Fall Pics

We had Claire's 3 year old pics taken and decided to get some of Grace too. Claire didn't necessarily enjoy herself, but we were bribing her with candy corn so we got some good shots! Here are a few of my favs, some because they are smiling, some because Claire's facial expressions make me laugh out loud! These were taken in Grandma's backyard again!

Grace at 9 Months

Here we are, another month has gone by and Miss Grace is another month closer to her first birthday. My happy happy girl continues to just love life and be a trooper through most things including a nasty cold and cough and an older sister who tells her "no" more than anything else. She scoots, crawls backwards and is starting to try to pull up. She loves playing with the Little People and school bus and doll house that Claire has moved on from. I quit nursing at the 9 month mark and am proud to have made it that long, but both Grace and Mom were ready to move on! We are headed to the doctor this week so I don't know her stats, but she continues to be a chunk and is growing like a weed. She loves the outdoors, likes to eat grass and leaves and is a master of reaching so far she is flat on her tummy and then manages to sit back up. This is proving to serve her well in reaching for all the things she knows she is not supposed to.

Johnson's Farm

For the 2nd year we headed to Johnson's farm to pick pumpkins and enjoy the festivities. We were missing Granddad this year, but had a great time. I particularly enjoyed it more not being so pregnant! We rode the hayride out to pick pumpkins, rode a barrel train, watched pig races and a pumpkin chomping dinosaur, enjoyed mini cinnamon roles, climbed the hay in the barn and had A LOT of fun!

Great Grandma's Piano

Great Grandma's house is pretty fun...pond with lillipads and fish, a huge garden to explore, pinball machine, pool table, pop a shot, but Claire's favorite thing of all is the piano. Becuase of the number of kids there are pretty strict rules about "no playing", but on rare occasions when there are only a few they are allowed to softly play. Here are Claire and Ellen enjoying one of those moments. I remember when my Grandma bought that piano, she wanted to learn to play as an adult, and she did!

Grandma's 85th

Grandma turned 85 last week, and in the words of Ellen we really "celebrated". Em and I enjoyed a kid free brunch with grandma and many cousins and aunts and uncles. Then the kids joined us for cake and icecream at Grandma's house. Grandma had a great day and how blessed we are to be able to celebrate her 85 years. I am so fortunate to be able to spend so many years as an adult with her. Here are pics of her with her 8 kids, many of her grandkids and all but 3 of her great-grandkids.

Looking up to her Big Sister

Grace loves Claire, if you want to see her light up just sit her next to Claire. She laughs, squeals, giggles and even waves at her from afar. Pretty quickly she is going to be running around after her. She is working on pulling up, I caught this moment and thought it was so sweet.

Antioch Park

I remember going to Antioch Park when I was a little girl. We fed the ducks, ran through the kid size main street of buildings and walked across the lake on the stepping stones. I have been wanting to take my girls there, but it is not necessarily convienent to where we live but I finally made it. Last weekend I was a NASCAR widow and the girls and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go for a picnic at Antioch Park. We had a great time. We fed the ducks, explored the kid size buildings and walked around the lake since the stroller wouldn't have made it across the stepping stones. We saw turtles and explored 2 playgrounds before having our picnic. Lots of fun!

First Freckles

It is amazing to me how babies have no freckles one day and then the next you notice they grew a freckle over night. Claire's first freckle is the one on her upper right torso near her shoulder and armpit. Grace's first one appeared in the last few weeks on the outside of her right thigh.

Good Morning World!

Some mornings are rough, some mornings are smooth. In the craze of getting two girls up, fed, dressed (appropriately which is usually the battle) and out the door with all the needed belongings by 7:15 each morning, mornings are still filled with love and some precious time with my girls.

Claire's Corner

Claire has a new favorite spot....the little spot in the corner when the back door is open, fun times!

We're ready for Fall!

A couple of weeks ago we got out all our fall and halloween decor. I love my fall mantle, it's my favorite time of year for home decor. Claire had fun helping and here is Miss Grace with one of our many jack -o-lanterns...this one was mine when I was a little girl.

Go Saints!

This year was my 15 year high school reunion and we took the easy route out in regards to planning. We just participated in the school's already planned homecoming activities. Mike, Claire and I headed to the big pre-game tailgate and pep rally and the first part of the Aquinas football game. We had fun eating BBQ, watching cheerleaders, the choir sing, and a pretty amazing baton twirler. Here is Claire sporting her Blue and Gold!

Sister Photo Shoot

Neale

One of Claire's friends from Kim's house when she was a baby and then for a short time at POP is Neale. Neale's mom is the cousin of one of our neighbors, so we always run into to them at birthday parties. Today was Eleni's Bday party, and Claire got to play and enjoy some cake with Neale. I was trying to get them both to smile, and Neale wouldn't put down his water bottle, so what did Claire do.....pick up her water bottle and do the same thing. Too cute....what great buddies, and we agreed we need to get them together more often since they don't see eachother at school anymore!

Circus!

Claire had a date with Mom and Dad this weekend to the Circus and out to eat at a "restaraunt". She had a blast, loved the elephants and ponies and all the dancing girls and fan fare at the circus. We had fun eating out too, but after the half bag of popcorn she ate at the cirucs she didn't eat much. In fact all 3 of us had a good time, especially Mike who polished off a rainbow snowcone in a tiger cup that he bought for Claire, who wasn't very interested at the time.

8 Months old

Miss Grace hit the 8th month mark this week. 8 months of love, laughs, and very kissable cheeks. She has been experimenting with all sorts of table foods and prefers to eat like a big girl over her baby foods and even bottles (which she still needs at this point!). She claps, shakes her head "no" and is still very vocal. She is a very content little girl and could just sit and play for hours, and has found no need to be mobile yet, especially when her big sister and 2nd cousin Brady bring her toys all day long! She has turned into a tummy sleeper and flips almost immediatlely when we put her down.

Come on ride a.........

....Princess Train. All aboard!!

Could she be any cuter?

Carousel Rides

Claire has a new favorite activity, riding the carousel at Oak Park mall. The tricky part is that she MUST ride in the carriage and NOT on one of the animals and there is only one carriage. So, if we are not first in line I just hope that no one else gets to it before us.

Sister Fun

We finally have a break in the heat and have been able to relax and enjoy our backyard again. Here are the girls just enjoying the outside, eachother and life!