We were able to spend just over a month back in MS before heading to Phoenix to start my new job. It was great to get such an extended period with family and to let them get to know Clara better. Since we are so behind at posting we are just going to summarize this Christmas in pictures. Hope you like it…
During our month back in MS we decided to take a trip up to Washington DC to visit 2 sets of friends from Tucson who now live up there. It was a great opportunity as I had never been to DC and we hadn’t seen some of our best friends in quite a while. We somewhat split the trip between the Bigelows and the Grimes.
It was our first time flying with Clara and we were a bit nervous, but luckily we had direct flights both ways and Clara did well. Only a little bit of crying, not too bad overall. We arrived to DC and met Mary at the airport and headed out to Annapolis. We had a great time getting to catch up with Beau and Mary: getting to see the upgrades to their house, seeing Beau’s massive board game collection and enjoying a karate comic book game for Xbox Kinect (sounds ridiculous but was pretty awesome, Clara even got in the mix). We also got to go downtown for “Midnight Madness” which is an event where the shops stay open late and have free giveaways and deals. It was freezing, but we had a great time exploring the beautiful downtown Annapolis (Mary was a great tour guide).
On Saturday we all drove into DC to meet with Natalie and Liam. We met on the National Mall and strolled past the Washington Monument to the Smithsonians. There were so many I wanted to attend but we had to narrow it down to just a few. We went to the American History museum first. The transportation exhibit was great, but the best part by far was the display of the Star Spangled Banner, the actual flag about which the song was written. While not necessarily the most “flag-waving” American out there, the scale of the flag alone was awe inspiring, not to mention all the history wrapped up into it. Clara did extremely well during all of this. She ate wherever we were, whether it be the cafeteria of the Smithsonian or the burger place we went for lunch. She spent most of the remaining time looking something like this:
After lunch we strolled around DC to a farmer’s market and through some old neighborhoods with some great architecture. It reminded me of how much better the houses are in the east. AZ just has too many cookie cutter neighborhoods. That evening Beau and Mary had to return for a church function so Natalie, Liam, Beth, Clara and I continued our tour of the monuments with the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam war memorials as well as the Lincoln monument. Normally cynical about these type of things, it was somewhat surprising to me how much I enjoyed it. The artistic elements and historical depictions and reflections were a real pleasure.
The next morning we took the Metro down to Alexandria to see where Liam and Natalie live. Old town Alexandria was a charming place with quaint streets lined with shops and restaurants and we were able to visit a small French creperie (where Beth got what she claimed was one of her favorite meals of all time). We also strolled the waterfront which offered a cool view of downtown DC.
We then headed back to their house for dinner which was great. It was fun to see their place and catch up on life as well as for them to get to meet Clara and see her do something other than sleep. Not that I am complaining, but her 8 hour nap pictured above in the streets of Alexandria just isn’t her modus operandi.
Our last day in town was Monday so Beau and Liam had to work. Luckily Mary and Natalie were available to come meet us back in DC and explore the museums a bit more. We had saved the Natural History Museum for last as it was the one I looked forward to most (mostly because of the dinosaur exhibit). I remember as a kid always wanting to get to see the giant T-rex but most of all, my personal favorite, Allosaurus. Beth and I had also promised our nephew Owen (who now has a similar fascination with dinosaurs) that we would take a picture with the T-Rex for him. I also snapped a quick picture of all the girls with the Brontosaurus.
After the museum we headed over to Georgetown to explore and go to a cupcake place that Mary raved about. It was called Georgetown Cupcakes and apparently is the subject of a TV show on TLC. Georgetown was a cool place that reminded me a lot of Barcelona or other European towns with the narrow streets and older architecture. It was a great place to spend our final hours in DC.
Although we were tentative about traveling with Clara, we are extremely glad we went. Time spent with good friends is never regretted and we definitely miss all of them out here in AZ. Maybe someday we can all end up in the same place. If not, we’ll just have to plan to meet up regularly.
