Introducing Claire

(The above proof is a photo we bought from the photographer who took pics at the hospital.)

Claire Evelyn Boyer has finally arrived! (Okay, it was a week ago - July 30th - but it took me a while to find any time to post, let alone sleep.) We chose the name "Evelyn" after two of Jason's grandmothers. After deciding on "Claire", we discovered that his maternal grandmother's name was Evelyn Claire and his great-grandmother's first name was Claire. It was meant to be.

If you have any interest in the random details leading up to Claire's birth, read on. If not, just scan ahead for more pics. (I have a tendency to give more info than anyone actually cares about.)

Wed 4pm: OB appt. on my due date. Dilated to 4cm. Schedule induction for Friday morning at 5am!

Wed 5pm: Call Jason’s parents. They schedule flight to come in Thursday night. Jason has office reschedule all of his patients for next Thursday & Friday.

Wed 11pm: Go to sleep with the comfort of knowing that no matter how much pain and discomfort I am in, I only have to make it 1 ½ more days.

Thur 11am: Dr.’s office calls to schedule check-up for Monday. I explain that I am being induced tomorrow, so no need for an appt. They inform me that no, they are not sure why they told me that the schedule was completely open for me to be induced, as it is actually completely full. I will have to be induced next Wednesday instead.

Thur 11:05am: I freak out. You don’t mess with a pregnant woman like that. The thought of waiting another 6 days is not an option. I had mentally prepared myself for tomorrow. The in-laws bought their tickets. Jason’s patients have all been rescheduled. But most importantly, my emotional state is not stable.

Thur 6pm: My body convinces Claire that we are not waiting another week. The time has come, whether they can schedule me in or not. Contractions begin about 10 minutes apart.

Fri 12am: Jason’s parents arrive, just in time to watch Gabby.

Fri 4am: Contractions are finally 4-5 minutes apart and more and more intense. We leave for the hospital.

Fri 4:30am: As soon as I lay down on the bed for them to measure my contractions, they are suddenly farther apart and less intense. They look at me like I don’t know what I am doing and send us home. They do not seem to care that when I stand up to leave, a huge puddle of blood appears on the floor. “Maybe we’ll see you later this weekend,” the nurse says. Eh?? Later this weekend? I don’t think so.

Fri 5:30am: We drive home with me in agony. I have not eaten or slept all night and I am urgently craving a sausage and egg muffin. The restaurants are not open yet. My pain doubles at the disappointment, which is clearly a personal attack from the restaurant industry.

Fri 7:30am: Okay, so this is what they were talking about when they said labor pains are one of the worst pains a person can experience. Contractions are 2 minutes apart. The thought crosses my mind that maybe I should just deliver at home to prove to them that they should not have turned me away. On second thought, there is a slight chance that my plan may be much worse on me than them. Fine. Off to the hospital again.

Fri 8am: Arrive at hospital with contractions 1 minute apart. I am a true disaster complete with tears and I tell myself, “At least I will never see anyone here again.” Then the nurse comes to rush me to my room. She leans over me in the wheel chair. “Jen?” – perfect – an old friend from high school that I haven’t seen for 13 years. She will be my nurse through the entire delivery. Needless to say, I am not much for reminiscing and small talk as she helps me undress. (No offense, Mey, I was just in a little shock, but you were an awesome nurse.)

Fri 9:55am: Claire Evelyn Boyer arrives before I have time to realize that I am in the hospital. She is perfect! And, I admit, the pain instantly seems trivial once I see her face and hold her in my arms. Welcome home, Claire!

The first few moments of Claire's life.

8lbs, 8oz. 20inches. Thank goodness we did not let her grow another week!

Jason experiments with his wicked photography skills.

The Boyer cheeks prevail again!

The sisters meet each other. Gabby has been such a gentle and loving sister. [Note: That is Gabby's arm around Claire, not my runt arm, as it appears.]

More pics from the photographer at the hospital:

Our growing family arrives home. (I promise, despite the illusion, this is the day after Claire's birth and I am not actually 7 months pregnant again.)

Curiosity.

Jason's parents keep Gabby busy with things like hiking to Bridal Veil Falls.

Gabby had a great time with Noni & Papa B and we ate better than we have for a LONG time. Thank you for all of the help!

I will get back into photo mode and take some better pictures of Claire soon. And I may even eventually post them....

As We Wait...

Although Baby Boyer #2 has yet to make her big debut (her womb expiration date is a mere 5 days away), we have been keeping busy with fun summer activities, as seen below.

