All About Me!

Claire's class is going through the letters of the alphabet at school, and today they arrived at the letter "M." She came home with this sweet little "Me Book" that her teachers put together. It has a little famly tree with apples for each of the four people in our family, her birth and current height and weight, a photo of her, a list of her favorite things and a hand-drawn picture of what she wanted to be when she grew up (a cowgirl!). Some of her favorite things were no surprise to me, but some were..........

Favorite Color: Green
Favorite TV Show: Scooby Doo (What? we don't even watch this show!)
Favorite Toy: Yellow horse (goes with her Belle princess doll)
Favorite Animal: Reindeer (Huh? She tells me nearly every day that she has four favorite animals - dogs, cats, zebras and horses. And we haven't heard her talk about reindeer since Christmas.)
Favorite Friend: Hadleigh and Caleb
Favorite things to do: Color and watch a movie

I am so thankful that she loves to go to school and that her teachers put so much thought into giving us these sweet little keepsakes. Sometimes at dinner on those nights after school, we play a little game where we name things that start with that letter. She doesn't always have the correct answer, but she loves to play!

You snooze, you amuse!

There are so many times when the perfect photo opportunity is there, but your camera is not. Or the moment is over by the time you get everything ready. Well, today I had the privilege of catching one of those sweet moments.....



I frequently place Ava in this Jumperoo in the hallway while I am running to and fro trying to get out the door in the mornings. Apparently, she was too tired to wait the few minutes and sleep in her car seat. Claire thought this was hilarious! And what's really funny is she would wake up every minute or two, jump a little, then fall back asleep!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! We've had a great time celebrating this year!

Claire had a party at school on Thursday and was so excited to make her valentines this year. Last year, we made them with a sticker Valentine kit and baked cookies. Since they were decorating cookies during her party this year, she selected some valentines that came with laffy taffy and we paired that with a little candy bracelet for each of her classmates. She had a ball putting them together. Her teachers always decorate the room really cute and she came home with some wonderful goodies!


Ready to go...


Claire and one of her teachers...

We went shopping one day this week so that Claire could pick out something for her sister and she loved doing that. She started out mostly picking things that were obviously too old for Ava (perfect for her!), but she eventually got the hang of it and found something perfect. She also earned a foam/bead jewelry kit recently and wanted to make bracelets for some of her friends outside of school, so we spent a little time doing that as well. I am so happy that she thinks of others and has a giving heart!

This morning, the girls each received a little treat for Valentine's day. Claire got a horse (that goes with a princess) and Ava got a little alligator toy that Claire selected just for her!

Claire does this occasionally with miniature sized things. She thinks she can fit on them! We came really close to a record for shortest time of possession before breaking a toy!

Later this morning, we went to brunch at my moms and went out to eat as a family for dinner tonight (no cooking for me - yay!). Chris and I were able to enjoy a date last night to celebrate thanks to Nana! It's been a great weekend so far! Tomorrow, we relax!

Science center trip

Yesterday, we took a little trip to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville. I had not been there since it changed names (and that was quite some time ago!). It was fun and Claire really had a good time, although I will say that there is A LOT more for school-aged kids to enjoy. Here are some pictures from our outing!

Driving the ambulance...

Train exhibit...

Ok, this was hilarious. They had a huge exhibit on the human body, and so I asked Claire to sit down in this spot so I could get her picture next to the body. She did so reluctantly, but obviously didn't want to touch it AT ALL. She said,"I don't love that thing." That's what she always says when she doesn't like something....

Fun in the sun - in February?!

We've enjoyed beautiful weather this weekend, in the 70s in February! It's crazy since earlier in the week it was bitter cold! We didn't have much time to get outside yesterday, but spent most of the afternoon today outdoors. We took a walk/wagon ride, stopped and talked/played with neighbors, played games, etc. It was even warm enough for ice cream! I'm sure we're in for quite a bit more cold before spring, but we'll enjoy any warm weather we can get!

This was the first time we've taken both girls out in the wagon. Seeing them side by side here reminds me of when Claire was a baby and we were doing this for the first time with her. And now look at her, she's a giant! I'm not sure what is so interesting about Claire's shoes here, but Ava is mesmerized!

Eight Month Pics

We had Ava's eight month pictures made (we do a 4, 8 and 12 month panel) on Tuesday and just got them back. Here are a few of my favorites! Last time, she was very serious and barely cracked a smile, but this time there were smiles galore! Enjoy!

Chillin' at home (literally)

Today, Ava was a little under the weather and it was VERY cold outside, so we decided to spend the entire day at home. We stayed in our pajamas most of the day and watched movies, popped popcorn, played games, did crafts, etc. Daddy was working at home some today, so we tried to stay upstairs as much as possible so we wouldn't bother him. Claire disappeared at some point, and when she came back, I asked her where she had been. She said she went downstairs to see what daddy was doing. I asked, "So, what was he doing?" She replied, "He was in his office, clicking some letters." I guess that's what she calls typing!


Claire loves to tickle her baby sister (who turned eight months old yesterday)!

No cavities!

I am happy to report that our trip to the dentist today was a much more pleasant experience than last time. Claire was very cooperative and came home with lots of little goodies for being such a big girl and letting them clean her teeth. Most importantly, there were no cavities! She does have a crossbite that will likely have to be fixed in a few years, but I suppose we'll hear more about that later.

The last time we visited the dentist (during the summer), Claire screamed and cried and you couldn't pry that child's mouth open. That was really surprising to us since her first time at the dentist (last winter) was a breeze. We had sort of prepared ourselves for a huge fit this time, but it went really well. You just never know!