Family Photo

While together on Tuesday, my family attempted to get a photograph of the grandkids (the first since Penelope was born). Well, it didn't work out too well, so the Mark, Susan, Gretchen and I had to step in and the result, well not a professional quality, did turn out pretty cute. After taking what seemed like a hundred shots with four different cameras,

the kids took off and Susan and I decided to jump on Mark.
Then Clara and Ella decided to jump on top, too. You gotta love family.

I also had to share this cute video of Adam and Penelope. This was their first meeting and she took to Adam immediately. I love her expressions in this video.

Thanksgiving Part One

Thanksgiving Part One

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family yesterday. Mark, Gretchen and Penelope (who is two months old already!) came and it was so nice to cuddle with little Penelope. We had all the yummy traditional fixings and it was soooo good. My contribution to the dinner was my very first apple pie from scratch - complete with homemade crust. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of any of the food or my pie (which was really good - thanks to Crystal for the recipe and the secret ingredient!) but we did get plenty of pictures of the Clara and Penelope! Enjoy the slideshow above! More to come as we travel to Hideaway for Thanksgiving Part Two tomorrow!

Afternoon Dress Up

Clara has finally been feeling better and here is how she spent a part of her afternoon:

Cozy

This has been what Clara has been doing the past couple of days:

Fighting a cold is never fun, but I have no idea why she is in a good mood even though she feels so yucky! Clara is the only person I know who smiles behind snot bubbles and fevers.

Early Morning Puzzle

After breakfast, Clara is normally ready to go and play. This morning was no exception. Even though she has been fighting a cold, Clara was very excited about doing her puzzles. She discovered her Bumbo in her closet a few days back while I was cleaning it out and has been dragging it around the house. This morning it proved to be the best place to sit and do a puzzle.

Oh, Sweet Zema

Crystal has a sweet cat named Zema. I always knew she was sweet but I have a completely different view of just how sweet after today. Little Kayla slept all morning so after Clara got bored playing with Crystal and me, she cozied up to Zema. It was so sweet to watch them. Clara was really gentle and was just in heaven (our cats run like the wind when she comes near.)

Finally, Kayla woke up (and Zema was relieved of her entertainment duties) and the girls played for a while.

And it was time to come home, I loaded Clara up in the van and began our drive home. She usually passes out in the car driving home but before she does, she soothes herself to sleep. She never took a pacifier but she has always had hair. "Huh?" you ask. Clara always has her hair out of her face in a ponytail and it soothes her to hold it as she falls asleep. Normall,y she just has the one ponytail on top of her head. Well, since it has been a bit longer, I have been doing pigtails. This is how she fell asleep today in the car:

All Dressed Up and No Where to Go...

A Visit with the Pecorinos

Last night, we went to Frank and Diana's house for dinner. They have a precious little 8 month old boy, Peyton, who Clara just loved. She was also quite smitten with their cute little dog Poncho. We had yummy fajitas and LOTS of playtime. It was fun catching up with them and watching our kids play.

Fall Cleanup

We have been trying to do a little Fall cleanup around the house. While Adam has been pulling weeds in the backyard, I have been more interested in cleaning up the house and purging stuff. Clara got into the action yesterday helping out in the garage. She had two brooms going at once and liked sitting in her wagon watching Adam and me work. She also discovered that large tape rolls can be great rolling toys.

"Kee-stel and Kay-ya"

Crystal and Kayla came over to visit today or as Clara refers to them as Keestal and Kayya. Here are a few pictures from our morning.

Clara read Kayla about 200 stories today

Kayla's New Trick - Pulling Up!

Happy Birthday Ella!!!

Ella had her 6th Birthday Party at the Bouncin' Bonanza yesterday. I still can't believe she is six! We had a great time watching all of Ella's friends run nonstop around the place. I gave up on trying to take a picture of the birthday girl because she never stopped moving, running, or bouncing! It took a little while for Clara to warm up to the place but once she did, she had a blast. Just recently, she has been into jumping and she sometimes gets both feet off the ground which is really funny to watch. I added a video above to show her new bouncing skills. Thanks for inviting us Ella! We love you bunches!

