HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAIRE!!!

Happy Birthday Claire bear! I can't believe today is your first birthday! Where did the year go?

Here are some fun facts about our one year old!

1. Claire Elizabeth Freeman was born 7-27-08 ( on her due date) at 5:24 am, after about 45 minutes of labor, a 100 mile hour drive on the interstate to the hospital and with her mom crossing her legs the whole way screaming at Jeremy "Can't you drive any faster?" She arrived 14 minutes after we got to the hospital!

2. She weighed 7lbs 15 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She had blond/red hair and long fingers and toes.

3. She LOVES to snuggle!

4. She LOVES to suck her first 2 fingers on her R hand.

5. She HATES all green vegetables!

6. She has limited vocabulary of "ma ma" and "baaaaa"

7. She SCREAMS at the top of her lungs if she doesn't get her way.

8. She would rather play with cars, trucks and spiderman than girl toys.

9. She blows raspberries instead of kisses.

10. She out eats Carter at every meal!

We celebrated her birthday yesterday with family and friends with presents and cake. She dug right into the cake like I knew my little porkchop would. I had to put her in the sink afterwards to get all the cake off of her.

Thanks to everyone who made her day so special! We feel blessed to have so many people love her so much!

A LITTLE VA-CA

Today marks the last day of my vacation! The kiddos and I had a great week but man am I tired! I told Jeremy, next time I decide to take a week off, I will make sure to plan a "me" day! I learned a few things this week as well! I learned how much my 3 year old has grown up, I learned what an exhausting job it is taking care of two kids 24/7 ( I now have a new appreciation for stay at home mom's...and a better appreciation for my job!) I learned how much fun it was to play all day with my kids and not worry about housework, laundry, etc! Now back to reality tomorrow!

Here are the highlights of our week! Tuesday our plan was to go to the aquatic center but it was pretty rainy and cool, so plan B was a movie. I took Carter to see UP. Super cute movie! We had lunch at the mall, shopped for some new running shoes for mom and by that time the sun had actually come out. We checked out a little park on the east side called Union Park. The have a carousel, a super fast rocket slide and a wading pool equipped with fountains and sprays. It was super fun! I can't believe we had never been there before but will definitely be going back.

Wednesday, Jeremy took the day off and we took Carter to Adventureland while Claire hang out with her friends at daycare. Carter was super brave on all the rides. His favorite were the raging river where he got COMPLETELY soaked!! I was so thankful the boat turned just as we were heading under the waterfall otherwise it would have been me! He really liked the bumper cars, the frog hopper and the Underground ( roller coaster in the dark) I rode the tilt a whirl with him and literally felt sick for the next 6 hours!! UGH

Thursday we were suppose to head up to Minneapolis to see my friend Jeri and her kids Jaiden and Abrie, but Jaiden came down with a case of croup so we decided to stay away. We were planning to visit the Minnesota zoo, but had to opt for the Blank Park Zoo. We watched a very cool bird show and got to ride the train this time. That night Carter and I went to our local library for pajama story time. TOO FUN!

Friday, the kids and I headed back to mom and dad's for a couple of days. We helped grandma weed the pumpkin patch that is getting ENORMOUS, went fishing with aunt Darcie and Jill, visited great grandma and grandpa Mehlmann and Carter helped Darcie and Jill work on grandma's new deck. We ate tons of good food and enjoyed some very cool weather! We headed back home Sunday afternoon. Daddy made us a welcome home supper complete with movie night and popcorn to follow. My grandparents have this great pond at their farm. All you do is throw your line in and start reeling. All Darcie got done was putting worms on and taking fish off for those of us who refused to touch anything!

Aunt Darcie showing how to set his line.

His first fish! A pretty good sized bluegill!
We caught 16 fish in all..not bad for an hour and a half! We decided to throw them all back to let them "grow up" as Carter would say. I was pretty proud of my germaphobe son, he got brave enough to FINALLY touch a worm and even a fish. By then end of the day he was even breaking the worms in half for us. We could never convince him to kiss a worm for good luck though.

This morning Carter asked me if he could go to preschool! I was telling about what his class was doing this week and he decided going to Backyard Adventures sounded like more fun than hanging out with me another day. Back to work tomorrow!

