Christmas 2011

We started out by just listening to the Christmas songs on KSBJ and now we have graduated to singing and dancing to them. So far we only know one unless you count "It's raining; it's pouring". I just can't get over how fast she is able to learn and retain things she sees and hears.

Our failed visit to see Santa

       For days we have been pumping Claire up to go see Santa. Jeff and I have been telling her how happy Santa will be to see her and how she gets to sit on his lap to tell him what she would like to get for Christmas. Of course she said she was going to ask for Dora toys! Claire was all excited to wear her pretty dress to show Santa. We loaded up in the car and drove to Katy. We talked about it the entire drive there and when we got there, Claire was excited to see him and couldn't wait to find him in the store. Once we spotted Santa, Claire got to watch a few kids in front of her sit on Santa's lap. She was excited for her turn and Mommy was excited too, thinking this year Claire will finally sit on Santa's lap for a picture!
       Here we go...as I carry her closer to Santa, the death grip gets tighter and tighter. She starts to say loudly "I don't want to, I don't want to". The strongest person in the world couldn't pull her off of me! I finally convinced her to let me stand by Santa with her for one quick picture. Why I continue to torture her every year for a picture with Santa, I don't know. Maybe next year...

Our quick trip to Minnesota

It was a rough week for our family. We had to fly to Minnesota to say good-bye to our dear Grandma Jones. We were so blessed to have family around us the entire visit. My parents were amazing, helping us with Claire while we spent time at Grandma Jones home with family. Thank you Mom and Dad for all that you did for us this visit. You are wonderful and went way beyond our expectations. It was an unfortunate visit but wonderful to be able to spend time with family, especially at this time of year. Merry Christmas to everyone.

We lost Grandma Jones on Wednesday. She will be missed more than we can write in this blog. It is very sad that we won't be able to post more videos like this one. Thank you Grandma for......everything.

OK, I Get It Now

Becoming a little person

Claire has been such a blast to have in our lives. Every single day she makes us laugh and amazes us with what she knows. We can't believe how quickly she has turned from our baby into this little human who can carry on a conversation with us so easily. I remember being so anxious for Claire to start talking and now I know why. She is so hilarious and at times Jeff and I look at each other and wonder where in the world she learned things or how she knew to put certain words together. She is such a sponge, soaking up every single thing she observes. We too are like sponges, soaking up every single minute we are blessed to spend with our amazing daughter.

Shhh. Babies are sleeping.

The video in this slide show does need some explaining. Claire had been playing dolls all morning. We had moved them from room to room until finally they were ready to take a nap. We layed them down and went on to other things. After about 30 minutes, she remembered her dolls were sleeping and told me to go check on them because they were crying. I know the video is difficult to see but she has them tucked in our bed resting nicely on our pillows. She is such a card.