Little JB

Photo Card

2012-02-05T21:31:00.001-06:00

Classic Collage Favorites

Mom. Dad. Kids. Christmas photo cards by Shutterfly.

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First Stationery

2011-06-12T16:01:00.002-05:00

Baby Bird Thank You Card

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Girly Names

2010-09-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

We finally decided on two girly names after MUCH debate. I remember with Anna Claire how hard it was to choose one name, but two names is SO difficult! Teaching for ten years tainted me and we both have very strong ideas about how a name sounds/looks/etc. We have ended up with two that we love and completely agree on:

Brynley Harper & Brylen Reese

Yes, they are a little bit of a tongue twister when said together, but we love them. They are sweet and southern, just like their big sister, and look great when monogrammed! :) Of course, that was HUGE with me.

I can't wait to make them some hats and onesies with their names stitched on the front!

Girly parts

2010-07-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

Anna Claire likes to kiss my belly twice each morning to tell her sissies good morning. So sweet! This morning she was quite interested in how the top half of my bellybutton is starting to pop out and that her sissies were pushing on it from the inside. Then she busted out with, "There's going to be lots of 'ginas round here!" (Her word for vagina--poor kid has had uti's and lots of catheters for testing done, so she knows the difference between her "tee tee" and her "'gina".) I almost died. My kid makes me laugh every day. She is right, though!

I promise I am still alive....

2010-07-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

Wow! So much has happened since my last blog post and I have so much catching up to do. I hope I can get it all done before the twins arrive because it will only get harder after that to stay on top of things. We found out this last week that both of our babies are healthy GIRLS! We are soooo excited and can't believe we are going to have three little chickies running around our house. It will promise to never be dull, I am sure. For this bow and ruffle sock makin' momma, I am super excited! Here are the latest photos of our little ones. I will start having sonograms regularly to chart the progress of the girls to make sure all is well. They are laying right on top of each other in separate placentas with their heads and feet opposite of each other. They are already kicking each other. It looks like we already have another thumb sucker! Looking back, I was SO SICK in the first trimester of my pregnancy and it was all because of estrogen poisoning. It makes sense and will be worth it. :)

Big Sister!

2010-05-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

The reason I have been under a rock is because I am expecting! Anna Claire is going to be a big sister in November--to TWINS! I have been super sick with unbelievable fatigue, but we are all doing better now that I have good meds and a little routine down. It basically involves eating all day long. We are in absolute and total shock as we have no twins anywhere in our family and had no fertility help. :) I guess I am still fertile at almost 35! Here they are at almost 8 weeks yesterday:

Reading with Daddy

2010-03-20T18:08:00.007-05:00

Minnie Mouse ears make books so much more interesting!

Transition to Big Girl Bed

2010-03-15T17:43:00.000-05:00

There has been a twin bed in the nursery with the thought that it would become Anna Claire's big girl bed someday. Well, that someday came, so we got a bed rail and tried it out!

It went great for a few nights. She loved how soft it was, she liked that she was safe with the rail, and she and Sheepy had plenty of room to get comfy. I moved the rail up closer to the headboard because I felt like the space was too big. I only left a few inches so she wouldn't get her head caught. Well, it didn't matter. One night she was standing up in her bed looking out her window and fell out of bed. It completely freaked her out and she didn't want to sleep in the twin bed anymore. UGH. Back to the crib for a little while until we could find a toddler bed. Nonni to the rescue! Jeffrey's mom was on it pronto and had one shipped to our house. She helped her Daddy put it together:

It is precious, matches her twin bed that she will eventually sleep in, went right in the old spot where her crib was, and we even found this owl bedding at Target that we love! We LOVE owls around here! Still need to do some redecorating of her "big girl room", but so far so good--lots of happy nights and no falling out of bed anymore. :)

Just a trim

2010-03-05T17:37:00.007-06:00

Anna Claire thought it would be fun to give her Daddy a haircut with her playdough scissors!

Nate

2010-03-01T17:30:00.011-06:00

Our friends Doug and Liner welcomed their first child, Nathaniel James, into the world at the end of February! We went over to visit them after church one Sunday after they were home from the hospital. Anna Claire LOVED holding him and was a natural at being a big sister. So sweet!

Valentine Goodies

2010-02-14T09:16:00.001-06:00

While Daddy slept in bed with fever and a bad cold, Anna Claire and I started our Valentine's Day off with a few Heart Day goodies. Gotta love Target Dollar Spot! She loves Hello Kitty just as I did when I was little, so it has been fun picking up little goodies for her this year.

She LOVES to write and color using big girl pens at her little table.

I found this little Hello Kitty one just for her so she will have her own place to write.

It even had stickers in it. She is stickering away as I type. :)

She got a little spring bowl set, cup and fork/spoon set.

She loves the little tin buckets to keep her "treasures" in.

I am going to fill this one with her crayons and pencils for her table.

Aunt Lari gave her some cool ones for V Day!

This whole adorable stash was $5. LOVE IT!

I can't believe this was a year ago in Orange as we celebrated at Nonni and Pop's house.

She got a little ice cream set for her Rose Petal Cottage. I made her heart shaped pancakes with sprinkles. Her hair was just starting to grow in and she was really starting to talk a lot. My, how things have changed!

Massive Catch Up: Part 1

2010-02-12T14:15:00.003-06:00

I am going to start plowing through old photos that need to be posted! Click on the titles below to be taken to that post. Enjoy!

Paintin'

Cleanin' the Mirror

My First Piggies!
Night, Night, Sugar!

He-ART-work

2010-02-12T13:59:00.000-06:00

Since I had croup all week, I couldn't go anywhere or play outside. :( Mommy tried to keep me very busy with Playdough, coloring, and artwork. I love to use my glue sticks and paper squares. We do a shape for each holiday. Here is my heart one for Valentine's Day:

Valentine Dec

2010-02-12T13:39:00.000-06:00

All three of us are sick, so I don't know how celebratory we will be on Valentine's Day this year, but at least the house looks cute. :)

$1 heart plates and polka dot cups from Wally World!

CHEAP hearts in hurricane from Dollar Tree and Joann's.

Placemats from Dollar Tree! Next year I'll monogram them.

Southern Living at HOME hurricane, whiteware and votive holders.

I'm surprised there are any candy hearts left. Anna Claire keeps climbing up on

the chairs and stealing them. :) Gotta love candy hearts. We like the sour ones.

I NEVER know what to do with the shiny garland things. I just wound it around the arms of my chandelier. Voila. I found it in the closet with the other Valentine's stuff.

Mom's old huntboard that I traded her for Mimi's old drop-leaf table. This has storage in it and I am going to paint it black and distress it when the weather improves. Found this little pack of glittery hearts at Joann's on clearance and ran them through my machine with clear thread. Various Southern Living at HOME platter, urn, hand towel rack with Mary Engelbreit card from Mema tied on it, polka dot candle from Hob Lob, pic of my favorite girl when she was 6 months old. :)

Handmade suncatchers from my childhood made by Mom. Love these!

I have inherited all of them and will start putting them out for each holiday.

More hearts in my Southern Living hammered bronze votive holders:

I love little garden flags. Got this one on ebay to go with my front door Cupid bucket.

Front door (soon to be taupe with bronze hardware!!) and my hard workin' Rosemary:

Guest Bath door

My favorite decor:

Buck in his Valentine bandana:

Have a Happy Heart Day with your favorite people!

Valentine Cookies

2010-02-12T13:09:00.001-06:00

Mema and Uncle Brad came for a visit last weekend and since I was coming down with croup, I didn't feel like doing much. But, I did feel like making my first batch of iced Valentine cookies with my Mema! I made a big mess and had a great time. Uncle Brad and Mommy went and bought new taupe paint for the front door, but it never warmed up and dried out like the weatherman said, so they will have to paint the door in March when they come back. Here are some photos from the weekend:

I love, love, love Mommy's mixer!

Mema and I made real Royal Icing! She asked me what color I wanted. Shocker: "Pink."

Here goes!

Blurry pic of the best part.

Sprinkles? Um, yes, please!

Sampling my work

My Wonderful Mess!

My Pretty Cookies that I did by myself!

I heart my Mema, especially on Valentine's!

It hasn't snowed like this since 1978!

2010-02-12T11:53:00.002-06:00

We had over 8 inches of snow in Dallas in the last 24 hours! SO exciting for our little Valentine! Even though she has croup and Mommy and Daddy have bad colds, we managed to pull ourselves out of bed (and away from Mickey Mouse episodes) to go make our first good snowman, have a tiny snowball fight with our neighbors, and learn how to make a snow angel. We went in after she walked up the steps and said, "Mommy, I'm COLD!" After nap, we hope to go back out and experience sledding for the first time proper-like: on a cookie sheet in the front yard! :) More pics to come!

