When We're Together

Every now and then the plane ride that is my life hits some turbulance and I need to ground myself. Today I caught myself wishing Claire would take a nap so I could knock out some chores around the house. My committment to Claire when she was just a few hours old was that I would spend every second I could with her and enjoy all the time we have together. So as she slept, I watched my "grounding movie" Courageous. There is a scene about a father dancing with his little girl. The song on my  slideshow is the same one as sung by Mark Harris. If you have not seen this movie and you want to be the best parent you can possible be, go buy it today. It will change your life. I am leaving a link to the you tube music video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBtWJpManEU.

The zoo with friends

Claire and I were lucky to get to spend a day at the zoo with our good friends Barb, Madison, and baby Jackson. We had a blast. It was so much fun watching Claire and Madison (one month younger than Claire) play together. They would hold hands and Claire was so elated to show Madison where the different animals were. The girls would become so excited every time they saw a new animal. They played so well together and had a great day, as you can see by the pictures!

My sweet angel

Claire and I had an amazing day today. Tonight, however, was not so great. She tested me to see how long she could postpone going to bed. It was one thing after another. I finally got pushed far enough and got a bit too stern with her. I got her to stay in bed and went downstairs. I had a tugging at my heart feeling terrible for the way I acted with her. So after about 10 minutes I went back upstairs. Claire was still awake and confused as to why I returned to her room. I laid in bed with her and told her how sorry I was for getting upset. She curled into me and put her arm around me and started to rub my back. What preschooler is that sweet? I started to cry and we had a beautiful 10 minutes just snuggling and loving each other. It was a moment in time that I will never forget. I love my sweet angel so much it hurts sometimes.

Water time with Claire

Luckily when we took Claire bowling we had Sheila along so we could have the bumpers up. As it turns out Claire is a pretty good bowler. I would have to say she is the first cheerleader I have ever seen at the bowling alley. She wanted to clap and cheer after each person threw the ball no matter how good or bad it was.

As the weather warms, we have been spending more and more time outside. At the aquarium, the highlight was the water fountains that all the kids were playing in. It took Claire a little while to get up the courage to go in but once she did, she didn't want to get out.

Sheila put the crazy sprinkler on the trampoline and let our monkey run wild. She had blast trying to avoid the water as she jumped around.

 

On one of our recent trips to the zoo, we decided to go play in the fountains in Hermann park. It was a bit cold but our little girl wanted to play so that's what we did. I had to convince her to walk through the water rather than just swing at it with her hands. I was lucky enough to have the camera running when she finally went for it.

What happened to our baby?

 Claire has gotten so big and so independent, I find myself asking too often "what happened to our baby?" People have always said that as we get older, the days go faster and I definitely can say I agree. I can't believe Claire is almost 3 years old already. She is acting more and more like a preschooler-going-on-20 all the time!

 We got into the pool today (I should say Claire got into the pool today) and played on the top step. It was very chilly after having a good number of days with highs only in the 70's. Claire braved the cool water and even got off the top step for a bit. I put my feet in! She had lots of fun and was telling stories the entire time.

 After the pool, we played on the swing set. Claire made up a game of twisting in the swing, touching the base, then laying on her belly to untwist and reach for the other swing. I am not sure where she came up with this "game" but it kept her entertained for almost 30 minutes! It is so much fun listening to her when she gets into her own world of creativity!

 Finally, Claire went for a few trips down the slide. She had to make special trips for Dora, Boots, and friends and made sure she buckled her seat belt before each trip down the slide "so she can be safe" (she learned this from watching Dora at night). We are so excited for Grandma and Grandpa Hlavka to get here so Claire can show them how much she has grown and changed since they last saw her!

Our beautiful girl!

Making a fashion statement

The best time of the year

We have been spending every single moment that we can outside on my days off. The weather has been amazing, in the low to mid 80's with a beautiful breeze most days. The thought of it soon being 100 degrees outside makes me not want to be in the house at all right now! Thankfully Claire loves to be outside so we have no problem keeping busy in the backyard or at the nearby park.

Claire as many animals

 We found this little turtle in our pool the other day. Jeff wanted to keep it for a pet until we did some research and found out this type of turtle does best not being a pet. We walked it to the pond in our neighborhood and "released" it. Claire enjoyed watching it for the short time we held it captive.

                                  Who needs toys when you have old diaper boxes to play with?

For the past 2 weeks Claire has been pretending to be an animal for a small part of the day. She usually ends up being either a puppy or a cat and Mommy is usually a unicorn or a frog. Today Claire was a puppy on the ride to the gym, a cat from the gym to the store, and a frog from the store to home! She has really started to show her creativity and continues to amaze me every single day.

It's Pool Time Again!

I love this time of year here. Low 80's during the day with a slight breeze. I take every moment I can to be outside because before I know it, the highs will be over 100 degrees. So today Claire and I decided to brave the pool. It was a bit chilly at first, but once you got in and started moving around, it was not too bad. I believe we have a little fish on our hands. Claire loves her puddle jumper and has no reserve about going into water over her head. She loves to lay on her back and float around and to spin in circles. Not too many people get to see "Claire the Chatterbox" because she is usually shy. I wanted to share the video I took today so you can get an idea of just how much she talks when she gets going!

Easter egg hunt

Claire and I met our friends for an Easter egg hunt today. I thought it would be a great time, but Claire thought differently. She freaked out when we got close to the Easter bunny for a picture, did not like any of the crafts, and was not very excited to pick eggs. She picked about 5 after I told her she had to pick eggs before she could play on the toys. Not at all like I thought the morning would be. Hopefully next year she is a bit more into the activities at Easter.

Easter egg coloring

This was the first year we tried coloring Easter eggs with Claire. I was all excited and thought she would have a great time with it. Well, that wasn't the case! She was excited to get started and once she put the eggs in the colored water, she was pretty much done. That left Mommy to finish the activity by herself. Hopefully next year she will be a bit more excited for this fun tradition. Maybe the Easter egg hunt will be more fun for her!