Damn hereditary diseases

I have been behind in updating our blog. We have lots of pics to post and I promise I will get to it over the next couple of days. There are a few posts that I have added below.

I have been completely and utterly preoccupied with so many things from family to work to home to health.

As of right now, knock on wood, Clara's asthma is under control with help of a new medication, thank the dear Lord for modern medicine. We are still unsure of her triggers but have come to the conclusion of the possibility of dogs. And probably other things that I have yet to pinpoint. Yes, my daughter, lover of all animals big and small, may be allergic to dogs like her mother. This breaks my heart because of her total elation and delight when she sees one. I am not as ecstatic as Clara when I see a dog since I am terribly allergic but it warms my heart to hear the squeal when she is around one. Now, though, I am tense and scared that just having Clara be around a dog makes me on pins and needles. This sucks in so many ways because I think everybody we know has one, literally. If we can continue to keep her under control, then I won't have to worry as much if she pets one though. We have been in lockdown for nearly a week and a half. No school, no outdoors. She is like me in so many ways but this is one (asthma) in which I wish she wasn't.

Damn hereditary diseases.

A Little Belated Birthday Celebration

We recently converted our guest room into a playroom. I got tired of having everything in the living room and shoved in Clara's closet (in addition to me not being ready for another child, not yet!) we might as well fix up that room and enjoy it more than we were.

My parents bought her an adorable train set, but it took us a while to fix up the new playroom so we weren't able to give it to her on her birthday.

Finally, this weekend, the room was just about complete and since Adam's parents came to town we thought this was the perfect opportunity to give her the train table. My parents came down to help reveal the train. Clara loves it and plays with it constantly.

Finally!

Santa brought Clara an adorable pink vacuum for Christmas. Well, finally, three months later she decided to try it out. I have asked her nearly every time that I have brought out my vacuum if she want to try hers. The answer is always "no-no." Apparently, the idea struck her as a good one on this particular day and she had a great time. We vacuumed FOR EVER! And if you have been to our house, we don't have that much to vacuum: an 8 X 10 rug and a 5 X 5 rug.

Notice the bow is still attached from Christmas.

St. Patty's Day

We went to the park with several friends on St. Patrick's Day. Yes, she is wearing green somewhere on her body - I promise! We had a great time - even though she refused to eat her lunch - probably because she was exhausted and passed out in the car as soon as she sat in the car seat! She fell in love with this playground. She is such a little monkey and goes straight for the most challenging part of the whole place. The sign on the equipment said "5-8 years old"

Good thing she can't read.

Lumpy Laundry

Ready, Set, Shop

I just may bring this economy back single-handedly just by shopping 1000 Markets. If you love handmade, beautiful things then you must visit this website. I have shopped at Etsy.com for a very long time, but there is another great website that begun not long ago. 1000 Markets is all things handmade. I must give props to My Mom Shops for turning me onto this website a few days ago who called it an "indie-shopping lovers paradise." I have been searching high and low for a new wallet, well, coin purse. I am very picky and my current one that I got in Barcelona is slowly and sadly disintegrating. Although I would gladly pick up and go back to Spain to get another, I think I should just stick to this great coin purse for $8. Just the right size and price. Even better, it is made from salvaged materials. What was once headed to the dump, will now be headed to my purse also made from salvaged materials.

Thinking Inside the Box with Four Shoes On

Oh, the mind of a two-year old facinates me. The most mundane things turn into a hat or a bracelet. Yes, even Adam's boxers turn into a dress during laundry days. Why, the other day, tiny pieces of paper were "mail" and I continue to find those all over the house.

While downloading the videos of Clara's birthday party, I came across these videos of Clara:

If you turn up the volume, you can hear her saying "turtle, turtle, turtle" repeatedly at the beginning, then gets distracted by a chair, you can then hear her say "excuse me" (this is where I crack up everytime I watch this video).

Clara was doing this for a few minutes before I picked up the video camera. I was trying to figure out what she was doing or what she was pretending to be. She really didn't know but we ended up calling her a camel. I said one-humped, but at the end she says "two-hump." Thanks to the Everybody Poops book, we know all about the camels and their humps :)

Clara's Second Birthday Party

We celebrated Clara's Second Birthday Party on Saturday at Pump it Up Jr. It was a wonderful party with so many family and friends coming out to celebrate with us. Clara had an incredible time and was so excited to see everyone and play and jump with everyone. I have posted a slideshow below along with a few videos. Sit back and enjoy!

