First Haircut

Ok..it's a little, or a lot, late in coming. We took Claire for her first haircut on October 30th. We chose a kid's place, knowing she would probably squirm. She did GREAT!! She wiggled a little, but the lady was really nice and patient. She only charged us for a bangs cut since Claire didn't have much to cut off. So, no more rockin' the mullet for her!! She looks so cute. Enjoy!


This is after!

Big Sister

We took Claire to the pumpkin patch this weekend. I had been wanting to go for a while, but it is tricky with Chad's work schedule. Thankfully he was off this weekend because it was the last weekend they were open. So, we took Claire and sported her "Big Sister" shirt so we could take pictures and share our exciting news. We are due in May, and we are so happy! It will be interesting to see how Claire reacts to a growing Mommy belly and the reality of a new baby around. Thankfully she has gotten practice sharing me with the other 2 kids I take care of. She will be a great big sis!!

Busy Weekend

We had a really busy, but totally fun weekend! Friday we carved pumpkins with some great friends...8th year in a row to carve! Saturday morning, we took Claire to a pumpkin patch. Saturday afternoon she had her first haircut...pictures coming. Saturday evening we carved pumpkins with some other friends. Sunday we had CandyFest at church and a party at our neighborhood park. WOW!! Here is Lil Miss Leopard. She was so cute!!

A little bummed...

I am sad today. I took Claire in for her follow up appointment after a recent ear infection. I was praying for a great visit, but unfortunately we left worse than I thought we were. It turns out the first ear infection must not have cleared and she now has one in both ears. Talk about feeling bad! I had no idea! Seriously, the tell tale signs just weren't there for her. The doc kept asking how she has been acting, and she is just acting her normal self. I hope it wasn't bothering her and she was trying to tell me!! They are putting her on a different antibiotic, hoping it will take care of it. She is just the sweet little girl she always is, so I don't know where I went wrong....

Growing...

On my last post, I meant to add a picture of Claire riding in her new "big girl" car seat. It was so cute the first time we put her in it. She looked around and smiled like a whole new world was open to her. I guess it actually was, because she can now see more than a back seat. It is fun having her face forward, because we can see her too now.

Then, we have Claire using a walker she got for her birthday. She is getting better at walking, but she is still a little unsure. We practice having her walk a few steps in between Daddy and me so she'll get more confident.



Finally, here is Claire in her rocking chair. She has figured out how to get into it herself, so sometimes I give her a book to "read" while she is sitting there. I just think she looks so cute!!
You are growing so much! We love you, our "big" baby girl!!

Here and there

Hello my friends, family, and blog police (you know who you are!) I won't mention any names at this point!! :) It has been a long while since I have posted, pictures especially. I downloaded a bunch of pictures from my phone, so I will post many of those. They may be a little random, so I will try to get a caption for you. I am enjoying every second of my time home and I think Claire enjoys having a couple friends to play with. It is a lot of fun! Ok...here we go!

This is a toy I found at Goodwill. Seriously, it was $2 and totally clean! I washed it and it was ready to go!


Eating YUMMY pizza!!


Just Chillaxing...We are working on "no feet on the table" but it was too cute!


Claire playing at church. There is a large tube and crawling area. She loved it!


I found this little rocking chair on the curb. The seat was coming apart a little. (wicker) I just took it off, wrapped it in a thick cloth and stitched it shut. Good as new...and free!!

Directions Please!

I have often wondered why children don't come with a manual. I know God did that on purpose, because there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to raising kids. Claire is a blessing every second of every day, and I love her more than anything. I felt so bad last week because I needed directions! She turned one, and I made it through that fine! Then, Chad took her in for her 12 month well check. No problems there. Then, the rest of the week it felt like we had a "kick me" sign hanging up, because one thing after another seemed to happen. I am sure, completely positive, it could have been much worse. BUT, when Claire hasn't been sick at all her whole first year, it seemed like it got stacked on her this time. So, appointment was Monday. She had 3 shots. Tuesday evening she developed a fever, which we assumed was related to the shots. In the middle of the night, she actually threw up and her fever got worse. Thankfully, after getting a little sleep, the next day her temp was much lower, still a fever, but it had gone down. By Thursday her fever was gone and we were glad! Well, then Thursday night we realized Claire has a tooth coming through! Finally! :) We then wondered if the fever was related to that. Who knows...Friday comes around, and low and behold, she has a rash all over her belly. After it spread to her back, I called our pediatrician. The nurse said she probably had a viral infection, which is what the fever was from, and then the rash. Ok, as long as she'll be fine, we're ok. The nurse said she would be fine, but if it got worse, we should go in. Well, don't you know, it got worse! It went to her hands, face and part of her legs. I took her to Urgent Care because at this point, I didn't know what it was, if it was contagious, etc. Meanwhile, Claire is mostly happy and acting her normal self. Ok, come to find out, it was viral and would clear up on its own. Unfortunately, the doc also realized Claire had an ear infection! She is on antibiotics and seems to be getting better. I just feel HORRIBLE! I can't believe all this hit at once, but thankfully Claire is doing fine. I am ready for her to be back at 100% though and stay healthy!
Funny thing is, in all this, I am playing the role of worrying Mom. I teach preschool at my church and our verse for the month is "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid." I guess the verse is for me too!

Oh Happy Day!!!

We celebrated Claire's 1st birthday yesterday and had such a blast! I must say...she did GREAT! She was calm, playful, cute, sweet, and I could go on. I know I am a proud Mommy, but I really was impressed with her! We had quite the group of family and friends, so I am glad she didn't get overwhelmed with the people. We had some games outside for the kids to play. The younger kids could play with toys inside. It was great watching Claire dig into her cake. She figured there was no need for fingers when she could just stick her face in, so that's what she did! She got a lot of cute clothes, cool toys and fun books. We had a great time....



I think Claire loved her gifts, but for now she was happy eating the cards! :)