Here is the progression of snow from yesterday until this morning:

A couple of inches on my blue horse:

A few more inches....

Annnnnddddd, she's done!

Yesterday:

Today!

This was very upsetting for Anna Claire this morning! Her "birdie tree" that houses her bird feeder right outside of her window had bowed under the weight of the snow and ice on its branches. I went outside and shook all of the snow loose and it eventually popped back up! Whew! I couldn't believe the little trunk didn't snap.

Ready to get bundled up. Gotta wear my pink boots. Got my snowman supplies.

Me and Mommy without our faces on, but who cares? We're sick! We do have on pink lip gloss, though.

Tyler taught me how to throw a snowball and make a snow angel.

Here is my first snowman! He has mini Oreo eyes, a carrot nose, celery arms, and a plaid Gap scarf.

Even Buckley played in the snow. Time to go in and warm up!

Cleanin' the Mirror

2010-02-05T14:01:00.010-06:00

I tried out my crayons on Mommy's mirror and had to clean it up.

Mommy gave me a spray bottle and a towel and I did it all by myself!

Paintin'

2010-02-03T14:07:00.001-06:00

I really like blue. When I use my watercolors, I always choose blue first.

Today I decided to do my face real pretty. :)

Just Chillin'--It's Cold Outside!

2010-01-29T09:45:00.000-06:00

My first Piggies!

2010-01-15T14:27:00.002-06:00

We have been waiting for SO LONG for Anna Claire to grow some hair. She was bald for what seemed like forever as we watched all of our friends sport cute 'dos and we could only do the bow band, then we finally moved to a clippy in the few sprigs up front last year. Now......we have piggies!!!!! Yipppeeeee! She insists that we wear them at the same time these days. So funny. We wear them to Baby Boot Camp often!

What she's saying: 28.5 months

2010-01-10T23:19:00.002-06:00

Our little lady is what we call our "verbal gerbil". She has a lot to say, it is very clear, and she speaks in complete and descriptive sentences. She was our "early talker, late walker" because she was using her mouth instead of her feet. Many people think I am chatty, but if you haven't met her Daddy yet, he makes me look like a mute. :) He is quite verbose. Here are some of the things she has been saying this week:

"Dog has chapped fur, mommy." (as she is smearing chapstick on Buck's back--major no-no.)
"I cut it in half!" (cutting her little fabric birthday cake in her "house".)
"Where is my el-phant? I looked in your room tice." (twice--didn't even know she knew what that meant! She was looking for her favorite elephant in her Noah's Ark Little People set she got from Santa and adopted today as her little friend.)
"We am. No! We ARE." ( Talking to my mom on the phone during lunch. Mom asked if we were cold that day (it was 19 degrees outside) and she corrected her own grammar. I almost spit my lunch out laughing.)

She is changing daily and I am trying to keep up with her! She is constantly asking for a new brother or sister, too, so I guess the time has come to start thinking about a sib for her. She is really maturing and I now feel ready to share her. I didn't a few months ago. She was still my baby, but she is really growing up fast now. We love her to pieces!

HAPPY 2010!!

2010-01-01T16:32:00.004-06:00

Resolution #1: Start loving on my blog again, bless its heart!

So, we are back kids, and even if I have to go on no sleep, I am determined to get back to blogging again. :) Can't wait to catch up with everyone again. Anna Claire is such a big girl now and says so many hilarious things.

As I was reflecting back on the New Year's Days we have spent as a family of three since she came into our world in 2007, I had to laugh at her pattern:

NYD 2008--she started teething for the first time=diarrhea and drool fest

NYD 2009--she looked me in the face and told me "NO" for the first time. UGH.

NYD 2010--took off her diaper and blessed us with a poop on the floor. Seriously? Anyone see a trend here?

2010 is going to be a fabulous year! I will start praying for NYD 2011. :) Have a fantastic New Year's and have fun setting your goals!

Starting Over!

2009-12-11T12:34:00.004-06:00

I have no excuses for neglecting my poor little blog other than the fact that I have been chasing after Anna Claire since last January and it never slowed down. It will not ever slow down at this point, so I might as well dive back in to blogging and try to keep my head above water! I am going to go all the way back to last year when I started neglecting my blog and catch up. I want all of her memories to be recorded, so I've got some work ahead of me. Hopefully it will be a fun journey back in time as I remember how much she has grown. Enjoy the next set of posts!

Night, Night, Sugar!

2009-11-05T19:45:00.001-06:00

Still alive after one busy summer!

2009-09-01T15:32:00.002-05:00

GASP! Yes, it is a post on my poor little neglected blog! This summer has been INSANE to put it mildly. I have lots of posts coming, so check back if you are actually still reading our blog! :) We started school yesterday and are adjusting to our new schedule. God has lots in store for us this year!

2009-06-17T20:48:00.001-05:00

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Pretty Pink Piggers

2009-05-22T13:22:00.002-05:00

Mommy and I painted our piggers pink in honor of sandal season starting!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T14:39:00.003-05:00

I love being a Mommy and Wife more than anything in the world. Thank you, Lord, that you have given me the privilege to be both! Without Jeffrey, I wouldn't have Anna Claire, and without Anna Claire, we wouldn't be parents. You are the best thing that ever happened to us, other than our salvation. We love you, Critter!

Mother's Day, 2009

It is hard to believe that two years ago you were in my tummy:

Mother's Day, 2007

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommies out there!!

Splash Day!

2009-05-10T14:25:00.006-05:00

We had a special Baby Boot Camp class in honor of Mommies for Mother's Day and rewarded ourselves after a great workout with some splashy fun! We went to our favorite park, Celebration Park, and had so much fun at the Spraygrounds. Do you like my new bikini?

Come on, Summer!

For All of Us Mommies Out There

2009-04-25T22:10:00.003-05:00

This is bound to happen to at least a few of us! I can just see my verbal gerbil doing this in a year or so. I laughed so hard at this that I almost wet myself!

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall.
By Shannon Popkin

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we are in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.

Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:

''Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?''

At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.

Cade continued: ''Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh...Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!''

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, ''Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!''

''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies...Oh! Mommy!''

He started to gag at this point.

''Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!''

As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall.. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the
subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.

''Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!''

He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. ''Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at? Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?''

More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation.
''Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'' He started pounding on the door. ''Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!''

I saw that my wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud.

My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy? But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.

(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three She lives with her family in Grand Rapids , Michigan , where she no longer uses public restrooms)

2009-04-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

It is so pretty outside! Anna Claire now has a sore throat, but we are going to be happy today and play in the backyard! With Tylenol! :)

SICK

2009-04-21T22:03:00.002-05:00

I have been sick since last Thursday. I'm tired of being sick. Mommy and Daddy are tired of me being sick. I won't eat. I barely drink anything. The only thing I like is Sonic Cherry Limeades. We are so thankful, though, that it hasn't been worse! Do you like my hair?

Orange You Glad It's Easter?

2009-04-18T16:19:00.011-05:00

We went to Orange, as we always do, for Easter to hear Pop preach a wonderful sermon and spend time with the family! It is a long stinkin' drive, but totally worth it when we get there. I can't believe two years ago I first felt Anna Claire kick and Jonathan and Angela were just dating! Getting ready for the trip was busy as we got Anna Claire's first haircut and I made her a dress--my first one! I had so much fun making it and know there will be more to come. I painted her some tennies to go with it--just as much fun for my crafty side! We got everyone, including Buckley, all packed up. We stayed at Jonathan and Angela's beautiful new house outside of Conroe on the way down and didn't get there until midnight. Anna Claire slept most of the way, which was great. I finally finished Jonathan's Sigma Chi t-shirt blanket and was able to give it to him! We slept in on Friday morning and then on to Orange we went. Anna Claire entertained herself by playing peeeee-pie in the backseat. :)

We had another egg hunt on the church's new property (Anna Claire did great and even won a prize basket! And, NO, it wasn't rigged for the pastor's grandbaby!!), fun times in Nonni and Pop's big backyard on the slide ("weeeeee!") and big swing ("bi! bi!"), the second annual Bradley Crawfish Boil, and of course, thanking Jesus for dying for us on the cross on Sunday. That is the most important part, and we want to always make sure Anna Claire knows the true meaning of Easter as she grows up. Eggs and chocolate are great, but Jesus is greater! We hope you had a blessed Easter with your sweet bunnies, too!