Summer fun

Happy summer! We are having so much fun enjoying the nice weather with the kiddos. Since our last post we have been busy! Carter has spent some time at Grandma and Grandpa Berry's this summer and got to plant his very own pumpkin patch! He did a great job helping plant and water the seeds, but hasn't been back to weed it, leaving poor Grandma to tend to his garden. They planted 11 hills in all including several different types of pumpkins and gourds. Here are some pics from the weekend. You gotta love the farmer outfit, crocs, big bare belly and running pants! His reward for a good day's work was running through the sprinkler!






We celebrated Father's Day with food! I told Jeremy I would make him whatever he wanted and he choose of all things SUPER NACHOS! We also made a trip to the bookstore so he could pick up a couple of new books. Pretty exciting stuff! It was a great day to pamper him and show him how much we love him!

Both kids have really taken to loving the water! We have enjoyed the aquatic center, our little blow up pool and last week mom and I were able to take the kids to the Raccoon River park. This is a great little park near our house that has both a beach and a splash fountain type thing for the kids along with a great playground. Claire loved feeling the sand between her toes and attempted to taste it several times. I found sand in cracks in these kids for days to follow but we had SO much fun!








Summer also means ball games and the park! We have a couple of great parks near our house the kids like to frequent and we have been to a couple of I-Cubs games. Carter impresses me that he can sit through an entire baseball game. The hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream and nachos that he loads up on probably have something to do with it!



You might notice Claire has somewhat of a finger sucking problem! I wonder at what age should I begin to worry about this?


Claire turned 11 months on June 27th! It is hard to believe we will celebrate her 1st birthday this month. I haven't decided what to do for a party yet. I think low key may be the best. I promised Jeremy I wouldn't go overboard like I did with Carter's first birthday! They have started to prepare her and I for the "big move" at daycare, meaning going to the toddler room. It makes me so sad to think of this. I love her caregivers and she has grown to love them. Doesn't seem possible that she is no longer considered an infant! She loves to play in the cupboards, with anything Carter has, and loves to suck her fingers! Her hair has finally gotten long enough to put up into "pigtails" I never thought I would get into the "girlie" things, but I am constantly looking for cute outfits, hair bows, etc. We have learned as she is getting older how sensitive she is. We are having to start telling her "NO" when she is getting into something she shouldn't and she breaks down crying every time we tell her this! She tries to hold back, but her eyes fill with tears and her bottom lip quivers until she can't hold it in anymore. She also lets out this horrible loud scream if Carter takes something away from her. Oh, I fear the girl drama is only beginning! Lord help us!

At the end of the month we said goodbye to the Summers' family. Carter and Sam have been friends for nearly 3 years now. They have had many deep conversations at the fence with each other and basically spent every afternoon/evening hanging out with each other after Carter gets home from preschool. I had been trying to prepare him for the day they moved, but I really hadn't prepared myself very well, or was in denial. I was a blubbering mess for the week before and after they left. I finally ran out of Kleenex so I figured it was time to stop crying. Jeremy compared me to a teenager who just got broke up with by her first love. We miss them so much but know they had to move on and look forward to seeing them again one day. Carter is saving money in his piggy bank to buy a ticket to Idaho to visit them, so he is taking donations! :)

Lastly, we spent the 4th of July good Ol American style..parade, food and fireworks. We enjoyed the Waukee parade with the Froehlichs and then headed up to Centennial Park for after parade activities. It was pretty cold and rainy here but the kids didn't care. We had a great BBQ with our neighbors the Suther's and Jeremy got to watch the fireworks. I was inside most of the time with 2 scared kids. Carter wouldn't even attempt to hold a sparkler this year, or even watch the other kids do them. So he spent the 4th inside watching a movie. The fireworks were a little too loud for Claire too. Maybe next year...

Carter and Lilly waiting patiently for the parade to start.

Every year on the 4th Jeremy and Carter make homemade ice cream. This year's flavor was mint chocolate, filled with peppermint patties. Yes, Jeremy even ate some! I am pretty sure this is the only time of year he indulges in ice cream!

All this summer fun has worn us out! Till next time!