walk/run and play in it. So we decided we'd just get her feet wet real quick.

That was until she wanted to get her hands wet ...

And her clothes wet ...

We of course were not prepared with a change of clothes or diaper. But it was totally worth it.

Needless to say the splash pad has become a common outing in our weekly repertoire.

Georgia on my mind

It looks like we are packing our boxes next summer and heading down south for a few years. Niels decided he loves school so much that he wanted to specialize. So he will begin a 3-year residency in periodontics next July at the Medical College of Georgia, located in Augusta.

Our big decision came down to Georgia or Oklahoma City, and to me it felt like we had to choose between Mars or Jupiter. I know little about both places and have never been to either. So I basically told Niels to take us where he would have the best training and where we would be happiest. No pressure, honey.

Albeit very far away from family and friends, we are excited for the next chapter in our "student years" journey.  So far I hear Georgia is beautiful and the people are very friendly. I'll be honest I'm slightly nervous to be in right in the thick of the Bible belt. But I think me and the southern belles will jive just fine. Anytime I get too worried about it all, I just look at Claire and think about her calling me momma with a nice heavy accent.

One of the best perks about  living in Vegas is that so many people are always stopping through from/to California and Utah so we always get a fair share of company. I'm pretty sure nobody will just be stopping through Augusta, but please know that the door and the white picket fence will always be open if you are ever looking for some good ol' southern hospitality.

Claire-a-dactle

It’s been a few months since the last update on the pixie chubbs. Needless to say she has become a completely different baby in the last few months. She is so fun right now and we are loving how she is starting to understand, react and communicate in her own little expressive way.

It’s interesting how we think every new little stage of hers is our favorite . That is until she hits the next stage and we fall in love all over again. Yep, we are still smitten. I actually worry sometimes about having child #2. This sounds awful, but there are days where I have anxiety about having another baby because I can’t imagine loving another child as much as Claire. Yet, at the same time I of course know that I want more children. I guess it will all work out and my heart will grow or something. I hope some of you veteran parents have felt this way before or perhaps I am a heartless matron.

Dear # 2, 

Sorry in advance.

Love, Mom 

Anyway, back to # 1. She is crawling and cruising all over the place and is days away from taking her first steps. We aren’t encouraging that too much, because she is wild and we know she is going to be all over the place. Also, I feel like once babies are walking, they aren’t your babies anymore. And that would mean it’s time for # 2 and you know how I feel about that (see above). 

People say she is a nice mix looks-wise of me and Niels. We still don't see a ton of resemblance on either part. Although, one day I was about to claim some of her features... until the lady at story time asked me if I was her nanny. 

I still can’t get over how brown she is. I slather her in 200 SPF, she wears a sun hat and sits in a canopy pool float and she is still somehow glitz-pageant bronze. The best part about it all is folding back all her leg rolls and seeing white inside. 

Her newest bag of tricks include: clapping, waving like Miss America, covering her eyes and “hiding” when asked “Where’s Claire?", standing/balancing for long periods of time. 

Current favorite pastimes: books, swings, big dogs, dad & anything involving water.

And we're back

Here we go again with another earnest effort to keep up in the blogosphere. Letting myself go, letting the blog go. It’s all Claire’s fault. (I love pulling the baby card. It works every time.) I’m excited to be back with the latest Jensen happenings. More to come very soon ... but if the suspense is killing you please be advised of the following: Things are great. Life is good. Claire is ridiculously fantastic. More meat to come on those bones.

Dad is hysterical

Claire thinks Niels is the funniest thing alive. Don't mind her post nap crazy hair and runny nose.

Camera Shy

It is crazy how much Claire has changed in six months. As much as I would like to have her pictures taken every month, we settled on getting them done for her first year at newborn, 6 months and one year.

Basically I provided the cute baby and my friends from high school provided all the talent. She is an amazing photographer, and she makes the adorable headbands.

Ya, we still kind of like her. Lots.

Dear Claire

Dear Claire,

You're 6 months old today. 6. Months. Old. When I heard you babbling to yourself this morning in your crib, I silently stood at the top so you couldn’t see me, and I got a little misty eyed looking at your chubby little bagel legs and thought about how you were just a little pixie not too long ago. You’re still my pixie, and always will be, but you have certainly become one healthy baby. Pixie chubbs or my sweet meats is what I like to call you these days. I know it is so cliché but I cannot comprehend how fast this journey called parenthood has all gone and I finally understand what everyone meant when they told me that soon I wouldn’t remember what life was like without you. You are so much a part of me. I have developed a deeper and stronger level of love then I could have ever imagined. It’s like this … I love your dad very much, but I realllllllly love you. It’s totally different. And I always kind of hated when people told me that I wouldn’t understand something until I had my own kids… but I am telling you now, my sweet daughter, that you won’t understand how much I love you until you hold your own first baby in your arms.

