Craigslist - You Rock!

Can I get a shout out for Craigslist?! Seriously! I posted our “red car” as Grant liked to call it, online last night and had to turn my phone off just so we could go to bed. I sold it this morning to the first person that looked at it. The very same thing happed in Nov of 2007 when we posted Pookie’s good ole red truck. I think I will always try that before taking the serious hit you incur by trading in at a dealership…that is if we ever buy from a dealership again. We’ve had such good luck buying from individuals, that I may have found a new route. My fingers are crossed that we are set on the automobile side for at least a few more years though!

On a funny note, I remember the 1st time someone told me about craigslist and I asked, “Who’s Craig?” Yeah, I’m still blonde and still proud!

I have been so scarce around here lately and I hate it. I have pictures to post from the circus & from our shopping excursion last week. Let’s just say baby girl’s got a new pair of shoes (or 2 or 3!). I still read everyone else’s blogs. I’m just always in a hurry when I’m there, thus the lack of comments.

The Balloons That Won't Die!

Seriously…it’s been 10 days since we had these balloons filled with helium for Claire’s birthday party, and as you can see, they’re still going strong. I’ve never seen a latex balloon last this long. Every time I’ve ever had them filled, I always see little signs that say they should last 8-12 hours, NOT 8-12 days. Pook asked why I hadn’t just popped them & thrown them away, but I can’t do that to a perfectly good balloon for some strange reason. So, for now, they still adorn our entire living area.

Speaking of her birthday again…her one year pictures are online. Click HERE, then click Portraits, then Customers. The Password is our last name. They are ok. She would not stay still for the camera, so that was a huge challenge. Every time I sat her somewhere, she’d just walk away. I’m also not a fan of fake backgrounds. I do love the 2 in black & white at the end! Up until now (except for newborn pics) we’ve pretty much done all outdoor pictures, but the high temp. last Thursday was really low so there was no way to do anything outside. They let school out Friday because of the cold temps if that tells you anything...crazy people. They never did stuff like that when I was in school!

And here's a picture of my pretty princess! haha Yep, that's a snake around her neck. She is such a hoot!
I was super ambitious today & went to the gym & worked out before getting Grant ready for MDO and coming to work. I had the alarm sat for 5:20, but sweet Claire moved that up to 4:50 for me. When it’s warm, my mom & I take the kids to the park almost every day and we walk (or run), but since it’s gotten colder we haven’t been in months! I’m tagging along on Andy’s business trip to Vegas in a few months & decided I need to try to get back in shape before I wear a bathing suit. I’ll still as white as a sheet of paper, but maybe everything won’t jiggle so much :-)!! One can hope! My goal is to go on Mon. & Thurs. because I get to leave the house later on those 2 days because of Mother’s Day Out. I’d also like to go on Saturday, but they always seem so full. We’ll see how long I can keep it up. I probably won’t be able to move tomorrow. It’s been quite sometime since I’ve actually worked out on machines. My poor eyes are also already feeling the effects of getting up so early and it’s only noon! Wish me luck!

A Rite of Passage?!

...into old age or at least into 'soccer momness.' We are now the official owners of a minivan. We weren't really looking for one, just kind of keeping our eyes open, and we stumbled onto this one. An older couple from our church was selling it, and it happened to be perfect for us!

Since Claire turned 1, and met the weight requirement a few months ago, I turned her carseat around when I moved it into the van. I think she enjoys it, but it's like she now realizes I'm in the car with her. She yells at me ALOT driving down the road. I took both of these pictures while driving so they're not the best.

Grant loves it too. He just thinks he needs to watch a DVD to go across town. I've told him 45 mins. is the min. trip to break out the movies, but we'll see.

This picture is on the way home tonight. Claire had her 1 year pictures done this afternoon, and after all the running away from the camera she did, I guess she was worn out. Notice she has no bow, 1 sock, and no shoes. She got mad and started shedding accessories..cracks me up!

Claire's 1st Birthday!

January 10, 2008

We celebrated Claire's 1st birthday both yesterday and today! We had a party at our house yesterday, and today we celebrated with Pookie's family at Nana & Papa's house. She's finally starting to get the hang of this gift opening thing now that Christmas and her birthday are both over. I think she had a great time, and it's safe to say that we are set for awhile to come when it comes to toys and clothes. Thank you so much to everyone who made this weekend special for her and for us!

It's hard to believe that it's been a full year since the crazy day we had when Claire arrived. I said then, and I'll say it again, that she has been high maintenance from the beginning. She's a no bones about it kind of girl. She knows what she wants and usually will do whatever it takes to get it..quickly, hence all of her bruises! Even though she's pretty demanding; she is so much fun and already a little girly girl. Her favorite new thing to wear is below. She literally cries for it when she sees it and wants us to put it on her - love it!