My 1st Haircut!

2009-04-17T17:23:00.001-05:00

I got my first haircut right before Easter at Sweet & Sassy! It is totally girly and I had fun. I sat in mommy's lap because the chairs freaked me out (guess the purple glitter leather did it) and sat pretty still. No more fuzzy mullet! I got a pink glitter star on my cheek, they took my picture, and I got a pink star sucker. I love my new big girl cut!

First Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-05T22:08:00.016-05:00

We went to Tricia and Margo's house for my first Easter Egg Hunt!

Tricia went all out and had the yummiest snacks. She made the prettiest cookies!

I didn't quite understand the point of it until Mommy showed me the treasures hiding in the eggs.

I was more concerned about getting the grass off of my hands, though.

Once I got the hang of it, I took off.

I think I like this egg thing.

We went inside to see what was in our eggs! How do you get this thing open?

Mmmm! Reese's peanut butter cups!

Thanks so much for having us over, Tricia and Margaret! It was the best first egg hunt ever! We love you, sweet friends!

I have another one coming up in Orange next weekend, so maybe I will find a few more then! :)

I fought the sidewalk and the sidewalk won

2009-03-24T14:57:00.005-05:00

My Gammie and Uncle Bwaa came to visit me this weekend. When they were leaving and I was telling them "Bah Bah!" I missed a step and fell on the sidewalk. :( It hurt and I was bleeding! It was my first injury. My Boo Boo Bunny came in very handy. Mommy thought I would end up with a black eye, but I didn't. Daddy is calling me "Rocky".

On top of that, I have had a little cold and was cutting another bottom tooth at the same time. So, I didn't feel like doing much of anything except watch Elmo and nap. What do you do when you are bored at home? You practice strapping your Sheep into your big girl seat, of course! I did this all by myself. I went and got Mommy and she couldn't believe it when she saw it. She called Daddy in and she took a picture of my work. I clapped for myself! Yay, Me!

Why God Gave Babies a Mommy!

2009-03-05T13:46:00.003-06:00

I still almost tinkle on myself each time I see this. I gets funnier every time because it reminds me of Jeffrey trying to change some real stinkers. Bless his heart, he does it, though! I am so thankful for my funny, loving husband!

New Cousins!

2009-02-23T11:39:00.008-06:00

We have two new cousins on the Wehner side and we want to share them with you!

My oldest cousin and Chi Omega sister, Anne, has two darling girls and just had her first son on February 11. This is sweet Grayson Maverick and we can't wait to meet him! He was tiny like Anna Claire and soooooo pretty that it makes me want another one! Congrads to Diane and Bob on another sweet grandbaby!

Another exciting announcement is that one of my youngest cousins and Theta girl, Elizabeth, is expecting!!! She and Josh got married this summer and she has been teaching first grade this year. They came and stayed with us this weekend and we talked about all things baby all weekend long--it was so much fun! Anna Claire loved having her "BeeBee and Dos" here. Her due date is September 7, 2009 and ours was September 1, 2007 so our little ones are going to be two years apart. Anna Claire will love having new playmates in the family! I know Molly and Miles are absolutely about to pop with excitement! Here is the first sono pic of Baby Meeh:

We love all of you and will be praying for strong, healthy babies that will grow up in the Lord. Congrats! Babies are the BEST!!

18 months old!

2009-02-20T20:46:00.001-06:00

We can't believe our little critter is already a year and a half old! She gets funnier every day and we are truly loving life as a little family. We went to the pedi last week for her 18 mo. checkup and just as we suspected, she is still a little bitty thing. :) She just started wearing 12-18 month clothes and a size 4 shoe. She has six teeth but many more are cutting as we speak. Here are the stats:

She weighs 21.4 pounds (5th %)
She measures 31" long (25-50th %)
and her noggin is 46 cm (50th %). This is why Dr. Eisenberg thought I might have to have a c-section when she was born--her head is bigger than the rest of her. Even better for displaying bows, I say. :)

To say she is talking up a storm is an understatement. Annalise Claire is quite the verbal gerbil! While we were waiting at the pedi's office, I quickly wrote down the list of words she says. I came up with 64, and that was off the top of my head. I asked Dr. K what the norm was, and he said they expect 50 words by the time they are TWO--seriously? She signs more on top of that, so there is no telling what the count really is (or what it will be when she is 2). I am not indicating that she has perfect pronunciation by any means, but you can definitely tell what she is saying. It is unusual if we can't tell what our kid is trying to communicate to us, so that is a blessing. She rarely gets frustrated, and if she does, it is because she isn't getting her way and was told "NO". :)

She has become a problem solver this month. She got frustrated that Melmo and Sheep wouldn't both fit in the stroller, but she wouldn't let me help her. So, I went in the kitchen to make breakfast and came back to find her solution. That's our girl!

18 reasons we love you (one for each month):

1. You have started coming up behind us and giving us big, loud, "MWAH" smooches on our legs. It is randomly out of nowhere and super sweet--we love it! You know how to melt us, baby girl!

2. You will NOT stay out of the dishwasher while we are loading/unloading it. For some reason, you think you are a Labrador and want to lap up the water and/or grab utensils and leave them around the house. It is aggravating. This isn't our favorite thing about you, but we do love your tenacity and persistence as you keep coming back after being told "no" multiple times, being redirected to a toy in the living room, taken to your fridge farm, or flat had a time out for not obeying. You have a strong spirit, for sure. The endearing part is that you are sweet about it even when you know you are on thin ice. Brings back memories. :)

3. You have the funniest little bird hair that likes to stick up on top and your curls have come in at the nape of your neck. You still don't have much hair and nowhere near enough to wear a clip or bow by itself, but it IS coming in and it is very blonde like your daddy's was. We love to sniff your little head constantly--you smell like heaven to us.

4. You think tooting in the tub is absolutely hysterical. I keep telling you that nice little girls don't do that, but Jeffrey and I can't keep a straight face and we all bust a gut laughing. You are, indeed, a "toot"! You also know you are being funny, so you milk it.

5. Your day would not be right if it didn't start off by cuddling under the covers with your Daddy-in-shining-armor, drinking your strawberry milk, and watching your favorite red, furry friend, "Melmo", together. Too sweet!

6. When you are tired, you suck your left thumb and touch your lashes with your right hand. It is so dainty. You've done it since you were in the womb and we have lots of sono pics of you doing that. You are beginning to get a callous on your left thumb. I sucked mine for years, so I know you'll outgrow it. It is so soothing to you.

7. You are SO nurturing to your "dahdoos"(dollies). You love to swaddle them, change them, feed them, rock them and have just recently begun singing them "nigh nigh baby" lullabies. It is absolutely precious and makes me so thankful I spent so many hours in the soft brown chair in your room rocking and nursing you. Those days are forever in my heart.

8. You are so determined to do things by yourself. It takes us longer to get you dressed and out the door, but it is worth it as you are becoming independent and will one day be a big girl on your own. You are fascinated with putting on your shoes (or mine or Daddy's) lately. If we ask you if we can help you, you firmly (but sweetly) answer "no". Alright, then.

9. You are very curious about the potty lately. You love to say "bye, bye, tee tee!" I would be surprised if you didn't start potty training this summer or fall. Thank goodness for toilet locks.

10. You have started "cleaning" with me in the afternoons. You have your own vacuum that you got from Olivia for your birthday, but you insist on having your own Swiffer duster, too. You are quite efficient with it! You try to hold the broom with me. You want your own wipes to clean up your face and hands and tray, and you like to clean the cabinets with the dish towel. You've been washing and rinsing your own hands since before you were one, and you love to have a dot of your own hand sanitizer when mommy gets some. Now if I could just get you to pick up the treasures you leave behind you all day long like Hansel and Gretel.....

11. You ADORE being outside, as most toddlers do, but you love to sign or tell me what you see. Birds are your favorite! You love when you see an airplane or early moon, too. Sidewalk chalk, dog, swinging, sliding, "Nay!" (your blue horse) and getting the "MAY!" (mail) are still pretty cool outside.

12. You do roll call if you are in another room and want to make sure we are nearby. You'll holler out "Mommy! Daddy!" and listen for us to answer. Then you come running and give us one of those leg kisses in #1. :)

13. You laugh so hard when your Daddy kisses your beller and munches on your goozle! You have even started snorting when you laugh--it is so funny! I swear sometimes he makes you laugh so hard that you wet your diaper.

