Cason's First Christmas Program

Cason was "that" kid.... not the one that cries and runs off stage.  No, he was the kid yelling at the top of his lungs.

In his defense, they did tell the kids to say the "Must Be Santa" part loud.  I guess he can follow directions when he wants to

No Training Wheels - Cason

Cason learned to ride his bike with no training wheels!  He had gotten too big for his Strider bike but was having trouble with the concept of pedaling.  We put him on training wheels for about 1 day to figure out how to pedal and then off he went!

Claire did a lot of this while Cason was riding!

Fall School Pictures

After absolutely horrible spring pictures:

Fall pictures were MUCH better!

Uncle Tommy and Aunt Fannie's Farm

Before we headed home from our big family reunion in South Carolina, we spent an hour visiting my Uncle Tommy and Aunt Fran (now known as Pop and Fannie) on their farm. Several years ago, they gave up the "city life" in Spartanburg and bought some property on top of a hill in Inman. They built a house and started a little garden... and got some chickens... and a tractor...and built a barn... and got some bees... and the garden is not little anymore. There are amazing views and it's just the best little farm. Cason loved seeing the tractor and the chickens. Even though he was scared to RIDE the tractor, he talks about it all the time. "I rode Uncle Tommy's tractor with Aunt Fannie. We picked up wood chips."

Videos

Holding the baby chick

Claire got in on the action too

Vacuum queen

And a video to see her in action!

A little Claire time

We took the kids to the children's museum a few weeks ago. Cason took a long afternoon nap but Claire decided to hang out with mommy and daddy and eat a snack outside.

She learned how to stick out her tongue right before this and for a few days straight, she always looked like this:

Claire - 15/16 Months

Par for the course, I've just not been doing so well at keeping up with the blog.  We've had a busy spring into summer. I have started a new project at work and am no longer working from home full time. I go into a client (here in The Woodlands) almost every day.  It's been an adjustment to say the least.  I love the work and the interaction with the clients but I don't love how it has changed our routine.

Anyway, some Claire updates:

At her 15 month check up, she was
22lb, 13oz (50%)
31.38" (79%)

She's saying more new words and we are anticipating the big language explosion any day:

• Brother - "ba-buh"
• Daddy - "Da-Deee" (she said "dada" a while ago, but her version of Daddy is so happy and excited)
• Shoes - "Suess" - she loves shoes... like any girl should.
• Car - "Cah"

She's had tubes put in her ears in on May 7th and did really well.  

Unfortunately, we've had another ear infection in the first month since and I'm not convinced she doesn't have one right now.  But, she is a bit happier and doesn't fuss *as* much as she used to.  Only when she's hungry, tired or doesn't get her way. Ha, typical.

She still LOOOVES to eat and still lets us know when we take too long (meaning its not on the table when we walk in the door) to feed her.  She walks right in her class at daycare and goes straight for the table because she knows its breakfast time.  The teachers joke about how much she eats.

She likes to sit in my lap.  If I'm on the floor, she'll turn around and walk backwards till she reaches me to sit down and do whatever it is she wants to do. 

She is very attached to her "Oww" (Owl) and takes it everywhere with her.

She's still quite the Mama's girl.  It's cute and sweet and exhausting all at the same time.  Though she's starting to call for "Da-Deee" more often which we both love!  

Overall, her little personality is really developing. She loves Cason and loves to tease him... her favorite game is to grab one of his toys, blocks, puzzle pieces and run away.  She always gives it back but she laughs the whole time he whines and chases her.   She's definitely our wild child and doesn't have much fear.  She loves slides and goes straight for the riding toys in the garage when we get out of the car.  She soaks in everything Cason does, even watching and learning at his swim lessons.  

Growing up fast and keeping us on our toes!

Video Updates

Cason loves his harmonica...

Claire pretending to be a dog (she learned to pant)...

Darda fun

Memorial Day at the Waterway.  Claire loves to dance and she was a crowd favorite!

Claire's new words

She says a lot and some of it we can decipher
"Caa-ka" - Cracker
"Ow"/"ooowl" - owl - I love that this is in her first 10 words!!!
"Day-do"/"dank-do" - thank you (She is pretty cute saying this. If you give her a toy she says thank you, then hands it back and says thank you, repeat.)
"Ma-ma"/"Mo-mo" - More more (she does this with her attempt at the sign for more. We realized that 90% of the time we thought she was saying Mamma she was really asking for more food)
"Hiiii"/"hi hi hi hi" - Hi (she gets so excited when she sees Cason that its normally the fast "hi hi hi" version until he acknowledges her!)
"Peas" - please

And for fun, a couple of pictures. The one of her walking is the essence of Claire...always swinging her arm and on a mission!

Natural science museum in Jackson

Cason speaks the truth

I don't remember how the topic of hair color came up but Sunday at breakfast the conversation went something like this:
Me: Cason, what color is your hair?
Cason: Red
Me: What color is Daddy's hair?
Cason: (without missing a beat) Grey!