Clara turned four months old at the end of November. With all of our moving, we were a little late taking the pictures. These were taken shortly after we arrived in Mississippi. Her hat was a gift from Jeff and me for Christmas. We thought going to Mississippi and heading to D.C. in December warranted a winter hat. We found this one on Etsy and were pretty pleased!
A few pictures from October in Tucson:
Here is a picture of the video monitor. When people ask about accessories for a baby… this is one thing we would recommend. Not the cheapest thing but really helps set you at ease. Thank you Nana and Pops!
Walcott and Clara are getting along well. He likes to keep nearby.
Some of my favorites from the month…
Three Month Pictures:
So, it has been a long time! Also, I think I should note that this is my first blog post! Although I still hold that Jeff is the better writer, he has been rather busy lately so I may be taking over some of the narrating of the Rottman happenings. A lot has happened! Here is just a brief recap of the last few months that we have neglected.
Here is Clara in her swaddle. This was a huge help to us. Initially, she would not have it. We kept trying though and it became a definite necessity!
We had a visit from Memare and all took Clara for her first trip to the U of A. First stop, Allegro, for the best gelato in town before walking to campus. Notice our Arizona gear…
We even wandered through all of the tailgates before a U of A football game.
Waiting at the doctor’s office. Imagine that
Our first trip to the grocery store (just Clara and me) to Trader Joe’s, of course. As you can see, Clara and her carseat take up most of the cart which makes shopping interesting. We both made it unscathed!
Clara, Daddy, and Mortimer the Moose while I was away at an amazing women’s bible study (which I miss so much now). One of the few times I was out of the house without our little girl. It definitely felt funny not to have her in tow.
Two month pictures
We went to go see Luke Holley and the Ceimega Bobcats play Catalina Foothills tonight and got to take Clara to her first football game in person. She seems to be enjoying it (except for the band and the guy with the vuvuzela). It’s an awesome night for football. The first day it’s felt like fall in Tucson with temps in the mid-70s. Hope it stays this way.
We had our first non-doctor excursion this morning. We had our Life Group meeting this morning at Millie’s Pancake Haus with Matt and Dana, Ryan and Yuneun, and Betsy. It was nice to get out and Clara did great! She slept the whole time and kept right on when she got home.
Today we had to go in to get some lab work done for Clara. It took another heel stick which she was not that fond of. She cried a bit, but handled it well. It reminded me of her first visit to the doctor this past Monday. It was a pretty traumatic experience but we were able to get through it. We do like our pediatrician, so we look forward to the next few months here in Tucson.
Sorry for the delay in getting this up, but we’ve been a little busy the past 2 days.
Clara Frances Rottman made her arrival on Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 3:17pm. She was perfectly healthy and weighed in at 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 19 1/4 inches long. It was a fairly long labor: Beth started her first contraction on Thursday evening around 9pm and after a pretty good night’s sleep, she had steady contractions all throughout Friday. We tried to keep busy and let Beth rest as much as possible, and we had an appointment at the Birth Center at 4pm. At the appointment they told us that they’d most likely be seeing us this evening or tomorrow so to try to go home and get as much sleep as possible. Well, that was a bit of wishful thinking. After running to the consignment sale to pick up some more clothing and toys for Clara, we headed to bed. I think Beth only got about an hour of sleep and I only got about 2-3. By 5am, the contractions were close and steady, so we were just waiting as long as we felt comfortable. We called the Birth Center around 6am and headed in around 7. Beth had progressed nicely so we were expecting about a noon birth. It ended up being a bit longer, but Beth was amazing. She never got discouraged, just more determined. I was so proud of her. When Clara arrived, it was great to be able to just relax with her and enjoy watching her. We are so thankful for the Birth Center and how they handled things. We ended up staying overnight and headed home the next morning. Thanks to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers throughout the past 9 months and especially this past weekend. We hope to catch up with all of you soon.