I don't really know where to start with this or what to tell you. But I wanted to to say some sweet things now, so I can recall them on the days when you are naughty and I feel like selling you to the gypsies.

The first month of your life was pure bliss for me and your dad. Your Grandma Julie put it best I think when she said she had never seen any parents so goo-goo-ga-ga over their child. Yep, we were smitten. It was the strangest thing. We just stared at you for hours and examined, and often re-examined all your beautiful, petite and feminine features. I may be a bit biased, but you were a beautiful newborn. Because you are our first child, we didn’t have any concept of what “the norm” was for newborns. But after several nurses and moms saw you, most if not all of them commented on how incredibly alert you were for a newborn. I don’t know, I guess I just figured all babies were as bright eyed as you. Your Aunt Jen still can’t get over this picture taken of you just minutes after birth:

She explained that most babies come out with their eyes sealed shut, squinty and swollen. But not you, apparently. I quickly realized that you were indeed very alert and curious about the world. Your beautiful, big brown eyes have continued to take everything in ever since.

I loved how attentive you were as a newborn but I didn’t necessarily love how you were the exception to every book I had read that said newborns typically napped 16-18 hours a day. You opted for the cat-nap thing instead. After about three weeks, the absence of sleep, the constant giving of myself and all the new emotions that were introduced the moment I first held you had all caught up with me. I felt like a walking zombie cow that had to be milked every 2 hours. I thought I would never function in society again and that I was doing everything wrong already. A few times I cried to Dad and a few other friends that I was already a terrible mother. Sleep deprivation makes you do crazy things. Everyone claimed it was simple … just nap when you did. Like, duh. But seeing how you rarely napped, I rarely napped. Now that's simple. Everyone also said to just suck it up and stick it out for 8 weeks. And on that note, they were all right. Once you hit 10 lbs. you were like a new baby that enjoyed sleep. The heavens opened.

Maternity leave was pretty much the best legal right ever established. I couldn’t believe that I was getting paid to stay home in my pajamas and love on you. But, like most good things it ended what seemed way too soon and 10 weeks later I had to go back to the grind. I thought for sure I would be ready for a break and for some adult conversation by then. But alas, I only lasted for a month. It went something like this. I was pumping in a dark, cold closet outfitted with servers and wires. What can I say, I worked at a male dominated office. Well that is where I decided that I would rather eat Ramen Noodles every day until dad finished school than have to miss out on you. It was kind of a crazy impression because I have always enjoyed working and being busy and never really desired the title and the accompanying stigma of being stay-at-home-mom. But I felt strongly that with you was where I was supposed to be. I really don’t like to say I quit work. I’m not a quitter. I prefer to say I switched jobs. Motherhood is hard work, little lady. But it is the most rewarding work I have ever done and I am happy to be home with you.

You make some awesome noises and expressions and you have the most heart-melting, and yummy smile. Oh dear, I just said yummy. I am such a mom now. Speaking of delicious, you have more rolls then the Lion House and it is beyond adorable. You are borderline Michelin Man and I LOVE it. It makes me so happy when you get really excited and your legs and arms spaz like crazy when I reach to pick you up. The best is when you think something I do is really funny and you get a HUGE grin but you hold back on laughing. You are a tough audience some days. This may not sound like the nicest thing, but I really like to pop out and scare you sometimes because your little surprised face is so dang cute. And if that isn't mean enough, your sad face is cute too so I’ll admit that sometimes I let you cry a little longer when I know you are faking it.

You are already pretty independent. You are… well… opinionated I guess would be a fitting word. You are pretty particular about how you like things and aren’t afraid to vocalize it. You’ve got some pipes, sister. And I think it is just great. My hope as your mother is that you always speak what’s on your mind and stand for what you desire and know is true.

You mostly hate to be rocked or snuggled unless you want your bottle and you must be held facing out looking at everything. It makes me sad sometimes, but I can’t complain about how you like to be in your bed and you put yourself to sleep. It’s a beautiful thing… EXCEPT for on Sundays at church. I have contemplated inactivity a few times, but your dad always helps me see the big picture. He would.


