Good Hot and Bad Hot

I LOVE warm weather, today was gorgeous...80 degrees and sunny. Not too hot, just perfect! So that's the "Good" Hot. The "Bad" Hot was Claire's 99.9 degree borderline fever. She had a rough afternoon, and we could tell she just didn't feel good. We are pretty sure it is those darn molars, as she has had random low grade fevers over the last 3 weeks and goes through bouts of being inconsolable. Today it happened again it a bad way after her nap at daycare, nothing could make her stop crying! It is not fair that little ones have to go through such pain. Daddy and Cali made her feel better by going on a long walk to the park. Poor baby.....

A Spring Week

We had a good week, the weather is teasing us and some days is kind of warm, but other days just rainy and cool! In addition to the "iffy" weather, Claire's mood has also been "iffy". She is working on her two year molars and you can just tell her mouth hurts some days and she can be quite moody! Thank goodness these are the last teeth for a long time! Also, some good potty progress is being made. She is able to go most times that she sits on it. I know we have a long way to go, but it's a start! Today we had a fun day hanging out with my parents, Emily, Ellen and the Wilkins girls followed by some quality time outside at home! Mike assembled "The Cozy Coupe" that Claire got for Christmas from Emily and Brett and she had a great time racing up and down the sidewalk! She also continues to enjoy exploring the backyard. Here are some pictures from the week and weekend.

Mike's Birthday

We had a busy week, just getting caught up! On Mike's Birthday we celebrated with gifts, cake and BBQ beef, I think he had a good day. Here are a few pictures!

I forgot something really important.....

...........Claire tinkled in the potty tonight! She has been sitting on it every night for about a month, and tonight she did the deed. I am sure it was just luck, but we still had a major celebration! She was pretty proud of herself!

Celebrating Mike's Birthday

We had a great end to the week and then a fun weekend celebrating Mike's birthday. Thursday and Friday were gorgeous outside and we had some good evenings in the backyard. Claire was pulled around the backyard in her wagon for about 20 minutes by her Daddy, and then went to play with the neighbor girls (both 3 years old) who asked her to play "princess" with them. They dote over her and it is only a matter of time before she starts looking up to them and following them around. Saturday the snow came, but it didn't ruin our fun. Claire, Grandma and I went to Disney on Ice and Claire had a great time people watching and enjoying the show. Mom and I might have enjoyed the show more, so we will be back next year. Then we had a birthday dinner at my parents house on Saturday for Mike. Claire thinks her Uncle Jake is pretty great. Meredith (Jake's girlfriend) and I noticed that Claire was mimicking Jake at dinner. When he coughed, she coughed; when he crossed his arms, she crossed her arms. Once we all caught on, it became a game and he got her to do some fun things until it finally turned into a staring contest. We didn't vote, but I think Claire won! I have never seen her pay so much attention to anyone before so they must be special buddies! Today Mike and I got out for a "date" for lunch and some shopping, we had a great afternoon! Here are some pics from the week and weekend!

She never fails to amaze me...

Happy Friday to everyone, it was another beautiful day, but here comes the snow! This little girl is loving life and I love watching her experience new things and come up with new ways to entertain herself. This evening we had both! First she helped me to make her Daddy's birthday cake. She held the electric mixer with me and had a grin on her face the entire time, what a sweetie. Then up to the bath and she decided to turn the bathtub into a dunk tank. Claire kept dunking her face under water, all while trying to "get a drink". Each time she came up with big eyes and a face full of water, it finally went down the wrong pipe causing her to choke a bit so she stopped. I said "I told you so" for the first of many times...... Tomorrow another first...Disney on Ice!

Claire's 1st sentance...kind of

So tonight at dinner Claire said "Outside, Shoes, Bye Bye" all while pointing outside and totally clear on what she wanted to do....go put on her shoes and go outside. It was so cute and we were so proud!

Little Girl

Claire likes all things "girl". Putting on, taking off and organizing her jewerly happens many times a day. She also likes to brush everyone's hair and put on makeup (just pretend) with me. Here are some video clips...

Bedtime

I love Microsoft Movie Maker, it is so easy to make little videos. Here is a slide show of Claire getting ready for bed last night. I had an early meeting yesterday so Mike woke her up and took her to daycare in the morning, resulting in some pretty crazy hair last night! We put it up in a little ponytail and put her "soccer headband". She kept running back and forth between looking at herself in mirrors and our room to show her Daddy what a pretty girl she was, all while brushing her teeth!

What a Wonderful Weekend

It is amazing how nice weather can make a weekend. We were able to be outside most of the weekend and Claire had a blast exploring the yard as a kid vs. a baby. It has been since fall that we were able to play outside, and it's a whole new world for her. We played with neighbors, ran lots of laps around the yard, took a walk to the school playground and spent time swinging! Saturday was a girls day while Mike worked. Claire and I went shoe shopping to get her some "outside" shoes at Nordstrom, and Claire got her 3rd haircut. Her hair is getting curlier and curlier, but is still really thin baby hair and needed some of those straight ends cut off. She sat in the chair by herself this time and thought she was pretty hot stuff We also celebrated Emily's 30th birthday this weekend with a night out Saturday night and a family lunch today. It was fun to spend time with everyone! Here's a few pics from the weekend.

