Parenting.

I thought I'd talk a little about how Jordan and I are as parents thus far :)

Jordan:

* Jordan doesn't like to hear Claire cry one bit! If I'm upstairs changing her diaper, or something similar that she doesn't like, and she cries for more than a minute, I can pretty much count on him to run up the stairs and come over to comfort her :)
* Jordan is great at burping our gassy little baby. He has a lot of different techniques: over the shoulder, belly down on his thighs, bicycle with her legs...from patting her back to rubbing in an upward motion...he's got it down! When he's around, I usually nurse her, and hand her off to him to burp and/or change her diaper!
* When we are out with Claire, Jordan loves to carry her around in the Baby Bjorn. She goes right to sleep too!
* Jordan has also already developed quite an unusual nickname for her: (should I really post this? I mean, not sure I want this nickname to "STICK" if you know what I mean!...oh well, I have to post it for posterity...) Claire-aroni....kinda like macaroni, but Clairearoni... Yeah. He thinks "Claire Bear" is way too overdone. I have to agree.
* Jordan also likes to make up funny songs... :) He'll sing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" changing the words to "Sweet Claire-aline" or "Sweet Claire-of-mine." haha... I think he only knows the chorus though--but let's be honest here--who actually knows the verses to that song anyway??
* If I'm out and Claire wakes up prematurely or is being fussy, Jordan never calls me with the typical husband plea to come home :) He is very patient! (He even resorted to a bottle of formula the other day...)
* Jordan practices standing with Claire. She can now stand, supporting herself for 5 seconds at a time before her legs give in. Is that advanced? :)
* OK so this probably won't win us any parenting awards but Jordan discovered that if Claire is really fussy and won't calm down...if he dipped her pacifier in apple juice she calms RIGHT down :) She is definitely her daddy's daughter!

Janessa:

* Janessa feels like a cow :) All she does is provide milk...and let's be honest, it's not like she can fit into her clothes yet! But it's all for a great cause--nursing Claire is the BEST! And Claire definitely likes to fill her tummy!
* Janessa wakes up at night to feed Claire, but sometimes falls asleep herself unfortunately! In fact, last night she dozed off while feeding and then did one of those "jumps" in her sleep...it was pretty funny. Claire didn't even wake up though...pheewww.
* Janessa loves singing primary songs to Claire. The other night, she propped her up in front of her and Claire listened to her sing primary songs for at least 20 minutes! It was great--her attention span isn't usually that long. Favorites are "I Am a Child of God," "I Know my Father Lives," and "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus."
* Janessa mostly refers to Claire as "Sweetie," or "little Sweetie," or "Sweetheart." Jordan also calls her Sweetheart all the time. It's really cute.