Clara's Second Birthday Party

Oh what a night!

I wanted to include these shots of Clara at the end of the night. She had such a great time playing and partying that it was hard for her to stop. We finally got her in the car seat and this is how she drove home:

Half-asleep, but still holding on for dear life to that lollipop :)

Clara's Party Videos

Clara has a genuine love for lollipops. She doesn't get them often, long car rides, long grocery trips, times I need to bribe her to be quiet and still for various reasons. Clara actually calls them "Clara-Pops." Anyway, she just loves them. That is how we chose the theme lollipops for her party.

I wanted to share this video of the party. I wish that I was able to get everyone on video or a picture of everyone. I am just so happy that so many people were able to share the special day with us. I really hope everyone had as much fun as Clara did that night!

The attempted group picture. You know, roughly 18 kids between the ages of one and four really don't want to sit and the ones that actually did are too cute to watch. If you watch Weston and Clara in the front row you will definitely get a chuckle.

The night before her birthday we were singing Happy Birthday during dinner. Adam's parents and his grandmother joined us for dinner. I can't tell you how many times we sang Happy Birthday while we ate. She got the biggest kick out of it and it is probably her favorite song right now. Here is the video of everyone singing "Happy Birthday".

Clara's New Tricycle

For Clara's second birthday, Adam's parents got Clara her first tricycle. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. A little girl's dream come true. It is pink, chrome, with leather streamers and a real bell. She is a little small for it, calls it a "bi-ci-ball" and is still learning to pedal but she is well on her way to racing up and down the street. Thanks Granny and Papa!

Happy First Birthday Kayla!

We were very happy to help celebrate Kayla's first birthday Sunday with Crystal and Jeff. Clara had a great time at the bug-themed party. Crystal planned a lot of fun craft activities for the kids and adults to do including finger painting and decorating onesies. Clara even got a sweet little apron to wear at the party. Kayla reminds me so much of Clara a year ago and it brought back so many fond memories of Clara toddling around the house.

Happy First Birthday Kayla!

Crystal and birthday girl

Clara learning to blow bubbles.

Yeah! She did it!

First Bite

Mmmm...

Clara LOVED the cake so much...

She licked the plate clean!

Where Has the Time Gone?

I was browsing Clara's closet today trying to figure out what she was going to wear to Peyton's party. It was pretty cold so I wanted her to wear pants but wanted her to look cute in a little party dress. I stumbled upon something she honestly hasn't worn since Thatcher's birthday party last April, nearly 11 months ago. I thought, this looks like it might still fit. Sure enough. My tall and skinny girl fit into it perfectly, well, almost. It is now a shirt. The size 12 month dress is now a shirt. Where did that extra 6 inches of Clara come from?

Happy 1st Birthday Peyton!

Our friends Diana and Frank celebrated their son's first birthday today. It was so fun and we were very happy to be apart of it. Clara even helped blow his candle out on his cake, great practice for next week. It was such a cute fireman themed party complete with fireman hats and "flames" on the tables. I thought I would share some sweet pictures from the party.

Happy First Birthday Peyton!

First Bite - unfortunately I forgot to take the "after" picture!

Photography 101

After Peyton's party we stopped by the Bartlett's house for a little while. The kids wrestled and played before eating our scrumptious half-priced steak dinner from Texas Land and Cattle (if I haven't emailed you the coupon, let me know - you can't beat two huge rib-eyes for $20, mmm...) Anyway, the Thatch decided to play with Rebecca's camera and proceeded to pretend to take pictures of everyone all while saying "cheese!" It was pretty cute. Notice the camera is upside down. He then gave Clara a lesson in taking upside-down pictures.

"Panting Pitty"

Clara watercolored today. Really enjoyed "panting pitty" (painting pretty) as she said repeatedly for the half an hour she was painting. She was so into it. This is the first time I have let her paint in the kitchen. I usually make her stand in the bathtub and paint with the paper taped to the wall (because I have a phobia of messes and I can just hose it down with water). She did really great. I even forgot to put an old shirt on, but not single drop of paint got on her new shirt! Yeah! Thought I would share her finished masterpiece - think it is worth anything? I was impressed.

Shelly's Baby Shower

I had the pleasure of co-hosting a baby shower for one of my best friends from college - Shelly. It was a lot of fun. There is just over a month until little Taylor Lynn arrives and we can't wait to meet her! Here are a few pictures from our whirlwind trip to Abilene.