Family Time and Word Count

Not much out of the norm this week, but wanted to share a few Claire highlights. As you might know, we took the daybed out of Claire's playroom and just have the twin sized mattress on the floor. My intent was to literally have nothing in that room that she could get injured from, but it has turned into a fun place to read books and lounge as a family. Claire now insists that we all sit on the mattress together. She sits on it and then continues to pat the mattress until we are all sitting on it with her, EVEN Cali. Its sweet that it makes her so happy for us to be cuddled up together! Sharon, our Parents as Teachers Educator came this week as well. Claire generally warms up pretty quick to her because she always brings fun new toys or activities for her to try out. This week included a box for her to practice stepping up on and jumping down from and a laundry basket full of bean bags. We had a great visit, and Claire sure was showing off to get Miss Sharon's attention! One of the things Sharon always asks Mike and I is how many words Claire is saying? The last couple of months that has been hard for us to answer, because it seems to change everyday. I started making a mental list, it's hard to keep track, here's some that I can think of right now to give you an idea....Mom, Dad, Cali, hair, coat, jacket, mail, dog, horse, duck, cat, milk, nose, NO, bye, hi, chair, baby, shoes, hat, Grandma, Neal, Nicholas, night, dirty, go, car, bus, ball, etc... We can't forget all the animal noises she makes too!!!

Jump, Jiggle & Jive

The BV school district hosted Jump, Jiggle & Jive tonight for toddlers at one of the elementary schools. Claire had so much fun playing in ball pits, shooting baskets,and much more. The trampoline was her favorite. Here are a few pics!

Nose

Claire's rugburn has evolved into a full scab on her nose....pretty funny!

February Photos on Snapfish

Here's the link to copy and paste into your browser for our February Photos on Snapfish! http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2203425017/a=8197441_8197441/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

The Mouse

On one of her recent visits, our Parents as Teacher home educator, Sharon, gave us an idea to ask Claire to find the tiny mouse on each of the full room pages in the Goodnight Moon book. We had never noticed this or thought to do it, but once Mike and I were able to find them all (it's not easy) we started asking Claire where the mouse is each time there is a page with the full room. Our smart little girl not only finds all of these every night is less than 5 seconds, but we swear she now has them memorized based on the order of the book...crazy!! She has started to show off a bit and as soon as she finds it, she claps for herself and then turns the page even before we are done reading, almost to signal...."that's easy, whats next?"

"The Corner"

Claire is starting to have to visit "the corner" more often these days. Usually for standing on furniture, splashing in Cali's bowls and not listening...all things that she knows better. It usually goes something like this.... Claire stands on the chair and waits for you to notice, we say "Claire sit down", she continues to stare at us, we say " Claire do you want to go sit in the corner", she says no and shakes her head then sits down. 10 seconds later, repeat all of the above except she doesn't sit down, to the corner she goes.....

A snowy Saturday...

We did a lot of "nothing much" today. Went to the mall this morning to run a few errands and the play area only had a few people in it so we let Claire play, usually we avoid it!! She was having lots of fun climbing and sliding until her boot stopped her on the slide and she face planted onto the carpet...Ouch!! She was a trooper and is now sporting a rug burn on her nose! Mike and Claire went to story time at Barnes & Noble while I got 20 minutes of uninterrupted shopping which was very nice! Once we had determined that no one in all of Oak Park Mall makes khaki pants that are up to Mike's standards (the correct shade of khaki, not to stiff or thick of cotton, fit just right, etc... ) we headed home for lunch. Let's just hope some company comes to their senses soon enough, as Mike only has 1 pair of work pants left! : ) Jeannie, if you are reading this I am going to send him out to shop for pants with you, I give up! I have attached some clips I combined of Claire just being Claire today....

Germs

Germs have made themselves comfy at our house for the last week. Claire and I have had colds last week, then Claire and Mike have had a stomach bug, and now I am home to today not feeling well at all! I really can't complain we have been very healthy (with the exception of the month of November). I am so ready for spring, it can't come soon enough!

Ice Skating and 8 years ago...

So what I intended to write for today was that 8 years ago today Mike proposed in Jackson Hole. When i was posting the pics of C earlier today, I had to get off quickly so I forgot! This is a special day for us, I even dug out the scrapbook with the intention of scanning our photos, but couldn't get the scanner to work. You will just have to trust me about HOW YOUNG we looked that night. Eight years later we are still love eachother more and more each day and now have someone else to love too! Wouldn't trade it for the world! Now onto the ice skating....Claire is obsessed! Claire is not a TV watcher, and trust me some days I just wish she would sit down for 20 minutes and watch something, but is usually last no longer than 2 minutes. Well tonight we had the olympics on while we were playing before bed and she LOVED the ice skating so much we backed up the DVR and played more for her. Might have been the pretty dress or the flying through the air but she just stared at the TV, smiled, pointed and oooohhhhed... Unfortunately after 1 couple they switched back to luge and then it was bedtime.

Valentine's Day

We had a good Valentine's day today! Cards and Candy, Church, the mall and hanging out at home. Claire wore a new dress to church today so we had a photoshoot at home! I attached a few of my favorite! Hope everyone had a happy day!