She still doesn't sleep like I'd hope that a 1 year old would, but I know that surely that will get better at some point. She's walking (running) like a champ and starting to babble a little bit more. She doesn't say many words though, mainly just "ball, ball" over and over again. I really need to get that on video, huh?! She has no trouble getting her point across with her grunts and pointing. I've nicknamed her the mighty destructor over the past few months. Her favorite thing to do is go into Grant's room & pull each and every toy out and then go onto something else. She loves to dump everything out! I actually just heard something topple over in the background....more to do all the time! Grant and Claire are really starting to play together well. Although it probably isn't safe, I do find myself leaving them alone in one room or another for minutes at a time, and no one has been seriously injured as of yet.

Claire's birthday party was cupcake themed & if you haven't noticed, I love making cookies for everything. These are the ones I made to go with the pink & brown cupcake theme. I was really really proud of them, and they tasted fantastic if I do say so myself!

This is the table with the cookies all wrapped up and tied with a bow for everyone to take home with them, and the precious cupcakes on the servers. My friend Elisabeth made them & did an absolutely wonderful job. I found some similar on a website & emailed her the picture. They turned out EXACTLY like I wanted them too, and they tasted good too!
A close up of the cupcakes...
Claire cracked me up looking at her gifts. She got mostly toys for Christmas, and mostly clothes for her birthday - perfect! She actually hugged some of the clothes as she opened them. I'm teaching her well :-)!

Claire wasn't very into her cupcake which was a bit surprising. She loves sweets, but I think there was just too much going on for her to concentrate on eating. She was actually asleep when the majority of the partygoers arrived. She woke up to a crowd & lots of balloons, and I think she may have been a little overwhelmed by the whole thing.

This last picture is from today at Nana's & Papa's. She was really more into the gifts and the cake today.

This last year has been wonderful and crazy hard! I never imagined that adding 1 child to the family would change things so much. It's starting to get a little easier some days, and others I still feel like I might go crazy. Claire really is precious, and I am so thankful that I got my little girl! I always felt that I was destined to have all boys and would not totally believe that I was having a girl until I saw it with my own two eyes. I can't wait to have a shopping partner one day!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!

Our Christmas in Pictures

We had a wonderful Christmas, and now it seems like forever ago. I've been in birthday planning mode ever since, and haven't felt like I've had the time to just enjoy it all. Here are several pictures of all of our fun!

We do Christmas with Pook's family on Christmas Eve and it's always wild with all 7 grandchildren. Our 2 are the only 2 on my side right now, so while not calm, they don't have to compete for attention. This picture is from that night. I don't know what I was doing, but I look really overwhelmed or something. I was probably actually helping Grant open something too. I didn't really take many others that night.

Once home, we finally got our hyped up kids into bed. For some reason, I didn't take pics of the whole cookies for Santa routine this year. It was more of a try to keep Claire away from the milk & cookies anyway. We left him one of the Christmas Tree sugar cookies that Grant & I made that week.

All of their Santa stuff laid out and ready for action! That tent took up the majority of the living room. It was pretty impossible to walk in there, but it was worth it. And, yes, that's a TV on the ground next to the tent...for Grant's room, but don't freak out. It's just so he can watch movies. I'm not hooking it up to cable, or he would never come out of there. It's been a good thing so far. Since we don't have a bonus room or play room, there really is no where else to put one for him.Grant & Daddy checking out the tent.

Claire and her new stroller & baby. I love the way she's carrying the doll. No, I did not teach her this!We only wrapped a few presents from us this year. They could care less about the paper, and get so much every where else, that ours are just the icing.
One of the most popular presents of the day from my dad. The Batcave! Grant hasn't seen Batman or anything, but at an adult Halloween party that he was at for a little while, a guy was dressed like The Joker. Ever since then, he's had this interest in the whole Batman thing. He has really played with this a bunch, and Claire enjoys it too believe it or not.

I love this picture of Claire. I just think it's sweet. The toile in the background is a memo board I got for Christmas for my office. I'll be hanging it up tomorrow finally!
My Three Brothers. It's rare that we're all together any more. I see all of them, but not usually at the same time. They're all good sports and wait all day to open their presents so my children can have their fun first. It will be interesting when (if) they all get married and have kids of their own to all get together.
The mandatory family shot. We took like 8, but this one was the best. Grant is always doing something goofy these days when the camera comes out, but Claire smiles like it's her job.

And this...this is what Claire was pressed up against in the last picture. The Dora Ballpit that she was given the weekend after Christmas. I can't even begin to express the love baby girl had for this. Ball is by far her favorite word, and she L0VES all balls! This was a little slice of heaven for her, however it was irreparably damaged after 5 days. Secretly, I'm kind of glad, but it was pretty sad to see her face as we pressed every last bit of air out of it. Maybe one day, she'll have another one. I kept all 50 balls just in case.

There's a snapshot of all we did. It by no means does any of it justice! We had so much fun with two kiddos this year. 11 1/2 months is a great age for a first Christmas. She was sooo into everything. It's so hard to plan a birthday right after, but I guess I should just be thankful they're not on the same day, huh?! Next year, the birthday planning will take place in October though! I can't believe we'll be celebrating 1 year with her in just a few short days. It's been such a quick year for all 4 of us. Grant has grown up so much, and amazes me with all he's remembering, saying, absorbing, etc. these days!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Have a fabulous week!