Sweet Baby James is 1!!!!!

How big is James? So big!!!!!

Walking around now.......

Laughing at big sister, Claire!

Seriously? Look at that sweet face!!! I love this boy!!!! Cannot believe that he is one today! He is still as sweet and precious as the day we brought him home from the hospital! I think I am more in love with him today than I was then.....and will love him more tomorrow too! He is such a sweet boy! So happy and loving everyone!

Happy birthday to my Sweet Baby James!!! I love you more than I will ever be able to express! I am so happy that God chose us to be your parents! Mama loves you sweet boy!

Fun jewelry for baby girls!!!!

www.sweetbabygirljewelry.com
This is a link to a business that my sweet friend, Shannon, just started! We were sorority sisters in college and she is seriously one of my most treasured friends. We have gotten so much closer since college and have really enjoyed watching each other become wives and mothers.......both jobs that she does very well! She is now a stay at home mother to a sweet baby girl, and she started this fun little business........and let me say, her stuff is great!!!!! We ordered a little bracelet for a friend's child to give her this weekend when she gets baptized. It was so super cute that I have to give it to her early....they loved it! I also ordered a cute ballerina charm for the sweet baby girl in my life! We have our eye on a few others things that I know Claire will love! Shannon is really just using word of mouth right now, so I wanted to put her name out there! Check it out!! Such precious stuff!

Claire-isms

I keep a list of the funny things that Claire says......I thought it would be funny to share a few of the latest. These are just a few. This girl says something hilarious every day!!!! It is so fun to think of all the things James will say when his time comes! There is no tellin'!

The other day we were getting dressed and Claire got her clothes on and the promptly wanted to play dress up. I said that was fine if she just put her clothes back in the closet....she says, uuuggghhh, you are wearing me out!!! I almost fainted! I say that way too much and obviously need to watch it!

She has learned that if James cries, we usually look to her and see if she has done something. About 80% of the time she has taken something from him....she too has learned that if she gives him something to replace the toy she is about to steal, he is less likely to fuss. So today as she takes something away from him and he starts fussing...she hands him a toy and tells him to just calm down....here take this and calm down!

She was having a melt down the other day and I looked at her and she told me she was sorry, but she just could not pull it together right now.

On our way home from lunch on Sunday she asked if we could go trick-or-treating again. We tried to explain that you only do that once a year....she says ok, but we will go one more time real quick!

Oh, the joy these children bring me. I love them more than life and am so grateful for the daily humor provided by Miss Claire and the snuggles that Mr. James gives me......these things keep me going!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great night! We started off at BB and Ern's house.....Claire was crazy about the jack-o-lantern that flashed and made noises.

This is our sweet BB....we so love her! I seriously thank God for her each night! She is such a wonderful neighbor and a true blessing in our lives. Our kids love her and and we do too. She had a whole bag of gold fish for both of the kids....along with some chocolate, but she wanted James to have something he could eat....in past years we have gotten stuffed animals.....you just never know with our sweet BB.

We were hammin' it up at home.

A little 'staged'!

Sock Monkey! Love that tail!

Could he be any cuter??? Seriously?

Brother and Sister!

Cheese!

Sweet boy just hanging out!

Ready to go!

Soccer Party

A little late, but wanted to document the actual party ;) This is Claire with Coach Alex....he teaches soccer at Claire's school so she has known him for a year or so. He is seriously the youngest looking guy....I think he is around 23 or 24, but super shy and soft spoken especially when talking to parents. All that to say, Claire really made him blush! She was thanking him after the party and he bent down to hear her.....she said that she had so much fun (the kids were wild at that time) he said that he had fun also...she grabs his face and kisses him on the lips....it all happened so fast that he had no time to react! It was hilarious....she kissed and ran off! He was just like what????? Alex looked at me and said that he guesses that since it was her birthday she was not playing around.....so funny!!! He was red and we thought it was hilarious!!! Such a good sport! He did a great job with the kids that day too!!


Posing with daddy....look at all that hair! I know (as moms) we have those things that we know
people always notice about our kids. With Claire it is her eyelashes and now her hair. It is really pretty (if i do say so myself) and so curly and long. I love that it is thick and hopefully will stay that way....mine, not so much and I hope that hers will be thick and nice and curly. I also hope she stays smart and kind ;) among other things!

