Way Over Due. Claira update.

Our life has been a little crazy the past couple of months and it's not going to calm down any time soon. We put our house on the market in August, found out we were pregnant the next day, sold our house in Dec., moved in with some great friends until we found our next home in Feb. The past two months have been unpacking, getting settled and getting ready for baby #2 to arrive.I realized that my blog had totally been abandoned....and baby Grady will be here in just a few days. So, I wanted to write about how wonderful our Claira is before baby gets here and she loses complete ownership of the spotlight.

Claira and I have had an amazing few months of mommy/daughter time. She has gotten to be such a big girl and wants to do everything "my self". We have really tried to focus on putting other stuff aside to just do fun things with her. I think because of it, I have realized how much more she is capable of. She is mommy's helper whenever she can be. She sets the table, helps me cook and loves to use the Swiffer WetJet (yes, I have taught my not yet 2 year old to mop the kitchen floor).
Claira's loves right now:
Green Eggs and Ham... which has turned into the theme for her 2nd Birthday party. If there is something she doesn't want to eat on her plate, all you have to say is "Try them, try them and you may" and she will respond " You may like_________" and then takes a big bite. It's wonderful.
Princess, and Fancy Nancy. Dressing up in her fancy dress or putting on a tutu.
Playdough and watercolors.
Helping Dad with the garden.
Bubble baths with colored water.
Walking to the car "like a big girl"... I don't have to hold onto her every second and she thinks it's so cool.
Rocks... I'm not sure how many I pulled out of the car the other day. Every time she gets in she grabs another one from whatever parking lot we are in.
Picnic on a blanket; lunches in the park or popcorn in the living room before bed.
Playing the piano or dancing with her daddy.

We aren't exactly sure how much she grasps about what is going to happen in the next few days or what we mean when we say "Baby Grady will be here soon" but, it seems like she understands more than I thought she would. She is super excited about being a big sister, holding him, giving him his bottle and making sure he isn't crying. She is not a fan of loud noises at all... so it should be interesting to see how she reacts to his cry. We put the carseat base in the car the other day and every time she gets in she says "Baby Grady come out and sit in the backseat with me." She loves it when someone sit in the back with her and can't wait to not be alone back there anymore.

Ok, I could go on and on about our sweet little girl forever. She is so much fun and so full of energy. I can't believe she is about to be 2 and that we are about to have 2!
Here are a few pics of our big girl.

At the zoo.

Showing off her cute dimples.

Mopping in her "fancy dress".

In her new lime green/ladybug room. Complete with a big girl bed.

It's been too long.

No, I haven't forgotten about the blog and no, our life isn't so boring that I don't have anything to blog about. For some reason I feel like every blog post has to have a few updated pictures of Claira. That would mean I would have to take pictures of Claira, which would mean that I would have to remember to buy new batteries for the camera. Well, I haven't but, Claira spent 9 days at Grammy and Pa's house and they took pictures and gave them to us. So, now I can blog. (Aren't you glad I explained all of that!)

Yes, I did say NINE days at Grammy and Pa's. It was a very long time but she had a blast and it was nice for Brandon and I to have some time together both at home and traveling. We went to dinner & a movie and then got to sleep in on Saturday morning. Brandon even "made" me breakfast in bed (the Krispy Kreme donuts we got on our way home from the movie). We then

went to Atlanta for the Catalyst conference and Uplift board meeting. The conference was amazing and we had a great time with all the board members. Uplift 2010 is well on its way to being a wonderful summer.

Brandon and I flew to Lubbock and then drove to Clovis, NM on Saturday night. Claira was asleep but we went and peeped in. We got to worship with the church in Clovis on Sunday and came home to an amazing Grammy cooked Sunday lunch.

Claira grew so much in the 9 days we were gone. Grammy even decided to start potty training her!! She is going a great job. She is a little afraid of the big scary public restrooms, so much so that she held it for 9 hours while we drove to the airport and flew home yesterday. Today, she went in the potty 5 times. She had two accidents, both Mom's fault for not getting her there fast enough. She is talking more and more every day. Say something one time and she has it down,

which means you have to be very careful what you say around her.

