Mother-Daughter "Trip"

Last Friday I realized Claire was in desperate need of a fun day...a day not filled with Mommy trying to get things done around the house or running errands while Claire just tagged along.  Conveniently, Mammaw called that morning fishing for a babysitting opportunity (she didn't want to sit at her house all day!), so I let her stay with Hannah while Claire and I went out.  I told Claire it was a "date", but she told me there had to be a girl and a boy to have a date, so she decided to call it a "trip". 

We went to the nearby pedestrian mall, and our first stop was in the bookstore.  We looked for Dora books and read a few, then she played on the train table for a few minutes, then she found a book of paper doll princesses that we bought.  She was so excited!

Next was a picnic on the grassy area by the fountains.  I had packed PB&J, cheetos, and peaches for us to munch on.  Claire loved watching the fountains so we took some pictures first.










Then it was lunch time! I just love this picture of my sweet girl.


And I love this one because of her silly smile.


We attempted a mother-daughter shot!




Next was dessert...ice cream or cookies? ICE CREAM!


Claire got strawberry, and I got some sort of coconut-chocolate-butterscotch-graham cracker concoction that tasted just like a Mounds candy bar. YUMMO!






Next I took her to...where else? CLAIRE'S! Claire's used to be one of my favorite stores in the mall when I was growing up, and I had never taken my Claire in there before. I knew she would love it, and she did! She couldn't get enough of all the necklaces, bracelets, lip gloss, purses, hair accessories, sunglasses, etc... We didn't buy anything, but I got lots of great gift ideas!


She was so anxious to get out her paper dolls, so we went back to the bookstore and found a table to sit down at and put together some dolls.


It was a very refreshing morning with my girl.  I am so thankful to be her Mommy and have this time with her at home, and out-and-about!

Popsicles after school

Popsicles are the kids' most favorite afternoon snack!  Today after school we took our popsicles in the driveway.  I strapped Hannah in the wagon so she'd stop trying to run down the driveway with her popsicle (she was going to face plant eventually but I couldn't make her understand that).  Aaron and Claire climbed in the wagon with her, because where Hannah is, there they are also.  (I think she has some sort of magnetic force in her.)

Of course, I had to snap pictures.




They love sharing popsicles.














And I had to document Hannah's little curls on the back of her head!

Wedding Dress-up

Last week Chris and I celebrated 9 years of wedding bliss!  I love my sweet hubby so much! 

After Chris left that morning with Aaron, I got out my wedding album to look at with Claire.  She thinks I look beautiful in my wedding pictures, like a princess!

"Do you still have that dress?" Claire asked.

"Yes, I do," I replied.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"In my closet," I told her.

Her eyes lit up.  "Can I see it??" she asked, excitedly.

Since Hannah wasn't up for the day yet, I decided to go ahead and get it out for her, and me, to see.  First, I put it on, and she took my picture.  I can't believe I even let her take my picture--I had not been out of bed long, no shower, no makeup...I had not even brushed my hair or teeth!  But, I'm a sucker for capturing the moment, so I let her snap away.


I really should have closed my closet door.


Claire was funny about making me wear the "top" (the veil). She liked that part. 

And yes, my dress still fits.  The a-line is very forgiving of my belly pudge.  Yay!

Then, we let her try it on. She thought I was crazy when I suggested it, but she tried anyway.



She told me she might wear it one day in her wedding. I have no expectation that she will want to, as by then it will be outdated and ugly, but I'm glad she thinks it's beautiful now!

Happy 9th Anniversary Chris!

First day of preschool

On Tuesday, the girls had their first day of preschool. They go two days a week to mother's day out. It was much anticipated, by both Claire and me! As usual, we went to the front walk for a picture.


I love how my babies all squat when they see me squat to take the picture!



Ready for school!


And I didn't take my camera with me when we left for school.  WHY???  Grrr...
Hannah is in the younger 1 year old room, and I had some reservations about that about a week before school because all the other babies in there were running around and seemed so much older, even though their birthdays are all within 3 months of each other. I wanted Hannah to go back to the baby room! But just days before school started, she got so much more confident with her walking, and I think by October or so she'll be running around with them!  Her first day went great--she ate well, took a good nap, and had fun at music time!