Daddy, James, and Unkie B

Ready to play some soccer!


Yummy cupcakes!

Jack and Betsy

Betsy, Jack getting kissed from Claire and CC

Tanner joins in.....most of the kids that were at the party

Sweet hugs from Pop

Blowing out candles!

Had to post some pictures of my boy! He loves all things that roll....especially balls! Loves to bounce, roll, and throw them all over the house.

Is this not hilarious??? He loves balls....so funny! I love this face!! My sweet Baby James!

James was infatuated with Unkie.....Brannon would walk in the room and James would fuss until he picked him up. So funny!

Birthday girl!!!

Hugs from mommy!

More of James and Unkie!! He was loving him so much! He picks someone and gravitates towards them for a while. He really does this at church. They laugh about him.....he loves Miss Kim, but one day she got to church late on Wednesday and he would not look at her ;) Guess he holds a grudge too!! So funny that he is like that with folks.....he is a funny kiddo!

We had such a great weekend. The guys went on a hunt Sunday morning and had a blast! They have done this the past 3 years, but the weather is not always so cooperative. This year was wonderful...cold and perfect for hunting. The dogs were fantastic and the guide was fun too. David, Strick's boss, was able to come with the group. He is a super nice guy and an avid hunter, so they were grateful that he could come join them. They made it home in time for lunch and then Strick prepared the pheasant and mom fried the quail. With some mashed potatoes and some green beans, we were set!

We had a wonderful time all weekend! I am so happy that all these people were able to come and celebrate Claire's special day. Our kids have so many people that love them and we are so grateful for that. I still can't believe that her great-grandparents (both in their eighties) traveled 10 hours to come to her party. Claire got more messages, emails, packages and cards than we ever do!!!! She loved them all! The fam got to see her do ballet on Saturday and that was fun for her also! We just had a fun time!!! I was so sad that they had to leave! We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and having another celebration for Mr. James!

Claire is 3!

Just a few pics from our early morning photo shoot ;) We took these next to the banner I made for her....think it turned out pretty cute! It was so early that we had to take them inside because the sun was not up yet!!! Claire got up super early! She was so excited about her special day! She is really excited about her soccer party!!! Still can't believe that she is 3!!! What a big girl!!!

3 year check up!!!

I really, really, REALLY cannot believe that my 'baby' will be 3 tomorrow!!! I seriously feel like I just had her the other day.....where does the time go? We had our 3 year check on Monday and it was a totally different experience. We were called back by the doctor instead of the nurse, so Claire was super excited to see her. She immediately started talking......about everything! It was hilarious! When we got back in the room, I reminded her to tell Dr. Amanda all about her potty stuff. (A side note, we have worked really hard to get this girl to poop in the potty...pee was super easy, but the poo alluded us for almost 6 months!!!!! I had even visited with the dr about the subject...she was honestly stumped by miss c and her issues ;) So, Claire says that she pooped in the potty that morning and as Dr. A is dancing around and singing her praises, Claire proceeds to tell the good doc that her poop was an airplane. Then she starts talking about how she has all kinds of different poops......the original snake, leaf, turtle, and the humpback whale.......it went on and on...ending up with the airplane and how Claire loves airplanes because sometimes her Mimmy comes on one and she loves Mimmy.......Mimmy lives in TX with......you get the picture! It was really funny! Our pediatrician is a young gal with 2 boys almost the same ages of my kids....so she could totally relate! After our huge introduction, Dr. A decided to skip the questionnaire on verbal skills.....she thought we were good to go in that area! Hilarious!

We continued with the check-up. All was great! It was really funny....Claire totally answered all her questions. She asked her what she was doing so doc had to give a running dialogue about what she was doing. When she was looking in her eyes....she told Claire that she was going to look in her pretty eyes.....and, Claire smiled like she was taking her picture...it was really funny!

Then we got to the shot part....she was getting her flu shot and the nurse came in and did all her measurements. James and I waited in the room........She came back and told Claire she was getting a shot....I got the hershey kiss ready....the shot went in....Claire made a face....I shoved in the delicious piece of chocolate...all was well! That's right people, no tears!!! She answered all the doctor's questions and did not cry when she got a shot....my baby is all grown up!!!!!!