It's good to be home and getting back into our routine. Now, if I could only get the suitcases unpacked.

Ok, so here are some new pictures of Claira thanks to Grammy.

Claira has some news.

Claira's latest.

Here is an update of our rapidly growing little girl.

Claira is getting so big. She is becoming such a little girlie girl. She wakes up in the morning and the first thing she says is "bow". Yes, she wants me to put a bow in her hair, and in my hair, and on each of Pooh's ears. This morning she ended up with four bows in her hair by the time I picked her up out of the crib.
She has become obsessed with her baby dolls. She feeds them from her sippy cups, strolls them around the house, tucks them in for naps and this morning one of them had to sit at the table and eat breakfast with us. I made her leave them in the car today when we went to the post office, we had to strap them into the carseat before we could go inside. She is cracking me up.
We have been reading books constantly. If anyone has board books they don't want anymore, send them my way. I am so tired of reading the same books over and over again.
Claira is talking up a storm. It's so cool to finally be able to communicate with her. She is learning to put words together; "more bread please", "puppy dog", "pink dog", "thank you momma", "baby doll", etc.
She understands most of what I say like "If you don't come here, I am going to spank you." Me saying that results in one of two things; her coming to me because she doesn't want to get spanked or her running and hiding behind the glider like I can't get to her there. Sometimes she thinks it's a game, its hard not to laugh at her.
Night before last the tornado sirens went off at 3a.m. Brandon got up grabbed blankets, flashligh, laptop and pillows. I got Claira, her monkey, Pooh, two blankets and her blankie. She thought we were having a middle of the night party in the hall way. We had a great time. I was so afraid she wouldn't go back to sleep, but we laid her down around 4 and didn't hear a peep until 8a.m.
We are really blessed with an amazing little girl. God is so good to us.

Claira and Mom- July 2009

June

The last month has been super crazy in our life (as it always is). I am so thankful that Brandon gets to work with Uplift and that I get to help him do it. It is so much fun and great to see so many teens come together to worship the Lord. We are slowly recovering from three weeks of very little sleep.

Claira was not so sure about this Uplift thing. She had fun but missed seeing her daddy and having mommy's undivided attention. My mom was here for week 1 and Brandon's mom was here for weeks 2 & 3. Thank the Lord for Nonna and Grammy!!! Last year Claira just slept in the stroller and ate all the time. Not this year, she is always on the move and getting into things. Grammy drove to Little Rock and got Claira a Cozy Coupe car that she drove all over the Benson lobby. It was a lifesaver for a little girl who was already starting to hate being in the Benson.

One of the best parts about Uplift is that our best friends, Tyler and Kelly and their boys get to come help us. It is so great to spend three weeks together, catching up and letting our kids play. The verdict is still out on which boy Claira is going to marry. I don't know what we would do without them. Kelly and I managed to sneak away for a pedicure one day and it was wonderful.

Brandon is going to Nicaragua on Thursday so Claira and I are going to Atlanta on Wednesday to spend some time with my family before my parents move to Baton Rouge, LA in August. We are so excited about their new adventure.

We attempted to keep Claira up for the 4th of July fireworks, but she normally goes to bed by 8p.m. So, it was only 8:15p.m. when we decided to take the screaming child home. Hope you got to enjoy the fireworks for us. It was nice to come home and go to bed early after all the fun.

Here are a few pictures of our crazy June:

Making cookies with Grammy.

Going to church with Grammy while Mom and Dad worked.

Enjoying her first ride in the cozy coupe.


Going to get dessert with Keynan.
Keeping us entertained in the cafeteria.

Claira Update:13 months

I am still in amazement at how fast our little girl is growing. I keep asking Brandon, "When did she get this big?" It seems like she should still be a little baby rocking in my arms. Good luck getting her to sit in your lap forget even trying to rock her.

This past week has been so fun just getting to spend some good quality time with just Claira.

