We have a tooth!

Claire's first tooth broke through yesterday! Over Christmas she was a little fussier than normal and very clingy. Two days ago I noticed her bottom gums were red and swollen, then last night she was chewing on my finger and I felt something sharp! She won't let me hold her lip down without sticking her tongue out, so I can't get a picture. :(

She also started saying "momma" and "dada" very clearly and definitely talking to us! Before she was just babbling, but now it is deliberate. Mommy and Daddy LOVE hearing her calling us!

Video

She has some lungs on her!

My little sunflower

We took advantage of the cooler temperatures and took some pictures of Claire in her Halloween costume at her Gran & Grandpa's house.

She loved the hay! I had to sit just out of view to snatch the hay from her hands between shots before she ate it or poked herself in the eye with it!

I hope the temperatures are this cool on Halloween!

Thanks Uncle Brian!

Claire loves chewing on Bevo's horns! Uncle Brian (Mike's brother) gave Claire the softest, stuffed Bevo & she loved it from the moment I handed it to her. For those of you who may not know, Bevo is the mascot for UT.

Let's go to Austin!

Last weekend we surprised my sister, Emily, and showed up in Austin for her birthday. My younger sister, Susan, helped us keep it a secret and kept Emily distracted until we arrived. After a LONG car ride, we finally made it to Susan's house around 7pm. Susan saw us from the window and told Emily to come to the front to see a Halloween decoration and when she opened the door, there we were! Emily was stunned silent for a moment (those of you who know her, know that she is only capable of a moments silence) then once she realized who we were and that we were actually standing in front of her she let out the loudest shriek! Poor, tired little Claire was then stunned for a minute and started wailing! She recovered shortly. I had her wear her onsie that said "I love Aunt Em", but between all of the screaming and crying I did not think to get a picture of it!

Claire is signing the birthday card to Aunt Emily.

Saturday we all watched the UT/OU game. Uncle Eric and Mike were so excited throughout the game that Claire frequently cried because of their screams/yells/squeals of glee/etc. It was an awesome game - UT won! Claire wore one of the onsies that was made at my baby shower.

On Sunday we all went to lunch at Seranos - yummy! You can see that Claire was a little tired from the weekend.

We always have fun in Austin & this time was no exception! Hook Em!

Avacado is yummy!

Claire had her first "real food" experience! We mashed up avacado and she LOVED it! For the past few weeks she has been very interested in watching us eat. We had been putting her in the highchair and letting her sit at the table while we eat, but that just wasn't cutting it anymore. We are going to try carrots next. We were going to try them tonight, but I had them steaming and forgot about them & burned up the pan. Yuck!

Hurricane Ike

After nearly 4 days without electricity, we are finally back up! We woke on Saturday to some hellacious winds, but luckily we escaped without damage to our house! The first day without power was a little unnerving, but we quickly learned to enjoy the family time! We spent the evenings playing with Claire. I am afraid we may have spoiled our 5 month old with all of the attention!

We sat by the fireplace with the candles burning, and read to each other, listened to the radio, and just talked. Oh, and nursed!

Meet the Keslers!

Welcome to our little corner of cyberspace! I am a first time blogger, so I apologize in advance for my lack of blog-knowledge.

Our little family is made up of a Daddy (Mike), Mommy (Carrie), and baby (Claire). Mike and I are not perfect parents, but we are learning! Claire is the center of our universe, and continually amazes us as she is growing and changing everyday. After struggling to get pregnant for over 2 years, we finally got the good news that we were expecting! Claire was born April 9, 2008 (which makes her 5 months old today!).

Mike and I have been married for 7 wonderful years! I can't say that we haven't had our typical ups and downs of marriage, but overall we have been very happy in love!

We live in a very small town in east Texas and love it! For the past year we have been building a house and finally moved in about 4 weeks ago. Sidenote -- I do NOT recommend building a house while you are pregnant and have a newborn, it is a TON of unnecessary stress .--

I don't have a clue where this blog will take us, but I hope you enjoy the ride!