Boise Trip

Grandma Julie's necklaces were a big hit.

Loving the beautiful backyard and the doggie.

Lizzie & Charlie were so cute with Claire.

Gave Lizzie some "Ana" braids.

Last week, Claire and I had the opportunity to go to Boise to visit my grandparents for the week. It worked out well to allow Sam to have some quiet time to focus on school before finals week. Claire had so much fun! She loved watching my cousins Lizzie (3) and Charlie (5) play and also my grandma's dog (Bella) run around. It was the first time she had really been around a dog, and when we first got close to it, she just started laughing so hard. It was the cutest! She was not scared of the dog at all and wanted to just sit down on the floor and be as close to it as possible.

This trip brought on several other "firsts" for Claire: first time swimming (at the YMCA during Lizzie and Charlie's swimming lessons), first time to the zoo, first time on the airplane, and (sadly) the first time getting burned. More about each below:

1st time swimming: She loved it! She was just really calm and quiet, but smiley. I didn't try dipping her head under, just walked around the pool with her and let her splash a little. I'm excited to swim more with her this summer!

Swimming @ the YMCA

1st time to the zoo: We went during a time of day where there weren't a lot of animals out, but we still had fun! Claire was especially interested in the giraffes and had fun on the little carousel too.

Fun times @ the Boise zoo!

Wiped out after the zoo. Found her sleeping like this when I went to check on her during her nap.

1st time on the airplane: We flew to and from Boise, and Claire was a trooper. On the way there, we had trouble with our plane and spent a lot of time waiting around. She was a champ, smiling at everyone and only cried once for a minute. She did well on the way back too. We were on a very small plane and were really squished by some large people, but she behaved as well as she could! I gave her Tylenol before each flight just to help with her ears and also tried to have her drinking a bottle during take-off and landing. Being the germaphobe that I am, I also brought Clorox wipes and wiped down our whole area when we boarded early (mostly because she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth). We also turned the air vent on full blast because I read that helps with airflow and to keep from catching germs on the plane. Paranoid, I know :) ...but we didn't get sick!

1st time getting burned: This was so, so sad. I was giving her a bath upstairs in the sink at my grandma's house and didn't realize how hot the metal faucet had gotten. She grabbed onto it and got scared when it hurt, so she squeezed on really tight. I didn't realize what was happening at first, and her little face was just shaking it hurt so bad. I just about started crying. I have never seen her so upset. Burns just hurt so bad and for so long. My grandma ran and bought some infant ib profen. I guess this injury led to two other firsts...1st time taking ib profen and 1st popsicle (becuase we felt so bad for her). She cried on and off for about two hours but then was over it. I am so grateful it didn't blister and seemed to be a pretty minor burn.

Brave girl recovering from her burn :(

It is always so great to spend time with my Boise family. I love them so much! I have the best, most generous grandparents who are some of my dearest friends. I am a lucky girl.