"Trash" has been the new word for the past week or so. She picks anything up and puts it in the trash can for me. She stands next to me and waits for me to blow my nose so she can go put the tissue in the trash. She has started taking toliet paper off the role and then says "trash" and puts it immediately in the trash can (sometimes she pretends to blow her nose on it first).

Claira has also learned how to put words together "more please", "milk please", etc.

Everything is "one more". She can stack "one more" block on top, she can find "one more" piece of trash, she needs "one more" bite of food. She is so cute.

We have been taking her to campus to play on the front lawn in the evenings since no one is there. She is getting really good at kicking the ball. Her Uncle Jay would be very proud. She is going to be a great soccer player some day.

She wakes up in the morning ready to name all the things in her room and make all the animals noises to her stuffed animals. I love that the elephant is her favorite (ROLL TIDE!).

Another new thing is her need to "knock, knock" on every door. This has been especially funny since we are in Houston staying in a hotel. This morning she tried to knock, knock on every door on our way to breakfast (sorry to those people of the few doors she knocked on before we could stop her).

I think my most favorite thing she has been doing lately is her kisses. She's been blowing kisses and giving us kisses when we kiss her or if we ask for a kiss but recently she has just started walking up to us (and sometimes other people) and sticking out her lips to give us a kiss. She is such a sweet little girl.

Here is my new favorite Claira pic. taken by Brandon's sister, Christy, when we were at the zoo for Memorial Day/Carter's Birthday.
Thanks Nonna for the giraffe shirt that says "I love long hugs". Perfect for a day at the zoo.

24 of Carter.

1. The way he gets excited about little things. Turning on a light, snack time, going outside, the wagon, etc.
2. Singing "Jesus Loves Me" when putting him down for a nap and him ending with a loud "SO"
3. His big laugh, especially when he and Claira make each other laugh continuously.
4. Every time we go somewhere, I load Claira in the car first and then come back for him and he asks "Where's Claira?" like he doesn't have a clue that she is in the car and then gets excited and screams "Claira!" When I open his car door and he sees her.
5. When he and Claira hold hands in the car.
6. His wet kisses.
7. The big hug he gives Claira after getting in trouble for being unkind to her.
8. The way he is always looking for my approval and wants me to be proud of him.
9. "HANDS!" - any time there is something (food, dirt, etc) on his hands that he wants you to get off.
10. Hitting the same button on a toy over and over again.
11. "No poopoo"- any time his diaper is just wet.
12.Wanting to be a big boy and help do anything I ask.
13. His love for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
14. Tickle time.
15. Singing. Especially "My God Is So Big" and "If you're happy and you know it"
16. The way he can stay clean when playing outside while Claira is covered in dirt.
17. The conversations he has with himself when he wakes up from his nap.
18. Reading books.
19. "Phone"- anytime my phone rings, he lets me know and helps me look for it.
20. "Nanon"- getting excited every time Brandon walks in the door.
21. "Bye Bye Nanon"- anytime Brandon kisses me Carter assumes he is leaving to go back to work.
22. Counting- Carter counts all the time especially when we are driving in the car.
23. "Shhh"- reminding me to be quiet when Claira falls asleep in the car.
24. Feeding Claira- when I ask him to share his snack with Claira he sweetly puts it in her mouth.

I have been so blessed by getting to keep Carter for the past 10 months. He is the most wonderful little nephew I could ever ask for. I am so thankful for the time we have spent together and the great friend Claira has. Carter's daddy is a school teacher, so he gets to spend the summer playing with his dad. I think Ben's goal is to remind Carter what it means to be a man; no teapots, baby dolls, bows or purses. I am excited about only having to take one kid to the grocery store and changing half as many diapers but I am sad that Claira is not going to have her playmate every day. Luckily Carter just lives around the corner and he did get a new swing set for his birthday this weekend. So, I have a feeling we will be visiting often.
So, on our last day together- I just wanted to say - "I love you Carter man."

Look how little they both were in August when Carter started coming over.

One of my favorite pics.
Talking on the remote/cell phones.
He wanted to wear a bow like Claira. (Shh, don't tell Ben.)
Fun times in the wagon.
They love to swing.
I might not miss the sound of the constant drumming.