14. You like to count your puppies in the bathtub and line them up sitting up exactly the same on the bathtub ledge. So far you have counted to four on your own and ten with some help. You love to laugh like the Count on Sesame Street: "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

15. When I am getting dressed to workout, you love to steal my sports bra and wear it around your neck (see #6) saying "Momma! Momma!" You also insist on pushing my "bebo" before I put my t-shirt on. You are a mess.

16. You will eat any vegetable I put in front of you, but "peeeeeeees", "brocko", and "geen bees" are your faves! I literally have to cut you off after three servings because I don't want to clean up that diaper later. You insist on using a big girl fork (no toddler utensils for you, no ma'am!) and like to harpoon your food. You are kind, too, and want to make sure that your share your favorite food with Sheep and Mommy or Daddy and say "num, num, num!"

17. You love to make your prayer hands when we pray before we eat and scream "Mamen!" at the end. Jesus hears you, sister!

18. Mostly, though, we love you so much at this sweet time in your life because you are exactly as the Lord Jesus made you--sweet, happy, spunky, funny, spirited, thoughtful, observant, determined, musical, creative, original and loving. Anna Claire, you are our treasure and we are so blessed to be your parents. We love you more than we could ever explain or imagine, and will do our daily best to love you and each other the way God commands. Thank you for loving us unconditionally.

"The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments do them." -Psalm 103:17-18

Happy half birthday, Little Critter!

We love you, Mommy & Daddy

Park Date with Daddy

2009-02-10T12:38:00.007-06:00

I got to go on a date with my first true love, my Daddy! We rode swings, went down slides, climbed steps, crawled through tunnels, went up and down hills, and explored. It was the best day ever!

Outside

2009-02-09T00:07:00.010-06:00

Our little ball of energy loves to be outside doing anything--bird watching, dog chasing, airplane pointing, sidewalk chalking, bubble blowing, mail getting, neighbor waving, stair climbing, blue horse riding, etc! Following Buckley around the yard and trying to put sunglasses on him took top prize this weekend.

Babies

2009-02-08T23:53:00.003-06:00

Anna Claire LOVES her babies. The posse consists of "Melmo" (Elmo), "Baby" (Sheep--#1 lovey of her life), and "Dahdoo" (Dollies of all types). She pats them, wraps them in blankies, feeds them, and takes them everywhere (she even tries to take them in the tub with her) either in her arms, a basket from around the house, or her dolly stroller. We have one serious little nurturer on our hands and we love it!

Note to Self: Move the Powder and Wipes!

2009-02-08T23:44:00.003-06:00

This is what happens when you leave powder and wipes in reaching distance of a 17 month old. It is like a flashing neon sign for a post-nap activity! They are now at the other end of the changing table. :)

For all of my teacher friends out there....

2009-01-29T13:25:00.005-06:00

This should make for some interesting Valentine's cards at Anna Claire's Kindergarten Heart Day Party someday:

Red Hat

2009-01-22T10:17:00.001-06:00

Anna Claire loves to dig in our closet. She loves to dig in anything, for that matter, but especially in the closet where things are neatly folded, drawers are full of socks, and lots of fun accessories are around! The other day we heard her screaming joyfully, "MELMO!!!!" as she does whenever she sees something that she thinks is Elmo-related. I have a hideous red hat from skiing in college and have it with my workout stuff in case we need it for a cold Baby Boot Camp morning workout. She saw it tucked on the shelf, yanked it out, and came running with it on her head, pom pom bouncing up and down. We were absolutely cracking up. She also likes to pull it down over her eyes and lift it up, and say "Boo!". She is a funny kid with her own little personality! Thank you, Lord, for giving us our spunky Anna Claire!

Red Bird, Red Bird, what do you see?

2009-01-22T09:53:00.004-06:00

Now you know how much Anna Claire loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Her other fascination is with birds. All birds. Small birds, big birds, chirping birds, tweeting birds, flying birds, sitting birds, birds in the Target parking lot picking up goldfish left behind by some other toddler. :) One of the first signs she ever produced for me on her own was "bird". You make it by putting your first finger and thumb together like a bird's beak then open and close it over and over again. I got her a Southern Living at HOME Bird Feeder to put outside of her window for winter bird-watching fun. I was so excited! We filled it with seed and waited. And waited. And waited. Seriously? I know the birdies are hungry--it is cold outside! Finally, after about a week, our first visitor arrived. The most beautiful, vibrant, RED BIRD came to dine at the feeder! Anna Claire started screaming at the cardinal because she was so thrilled! We had a little talk about inside voices and not scaring the birdies and now she is an expert bird watcher. We opened the book up to the Red Bird page and talked about the similarities. She checks on them every morning and after every nap from her crib (see last photo) and numerous times during the day from the windowsill. I know this will be a rich learning tool for us for years to come!

Playdate with our BBC buddies

2009-01-21T09:05:00.012-06:00

My pledge sister/good friend and Baby Boot Camp instructor, Tricia, had us over to her beautiful new home for a fun playdate! Our other buddies, Amanda (Chi O at Baylor) and Katie and Cole were there, too! We had so much fun running around being toddlers, going down the slide (but Anna Claire is determined to climb UP them--brings back bad memories from Kindergarten recess duty--I was the "slide nazi"), riding in the red Cozy Coupe, and playing with the bubbles! Margaret has a fun playroom inside, so we continued the fun in there while the mommies chatted about life and snacked. Fun had by all! Thanks, T and M, for having us over! I had to swipe everyone else's photos because I forgot my camera:

We had a really hard time getting a group photo of the kids. Here is the hilarious progression of trying to get four toddlers to sit and smile on cue....um, not happenin'!

It has been so sweet to watch our babies grow up together! Can't wait for the next playdate!

Daddy

2009-01-14T21:52:00.004-06:00

Have I told you lately that I'm crazy-in-love with my Daddy?

Well, I am!

Thank you, Mommy, for marrying him!

Blue Horse, Blue Horse, what do you see?

2009-01-14T21:12:00.003-06:00

Anna Claire's FAVORITE book right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr./illustrated by Eric Carle. Being a former Kindergarten teacher, this is one of my lifetime favorites, as well, so I am thrilled with her choice. The only copy I have was purchased in September 1999 at my first Kindergarten Teachers of Texas conference in Austin the weekend before Jeffrey and I got engaged in Lubbock, so that tells you old it is. It is autographed by Bill himself and I am so glad I stood in line for that because he passed away not too long after that. The poor book made it through 8 years of Kg and now is on its last leg at home. It has been taped and re-taped. I am going to buy her a board book so she can have her own copy.

Check out Bill Martin Jr. doing a reading of the book--so precious! I can't wait to share this with her!

Here is the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear song". I had no idea it existed or I would have used it in my classroom. A little annoying for adults, but I can see little kids loving the predictable verses.

Anyway, Anna Claire also loves riding her blue horse on the back porch as much as she loves reading her "Bow Br Bow Br" book. This little treasure was $1 or something at a neighbor's garage sale. I taught one of the girls who it belonged to, so it is special to us.

My one concern is, will my child ever know that horses aren't really blue???

Somebody loves Nutella

2009-01-14T21:03:00.002-06:00

Oh, Anna Claire, we love you so! It is so funny to watch you savor a spoonful of your favorite hazelnutty chocolatey goodness!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2009-01-10T23:13:00.018-06:00

We had a great time with our whole family this year at Christmas! It was Anna Claire's first Santa and it was so fun for all of us. My dad came and it was so special for me--it was the first time to celebrate Christmas with him in 15 years and his first with Anna Claire. What a blessing! The Christmas season was filled with playgroup parties and painting playdates, sewing fun things, decorating the house, watching Anna Claire take in the beauty of it all, church and Sunday School, and lots of family time.

It has been a tradition for us since we started dating in 1998 to have Jeffrey's family and my family come together for Christmas each year in Orange, so this was the 10th gathering! Since Pops always preaches on Christmas Eve, we always spend it and Christmas Day together. We always go to the Candlelight Service together and come home and have dinner together, but this year we were on the road. This year was one of our biggest gatherings with 11 people and 1 beagle staying at their house. There is plenty of room, though, so it is really fun. And, yes, we all get along and enjoy each other' s company! After doing the traditional reading of the Christmas Story from the Bible, we each presented a gift to Jesus of a promise of something we would change this year for HIM. We each wrote it on a little card and we put them in a gold box to open again next year. What a blessing it is to have a family that spends time together. Jackie and Mom made a beautiful Christmas dinner and we had a wonderful meal together.