That's How I Roll...

Here is a cute pic of Clara in our new ride. Adam and I were trying to figure out some of the features of our new car (um...I mean mini van - Yeah, I am one of those Moms now) and Clara was busy in the front saying "Brrrrmmmm" and "Beep-beep"

Clara's First Day of School

Before school

Clara had her first day of school today, well, Mother's Day Out. She will be attending one day a week.

After years of being on the "other side" as a teacher, I was now officially a parent. I was now the one who dropped off her child and had to leave. As a teacher, I always tried to be understanding of the nervous parent who wanted to stand in the doorway watching but never fully understood the difficult part of leaving.

Thank goodness my friend Rebecca was there (her son goes to the same school and is actually in Clara's class) she helped me get out the door and wouldn't let me turn around or peek back in the classroom just for one last glimpse. This morning, I was walking out the door of her school, the director said something to me (I honestly don't remember what she said) and I couldn't even speak because I was fighting back the tears.

It was a lonely day for me. I twiddled my thumbs while glancing at the clock all day. I have to admit, our TIVO tuned to Barney while I was watching the news during lunch and I started to cry. What a weepy little wuss I am! I can't believe I am even sharing that!

Well, when I went to pick Clara up, she was crying in the middle of the room holding her monkey. One of her teachers talked to me for a long time. Apparently, my sweet, little, happy girl, cried off and on all day. She did play a little but mostly observed. She did eat lunch, though, and napped. Driving home, I asked Clara if she liked school and if she had fun, enthusiastically she replied "YES!" Halfway home, I discovered we forgot her blankie so we had to turn around. We went back, Clara was smiling while walking to her classroom. She said "Hi" to her teacher. She even waved and blew a kiss.

This will be a hard road but I am convinced that she will eventually love it.

If you are wondering about an after picture. It was a little difficult to get a good one. She played with her blanket on her head the rest of the afternoon.

Lunch in Waco

Clara and I met Grandma, Grandpa, Susan, Zane, Gretchen, Mark and Penelope in Waco on Tuesday for lunch. It was great seeing Gretchen and Mark and especially baby Penelope who is already 6 weeks old! I can't believe how big she is getting! She still has amazing blue eyes and black hair and is actually beginning to resemble Mark but still looks just lie Gretchen. Clara had a blast running around with Zane and seeing her Aunt "Suess" as she calls Susan. I have posted the pics from our day below. You can see at the end of the slideshow how tired she was from all the excitement. Too cute!

Visit in Hideaway

Adam, Clara and I visited Granny, Papa, and Great-Grandma on Sunday. It was a lot of fun to see Derek and Jenn, too. Derek fixed a super yummy meal - which is always a treat from Mr. Chef himself. Granny brought out her tap shoes which Clara absolutely loved. Enjoy the video and the pictures!

Halloween with our Candy Corn Fairy

Last night was Clara's second Halloween trick or treating. She really enjoyed it this year. Clara was a Candy Corn Fairy. She absolutely loved walking around in her Tu-Tu and her pretty sparkle shoes. We went to a few of our favorite neighbors and walked around the neighborhood. Clara loved seeing our neighbors and once she figured out that she got candy and she could collect it in her bag she kept going back for more eating it along the way. Clara ended the night running off some of the candy induced energy on the hill at our neighbors house. You can watch the video above to see the full poof of her costume - it was as wide as she is tall.

Clara's First Parade

Yesterday, we attended the Richardson High School Homecoming Parade. It was Clara's first parade and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Once she figured out that they were tossing candy off the floats she really got into it. At one point she had two lollipops in her mouth. It was a fun way to begin our Halloween evening.

Cheering for the Parade