First things first, for those of you who don't know, we're expecting! I haven't been given an official due date, but based on the ultrasound I had last week, it looks like about October 2nd. We are very excited to be growing our family and are looking forward to having a new little person to get to know and love. So far I've been blessed to not have much morning sickness like I did last time. I've had a few cravings and more things don't sound good to eat, but I've generally felt pretty good.

February has been an extremely busy and fun month. The first two weeks of the month, we traveled to Ft. Lauderdale to visit John, Carin and the kids. We originally planned on visiting for 10 days, but due to the crazy winter storms on the east coast, we had to delay our return a few days. We didn't mind the extra days with family and in the warmth. Chris and I enjoyed running (sometimes together) in the beautiful weather. It was so refreshing! No snow, no coats, just sunshine and warmth (even if it was unseasonably cold.)

Claire modeling her summer outfit Brianna got her for her birthday. She is playing on the stairs - her favorite thing to do while at John and Carin's. The good news is she learned to go down! The bad news is we had to take turns chasing her (which was part of the game to her.)

As with any trip, Chris and I like to explore the food possibilities! The first was just across the street at the mall. The mall you ask? Yes. They sell arepas, and Chris has fallen in love. They are like a corn bread grilled sandwich with melted cheese in between. Chris was so inspired that he found the proper corn flour and made arepas himself this week. Yum!

Chris and John also made two delicious meals for us. Some of the food included gingered chicken, citrus cod, plantains, and strawberry pecan pie.

Of course we discovered some yummy food out. John, Carin, Chris, and I enjoyed date nights both Fridays we were there. The first Friday, we went to a Hungarian restaurant, and the food was delicious! The second week, we went to a Brazilian Steakhouse for lunch with Robert and stuffed our faces. They brought 12 different meats around, including sausage, chicken, many cuts of steaks, lamb, and pork. The salad bar was also awesome! It was a unique experience to taste so many different cuts of meat perfectly cooked and seasoned (and I'm not usually a big fan of meat.) That night, we went to an El Salvador restaurant to try papusas. Yum! We then went to J. Alexander's for some dessert. John said they had the best carrot cake he's ever tasted - warm and melty cream cheese frosting. Mmm. That night we also went to a Central/ South American sport called Jai Alai. It's kind of like racquetball but instead of racquets, they have big hooks where they catch the ball. It's free to watch as they make money by people who place bets. It was really fun to watch and figure out the rules.


As if that wasn't enough, there was one other beloved restaurant we discovered called Tijuana Flats. I say "beloved" because Chris deemed this restaurant one of his all time favorites. What won his heart besides the delicious fresh Mexican food? Why the dozen+ varieties of hot sauces with which to taste, enjoy, and spice up your food. In fact, he bought some to take home. What won my heart? Why the cookie dough flautas of course. Wow. It was seriously the best dessert I've ever tasted. Mmm.

Ok, time to stop dreaming about cookie dough flautas. Other fun things we did while we were there included going to a farm and picking tomatoes and strawberries, relaxing drives, shopping at Ikea, a Super Bowl party, Andrew's birthday, and a trip to the beach. Claire loves to play in the water, and kept wanting to go in their pool despite the fact that the water was freezing. We went out to the pool a few times, and Claire and I dipped our feet in. She loves to splash the water. The beach was also really fun. She sat on her Aunt Cay's lap (whom she adores) and played in the sand. She also loved letting the waves come over her feet. Oh, that baby is just full of life!

"C'mon mommy! Let's go out to the pool!"

Splashing and kicking in the water.

Most importantly, we had a great time spending time with family there and building memories.

Robert teaching Claire the importance of video games.

As if traveling to Florida for almost 2 weeks wasn't enough, the third weekend in February, we went to Newport, RI for a Strong Bonds weekend sponsored by the Army. We left Thursday to go to Lori and Wayne's house in Albany. Friday morning, Chris and I left for Newport, while Claire stayed in Albany. It was the first time I had been away from Claire for more than a few hours, which was tough, but worth the weekend alone with Chris. Since we are expecting again we have to take advantage of this time we can have together before we have a newborn again.

Chris and I had a great time in Newport. It was the second time we attended a Strong Bonds weekend (the last time was in Niagara Falls.) Basically it's a couples weekend where you attend workshops that help you improve your relationship with your spouse, especially focusing on communication. As it did last time, the workshops confirmed to Chris and I that we have great communication and a wonderful, happy marriage. There's always room for a little improvement, but wow, I feel very blessed to not only have such a wonderful husband, but to have such a happy, open, committed, and respectful marriage.

The view from the bridge going over to Newport.