Lots of grilling with Jason's Father's Day gift.

(I promise he is happy here, he just has to pretend to be to be tough & manly while grilling.)

We had a great 4th of July weekend.

We began with a breakfast at our church, where the kids also decorated their bikes for a miniature parade.

That afternoon, we went to the lake with a big group for a picnic. Gabby is finally back to loving sand instead of being too distracted by the fact that she is getting dirty.

At a friends house, we managed to introduce Gabby to her first hands-on fireworks. She was much more impressed with the snakes and the parachuters than the sparklers.

Gabby has certainly discovered some best friends recently. She and her friend Van get giddy every time they get to hang out. Here they are in the water during a day on the lake.

Um, ya. Like I said, the dirt doesn't seem to bother her anymore....

Gabby & Tori - two friends that now hold hands everywhere they go.

Van's 2nd Birthday party. The cutest decorations and lots of fun for everyone!

The party included a water balloon toss. Gabby wasn't quite sure what to think of that.

She did enjoy the idea of hitting the pinata as hard as she could with a stick, though.

And here are the two trouble-makers, sneaking into the blue M&Ms.

We adults have also had a few chances to go on some dates, pre-baby. We had a great time at Cirque du Soleil several weeks ago and last week we made it to a Barenaked Ladies concert. Below, Jen & I remember our concert-going days. Wow, how the crowds have changed....

We will keep you posted on the new baby. We are excited to meet her. Gabby is already being a good sister, giving frequent hugs and "bisous" and saying, "Baby coming soon!" (please let the SOON part be true!).

San Juan Islands

Sunday we returned from a mini-vacation to the San Juan Islands, located just a couple of hours north of Seattle. We had such a great time! The weather was perfect and the scenery was breathtaking everywhere we went.

Gabby was able to experience many firsts, including her first ferry ride.

Not sure where she got the swimsuit model pose idea, but I appreciate her originality.

We did a little whale watching, but only managed to see some sea lions before Gabby lost interest in staring at the same water for hours.

On the second island we went to, Orcas Island, Gabby discovered throwing rocks into the water and decided this is an activity that will never get old.

We enjoyed many great meals at restaurants overlooking the water.

Our bed-and-breakfast had a beautiful view from our bedroom deck.

The view of Mt. Baker from the top of Mt. Constitution.

Another view from Mt. Constitution.

Our only profile shot of Baby Boyer #2. (6 weeks to go!)

Despite the fact that we never gave this girl a chance to nap, she was a trooper and happy the whole time.

Near some waterfalls on our hike. Why don't they make a backpack like that to carry me?

We took a relaxing row boat ride out on the lake. (Well, relaxing for the two of us, while Daddy did all the work.) :)

During our time in the car, Gabby entertained her baby by reading stories to her. (Although I am not sure that the baby can see much, the way she is holding her....)

Happenings

Our daily lives have been pretty busy lately, with visitors and summer toys and getting settled in our new home. Here is a glimpse of what we have been up to. As seen above, Mémé (Jen's mom) visited for a week and Gabby finally had someone else to follow around everywhere. Jason and I even seized the opportunity to go out on a date and saw Fiddler on the Roof performed at the Paramount!

At my cousin's wedding, we were able to be with Gabby's Great-Grandma Allred.

On Memorial Day, we visited my four sibling's graves. (They may not be war veterans, but it seemed like an appropriate time to pay them a little visit anyway.)

Gabby also got her first tricycle! She is amazing at making it move without even having her feet on the peddles....

Thanks to the improved weather (and a backyard!), Gabby has been spending every moment that she can convince me, playing with her water & sand table. The water has a way of quickly moving from the table to Gabby's entire body, so she generally plays with full raincoat & boot body armor.

With the baby soon coming to take over the crib, Gabby got a new big-girl bed! She loves it. I was prepared to spend the first couple of weeks waking up in the middle of the night to her crying because she fell off of the bed. But so far, she has slept even better here than in her crib. Even for a wild sleeper, she has not managed to fall out of bed yet! (Knock on wood....)

Here is a look at her new room. (The blackout curtains probably should take the credit for her sleeping longer these days.) We still have more details to add, but she seems to have adjusted well to the transfer.

First Haircut

Before & After

Gabby's first haircut took place about 3 weeks ago. Considering her attachment to her mullet, I think she did quite well at holding still while our friend, Crystal, chopped off the chaotic baby hair ends. Still more growing out to do, but in the meantime, I think it looks pretty cute.