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So the list of people Claire met for the first time during our trip to Arkansas just keeps going. We were lucky to visit with so many people in such a short time and really enjoyed catching up with friends we don’t see often.

We had dinner with Robert, Aerren and Caleigh on Tuesday night. Claire started off a bit fussy, but ended up snoozing away in the sling while we all had a good visit. Aerren and I chatted in the kitchen while Eric, Robert and Caleigh played in the living room and caught some baseball on the TV. After a yummy spaghetti meal, complete with brownie and ice cream for dessert, Claire woke up and showed off her Razorback jersey onesie, on loan from Caleigh. The Cal was in total awe of Claire and we’re told she now has an obsession with baby dolls! BTW, Caleigh was clothed for most of the visit, but spaghetti is messy!

Wednesday evening we met up with Ben and Erin Keifer and their 3 boys for dinner at the Market Place in Springdale. Claire threw her biggest tantrum in public to date and I am positive that every eyeball in the restaurant was on us as I hurried her to the bathroom for a diaper change. A new diaper and a swaddle later, she was on her best behavior. We enjoyed getting to see how much the boys have grown and they had “baby fever”, desperately wanting to hold her. We promised that they would have their turn come Christmas. We forgot our camera at Grandma’s earlier that day, so pictures will have to wait until December as well….

Thursday afternoon we had a stream of visitors coming by for lunch and to meet Claire. Several of my friends from high school (Carrie, Jill, Melissa and Kristin) dropped by as well as some of my mom’s friends (Connie, Beverly, and JoAnnie). We didn’t get a picture of everyone, due to Claire’s fussiness (the girl was hungry - AGAIN!) but here are a few favorites:

We got to spend some quality time with Eric’s best friend’s family on Friday. We had yet to see Jonna’s growing baby bump and Julie’s newest daughter, not-so-little baby Leah,. We chatted all things baby related and Claire slept, ate, and pooped on Jonna - in that order. Welcome to the wonderful world of motherhood! Below is a picture of Barbara and Elenna meeting Claire and  one of all the girls, minus Claire who was probably taking a walk outside with Daddy.

Friday evening we had dinner with Brian, Sarah, McKenna and their new little one, Haley. Haley is only 3 months older than Claire, but she’s about 4 times the size of her! We know it won’t be long before Claire is just as big, but right now it’s hard to imagine. It was fun to trade baby stories and we look forward to seeing them again at Christmas.

After church on Sunday, one of my good friends from college, Elizabeth, drove down from her new home in Tulsa to meet Claire. I was thrilled to see her and we managed to sneak away for a quick shopping trip while Daddy watched Claire nap. Right before Elizabeth headed back home, Claire woke up and we took a couple of quick photos. They look slightly awkward, but by no fault of Elizabeth. Claire looses her “cuddle factor” quite quickly when she’s wrapped up like a burrito (her favorite way to sleep)!

You can view the full gallery of photos taken while in Arkansas on our site under photo galleries or by  clicking here. There is also a new gallery of photos taken during Claire’s fifth week - a bit old now, but with the trip we got slightly sidetracked.

Look for a BIG post celebrating Claire’s 2 month birthday and all the news about her growth, likes/dislikes and more “firsts” - coming as soon as I can find a few spare moments.