Santa brought Anna Claire her Rose Petal Cottage with a stove, table and chairs, muffin set, stew set, and her first baby dolls and gear. How exciting! She is so nurturing to her babies and loves to take care of them by diapering, feeding, rocking, patting, kissing, and toting them around. She loves her stroller, high chair, and bassinet. It is amazing to see her this young and showing such tender signs of love. Jeffrey and I watch her with amazement and can't wait for what is to come!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-10T21:19:00.005-06:00

We hope your 2009 is off to a great start! We have lots to post soon, so come back and visit!

Help the Puppies and Kitties

2008-12-22T14:41:00.000-06:00

Hi, all you animal lovers. This is pretty simple...

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free.

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned or neglected animals in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know…..

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Hand Saver

2008-12-15T23:31:00.004-06:00

Gold Bond makes the best hand cream EVER. It is 26 degrees with a 15 degree wind chill and sleeting here in Dallas, so my hands have taken a beating lately with the cold weather, dry indoor air, washing my hands a million times a day, and using hand sanitizer. It is the only thing I can find that works and doesn't feel like cooking oil or leave my hands feeling sweaty--yuck. It smells pretty, absorbs immediately, and doesn't make your hands greasy or "swampy" as my loving husband calls it. Try this stuff!

Catch Up Posts

2008-12-15T13:19:00.007-06:00

Okay, I have some serious catching up to do, so I will post old news here as I add it. Be sure to catch up with us from the last six months! :)

Father's Day Footprints
Mommy's 33rd Birthday
Visit from Nonni and Pop
Green Summer Grass

Headbands

2008-12-15T12:23:00.004-06:00

As you know, we are a bowhead household. I am not ashamed of it, I will not apologize for it, and I love it. I was a big bowhead for many, many NCA cheer-filled years and it was the first thing I thought of when we found out we were having a girl. I make all of Anna Claire's bows and am a little obsessed with it, but at least it is a cheap and wholesome hobby. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, right? :) Well, Missy Priss has decided it is now time for her to be in charge of the putting on and taking off of her own bows. She still doesn't have but a few sprigs of fine blonde hair, so she wears bowbands. She loves getting into my cabinets and playing with everything, but now she can put her own headbands on. This keeps her busy while I get ready for the day. I love watching toddlers figure out their world!

Tired after Sunday School!

2008-12-15T11:59:00.004-06:00

This was from a few weeks ago when Anna Claire flat fell asleep on her Daddy's shoulder after he picked her up from Sunday School. She had praised Jesus so much that she wore herself out! ;)

Renal Sonogram results

2008-12-11T16:09:00.007-06:00

The sonogram this morning could not have gone any better! Jeffrey and I were pretty nervous and didn't sleep much last night. I got up early and got ready and he got her up and fed her. In very Un-Bradley-like style, we were so early that we had time to run by Dunkin Donuts and get coffee and breakfast. Are you kidding me??? We are usually at least five minutes late if we go somewhere together. We are either right on time or a little late, but we are NEVER early. Anyone that knows me knows I must have my coffee in the morning, so this made for a very happy mommy--early, coffee, cute kid in fuzzy footy jammies, pretty day, I actually had hair and makeup done, you get the picture. We prayed as a family in the car before we went in and then we headed in for our appointment.

We had to wait a while as they have you get there 30 minutes early to do paperwork, payment, etc. This was not a big deal when she was little and in her carrier or sitting in our lap as she used to love to do. OH NO, not now. Not with our busy bee almost-16-month-old! We read all seven books, ate all the Cheerios, played "thumbs" with Daddy, etc. I finally had to take her out in the long hospital halls and just let her go for it. You've never seen a happier kid. Squealing with joy and waving vigorously, she greeted each and every hospital employee as they entered the building. She sent them off on their day with a hearty "BAH BUH!" and chased them around the corner. We were the official Welcome Wagon of Medical Center of Plano from 8:15-8:30 this morning. Who can resist a sweet kid greeting you in fuzzy footies, though? Everyone was very sweet and helped us pass the time. At 8:30 we went back to find Daddy and it was time to go in.

We had the quick five minute sonogram first--just her kidneys and bladder for measurements. The sonographer let her help with the camera and rub her belly. The girl likes to be in charge. We then went to the radiology area and was greeted by the nicest tech ever. Her name was Kimberly and she was wonderful. She was so easy to talk to, set our fears to rest, and totally involved us in the entire process. I am going to write her a letter and let her know how much we appreciated her. The VCUG procedure took about 20 or 30 minutes and went so much better than last week's catheterization did. Not fun, but not the screaming and fever from last Thursday! Anna Claire was such a brave little trooper. She laid still for us and only cried a little. We sang to her, kissed on her forehead, held her hands and loved on her while she held Sheep in one arm. We got to watch everything on the screen as her bladder was filled with dye and we watched to see if any fluid went back up into her kidneys, which it didn't from what we could tell. Then we had to wait forever for her to tinkle--we tickled her, nuzzled her "goozle" (neck), ran running water in the sink, poured warm water on her, flushed the potty--nothing. Kimberly gave the cath a gentle tug and then we were in business. The radiologist said that she was pleased with what she saw and that she had no major concerns. Yay!!

As I was getting Anna Claire diapered and dressed, Kimberly said she was going to get something special for her. She came back with the fluffiest, sweetest Grover doll and Anna Claire got so excited! She LOVES Sesame Street and "Melmo". She immediately cuddled him and patted him on her chest. She loved on him all the way home and fell asleep with him for her morning nap. Attached to Grover was a little card that said "Adam's Animals--We hope this friend makes you giggle and smile. adamsanimals.org" I was so touched by the gesture that I looked it up when I got home. I sat at the computer and bawled. What an awesome program! I know it is something that I want to help with so other children can feel comforted at the hospital just like my sweet baby was today. We will definitely will be donating soon.

Our pediatrician's office called this afternoon and gave us the FABULOUS news that she only has a Level 1 reflux on her left side and that it is so minor they consider it "normal". Praise the Lord!! We have to do the procedure in 1-2 years to recheck, but nothing further for now. I will be watching her closely for signs of a UTI from here on out and will make sure she is always in a clean diaper, which I already do. We want to thank everyone for all of their prayers and support for our family this week. This was our first time as parents to have to go through anything like this and we are so grateful for the good results. The Lord takes care of us at every turn! I know that there will be many more times in our child's life that we will be worried and may not get favorable results, so we are just so thankful that today we did.

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." --Jeremiah 33:3

Now, we have a flu shot in the morning that was already scheduled before all of this happened. She will probably hate me tomorrow, but hopefully a Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake from Chick-fil-A will help as it always does after shots. At least we won't have the flu this season! Seriously, if you haven't tried one and you are a mint/chocolate fan like my child and myself, you've got to this weekend. :)

VCUG Sono on Thursday

2008-12-09T10:15:00.004-06:00

We have Anna Claire's VCUG sonogram scheduled for Thursday morning at 8:30. Please pray for us at that time if you think about it (or before if you are up and about!). They will first do the sono to do all of her measurements, then the catheter with the dye to watch how she "voids" (fancy talk for tinkle). Our prayer is that the urine is being emptied completely and that it isn't backing up back into her kidneys. She is going to hate the catheter again, so I just keep telling myself that at least she won't remember any of this! She has responded well to her antibiotic and seems to be back to her cheerful, RUNNING self, so that is a very good sign. She never had fever after Friday and has been resting well. She is so busy these days. I will try to load a video soon--my first! I will keep you posted on the results. Thanks for checking on us!