What traveling adventure doesn't include food? Friday night, we traveled to Providence to go to the Melting Pot restaurant. For those of you who haven't been, it's delicious! Very pricey, but delicious. It's a fondue restaurant - cheese fondue for the first course, then salad, then a broth to cook a whole bunch of meat and veggies in, and finally, chocolate fondue with brownies, marshmallows, strawberries, and much more to dip in the chocolate. Since the Army was giving us both a lot of per diem each day, we took advantage of the opportunity to have pricier food than we would usually have had.

The next night, we decided to have some seafood. I'm not a huge fan of seafood, but since we were right on the ocean, in a place known for good, fresh seafood, I figured if I'd like it anywhere, it'd be there. So, I went out of my comfort zone, chose not to get the scrod or fish and chips, and ordered scallops instead. If I was going to like them, it would be there. Unfortunately, I didn't really like them. I ate 5 or 6 of them (had to get the baby his/her DHA:)) but fed the rest to Chris. He loved them though, as well as his lobster. After that, we went to an Italian restaurant and got an appetizer and a delicious gooey chocolate cake dessert. Yum!

The rest of our meals weren't very interesting. We ate cheaply for breakfast and lunch, so we could really enjoy dinner. We had a wonderful trip to Newport, and enjoyed a scenic drive to see lots of mansions and the coastline as we drove out of town. Maybe someday we'll go back in the summer when things are at its peak there. Unfortunately we didn't enjoy the outdoors much as it was too cold!

Tomorrow brings Chris's birthday. We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday together, and then will go up to Rochester to celebrate with my parents as well.

How could I have a post without talking about the latest on little Claire. Every day with her is so much fun full of laughter and love. I've decided that she's living up to her French origin name. Whenever I ask her if she wants to eat, she immediately says, "cheese." Oh, that girl could eat cheese all day long, though we of course do not allow that. She also loves her grapes and goes crazy pointing at them whenever she sees them in the fridge or on the counter. I think she can say grapes, but it kind of sounds like cheese, so I haven't quite figured it out.

She continues to talk up a storm and learns new words. While Lori and Wayne were watching her when Chris and I were in Newport, she started calling her Uncle Wayne "guncle." It's so cute! She's also called strange men guncle after that weekend. In fact, last night, I was praying with her before putting her down for bed. I prayed that God would bless Chris's Uncle Danny, and she repeated "guncle" a few times. I also prayed to bless Papa (my dad), and she repeated "Papa" a few times. She still may not say "Amen", but at least she listens!

My favorite new thing she says is "Mimi" (mommy.) For a while she called me "Mommom", then for a few days, "mommy", and now "Mimi." It's so darn cute! Lori said when Chris and I were away, she would say, "daddy?" Then Lori would say, "where's daddy?" Claire responded, "Mimi." Later she'd say, "Mimi?" Lori - "Where's Mimi?". Claire - "Daddy." So smart and so cute. I must admit, I love that she actually calls me something more regularly now.

Claire's most used words include "woof woof" (for pretty much any animal she sees), "Hi" (to anyone she sees or meets), "daddy" and "mimi", "da done" (all done), "uh-oh", "kaw kaw" (chair), "eye", "didi" (baby), "cheese", and "cookie." She can also say doggie, roar (for lion), affe (for giraffe), mouth, and lots more. Communication with her is getting clearer and clearer every day. I love it.

Claire seems to enjoy shopping. Not only does she love saying hi to all the people that pass by and wandering around the store on her own (with me right behind of course), but she loves all there is to see. She gets so excited, and very boisterously points and says, "oooohhhhh!" One time, I completely lost Chris. I went up the the front of the store to wait for him. Not long after I got there, I heard Claire shouting "ooohhhhh!" over and over again half way across the store. I found them! She really gets excited when she sees toys, especially stuffed animals. She loves to hug every one she can. When she hugs them (or people, and sometimes inanimate objects), she makes this nasal "awwwww" sound. It's the cutest thing!

Claire loves the water. She loves it any way she can get it - at the beach in Florida, a pool, or more commonly, the bath tub. She loves to play and splash in the water. Lately, she has also been bending down to put her face in the tub and drink the water. Mmm. Soapy bath water. Her favorite thing though, is playing with the running water. She loves to slowly and carefully stick her tongue out and move closer to the running water until her tongue touches and she drinks some of the water. She just laughs and laughs. She also tries to grab the water and gets confused when her hand just goes through it. Last night, I tried a few times to get her out of the tub. She kept saying "more", and since that is a newly learned word, I let her have more. Eventually though, she was getting too cold, and I had to take her out, despite her protests. Oh, that baby is just too cute!