5.5 Tons of Stuff

Thank you all for voting in our latest poll. Out of 5 votes we had 2 correct answers. The moving company came in and estimated the weight of our stuff at 10,500 pounds. In case you were wondering, Claire won't be carrying all of that, the movers will.

Plum crazy

I know what you're going to say -- it's supposed to be "plumb" crazy, Sarah. (I just found out that "plumb" refers to a plumb bob which is a construction tool that gives a vertical reference, and means "absolute" in this case) But I do mean "plum" because I'm talking about the horde of plums on our tree in the backyard! Claire's the one who is crazy about them. She helped me pick up the fallen fruits, and I rewarded her with a juicy ripe one from the tree. Looks like she loves plums!

Happy Father's Day, Brian!

Here's what Brian did to celebrate fatherhood:

There's nothing like a little dare-devil experience to keep you feeling young and energetic! I don't know if indoor skydiving is popular elsewhere, but it's really taken off here in the bay area. I think Brian's got the bug now, because he's saying he wants to go back to learn tricks. Claire and I both feel like he deserves these adventures and more because he's the best Daddy in the world! Our very own Superman!

Holy Sh*t!

After months of poop-free blog posts, I have to break the silence and talk about our daughter's excrements again. Sorry folks, but this is worth it! Today for no good reason at all I took Claire to Babies-R-Us to pick out a potty. I figured we might as well have a place for her to sit in the bathroom so I can keep an eye on her while I'm doing my business. Aaaanyway, Claire really took a liking to a white Babybjorn potty and she kept trying to sit on it in the store. So I purchased it, we drove home, and I placed it in the bathroom. Pants and diaper came off, and there we were enjoying our "mommy and me" moment on our potties. I talked her through my routine as usual, then left the room to go get the camera because she looked so cute sitting there on her potty. When I came back into the bathroom, Claire had that classic glazed-look in her eyes, then lo-and-behold she went number 2 in her potty!! I was perhaps more proud of her at that moment than when she had started walking. Claire was stunned to silence as I commenced a 5-minute-long hysterically loud display of praise, shock, and joy. After I had calmed down she stood up and bent over so I could wipe her, then she marched out of the bathroom. All done!

After I dumped her poop in the toilet, she took great pleasure in helping to flush it down. She consistently waves bye-bye after she does this.

Busy with relocation preparations

It's just about official, everybody! Pending inspections, we are the new owners of a beautiful home in Ellicott City. We'll be moving out of our house here in San Jose in mid-July, and residing temporarily in a hotel until we depart on July 31st. Personally I am really looking forward to this! Daily maid service sounds l-o-v-e-l-y. We'll continue to keep you all posted on this big transition. It's strange to think that Claire is completely clueless about all of this. I'm glad she won't really remember this, so the pain of leaving friends won't register for her.

House Hunting in Maryland

We are moving from California to Maryland. We went house hunting out there this past weekend. More to come soon.