Bad Day at the Pedi's Office

2008-12-05T08:16:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was rough. Wednesday night around supper time Anna Claire spiked a fever out of nowhere. It was so weird--she was fine and playing one minute, then super fussy and burning up the next. I took her temp and it was 103. I gave her Motrin, tried to keep her comfortable, and hunkered down for a long night. We had a friend that had been with us over the weekend that had come down with strep on Monday, so I was wondering if it was that again, but she was eating and didn't seem to have trouble swallowing like last time. We watched her during the night and called the pedi the first thing Thursday morning. We got an early appointment and ended up being there for three hours. She started crying when we got to the exam room. She knows what happens there, bless her little heart. First they took a strep test--negative. Then they pricked her toe for a blood test to see how her levels were, which would indicate infection. That came back high on the bacterial side and low on the viral side, so we knew something was brewing. Next step is to test for a UTI, and when they said that, everything clicked. The girls in my family are very prone to UTI due to being petite. I so hoped Anna Claire would not have to deal with this, but since she is just now 20 pounds and almost 16 months, she is definitely little. I knew that was what was wrong before we even got started. This week she would just cry out and I couldn't figure out what was wrong--didn't fall, no hurt fingers or toes, not teething that I could tell, eating fine, no fever, etc. I am sure now that it was just when she had to tee tee that it felt like razorblades. Girls, you know how bad it hurts if you have had one. The horrible thing about being young and having a UTI is that the only way they can get a urine sample to do a culture is by catheter. I knew it was coming, but I just felt so sorry for her. The nurses left to get everything ready and they kept telling me how sorry they were to have to do it to her. I told Anna Claire what was going to happen and we prayed. I didn't cry--I wanted to really badly, but that would not have helped anyone, especially since my hormones are trying to return to normal after a two year hiatus of being pregnant or nursing and they are SUPER fun right now--and they got her ready. I sang to her the whole time and she stayed pretty calm until they inserted it. It was horrible. So we are waiting to hear back today on the preliminary results--is it just a run of the mill e.coli bug from being in a diaper? Or is it something worse like renal reflux and we'll have to have a big procedure done to know? We will find out the final results on Monday. My prayer for her is that it is just her little girl parts being so close together and the result of a very short urethra, which is my problem. I pray that it isn't renal reflux which would require another catheterized sonogram, year long med treatment, and possible surgery (what we thought I might have when I ended up with kidney stones, but it came back negative.) We have to watch her all weekend like a hawk. If she vomits or has a fever to even 101, we have to take her in. We cleared our calendar so we can just be home with her and keep her comfortable. She rested well last night and liked her grape flavored antibiotic. So far she has been so healthy and the Lord has blessed us over the top with her. We just want to be good stewards of the gift he has given us in Anna Claire and take the best care of her we can. I know the Lord is in complete control of every single detail of this situation---He created her little body and every cell in it and he knows our every need before we even do. We are fully trusting that He already has this worked out and He is teaching us along the way. I'll keep you posted on the progress. Here are a pic of trying to keep her entertained while she doesn't feel well.

She LOVES digging in my bathroom cabinet and putting on headbands and playing with my makeup:

Decorating for Christmas with 15 month old Anna Claire

2008-12-03T12:34:00.000-06:00

"No, Anna Claire, don't eat Baby Jesus. No, sweet baby, don't lick the sheep or the shepard. Oh, sweetie, that is Mommy's Pretty, put it back. OH DEAR LORD GIVE ME PATIENCE during the blessed month of our Savior's Birth!" :)))))

Green Summer Grass

2008-11-22T00:08:00.009-06:00

While Nonni was visiting, we went out in the backyard to enjoy the day and practice some walking. I let everyone know that I do NOT like grass, though. It is prickly on my tender piggers and I would rather have you hold me.

I didn't mind sitting in it, though:

Inchworm

2008-11-21T23:05:00.006-06:00

When we brought Anna Claire home to become a family of three, we would lay in bed with her sleeping between us and just watch her sleep and marvel at the precious little miracle God had given us. There were many, many happy tears and thankful prayers during those sweet first nights together. We never realized how much we needed her until we had her. She was such a good nurser (still is, at 15 months--we just weaned yesterday! Oh, that is a whole other post...) and she would fall into a deep sleep after her tummy was nice and full. One of those first, clueless nights for us was hard, though, because our never-fusses-except-when-she-is-wet-or-hungry-or-cold-baby was crying for long periods in the middle of the night after she nursed and we were trying everything we could think of to soothe her. Finally, Jeffrey started singing "Inchworm" softly to her and she calmed down immediately. I was amazed. I wondered which pocket he had that little gem tucked into! He let me know that he had learned it the same way everyone learns classic lullabies--on an Everybody Loves Raymond rerun. Are you kidding me? For some reason, though, Robert singing this sweet song in his deep voice stuck with Jeffrey and he remembered it that night. I promised Anna Claire that I would plant marigolds for her the next fall, and here is what made it through the summer. This is the first flower that I have ever grown from seed and that ever lived longer than a few hours! They are still holding strong even during the cold snap.

Here is a picture from that time period. We finally figured out that she had gas and didn't know how to toot. I gave her Mylicon before she fed and voila, we had a tooter on our hands! Jeffrey jokingly called her "Chief Red Face of the Push-Em-Out Tribe" because she worked so hard, bless her little heart! Luckily, this phase passed quickly.

She is our sweet little marigold and tiny as an inchworm. We know that she'll go far! :)

Warm Fuzzy!

2008-11-21T22:42:00.005-06:00

Look at the little treasure I found tucked in my sweaters this week in our closet:

It was so precious, I couldn't move it. I never will. Jeffrey said he heard her in the closet saying, "buh bye", so she must have been telling the fuzzy bye bye each time she tucked it in a new spot. I have to admit, Anna Claire gives me major warm fuzzies. I love my kid!

15 Months Old!

2008-11-19T08:54:00.003-06:00

I had my 15 month checkup last week after I recovered from yucky strep throat. I weighed 19 lbs 10 oz (15%) and am 29.5" long (25% and two inches longer than at my birthday!). I am still very petite, but I sure let you know what I think!! Here I am wearing my new winter footy jammers and taking a walk today! I love how warm my jammers are and how the feet have rubber tread on the bottom so I can walk all over the place, which I am doing now. I work so hard all day and then sleep really hard during my naps! I hide things in mommy's sweaters and love to dig in her makeup. I like to wake up Dog when he is sleeping, love taking all the Tupperware out in the kitchen, am making tons of animal sounds now, and think doing the tripod with Sheep is soooooo funny! My favorite part of my day is when "DADA!!" is home!

We're back, kids

2008-11-15T01:20:00.002-06:00

I can't believe you still check our blog! I have been a bad blogger, but I have a great excuse--I have been totally engrossed in our precious daughter. There is so much catching up to do and I can't wait to reconnect with you! Anna Claire is changing daily and I am ready to tell you all about it. I will post updates as soon as I figure out how to get the dang sidebar to the side again! Any suggestions? I have tried everything except ask for help. :)

Need Washing?

2008-08-06T21:06:00.001-05:00

NEED WASHING?? A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in 'Mom let's run through the rain,' she said.
'What?' Mom asked

'Lets run through the rain!' She repeated.

'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: 'Mom, let's run through the rain,'

'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said.

'No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?
'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes.
Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off andscold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

'Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,' Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Visit from Nonni and Pop

2008-06-20T00:41:00.002-05:00

Wow! I have had a busy week! My Nonni and Pop came to visit me and I also had my first Vacation Bible School at my church while Mommy taught Kindergarten VBS. I had fun being in the nursery all week with the sweet ladies and my little friends! I got to play and was pretty much rocked whenever I wanted it. I did get my first cold, though. :( Mommy was super sad because I have gone 10 whole months without any illness, thanks to nursing! Oh well, it had to happen sometime. I got to go to Scotty P's when I felt better and have some sweet tea, my new favorite drink. :) I love when my gp's come to visit!

Mommy's 33rd Birthday

2008-06-16T13:21:00.006-05:00

For Mom's bday, we went swimming with our friends Deanna and Lily and went to Home Depot with Daddy so he could buy her a new entry rug and chandelier! Mommy says when you get older and you've been married a long time, those kinds of gifts are exciting. I dunno. I kinda like Fisher-Price, but whatever, Mommy! I had so much fun swimming and playing in the fountains with Lily! I pooped out when we got home. Daddy made the most amazing dinner for Mommy and even cleaned up, too. She was super happy! She also told me all day long that I am the best birthday present EVER. :)

Father's Day Footprints

2008-06-15T12:45:00.008-05:00

Our playgroup had a playdate to make Father's Day cards for our Daddies. My Daddy absolutely can't get enough of my "piggers", so I made him a footprint card. :) I know he will love it. My feet will never be this small again, so we are going to celebrate it with paint! I wanted to touch the paint really bad, so Mommy had to hold me down. Hmmmf! By the way, don't I look so much like him? Notice the same furrowed brow we both have when we are concentrating. :)

Father's Day Portraits

2008-06-14T19:54:00.005-05:00

I took Miss Anna Claire to have her first portraits made on Friday. They were a surprise for Jeffrey for his first Father's Day. We had so much fun! I made her tutus and bows and took her to Portrait Innovations in Plano. They are fabulous and SOOOOO affordable! If you know me well you know that I am frugal, so I was so pleased with the whole experience and totally recommend them. I couldn't wait until tomorrow, so we gave him his gifts tonight. He loved them! We gave him three silver frames for his office and a card I made with her footprints and a poem in it. That was a trick to get because she has such ticklish feet! We adore her "Piggers" around here, though, so it was well worth it. Here are a few photos of her session:

Laminin--too cool

2008-06-14T19:48:00.005-05:00

What in the world is Laminin? I had never heard of it until now. My sweet friend, Carole, sent me the link to this quick little video. It is amazing and it gave me chill bumps! The preacher, Louie Giglio, reminds me of Gregg Matte for all of my former Breakaway friends from A&M. I absolutely adore finding out little tidbits like this in life--proof that God is so creative and gives us little signs along the path of life to remind us that He is always there. I am a Biology freak, too, so this totally got me excited! After the video, this verse means so much:

Colossians 1:17
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Click on the word "Laminin" above to go to the video.

