Guys. The formatting for my posts recently has been wackadoodle. I am sorry about this. I've tried various fixes to very little effect. Please bear with me until I can snag some of Brad's time and have him fix everything.
I know I've mentioned that my mom and mother-in-law have been unbelievably kind and come to Durham to take care of us during this pregnancy. They've grocery shopped, made food, done laundry, entertained Claire, cleaned things, brought me stuff to my room when all I could do was lie in bed...they've been amazing.
On top of those things, my in-laws took Claire for a week back in October. They live a little over 4 hours from here (which, compared to when we lived in Boston and they lived about 16 hours away, seems kind of like they're next door neighbors) and offered to take Claire for a week- a week that ended up being incredibly busy for Brad and AWFUL for me. Brad had about one billion things to do (I barely saw him, even when he was working in the same house as me), and I had a horrific migraine almost the entire week. The timing of Claire's visit to Tennessee ended up being quite providential for us.
So off she went, and boy, did she have a grand time. She got to do all kinds of things she loves, like eat Gran's cereal out of Gran's bowl for breakfast, get Ray Ray to fly her around the house, visit with all the pets, play down at the creek, visit the Hands-on Museum, eat Mexican food, and play with Daddy's and Takia's cars from childhood. I'm pretty convinced that she thinks Mommy should be sick all the time so she can go have fun. (Um, no thank you...) I should also mention that it was on this visit that she made her infamous claim of "I don't like leaves." I don't know where she gets this stuff.
Down at the creek. One of her most favorite activities is to throw sticks into the creek down at the bottom of the Boswell property (even though her face here doesn't show her deep and abiding creek joy).
Unfortunately, it rained the first few days of her visit, rendering a creek visit impossible. Thus, Gran created a Portable Creek in the Kitchen. That Gran. I tell ya.
One of the best things we did after we moved to Durham was to buy a membership to the Museum of Life and Science. It's not just for children, but they have some INCREDIBLE children's exhibits. Members get early admission everyday, and the pass is for unlimited visits throughout the year. It's been a dream. When I'm not sick, Claire and I go once a week and play until she drops. It's awesome. Another awesome thing about our membership is that we have reciprocal membership other museums around the country...including the Hands-on Museum in Johnson City (Sci-Quest and the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville!), which we used to great effect during our Tennessee visit back in August. We had planned to send our card with Claire on her solo visit so they could use it again, but we had a little snafu with that plan. However, being the fun family members that they are, Gran and Ray Ray took her anyway. Here she is, climbing on the train table, as one does.
She could live entirely off of chips and salsa, if left to her own devices.
In addition to all of her regularly enjoyed activities, Ray Ray had the idea to visit a small nearby zoo. Claire loves animals, so obviously, this was amazing.
The end of Claire's Tennessee visit coincided with my parents' trip up from Alabama, so Brassarts met up with Boswells and made a successful child swap. Mom sent me updates from the car with funny things that Claire said. Here are two of the best:
"That truck has big pah-cohn!" Because we tend to get popcorn from the cafe when we go to Target, she heavily associates Target and popcorn. Ergo, the BIG Target emblem indicates BIG popcorn.
"That truck is missing its truck!" I guess that is the case when an 18-wheeler isn't lugging anything around. It's missing its truck. Astute observation, Claire.
A GINORMOUS thank you to my in-laws for being so willing to help us out by taking Claire for a week. It was so very generous and helpful. Thanks, also, for keeping me updated on her shenanigans, as I missed her very much.
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