Friday, May 24, 2013

My brave girl!

Claire has been saying for quite some time that she has wanted to cut her hair. I was not ready. I kept using the excuse that she had to have it long for her dance recital. Well, the recital is over and she has been persistent. So, after asking many times, are you sure? Do you understand it won't be long anymore? Once it is cut, it will be gone? Yes mom, yes mom, yes mom! So I made an appointment with our hairdresser and she measured her hair and she had plenty to donate to Locks of Love and STILL get it into a ponytail! After asking the round of questions one more time and even pausing with the scissors before she snipped it....SHE DID IT! I am so proud of her! It looks super cute on her, although it makes her look so old! She has been busy flipping it around and trying on different headbands and clips! She even got a stuffed teddy bear from Cheryl with the Locks of Love logo on it and her picture taken for the local paper. I am not sure she fully understands what she has done or where her hair is going, but no matter, I am very proud of her for being so brave to try something new and also to help another little girl have beautiful golden locks.  












Thursday, May 23, 2013

A moment to breath


Honestly I don't know if I am coming or going lately! As I sit down to get our life updated, I feel like I should be doing a million other things, but after taking a deep breath, I realize jotting down a few thoughts on our crazy life is worth the time. One day when I am old and gray with no kids around, no where to be, no work commitments, no house to keep clean, no choice of what color of granite or siding to pick, these few random thoughts will bring a smile to my old wrinkled lips. Bear with me as I play catch up! 

MOTHER'S DAY


The Friday before Mother's Day, Claire's preschool hosted "Muffins for Mom's" This was the best way to start the day with my best girl! We enjoyed a yummy breakfast and she showered me with gifts! They interviewed her about me and these are her responses: 

My mom is 28 years old (love this girl :)
My mom likes to read books
The best thing my mom cooks is spaghetti
Her favorite food is pasta
Her favorite thing to do to relax is cook ???
We like to make supper together
My mom is really good a baking
My mom is special because she plays with me! 

Do you see a theme here? :)



The boys giving momma a foot rub! They actually do a great job! I was so slick with lotion afterwards I was sliding all over the place! 


BASEBALL
We spent Mother's Day weekend at the ball field. Carter is playing tournament ball this year, so we get all of our ball playing done on the weekend to free up  our week (in theory). He is a Cobra this year and even though this team was sorta thrown together the last minute, it is a great group of boys and parents. They placed second in their first tournament with very few practices under their belts! Tournament ball differs somewhat than little league as some rules are different, and they groom the players to learn to play 1-2 spots, instead of all over. It is somewhat more intense than little league to say the least! He has done great considering he didn't pick up his glove or bat all winter! 












MS CLAIRE

Claire had her first dance recital this past weekend! Her class danced to "It's a small world" for their tap routine. She kept telling me she was scared, but she did great and was definitely the cutest thing ever shaking her booty up on that stage! Many hours of dance class, practice making hair buns, putting makeup on, and rehearsals for a 2 minute routine paid off for a flawless performance. 






HOUSE UPDATE



After 9 years of living on Florence Dr, our first house as a married couple, the home we brought our babies to, it is time to move on. We've simply outgrown this house. We thought long and hard about what we should do, stay and make some changes, buy a house, build. We LOVE our neighborhood and school district but our options for staying didn't outweigh moving. After spending many Sunday afternoon's going through open houses, we just couldn't find something to fit our family. We knew we weren't going to find the "perfect" house, we just needed more space. We came across a house that fit all of our "must have's" but the location was bad. After talking with the realtor at the open house, he steered us toward using the builder of this house and pick a lot more suitable for our family. We did just that and are very happy with our choice! The work is underway for our new home, with a target closing date around July 31. The foundation is in, the floor is in and the goods have been delivered to start the framing. We started the selection process last week to pick out the big things like siding, windows, stone, granite and kitchen cupboards. It has actually been really fun! It is hard to see how it will all come together but I can't wait to see the progress! Our new house is about 3 minutes from our current house so it is very tempting to drive by all the time! We listed our house last week and have accepted an offer! Thank goodness because I couldn't have kept this house clean much longer! Everything seems to be falling into place nicely! 



FAMILY FUN
Amongst the craziness of late, we have had a couple of free moments to just enjoy ourselves. The local ice cream shoppe is open for summer business and we are proud to give them lots of business! 


Each spring Carter's school hosts a family fun night at the YMCA. It gives families a chance to hang out together, play carnival games, swim, eat, drink, win prizes. The kids' favorite activity is always the swimming pool! How cute are my pale toe head babies? 

Although life is crazy, I wouldn't have it any other way! We are all on board for this journey! We are in the process of compiling our summer bucket list ( Carter only has 2 days of school left!) which will help us fill up every free moment we have! Bring it on! 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

18 (+++) months!

Our baby boy is not longer a baby....sniff sniff. He is an ambitious toddler who has seemed to grow up within a blink of an eye. I ask him daily, "How did you get so big?" He is the resident comedian, lover of all things electronic, future pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, climber of all furniture, and paci hoarder just to name of few of his antics. He had his 18 month check-up last week weighing in at 27.2 lbs (83%), 33 inches tall (62%) and a noggin of 19.5 inches (97%) We attribute the big head to his wicked smartness! The check-up went well with the exception of Dr Steve warning him he didn't want to see the paci next time he saw him. He is like a dog hiding bones with them. I swear I have them all picked up and he seems to find one stuffed under a bed, in the cupboard, in the cracks in his car seat, in the toy box, etc. 

Notice how many paci's he has here? 4!!

Goofball in the bathtub! 

 The weather has finally started to cooperate and one word he has down pat from his limited vocabulary is "outside" 







Every once in awhile he'll slow down long enough to cuddle with his favorite blanket, or better yet...

with grandma in the rocking chair. Not sure who is more worn out here!