New Posts

2008-06-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

I stayed up until 12:30 last night and updated the rest of the old posts that I needed to catch up on. Be sure to check out all of April and May! :)

Dangers of "Dry Drowning"--Scary! I had never heard of this.

2008-06-06T14:21:00.002-05:00

As we all head to the pool and beach this summer, be careful to watch for choking on water. Click on the title above to hear the video.

First Toof!

2008-06-03T19:12:00.006-05:00

Her very first tooth on the bottom center left popped through on Memorial Day and the second one is coming in right now! She has had a hard time with the pain and gnaws on everything, including our faces. Poor baby. I am having a very hard time getting her to open up for photos....

DADA!!

2008-06-03T19:12:00.004-05:00

She said it! Her first word!! Jeffrey was getting ready for work and I was playing with her on the floor. She was babbling as she does every morning, but she started making sense today. I asked her if she could say "Dada" and she repeated it perfectly! She is now saying "Dada" all the time. Jeffrey is completely whipped. Hopefully there will be a "Mama" sometime soon. I did birth her, after all. :)

Teddy, Sheep, and Bunny

2008-06-03T19:10:00.000-05:00

I had my first party with my favorite furry friends!

Ducky Tub

2008-06-03T17:23:00.001-05:00

My mom gave Anna Claire this awesome Ducky Tub from Munchkin. It is $10 at Target and you can't beat it! (Especially if your child poops in her tub as mine does..easy clean up.....that is a whole other blog in itself!) It is cushy, has a ribbed non-slip bottom, and a "hot" disk built in to let you know if you are trying to deep fry your little tater tot, and it "quacks" the best quack ever. She now knows that "quack quack" means let's go take a bath and she gets super excited and starts panting, smiling, etc. After Anna Claire started sitting up independently, we blew up the glorious tub and put 'er to use. We had her play in it first so she would associate it with fun and then that night, in she went! She LOVES it. She has now discovered if she bends over and blows on the side she can make raspberries--too funny. She is a mess!!

First Trip to the Pool

2008-06-03T15:30:00.005-05:00

It is a hot and beautiful day here today, so we went to our wonderful neighborhood pool after Baby Boot Camp and lunch. School is out tomorrow, so we went before all of the kids would be there for the rest of the summer! We had the entire pool to ourselves--that never happens. She didn't quite know what to think at first, but once she got in her ladybug float and realized it was like a glorified bath, she LOVED it. She couldn't get enough of kicking her legs and she adored the little baby fountain! Once she got used to the baby pool, we ventured over to the big girl pool and she just about jumped out of my arms to try to swim by herself. It completely took me by surprise, so I am really going to have to hold on to the slippery little fish! Good news is she loves the water! Well, I guess so, since she swam in about 600 gallons in her own amniotic fish tank last summer! She cried when we had to leave to go home for nap. Sorry for the booby shot on the last photo, but it was too cute to leave out. You'll have to come swim with us this summer!

Sleep with Sheep

2008-06-03T15:05:00.003-05:00

If we haven't told you yet, Anna Claire has adopted "Sheep" as her official first lovey. She absolutely ADORES him! He plays "Jesus Loves Me" and she squeals and bounces up and down to the tune. What a wonderful first song to learn! I am a little concerned because he is "spot clean only"---OH MY. Anyhoo, this is how we found her this morning when we were getting her up from her nap to go to Boot Camp. I normally don't put soft things in her bed to sleep with, but she is having such a hard time with the teething lately that Sheep has been her constant companion. So sweet.

Nine Month Check Up!

2008-05-15T23:17:00.003-05:00

Our little girl is growing up! She had her nine month checkup this week. It is hard to believe she will be nine months old next week! The verdict is that she is sweet and very petite! She weighed in at 17 pounds 1 ounce and was in the 25th percentile. She was 26 inches long and her head was 42 cm, both in the 10th percentile! She is still wearing a size 1-2 shoe with teeny feet! I am not surprised as I come from Land of the Little People, but there are some stinkin' cute shoes at Target that she can't fit into yet! :) She got her big toe pricked for her anemia test (which she passed with flying colors) and two shots in her thighs (which she screamed through, poor baby!). She got a squeaky rubber ducky for her bravery, which she loves! She is figuring out everything in her world lately--reaches for, scoots towards, talks to, laughs at, puts in her mouth, etc. It is so much fun! She has found her "lovey"--Sheep that was given to her by Jen Turco. It plays "Jesus Loves Me" and she absolutely adores Sheep-hugs and kisses him! So sweet! Here are some photos before her bath that day--she was intrigued by the blue band-aid on her toe. She was determined to get it off with her mouth!

Just me and my dog

2008-05-15T12:59:00.000-05:00

Buckley and I are hanging out more these days. He comes in when I get up from my nap and he cleans up after I eat my snack. I think we are going to be friends, me and dog. :)

A letter on Mother's Day to my sweet baby Anna Claire

2008-05-11T15:27:00.002-05:00

To my dear, sweet Anna Claire,

This is my first Mother's Day and I am so thankful in hundreds of ways! I will tell you about a few of them.

I waited seven years to become your mother. Besides being married to Daddy, it is the best job I have ever had. I am absolutely in love with you and it grows stronger every day. I used to listen to people tell me how I would experience love like never before when I had a child, but I just smiled and nodded. Now I feel it in my heart and understand. I would do absolutely anything to protect you, help you, teach you. In my Bible Study last fall when you were so tiny, I learned deeply that the Lord chose ME to be YOUR mother. Hand picked just for each other, my sweet. We were meant to be from the very beginning.

I loved you immensely from the moment I knew you were growing inside of me. For four hours on Saturday, December 23, 2006, only you, me and God knew about you. It was my special little secret until we woke Daddy up and couldn't hold it in any longer! It was the most unbelievable feeling to know that you were on your way and would be changing our lives forever. Boy, did we not have a clue how much, though! Daddy and I are crazy about you--nuts, flipped out, hysterically crazy about you.

We called you "Little JB" for about three months because we didn't know if you were a boy or a girl. We didn't care. We were so happy that you were healthy that we just thanked God for our little miracle and had two spreadsheets of names ready to go.

Once you got here, I spent hours just looking at you. Every little bit of you was perfectly formed and made by the Lord. It was such a miracle! I felt like God had given me a little glimpse of all that He is capable of. You were this petite little package that I had waited so long to hold and love. Daddy sang to you and sniffed the hair right off of your head. It was dark back then. Now it is blonde. You don't have much hair, but the little birdie sprigs that have grown in the back are so sweet. You have the perfectly shaped head for big bows and it makes me so happy. Thank you for not taking them off! Big bows are your trademark.

I am overwhelmed with love when I look at you while you sleep. You are so sweet, innocent and peaceful. I love the way your room smells when I walk into it at night and hear you breathing. Even though I know you are ok, I still lean down to feel your body rise and fall with each breath and give you a kiss. I can't help it. Now you sleep on your tummy and you stick your bottom up in the air sometimes. It is so cute--I have to pat that padded bottom each time. You got your momma's bubble, too, so it makes it all the more tempting to pat.

I love how hard you concentrate when you are learning something new or studying something intently. You furrow your brow and I can see those little wheels just turning in your head! You have a perfect balance of determined spirit and chilled out calm. You don't get too worked up over much, but you know what you want, too. I love it. You are so fun to take everywhere. We are never apart because we don't have to be--you are so easy and so much fun!

I love your teeny tiny feet. You are still wearing a size 1 and you are almost nine months old. Your Gammie wears a 5.5 and I wear a 6, so I guess little feet were in the works.