The holy grail of parenthood occurred when you were 5 months and you decided one day that you wanted to sit up and play by yourself. There were no stages with you learning to sit. You didn’t want to do the whole wobbly for a week falling over type thing. You just decided you wanted to do it one day so you did it, and did it well. I can walk away from you for longer than 5 minutes and you are still content with life. Life is good. I hope you continue to have that drive your whole life. You can do and be anything when you put your mind to it. So corny and cliche, but true.

I love your guts, Claire Marie. Please don't grow up too quickly.

Xoxo,

Mom

# 4 Syndrome Part II

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# 4 Syndrome

I am really trying to be cautious about not doing too many things for Claire in the memorabilia department that I know I won't realistically find the time or energy to do for my future posterity. Am I the only one who feels this pressure?

Perhaps this all boils down to the fact that I'm child # 4 in my family. Enough said.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter. I don't blame my mom and dad. I only have one kid and I already have a hard time jotting notes and remembering to keep track of all the crazy milestones we are supposed to keep track of. I can only imagine how hard it will be when/if I have 3 other little ones running around. And for the record, I'm still trying to judge if Claire's first smile was actually a direct result of a satisfying gas bubble. So I have a few potential "first" dates listed in that slot.

Nonetheless, I am not naturally a scrappy or crafty kind of lady. So I decided to throw this digital diddy together really quick on Shutterfly. And by really quick, I mean it only took me 5 months to finish. Easy enough to do for all the rest of em', right?

Blessing Day

Claire's blessing day was a great affair. Over 50 family members and friends joined us from six states, and Germany for the big day. We feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such an amazing circle of support.

Niels did a nice job and we were pretty surprised that by some miraculous measure Claire didn't make a single peep with practically half a football team surrounding her.

Isn't she a dream in white?

Grandma and Grandpa Colton came all the way from Germany!

Grandma and Grandpa Jensen

Niels' Grandma Haycock suffered a stroke in December and is living in an assisted care center until she improves enough to move back to her home. We were so touched that the center allowed her to leave for a few hours so she could attend the blessing.

The Thomas Clan

The Vegas Cousins

More Family and Friends

Practically my second family, The Hofheins, made the trip from Utah and helped make it a very special weekend.

A big thanks to all our friends and family for your love and support!

Brianhead

What better way to vacation than with six adults, three babies and a two-bedroom condo in the snow? Okay, I suppose I can think of a few ways. But nonetheless, we combined forces with two great couples from dental school and their babes for a great President's Day getaway at Brianhead. We stayed at Niels' grandparents' condo, which is conveniently located right across from the resort. Not too shabby.

I was a little nervous about how it was all going to work out with all the different schedules, but it worked out surprisingly well and we packed in some amazing food and skiing, and of course a whole lot of baby talk and play. (I wuv baby talk.)

The Mommas and the Poppas:

Niels, Claire, Matt, John, Lincoln, and David


Me, Claire, Mimi, David, Becca, and John

To simplify things a bit we rotated covering meals. The other two couples really brought their A-games and shared some impressive authentic dishes from Korea and Russia, where they served their respective missions. So we enjoyed authentic Korean bulgogi beef lettuce wraps and Russian borsch. Niels served in Argentina and while I fancied the idea of following suit and making empanadas or some sort of amazing beef, I took the Costco route instead and made their take and bake chicken pot pie. Ha! Gotta love Costco. Maybe next year we will be a little more creative. Maybe.

Coupled with the great food, was fantastic skiing. We rotated couples so that 2 couples were watching 3 babies and 1 couple was skiing. Niels is way more skilled than I am but we still had a great time. We were talking about how we don't go skiing often enough to really ever improve. It's almost as if regain our sea-legs the first day and on the second day we do great, but then we don't go again for another year. You'd obviously have to live close to snow to get really good. And on that note, I'm happy with just being okay at it.

Claire was an awesome little traveler. Niels attributes the altitude to her chronic fatigue. She slept in the car both ways as well as the majority of the time we were there. Now there's a reason to move close to snow.

Claire and her two boyfriends, John and David:

It will be a little more crazy next year when all the little ones are walking around, but we are definitely looking forward to it!

Giggles

Baby giggles have to be one the best things ever after baby feet and pudgy leg rolls. Enjoy Claire's first belly laughs. Ironically enough, this was a few hours after she had shots which makes us wonder what was really in the injections since she hasn't done this since. I'm so happy we had the camera close by.

Oh, and I can assure you that we actually do get things done around here sometimes even though she's not dressed and the bed is not made ...

Look Who's Talking

This was taken in December, and she pretty much does this all the time now... she's gonna be a talker.