Alice Cooper is singing in my Head

All day, I have had "School's Out for Summer" in my head. I sang it all day long. Driving, shopping, showering. Pretty much all day long.

Today was Clara's last day of Mother's Day Out. I will definitely miss this for her (and me). I have really enjoyed the few hours off that I have had each week, but I will especially miss her teachers dearly. They have been wonderful in helping Clara get adjusted to school. Although Clara is still very clingy to me she has really come out of her shell socially.

I will never forget that first day - it was SO HARD! I remember dropping her off and then shedding some tears that I had taken my daughter to be cared for by someone else for the day so vividly. Oh, have we come a long way!

We will still be up at school this summer with me working and her coming to tag along. But I am definitely thankful that we have found such an incredible place to grow, learn and play.

That Girl Amazes Me

Clara was very quiet this morning while she was playing. This is what she was working on:

Four walls, one doorway. Four beds with pillows and blankets.
Notice the blankets match the beds.

Who is sleeping you ask?

Mommy, Daddy, Clara and Thatcher

Clara told me this morning:
"Clara and Thatcher have little beds and Mommy and Daddy have big beds"

Priceless Face at Dinner

Clara has a new found love for popcorn. She absolutely LOVES it. This new found love for popcorn joins her existing love for corn on the cob.

Today, at dinner, we were eating corn on the cob.


She was just munching away and then pulled a little corn kernel off the cob. She looked at it and looked at me and said "Corn" and then "Popcorn" and then made this face:

She made the connection.

Somebody Get That Kid a Pool!

After a long busy weekend, Adam, Clara and I enjoyed a very quiet day at home. We spent nearly the entire day in the backyard. It really was a beautiful day. We ended the afternoon breaking in Adam's new grill - check out those perfect grill marks on the chicken - it was delicious! As you can see, I have yet to buy Clara a kiddie pool for the summer but we made due.

Sunday Afternoon

We spent yesterday afternoon with my family. My Aunt Mary Lou and Uncle Phil hosted a get-together at their house and my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tom were in town from Ohio and it was so good to see them and catch up. Mary Lou and Nancy are my Dad's younger sisters and I was happy that I got a cute picture of the three of them together. We had a yummy dinner and dessert after chasing the kids all around. I wish I had taken more pictures but we were too busy talking, playing and eating!

Clara's First Pedicure

THE BIG 3-0

Adam turned 30 yesterday. It was a fun and relaxing day - exactly what he wanted and needed. My parents came over in the morning to surprise him with a present - a hammock! Adam has been asking for a hammock for a few years now and he finally got it! He instantly set it up and took a nap. I mean instantly. He has already had it for a day and a half and he has spent a lot of time in it. Check out the pictures below from our morning...

Later that day, we went over to Rebecca and Bryce's house to celebrate some more. It was Bryce's birthday as well and we had planned a little BBQ. We had DELICIOUS steak and shrimp shish-kabobs along with yummy pasta salad and homemade Turtle Brownie Ice Cream Cake (very decadent). I surprised Adam with a new grill for his big 30th birthday and the only place I could figure out to hide it was in Rebecca and Bryce's garage - which is why we had the BBQ at their house. Adam was very surprised. We definitely will be breaking it in this weekend. The slideshow below is from the BBQ - Enjoy!

In Sickness and in Health...

Monday, marked lucky number seven for Adam and me. We really can't believe that we have been married for so long - it has really flown by. We have no wedding pictures in digital format - so I can't share a picture from our wedding day. I know, I can just hear myself saying to Clara, "Back when your Father and I got married, digital cameras were so new and expensive, we had to use FILM and we had to walk uphill in the snow to get it developed and had to WAIT A WEEK to see the pictures..." Speaking of, our wedding video is on VHS - we don't even own a VCR anymore! That will be another conversation...