You have got some pipes, sister. You holler from the back seat when you need to tell me something. Sometimes I think you just like to hear how loud you can be. You are destined to cheer. NO PRESSURE, but it would be pretty neat! ;)

I also love that you are such a good eater. You haven't turned one thing down yet. I make your baby food, so you are able to try so many things that aren't in the jar. One of your favorites is avocado! Just wait until you can add some lime juice, tomatoes, and garlic salt on a chip--HOLY GUACAMOLE, you're going to love it!

Nursing has been a huge part of our day from the beginning. I am so proud of all of your progress and of my body for feeding you exactly what you need. God knew what He was doing here, too. We are totally bonded and read each other's body language. You deal with structure so well, which makes me the happiest Mommy alive. Thank you for letting me nurse you every day. It has been so incredibly special for us.

I adore when you get tickled about something! You have a great laugh--hearty and joyful. You love to play, watch Elmo (you know when his song comes on and you squeal), take a bath in your ducky tub, and play with Daddy. He makes you laugh harder than anyone in the world.

I have tons of nicknames for you: Anna Claire Sugar Bear with No Hair, Clairice, Anna Clairrisimo Bella Bellisimo, Sugar Booger, Pooty Britches, Sugar Bum, etc. My favorite is Ladybug, though. You are a little lady and you seem to already know it.

Thank you for making me your mommy. I love you dearly and look forward to so many more Mother's Days together. You are my favorite, Ladybug!

I love you! Love, Mommy 2008

If you are 30 or older, you will think this is funny....

2008-05-06T10:38:00.002-05:00

My friend, Kelly, sent this and it cracked me up!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears
with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were
when they were growing up; what with walking
twenty-five miles to school every morning ... Uphill BOTH ways.

Yadda, yadda, yadda...

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,
there was no way I was going to lay
a bunch of stuff like that on kids about how hard I had it
and how easy they've got it!
But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of
thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my
childhood, you live in Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you
don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The
Internet. If we wanted to know something,
we had to go to the library and
look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write
somebody a letter, with a pen!
Then you had to walk all the way across the street and
put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to
steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the
beginning and mess it all up!
We didn't have fancy things like Call Waiting! If you
were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

We didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either!
When the phone rang, you
had no idea who it was! It could be your school,
your mom, your boss, your
Bookie, your drug dealer , a collections agent, you
just didn't know!!! You had
to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video
games with high-resolution
3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600 with games
like 'Space Invaders' and
'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You
actually had to use your
imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or
screens. It was just one screen
forever and you could never win. The game just kept getting
harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there was no such
thing as stadium seating.
All the seats were the same height. If a tall guy
or some old lady with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see,
you were just in bad luck!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that
was only like 15 channels and there was no on-screen
menu and no remote control! You had to use a
little book called a TV Guide to find out what was
on!

When it came to channel surfing you had to get up
and walk over to the TV to change the
channel. There was no Cartoon Network,either!
You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning.
Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK
for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!

We didn't have microwaves. if we wanted to heat
something up we had to
use the stove or go build a roaring fire ..
Imagine that! If we wanted
popcorn, we had to use that Jiffy Pop thing
and shake it over the stove forever .

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids
today have got it too easy.
You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted
five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

Breastfeeding May Boost Children's IQ

2008-05-06T10:13:00.002-05:00

Click on the title above to see an interesting article on msnbc about another benefit of breastfeeding. Who wouldn't want a smarter baby? We are still goin' strong at 8.5 months! :)

Here, Ducky, Ducky!

2008-05-03T11:09:00.000-05:00

I took Anna Claire to feed the ducks for the first time one morning after Boot Camp at Joe Farmer Rec. She watched them intently as they quacked and seemed to recognize the sound from her duck tub. :) Look closely at the momma duck and her four babies--so sweet. We stayed away so she wouldn't get scared or mad. It was a pretty day and we had fun!

My new swing at Nonni and Pop's!

2008-05-01T07:37:00.000-05:00

I went to my Nonni and Pop's again in April and they got me a new swing for the front yard! They have huge trees and I love to swing!!

Playing with my toys

2008-04-30T07:35:00.001-05:00

Anna Claire loves to sit and play with her toys and that makes me so happy! She is wonderful at "independent play" and that will help her in school and socially. She loves to be around other people, but she enjoys her own company, too, which is a goal I had for her. I hope it will continue. I love Fisher-Price!!!

Playdate with Jorja

2008-04-27T07:36:00.005-05:00

My friend, Jorja Mae, came over to play for my first real playdate! She is a month older than me. Jorja has a fun laugh! Come over again soon, Jorja!!

Reading Mommy's Bible

2008-04-27T07:34:00.003-05:00

After church one Sunday, Mommy had her Bible out to read. I was sitting with her and decided to read a little bit myself. :)

Going to see the Easter Bunny

2008-04-27T07:33:00.004-05:00

The Easter Bunny came to Joe Farmer Rec Center in Allen and I went and sat on his lap! I wore my own bunny ears and my chenille bunny dress that Mommy bought me right after she found out I was a girl. I didn't cry, scream or smile--I just took it all in! :)

What's the big deal about this Boppy thing, anyway?

2008-04-27T07:31:00.004-05:00

Everyone talks about how great this Boppy thing is--what's the deal? It isn't big enough for any normal dog and it's got a big hole right in the best spot! I don't know about it....I think I'll stick with my old mat.

Eight months and such a hoot!

2008-04-20T07:27:00.000-05:00

Remember when I used to wonder when my child would like tummy time? Well, now she is Tummy Time Queen! Since she is a Champion Sitter now, she is ready to start moving--just sitting is boring! :) For the record, we are letting her figure out on her own how to crawl. We just clap for her and encourage her, but we are in NO hurry to chase after a turbo crawler or toddler! The former teacher in me is just going to let her hone her problem solving skills and figure out herself how to get on all fours and tear this house apart. She is so much fun right now! She rocks back and forth and hollers--it is like she is going to shoot through the wall! She has her first lovey, "Sheep". She is obsessed with the phone and the remote control right now, loves her solids and trying new flavors, is self feeding finger foods, drinks from a cup, adores her little friends in her new "Early Crawlers" class at church, and going fast in her stroller during our workouts at Baby Boot Camp! We are still loving BBC and Mom is loving that 52 pounds are gone! :) Here are some photos from Month 8--it is flying by:

Sitting up

2008-03-27T07:26:00.000-05:00

I can finally do it! One minute I couldn't do it and would flop over, and the next minute I had it! I love to sit up and play with my blocks and my Rock-a-Stack. The blue ring is my FAVORITE. I love anything blue and reach for it first! I kerplunk every once in a while, but I am getting stronger every day. I love to be able to see the world!

Seven months and flying by!

2008-03-24T07:23:00.000-05:00

My seventh month was so much fun! I am not growing quite so much in the height or weight department (even though I am a chunky monkey, I am still petite), but I am trying new things, loving my food mom makes for me, and sitting up to see the world. I laugh A LOT and love to play. I have had all of the usuals like peaches, bananas, apples, peas, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, plums, etc, but I have also had pumpkin, mango, papaya, apricots, avocado, nectarine, pineapple, green beans, mashed potatoes, squash, and cranberry! I love to watch Elmo while Mom makes my breakfast! I am the master of the fake cough and will do it for anyone that looks my way. I think everyone that calls lives in the phone, so I like to talk on speaker phone. My feet are my new best friends. I played for the first time in the snow in my bear suit with Buckley. I still don't have any teeth, but I chew on everything. We are still going to Baby Boot Camp with our buddies and LOVE it! I celebrated my first St. Patrick's Day with a big 'ol green bow Mommy made me and laughed all day! I got to meet the Easter bunny and sit in his lap! On Easter we went to Orange. When my Pop got up to preach, I started to talk to him. LOUDLY. Isn't everyone's Pop on stage? Mommy had to take me out and walk me around in the foyer and listen to the sermon from out there. :) We hope you had a very happy Easter!

Old friends, babies and Starbucks

2008-03-01T07:31:00.002-06:00

Mommy and I went to meet some old friends that she used to cheer with on NCA at Starbucks! Mommy's friend, Jessica, and my friend, Brooklyn, and Mommy's friend, Jason, were all there. We had fun sitting outside while they laughed about being old. Whatever. Brooklyn and I practiced our raspberries.

SOLIDS!

2008-02-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

I started eating solid foods the day after my six month bday. I had rice cereal and LOVED it! I had my mouth WIIIIIIDE open and grabbed the spoon to feed myself! I got to try nanners a few days later. YUM!! I can't wait to see what all Mom makes for me. I still love nursing, but solids are so much fun! Buckley is suddenly my best friend...hmmmm...wonder why?