Noah's Ark

Claire and I went to Noah's Ark water park with Cyrus and Sariah on Saturday. We had a blast. It was so great to watch Claire go from the timid and unsure child at first to the child who wanted to do everything herself by the end. When we first got there, she wanted to go down the slide but would not go without Mom going with her. After a few times of that she was on her own and before I knew it, I had a hard time keeping up with where she went! Next to Noah's Ark is a big pool with a tunnel water slide and a spot with two diving boards. Claire wanted to check it out so we went to the big pool with her monsters on (her life jacket). She went down the tunnel slide all by herself with me at the bottom to catch her. Then she wanted to try out the diving board. I helped her onto the board, then jumped in to catch her when she jumped. She walked the entire board herself but became a bit scared when she got to the end. I had to reach up to hold her hand and once I did this, she jumped in! What a big girl she is becoming! Can't wait to see what she will be doing in MN by the time we are needing to head back home!

Let's do a craft

We got a bracelet making kit for Claire the other day. I was not too sure how she would do with it since the beads were kind of small. She jumped right in and had a great time making her first homemade bracelet! It was fun to help her make a pattern and then watch her patiently thread her beads. I have a feeling we will be making many bracelets in the near future!

Busy, busy bee

This past week was Vacation Bible School at our church.  I was able to volunteer on Monday and Tuesday evening. VBS is for kids 4 and older but since I was helping I was able to bring Claire along and let her be in the preschool class of 4 year olds. The first night I was in her group with her and I tried to stay back as much as possible to let her do her thing. I was certain she would not want to go by herself on Tuesday evening since I had to help in the toddler room. She told me she wanted to go back even if I couldn't be with her. To my surprise, Claire did amazing. I dropped her off and she walked right in. I peeked on her a few times during the 2.5 hours and every time I peeked, she was interacting with the other kids and engaging in the activities. This made me so very proud and happy. Claire has always been very shy so this was great to see. It makes me so happy and so sad at the same time. My little girl is becoming more independent. I guess this was a good preview of what preschool will be like...harder for me than for her!

You're amazing

Sheila and I were talking just the other night about how amazing Claire has been. Not only watching her grow but how she has affected us. Our discussion quickly turned to the fact that in a few short weeks, we will be sending her off to her first day of preschool. Now I know that its not the same as her first day of actual school but she will still be away from us, wearing her sweet backpack and starting her structured education. The word school seemed like such a distant thing when she was first born. It was something that we would eventually get to but that we had plenty of time to enjoy her being young. When the realization finally sinks in it is hard to believe that we have spent the last three years on a rocket ship of learning, exploring, and teaching. I wanted to take this moment to slow things down and make sure Claire knows that I think she is absolutely amazing.

Let me read you a story

Big girls use a "loopa"

Claire has been interested in taking showers lately. We bought her some body wash that came with a mini loofah. So now when we take a shower she asks me for her "loopa" because big girls use a "loopa". She is very serious and no matter how many times I tell her it is a loofah, she insists it is called a "loopa"! Gotta love the strong personality of a 3 year old!

Fun at the circus

Last night we took Claire to the circus. She had a great time. It was so much fun watching her get so excited! She spent most of the show out of her seat dancing to the music. Before the circus started, we were able to go backstage and view the animals close up and see the stunt men and women along with the clowns. Claire really enjoyed the clowns and how goofy they were. Claire loved the circus and crashed within 2 minutes of getting in the car!

Bring on the rain

Today we had a very large storm and got lots and lots of rain. When Daddy got home from work, we decided to go play in the rain...

Our fun day

 So Claire decided today that a nap was out of the question because we had too many fun things to do. After lunch we headed outside to the pool. Claire had to try out her new cowboy hat which worked very well to keep her shaded in the pool. Too bad she didn't like to keep it on for very long.

We got this new water shooter yesterday at the store. Claire had a fun time spraying everything with her shark. These two make a dangerous pair!

Once we were done in the pool, Claire decided it would be fun to play on the trampoline. We put the sprinkler in the middle and she had a blast. I am not sure how many times she ran around the trampoline, but it was too many to count! The fun didn't stop here...

To dry off, we then headed to the slide. Claire came up with this move all on her own. She figured out she could go down super-duper fast if she lay on her back. She had a blast going down the slide.

Then we moved on to bubble time. Claire had fun getting the bubbles made and watching Mommy try to pop them before they hit the ground. After swimming, jumping, sliding, and bubbles one would think this little 3 year old would be ready for a nap. Not so...

We then came inside and started painting. Claire painted 3 pictures before moving on to other activities. I am not sure where this girl gets her energy but I wish she could share some with her Mommy! It was a very fun day and I am sure we will both sleep very well tonight!

Our busy bee!

 Being a "mommy" is lots of work. First I had to get both babies fed. I decided to share my watermelon with them. Good thing they liked it!

 After our snack, I took my babies for a walk to make them tired. I am lucky that they are not too heavy!

After our walk, I got my babies put down for a nap. Once they were sleeping, I was able to get the dishes done. I like to wash and rinse the dishes and Mommy dries them and puts them away, We make a good team!