Pearly white

Hannah has a tooth!  

We've figured she's been teething for a few weeks now, what with the increased drool and chewing on anything she can get her mouth on.  Yesterday I thought I'd feel around in her mouth to see if I could feel anything, and I found the beginnings of a tooth already pushed through her lower gum.  It is so cute!  I never thought I'd get so excited about a silly tooth.  Truth be told, I'm also excited that the fussing seems to have dissapated and my sweet, smiling, content little girl is back.  It's fun to watch her feel her tooth with her tongue.  She's been doing that for a while now, but just yesterday I figured out what she was really doing.

I've always paid attention to people's teeth.  I don't know why, but I would say that it is one of the first things I notice or remember about a person.  It is kind of weird to think that Hannah's mouth will now be forever different, no longer the gummy, toothless grin.  Ah, my little baby is growing up!

New Hannah pics

There are new pictures of Hannah up at www.theclingerfamily.com.  Click on the photos tab at the top of the page to see pics of her from the last couple of weeks.  Such a cutie!  :-)

"On My Own" - or - "Out of Proportion"

This week Jeff has been in Arkansas for the New Church Leadership Institute (NCLI).  It is the second of two weeks he has been gone for the institute.  He went to the first one in October, and we had the "what if" plan in case I went into labor (I didn't).  I think I spent at least one night in Lawrence with Barb and John (Jeff's folks) so I wouldn't be alone for the whole week.  This time, I had sole "Hannah duty" all week.  Jeff encouraged me to try to plan things to do each day to help the week go by faster.  And actually, the week has been pretty good.  Monday I met Sara and Kara for what I thought would be a "working" lunch but turned out to be just lunch for my birthday.  Tuesday I was able to get some work done during the day, and then Hannah and I went to walk around the mall while dinner was cooking in the slow cooker.  Last night I had a meeting in Lawrence and tonight I had rehearsal, so Wednesday evening I loaded up the girls (Hannah and Kayla) to spend some time with Barb and John.  They watched Hannah last night during my meeting and tonight during rehearsal.  Tomorrow I will meet Julia, a long-time friend, for brunch, then get the girls loaded in the car to go home.

This week has made me appreciate a couple things: #1 - all that Jeff does around the house and his presence and support; #2 - how helpful it is to be living close to family; #3 - how much I appreciate John and Barb being willing to watch Hannah (so, ok, we don't exactly have to twist their arms to do it, but still...); #4 - what a privilege it is to have the option to work part-time; and #5 - how difficult it would be to be a single parent.

Thanks for doing this parenting thing with me, Jeff!  I'm glad we're doing it together.

WAAY too long

I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted! If you're reading this, you no doubt know that on 11-11-08, "BC" became Hannah Marie! She was 8 pounds 2 ounces, and 19.5 inches long. She's now 10 weeks old, smiling, cooing, and generally being cute...except when she's being fussy, which seems to be more frequent lately. We're working on that.

We had an ultrasound on her pyloric valve after her 1 month doctor's appointment, and found that it was fine. We had been concerned about the amount she had been spitting up, and problems with that valve run in my dad's side of our family. She's fine and really healthy, so we feel blessed!

I went back to work in the middle of December. That's sooner than I would have liked, but I figured I needed to be around for Christmas Eve. I was part time before Hannah was born, and am still, which is nice. I have been driving to Lawrence just two days a week, on Sundays for worship and Thursdays for rehearsal. Mondays are Jeff's day off and I will probably be going to Lawrence then. It will mean we lose a family day, but I think it will be good for Jeff and Hannah to have time to themselves.

Last night we took dinner to some friends who have a one-month old and almost-three-year-old, and it was amazing how much bigger Hannah was than Kaia. Granted, they can still wear the same size clothes, but it was pretty neat to see the difference.

Life is different in the Clinger house, which we are making more "ours" with some painting and other changes. We are so thankful that we're close to family. Hannah ("little h" or "hmc" to distinguish from Mom) has had lots of time with grandparents and aunts/"unlces." My sister is in the middle of a rotation in Topeka (about an hour away) and we've been able to hang out much more than we will when she goes back to St. Louis. And Jeff's sister was able to spend several days here between Christmas and New Year's.

Hannah was baptized at Church of the Resurrection on Dec. 27th, and despite funky weather, we were able to celebrate with all six of her grandparents, aunt Erin and almost-uncle Jay, aunt Rebekah and almost-uncle Mike, great-aunt Patsy and great-uncle Wayland, great-aunt Charlotte and great-uncle Charlie, Grandpa Suffron's cousin Judy, Mom's cousins John and Sue. We were sorry my grandparents couldn't make it, but it was wonderful to be surrounded by our families.

I guess that's about it. I'm going to try to update on a more regular schedule. Feel free to hold me accountable. :-)