Claire is in the 4K class, and she is so excited! She has her own folder and behavior chart and name tag at her table. She even goes to computer class once a week. She is just loving being in SCHOOL! She is going to do great in real Kindergarten next year, that's for sure!

Lunch with my boy

One day while Claire was at a friend's house, Hannah and I went to the school to have lunch with Aaron.  He loves it when Mom shows up!  The other kids think it's cool too...they all started clammering to sit next to Aaron when they saw I was there.  I'm glad it's still COOL to have your mom at school!


Freckle face


I forgot to bring Hannah's lunch and she ended up eating half of Aaron's food! Aaron loved it and all the kids thought it was funny.

Mother-Daughter Hair Cuts

A couple of weeks ago, Claire and I went on a Saturday morning for mother-daughter hair cuts.  I was in desperate need of a cut, and Claire's hair had gotten so long it was aggravating me and her daily.  It constantly had food and tough tangles in it, so she finally agreed to get it cut.  I was a bit sad to see some of the length go, but it has been so worth it to avoid the daily tears that accompanied hair brushing. 

I forgot to get a good before shot, but you can see how long it was here.




She has such beautiful hair, thick but fine and silky, so it has trouble staying up in ponytails. She prefers to wear it down so having a shorter cut has been so much better.  I'm hoping one day when she's able to take care of it more herself, she can grow it for Locks of Love.


My girl is so beautiful!


And it's done!


She wouldn't make a normal face for me.


I didn't get before shots of me (it was BAD) but we got some shots together afterwards.

15 1/2 months

Hannah is now 15 1/2 months old, and is cuter than ever! She is so very sweet and changes so much every day it seems.

She is walking everywhere. It seems like it happened overnight. We really had to bribe her to take a step or two at first, and then during the last week of August she started walking across the room unprompted. She is so proud of being able to walk and seems to prefer it to crawling now.




She has the cutest smile! She has 8 teeth, and they've been there for a while. I guess before long she'll start getting more, but I haven't seen any signs of them.


She eats like a horse! Some days she eats more than Aaron and Claire. She eats like a big kid now--pizza, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, cheese slices, smoothies, bread, oatmeal, yogurt, crackers, Nilla wafers, and even hummus are some of her favorites.  She'll eat most things, except green vegetables.  But we're still trying!

Who would think that one piece of chocolate chip cookie would be so messy??





She has a big sister and brother who love her so much. She is so sweet to them, even when they aggravate her. She gives them unsolicited hugs and kisses. When Claire is whiny or crying-which is alot!-she will go to her and kiss her cheek or lay her head on Claire. So very sweet!

She is so aware of what is going on. She seems to understand everything! She even likes to help with chores! Putting away silverware with Aaron or Claire, or handing me laundry to fold, or closing the dishwasher or dryer...she just likes to be involved. She understands basic commands like "Take the remote to Daddy" or "Bring Mommy the phone" or "Go give Aaron a kiss" or "Go get a book for Mommy" or "Go play in your house". It is so cute to see her follow through with what we told her. I'm treasuring this time when she is obedient without questioning! I know it will end soon enough!




She is into everything! Drawers, toilets, cabinets, purses, backpacks, bookshelves... I'm sure she thinks "No no" is my favorite word.


She LOVES books. That is one of her favorite words! She is fond of Goodnight Moon and In My House and Splish Splash and Five Silly Monkeys, and many others.  She recognizes the pages and does whatever motions or sounds we normally do on that page.  It's so cute when we get to the quiet old lady whispering "hush" in Goodnight Moon, and she puts her little finger to her mouth to say hush.  When we saw a bunny rabbit in a completely different book yesterday, she put her finger on her lips as if to tell me it was the same as the rabbit in Goodnight Moon!  Today she started telling me "mow" when I asked her what a kitty cat says.  So I think that's her first animal sound to learn! 

I just love this age, when they learn so much every day and can communicate it back to you.  I don't want her to get any bigger!!  But I know every age coming up has it's treasured moments.  I'm just treasuring every day with my sweet Hannah Rose.