White Christmas

Christmas 2010 Mommy & Claire on Christmas Eve (Geoff and I got a new digital camera as our Christmas gift this year from Poppa & GB; this was one of the first photos Geoff took).
The only thing more exciting than the presents was NiNi's arrival - in fact, Claire didn't even notice the presents right away. Then, of course, the bows rivaled the presents a bit as well.

Yep, we definitely liked the bows! After unwrapping a few gifts, Claire finally realized that there was a big red wagon sitting behind them. She climbed right in and opened the rest of her gifts in style.

Fishing through her stocking...

Lacing beads - a stocking stuffer (Aunt Gini is going to have to teach us how to use these things; they're some sort of Montessori learning toy or something).

The weather wasn't great today, cold and rainy. We caught a brief break from rain mid-morning and took the wagon out for a quick ride. Claire had trouble deciding which seat was better, and of course Aubie (from Poppa & GB) had to ride along.

Christmas sure is tiring! Daddy and Claire are sacked out watching Claire's new favorite thing - "movie" - a word she knows well and apparently really only refers to the Baby Faith "God Made Christmas" video, for which we can't seem to offer a pleasing substitution. (Baby Faith videos are like Baby Einstein only better in my opinion, as they are based on Bible stories and concepts; Claire LOVES them).

And yes, we had a white Christmas ending to our day even way down here in the South. Claire thought the snow was just amazing, but she didn't have too much time in it since it came down after dark.

We bundled up quickly and briefly for a short walk in the front yard. She was fascinated with her footprints in the snow, and really enjoyed stomping the snow out of her boots when we got back to the front porch.

After the snow romp, it was straight into the warm bath to play with her new bath boat and it's accessories. If you ask Claire what the lobster says, she pinches her fingers together and makes a clicking noise with her tongue - so cute!

Altogether, it was a very enjoyable Christmas. She loved all of her gifts and mommy even got two very clear "thank you's" from her today - a first for using this word. Mommy's Christmas gift will be a little pink bundle who is all set to arrive in six short days. Yep, Evelynn's birthday is quickly approaching. Until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

Sweet Sixteen (Months, That Is)

Life with a 16-month-old is sweet, sweet, sweet. (But maybe that's just because this baby is so sweet)! A new favorite thing - putting on a pair of Daddy's socks (hey, they keep her feet & legs warm)
A bathtub tea party - so much fun!

At sixteen months, Claire is so much fun. She understands more, does more, says more, she is truly more of a blessing and a joy every day. Developmentally she has gained a number of new teeth, adding 3 molars in the past month and soon to add #4. She's a good teether - a little more restless at night, but generally I haven't had to deal with the fevers/diarrhea that I hear about from some moms. Her hair is also thickening up with a lot of new growth underneath. It was sooo dark when she was born, but neither of us is surprised to see it getting lighter as Geoff and I both had sandy blonde hair as kids. I describe her hair color as "honey."

She gives more kisses and makes kissy sounds at the dogs and cat - so very, very precious. She's very affectionate and loves to give hugs, sometimes clinging to Daddy's leg as he's trying to go to work. Her favorite person other than mom and dad appears to be her Aunt Lara who often helps keep Claire so mommy can go to doctor's appointments. When Aunt Lara goes to leave, Claire will wave bye-bye to mommy and try to follow Lara out.

Her vocabulary is astounding - not necessarily in spoken words, but in words she understands. She says words from time to time that we didn't even know that she knew. She seems a little self-conscious when trying a word for the first time. Often she will mouth it or whisper very quietly. What is astounding is the sheer number of words she recognizes. She loves flashcards and is quite capable of picking up the requested one out of a huge stack. We also discovered purely by accident that she has learned to recognize some of the letters of the alphabet - AMAZING! Her memory is powerful. Quote any part of any of her books and she will immediately go and get that book from the shelf and bring it to you.

Right now she's really into her baby dolls, which I'm encouraging. Our neighbor "Nanny Barb" gave her a baby doll carriage and she loves to take the babies all over the house in it. I can't wait to see how she'll do with a baby sister.

And on that note -

Evie is still doing great in the womb. Her C-section is now 15 days away. Her bags are packed for the hospital and I am so so so ready to meet this baby girl.

War Eagle, Baby! (aka, Snow Auburn Style)

Congratulations to our UNDEFEATED 2010 Auburn University Tiger SEC Football Champs and to the UNSTOPPABLE Cam Newton. We are excited to be contenders in the BCS National Championship game - coming January 10! For those who are unfamiliar, the town of Auburn has a tradition of rolling a couple of Oak Treees at a spot on campus known as Toomer's Corner in celebration of sports and other victories. While we didn't join in with the multitude yesterday night, we got up first thing this morning to show Claire her first viewing of snow Auburn style. "You mean I get to play with this stuff? This is right up my alley!"
Claire doing her part

I wouldn't want it in my yard - but it actually looks pretty amazing

Touchdown, Auburn! (Mommy is too pregnant for close-ups these days)

Claire tried to take home a souvenir, but Daddy had her throw it in a trashcan on our way back to the car.

November Phone Photo Digest

I would have created a photoshow for all of these, but Geoff always complains that he can't download the pictures from those directly to his digital frame at work. To make it easier on him (and other folks who are printing pictures from the blog), here are photos from my phone from November. Happy scrolling (there are a ton)! The new double stroller is getting a workout - she likes riding with a friend!
What a face! (Her shirt says "Happiness is all around" - it should say "Happiness is all over my face")

See my pink cowgirl boots? They're my favorite!

Not sure what this face is about, but Daddy thought this was a cute picture.

Bill Cosby moment in parenthood: "I got this paper for you. You don't want it? Can I have it?"

More time in the stroller - always with a friend!

In the past 6 or 8 weeks, the blanky has to go everywhere.

Cheese! (Grilled cheese that is)

Tuckered out after her doctor's visit - we're still working on this dropping the morning nap thing. This morning it was skipped for shots and that was too much!

Not sure why the tears, but she looks adorable in Daddy's hat (even while crying)

Nothing works better in our house for teething issues than a popsicle - except perhaps TWO popsicles

She LOVES the Christmas tree and expects the lights to be on EVERY time she sees it

Thanksgiving visit from South Carolina cousins - they each received free lessons from Uncle Geoff's School of Tree Climbing

Wyatt's turn - what a ham!

Love my Daddy!

Nothing goes better with a Christmas sweater dress than red stockings and pink cowgirl boots!