Since we do not tend to take pictures together (for some reason we are always taking pictures of Clara) here is a couple of my favorites from our trip to Spain a few years ago (I was six weeks pregnant with Clara so that isn't wine - that is a fancy Spanish drink called "Agua"):

Luckily, we celebrated on Saturday (thanks for babysitting Grandma and Grandpa!) with a great date. I say luckily, because this is what Clara looked like on Monday:

Who is that child with four blankets on top of her not wanting to do anything you ask? Well, that is Clara with a lovely 103 degree fever. Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy! Her gift to us was NOT throwing up! Yeah, I can handle sickness that doesn't involve vomit.

She and I have been in lock down since Monday. I have been feeling icky since Monday too - thank goodness no fever for me! Poor Adam has come home each night this week to his girls laying on the couch watching either Curious George or whatever else is on Sprout. Thankfully today is the first day without a fever for Clara and I am finally feeling like myself again, too.

Happy 3rd Birthday Zane!

On Sunday, we met up at Trinity Park with most of my family to celebrate Zane's 3rd birthday. It is a great park near downtown Fort Worth on the river. We had a great time playing on the playground and riding the Forest Park Miniature Railroad. We opened presents while waiting for the train. The miniature train was so much fun, it was Clara's first time and she had a blast! She is still talking about it four days later, "The train in the park, Mommy, so fun!" Enjoy the slideshow below!

A Visit with Kayla

Crystal and Kayla came over Wednesday for much needed playdate. It has been way too long since we have seen them. It was really good to catch up and it is amazing how much the girls have grown! I mean, Kayla is walking! That is crazy! Clara talked about this playdate for a couple of days afterwards - she really had a great time!

I loved this expression on Kayla's face - the picture itself is totally out of focus but Kayla's face is priceless!

A Taste of Summer

While 86 degrees is a far cry from our 104 degrees we see in August, I wanted to spend the afternoon in the backyard playing in the water.

I was also couldn't wait to try on Clara's new bathing suit:

So, it is a tad bit big in the hips. I kept having to pull it up as to not moon the neighborhood. While Clara wears a 2T and 3T in everything else, she just recently outgrew a pair of shorts size 6 months! She will probably be like her momma and develop her hips in college.

When I finally got the water going, she was pretty unsure.

This is about how close she got to the water before

she said "Water too tall Mommy!"

So, I turned it down for her and she played for about two hours splashing and giggling. She even took the hose around the yard and watered various plants saving me the work.

We also got a chance to feed the birds, Clara's favorite part of the day.

We also got a chance to see a celebrity up close and personal today:

If you are a Curious George fan, you will know this is Jumpy the Squirrel. We even went out to buy Jumpy his very own squirrel feeder, but no, he would rather eat from the bird feeder. The blue jays and cardinals are stuck with the squirrel feeder.

"Silly Jumpy" as Clara would say.

He was out there eating for about an hour with us. Brave little piggy, er squirrel.

I had to include this video since it was hilarious and so Clara. But I guess you learn what you are taught. Imagine a 31 year old Mommy doing this exact same thing - only I don't jump nearly as cute. Also, ignore my voice, I have a very bad habit of narrating everything Clara does.

How Do You Use Your Boppy?

Mother's Day

Me and My Baby

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday and I hope all you mommies did too! I was lucky enough to be able to sleep in and then two hours later turn around and nap for a couple of hours and be absolutely lazy all day. It was WONDERFUL!!!! I was spoiled with some roll reversal - Adam did laundry, cleaned and cooked and took care of Clara all day (not that she is hard to take care of) but it was certainly nice not to have to think too much. Maybe I should clarify. Adam works his cute little behind off around the house, it was just nice to see someone else doing my chores!! Thanks baby!

I seem to request only one thing from Adam each year I have been lucky enough to be a Mommy. My first year (Clara was about two months old) - hang a new bedroom fan. Postpartum hormones were still raging and God know I needed that thing! Last year (Clara was about 14 months) - I didn't want to change a single diaper. Boy that was a nice day! This year, I just didn't want to leave the house. I wanted to have a total lazy day and I got it. We were lucky enough to share the afternoon with our good friends Rebecca and Bryce. The boys made us several margaritas why they cooked dinner and cleaned - thanks guys! Those were great margaritas and a great day. We didn't take too many pictures - margaritas and photography don't go well together - with me anyway.