Clara's first visit out East

Clara's first visit to New Jersey and New York has been quite eventful so far. The #1 first thing that she has done is she got her first cold :(. She got it from her cousins Nate and Maddie. Very sad. She is dealing with it well, probably better than I am! I think I am sick as well but I am not sure if it is because I have the same cold that Clara has or if it because I might have tooth infection that I know I need to take care of but have not yet. I am weird like that.

So this trip was to get Clara baptized. Cherie had planned it so Maddie and Clara could get baptized together at St. Elizabeth's. While I was at my parents, I was looking at pictures of myself with Father John at my First Communion. It was sort of funny to know that he would be baptizing my daughter. I never thought THAT would ever happen.

We left for NJ on Thursday morning and stopped in Cleveland for the evening. We stayed with Matt's friend Dave Jenkins. They have a son named Anthony and it was fun to see them. Clara was fine in the car on Thursday. We had a stop in Indiana with a client so she at least had a break from the car. The second day on the way to NJ was not as easy. Baby doll just likes to be picked up after she wakes from a nap and you can't do that in the car. So then after I while she starts to cry and gets very unhappy.

On Friday, we arrived in NJ and stopped at Heather's to meet her daughter, Charlotte. I cannot believe how quickly you forget what a newborn is like. Charlotte is so little a new. Clara was like that not too long ago and I already have a hard time remembering. It made me sad.

After that, we arrived at Cherie's. Though a little late because the kids had already gone to bed. It was fun to show off Clara to her, that little baby makes me so proud and she has not done really that much yet except for exist. Cherie seemed to have fun hanging out with Clara.

The next morning, Clara got to meet her cousins Maddie and Nate. She LOVED THEM! They made her giggle and talk and she really interacted with them. It made me sad that they are not closer together because I really like the three of them would thrive together. I will just have to make sure we take a lot of trips to see them so they can be together. We got our selves all ready for the day and went to my parents so the family could see baby doll and hang out. It was a long day of people grabbing her and holding her. People love the Clara doll. It was nice of her to see the family for the first time. My parents seemed in awe of how much she has grown since they saw her last.

We hung out with the family after the Ryghs left so Matt could watch the basketball game with the guys. After that we went back to Cherie's and hung out there a little bit.

The next day was a big day of the baptism. The ceremony itself was nice, sort of thrown together, but nice. It was sort of cool to do it at Saint Elizabeths. After that, we had the reception at the clubhouse. It was sort of a hard day because there were so many people there and it was hard to get her to sleep or take a nap.

On Monday, we went to JC Penneys and had a photo shoot with Clara and Maddie. It was a lot of work because someone had to have their hands on the girls and keep track of Nate's whereabouts. He likes to run away! Clara sort of got tired of the whole thing, and thinking back now, it is probably when she started feeling sick so she was a bit cranky. Though we did get good pictures of the two of them. I am excited to receive them.

Today, our first day in Rochester, Dad took the day off and we hung out with him. I slept in, I really needed it because that night was hard. Clara was really having a hard time breathing and was up a lot. I think she would wake up a little, realize that she could not breath and that woke her up. I was up many times and after about 4 times, I made Matt get up and get her. I felt so bad for her. She was having such a hard time breathing. I ended up sleeping until 10 AM. I really needed it! I was exhausted. Then we took her to meet her great grandmother whom she thought was hilarious! She giggled up a storm for her. Matt certainly has the Cintineo worry because Sadie was so concerned about so many things. She would have given her a pork chop and orange juice if she had been left alone with Clara.

We went to Target to pick up some things, like a nightlight so I would not have to kill myself trying to get to her room at night. After that, we took her to meet Marty and Rosie. They seemed to have a lot of fun with her! I need to remember to add their present to the present list so I can write thank you notes....

OK, Matt is asleep next to me snoring and I know I better get to bed because baby doll gets up early. She has a humidifier tonight so hopefully that will help her sleep. I hope so because I don't think I can take a night like last night again! That was hard work especially since I was sick as well. Though I am beginning to feel much better.

Good night!