He went on to say mine was brown and Claire's was red like his.

After an awesome weekend, that was just a bit of a downer for Ryan! Ha!

Toddler Claire -- Long overdue update

 Poor Claire.  The neglected second child.  I haven't written anything about her (or either kid) in 2 months.  She's 14 months old now (today actually) and the last post was on her birthday.  Life with two busy kids, two busy working parents is... well... busy.  Our evenings and weekends don't leave me much time to blog... I should do better because if family history tells us anything, I wont remember enough of these years and will wish I had written more down.

At 14 months, Claire is:

• Running all over... gotta keep up with her brother
• Talking a little
• Da-Da (first word)
• Daw ("Dog") and A-da (we think this is "Admiral")
• Hi (with a wave)
• Baw-Baw (Ball, Ball)
• Bye-Bye
• Nigh-Nigh (Night Night)
• Be-Ba ("belly button" while she lifts her shirt up and looks down at her belly)
• Sometimes we think she's trying to say "Cason" but its not consistent so I'm not counting it yet :)
• Eats, a lot.  She really likes fruit, next favorite is bread, then meat, then veggies.  I feel like she's always hungry and the teachers at daycare comment on how much she eats.  I often say she eats more than me and Cason combined (not as much as Daddy yet!).  As soon as we walk in the door at night, she is ready for dinner and does NOT like waiting on me to cook.  
• Generally a little diva :).  She prisses around, sashaying one or both arms out when she walks.  
• Very much a mama's girl.  It's cute and frustrating all at the same time.  When she's tired (which is 90% of the time we are with her) she only wants me.  That means while I cook dinner, she's standing at my feet crying for me to hold her.  Ryan has to take her outside or to do something super fun to distract her.  I hope she out grows this a bit but not completely.  I do love how much she loves on me and how much she lights up when she see's me.
• Our little wild child.  She's loud, she screams, she climbs on things, she jumps on the bed, she falls down and gets right back up, she's not scared of much.  She is not the calm child that her brother was at this age.
• She's very attached to her loveys.  She's not that particular and will sleep with whatever we give her, but you can tell she has her favorites... the brown owl.  Like her dolls, she wraps her arm around her lovey, puts it right up next to her face and gives a little hug and pat.  That maternal instinct already.
• The athlete in the family, ha.  She love to play basketball and seems generally pretty coordinated.  

I'm sure there is more, but thats enough for now.  

  

Train Conductor Claire

As soon as Claire learned to walk (or almost walk), this became a favorite game!

Claire - 1 Year Old - Birthday Highlights

Claire is 1.  It seems impossible and this year has flown by... even faster than Cason's first year.  I think when you have 2 you spend so much of your time balancing and juggling the demands of both kids that you don't have the time to just sit and stare at and soak in every second with your baby.  Then all the sudden, they are walking and having their first birthday.  At least that is how it happened for us.

Here is our final picture in the owl photoshoot series.  She's definitely taken over the owl and the blanket!


That is the best picture we could get.  Most of the pictures looked like this:

I missed writing down many of her milestones so I'll catch up here. Claire is:

• Walking and walking all over the place
• Waves
• Claps
• Bends over to pick up toys then stands back up
• Has 2 teeth on bottom and working on the top 4. Its been a LONG few weeks of teething
• Loves fruit.  If she sees it, she won't touch anything else.  
• Eats lots of things... all sorts of fruit, ground beef, shredded chicken or pork, peas, carrots, broccoli, crackers, pasta, pancakes, Cheerios, beans, eggs, cheese... pretty much whatever we are eating.  She does NOT like avocado which makes our Mexican nights out more challenging than with Cason.
• Still quite attached to her bottle... at least before bed.  I've gotten her down to that one bottle per day but she's still refusing the cup or not actually drinking anything from a cup so I let her have the bottle at night so she's getting some fluids.  
• Says "Da-da" and "Ma-Ma" (Dada was first), "Da" (dog) and "A-da" that we think is "Admiral" :)
• She still adores her brother and has finally fallen in love with Admiral.  After his little escape act where he spent 24 hours roaming the neigbhorhood, he was EXHAUSTED.  She loved petting and loving all over him since he was too tired to get up and move.  
• She's still got her crazy cough but it's not as frequent.  We are still watching it closely and will see what the Dr says next week at her check up.
• She's a mama's girl which I love and hate all at the same time.  I love that she knows and wants me but there are times when I just can't hold her and that really makes her mad.  

I'm sure there is more but I'm forgetting it.

Here she is in her birthday outfit!  We had a great morning party with a purple owl theme, of course.



And the party highlights -- The food and decor


Play Doh


Eating Play Doh


Playing




Bubbles


Ball Pit Fun


Cake


Presents


Ending the day with a sink bath