Birthday plans......we will start out our day at the dr's office....James did not get his flu shot so we will be back at 8am. Claire has school and I have cookies for her class. Then, home at 2:30 for some rest time. We will then meet daddy at Red Robin....home for presents and cake. We will have some wonderful guests tomorrow night. Mimmy, Da, Nonnie, Pop and Daisy will be here tomorrow night. Then, Unkie B will fly in on Friday night. Saturday we will have ballet in the morning and our soccer party at 4pm. Claire is so aware this year and super excited about her party!!! Us too!!!

Stats......

35lbs...90%
37 1/8......50%

Claire loves everything to do with princesses. She loves her family and talking on the phone. She is not so into pants or wearing clothes for that matter, but she loves some dresses.....and loves dress up! She is all over her brother and loves him so much!!! She is super verbal and talks all the time. Claire is so much fun!!!! I fell so blessed to be her mother.....and so grateful that I get to be home with her each day. She is a wonderful, lively, strong-willed, spirited, and really funny little person!

Happy Birthday to the best little girl in the world!!! We love you, Claire Bear!

Fire Station Visit

Claire went with Daddy to the tour the Fire Station today. They had a great time! It is so nice when she gets to do things by herself. She was super excited that Daddy would be taking her. Strick has been working way overtime......that is a real understatement....so, the kids have been missing him. Claire got some time with Daddy all alone today!


Such a poser!

Sweet boy

This boy is getting so big! He is looking less like a baby and more like a little boy!!! I love it and hate it at the same time :( He is still sweet as pie! Such a love! He is getting so much more physical. Last night he climbed 2 flights of stairs while I was on the phone confirming some details for Claire's b-day party. I got off the phone and noticed that the gate was opened (thanks big sister) and he was up in our room just sitting at the top of the stairs sucking his thumb....why he did not try to come down on his own??? I do not know and am so thankful! After Claire opened the gate for him she decided to draw on the wall!!!! All that for a 5 minute phone call........crazy how fast these kids can get into stuff!!!


He is learning how to be rough a little early in life.....apparently he wanted a kiss from Claire. Poor kid...he just goes with it!

I love this! The kids love to do this!!! They bang and laugh! It is also a great place to watch for Daddy. This is normal Claire attire here lately! She is always dressed as something....when she is in 'character' you have to call her by that name. It is funny for about 2 hours and by 5pm, I am ready for Cinderella to go back to her kingdom.

Another hug ;) Love these two more than life! Precious, sweet kiddos!

1st Soccer Game

We had our first game yesterday....and it was a hoot! I got a little frustrated with Claire...she was all over the place! That girl was out there being a wild woman. A serious free spirit! We are on a team with several friends, which I am sure does not help fuel our competitive spirit! She did everything but kick the ball! She helped friends up, tickled people, pulled up grass, came and gave daddy hugs, and laughed!!! It was a sight to see. We played another team that was all boys and they looked to be a little older than our kids.....they were very big, and they totally knew what to do!!! They dribbled and scored all over the place! My mom asked what the score was, I seriously don't know, but it was like something to zero!!!! We didn't even get close! Here she is warming up ;)

Might need to keep the eyes open????

Running...and running....and running!!!

They brought their own ball for warm up/practice before the game. Coach Molly (poor gal) put them to the side and Claire would try to go over there and just get her own ball to play!!! Next time we will just get the ball and leave it with us ;)

Some run for the ball, Claire runs for a hug! We have no idea what we are doing here!

a little pep talk....or maybe a kiss

like herding cats!!!!

Claire kept falling down when other kids did.........Jack is helping her up!!!

We got tangled in the net???

Helping Jack up...as you can see we are doing lots of things except kicking the ball....

She kept falling down and cracking up....obviously, she had no fear of the boy coming at her with cleats!

Running all over the place!

Little man, enjoying the nice weather and grass. We are unseasonably warm....like highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s!! Crazy!!

Does he not look like a big boy here.....not a little baby anymore!

Trying to get him to smile at the camera with his Aggie hat on ;) He was way too interested in the boys and girls running around!

We were all sitting and watching the game and one friend of mine asked how we all felt about being Soccer Moms!!! We cracked up!!! We all knew it was coming!!! Ha!!!!!