A Break from the Schedule

Claire got to have a little reprieve from her schedule this afternoon. We went to a fall festival for Geoff's office. One of the hi-lights was meeting Aubie! When we tried to take her away from him, she put on a big frown and said, "Oh Aubie!" So cute. :)The event was held at a local park which I used to walk Claire in when she was too tiny to remember it. This time she enjoyed the sights immensely, including a good showing of ducks and turtles in a small pond.

Nani bought Claire this little ladybug costume for Halloween, and we decided to dress her up. She was the only kid dressed up for the festival - and there were lots of kids and babies there. She didn't seem to mind, though. The outfit has a cute hat, but since she wouldn't keep it on, we just added a red bow.

The natural result of a break from the schedule is a little more trying evening for the parents. We had to go to the festival too early to feed her dinner and she was pretty cranky by the time we left. We opted to eat dinner out quickly on our way home and she squeezed her milk box all over herself in the restaurant. Luckily we all laughed about it and made it home with barely any grumpiness. Being in bed 45 minutes later than usual seems to have been worth it this time!

About Time

Geoff says it is about time for me to update the blog again. I posted a beach photo recap below this post, and here are some recent pictures taken from my cell phone.

Carrying two of her favorite things - a stuffed bunny named "Trey Rabbit" in honor of a friend of Mommy's, and her baby doll.

She has a cabinet we call Claire's cabinet that she's allowed to get into in the kitchen - this is the first time that she's pulled out all of the tupperware and decided to actually see if she could get into the cabinet itself.

Enjoying the fall weather - all she ever wants to do is play outside! Here she is peeking into her playhouse which we jokingly call Nani & Pop's house since we've all said we need to build them a house in our backyard (and they helped us purchase this playset for Claire's birthday).

She loves her booster seat more than we ever realized she would. In the morning, she likes for us to put it on the floor so she can climb into it with her milk, two blankies, and baby doll.

Mama thinks she is just GORGEOUS in this blue shirt - here doing one of her favorite things, playing in the leaves next to her fort in the backyard.

UH-OH: Almost 14 months old and our first episode of poop in the bathtub. Luckily I had Geoff's help to clean the tub while she played in the (tiny) bathroom sink.

Sunday morning and what does she want to do before church? Wear one of Daddy's nerd hats from computer training and get in the laundry basket. Well, she always keeps us guessing (and laughing). :)

Speaking of laundry, this morning she decided she wanted nothing more than to try on mommy's clean socks - one on her foot and the other on her arm.

Beach Trip Recap

Here is a brief photo recap of our family beach trip to Myrtle Beach, SC with my family. I hope to post some family shots when I get them from my brother in law. We were a little too busy to take too many pictures. :) Claire loved everything about the beach, and she was fearless when it came to the waves!

Fun family times in the sand.

Following in mommy's footsteps.

Playing in the waves with Daddy.

Packing up to head home (you think this box is big enough to ship me in?)

Staying entertained on one LONG drive!

Olan Mills Portrait

I've got to figure out how to share the slideshow, but here is one of the close-ups from her one-year photo shoot. Enjoy!
Image Center - Olan Mills Portrait Studios

Cell Phone Pics from Birthday to the Present

Trying to catch up a bit on pictures, but with a toddler running around busy and being over halfway through another tiring pregnancy, I just haven't been great about taking pictures lately. Here's some of the best of what I do have...

The Telltale Signs of a Great Day

So, what are the telltale signs of a great day? Well, sadly, a great day doesn't involve taking pictures or videos - we were FAR too busy for that!

• We had breakfast at Cracker Barrell with Mimi (Geoff's mom) this morning;
• Claire and mommy took a wonderfully long morning nap;
• We went to monkey park where Claire played in the creek, climbed through some tunnels back and forth to mom and dad, swang, and tried the slide a few times;
• We had a fresh fruit salad for lunch (Claire really liked the grapes - cut up of course);
• All of us took a good afternoon nap;
• We played outside in the backyard - to include Claire checking out the new playset (still not fully assembled), playing on the slide which was flat on the ground but still loads of fun, and ending up so filthy that mom stripped her naked and put her in her little pool (she LOVED playing with the waterhose);
• We had a yummy roast dinner, courtesy of Geoff, and found that Claire is really getting to the point where she doesn't want to eat unless she gets to use her fork;
• We played outside some more - running around chasing the dogs and saying hello to PawPawMike from next door;
• Claire had a really thorough bath after getting filthy from all the outside time;
• And she's now sound asleep.

What a great family fun day!