Friday Night

Happy 20 month Birthday, Claire!! I can't believe how big she is these days. The picture of her behind the lime tree (wimpy lime tree) makes her look so big!

Last night we had Aunt Carolyn in town. Claire is in love with her Aunt C! She is glued to her hip from the minute she walks in the door. We had our family pizza night and just chilled at the house for the evening. Claire pretty much fed Aunt Carolyn all her pizza.

I bought Claire a step stool to have around the house. We used it in her bathroom to see if she would like to brush her teeth while being up tall. She LOVED it. She brushed her teeth for about 20 minutes! We weren't sure if she had any enamel left! She got some help from Daddy with hand washing. It was too cute. Such a big girl!

Pics & video from the weekend

Claire with her Auntie Kaylan (and Godmother!). They were throwing coins into a fountain. Make a wish....maybe a wish that we could all be dining together instead of someone having to be outside with Claire and this fountain!! She was crazy about throwing coins. She has a good arm too.

On the go

Wow! After a fun filled birthday week came another fun filled family and friend week! My best friend, Kaylan, was in town with her mom. We spent some fun time together lounging at their hotel pool, having dinner, and shopping! I have no good pictures though. I was not good about bringing my camera!

Eric and I got another date night this past weekend which was awesome. Any time we can dine out without Claire is a bonus right now. She is a bit of a maniac in restaurant settings lately. She screamed so loud at dinner with Kaylan and Gwen on Friday that a manager came over to "see if everything was ok". YIKES! A little taste of the terrible 2's?? I think so. We also saw Eric's family as well. Claire got to see all her Cox family uncles together at the same time!! We visited Uncle Gordon's new house out here in Gold Canyon, AZ. Fun times were had. Tomorrow the real week starts again. Off to see our baby buddies and swim lessons!

I am thinking of the real meaning of this Memorial Day weekend. I am thankful to all of our soldiers...past and present, here and gone. It definitely takes a new meaning when you have family, friends, and husbands of close friends with young families who are serving in this war.

Birthday fun and more

We have been celebrating our birthday week! Eric has a birthday this Sunday so it's always a non stop party week. As you can see we had a little backyard celebration of our own for my birthday. I think the only way this picture could be any more redneck is if I had a can of Coors Light in my hand!

Paper hat...check
Plastic pool...check
Cocktail....check
Kid....check
Fun....most definitely! :)

Claire is on the up and up from her ear/viral infection. She had swim class today and was a little fish. She finally got comfortable with the pool there and the teacher. She jumped in the pool from the side, kicked, and did back floats. It was an awesome class today. I am sure it helped a ton that she went swimming yesterday at Uncle Tom & Tia's house. We went over to their place for a swim and birthday dinner. Claire had some corn on the cob for the first time. She loves corn so much right now and having it on the cob was extra fun! (note the blackberry on the tray. she is watching elmo. quietest hour ever!)

Claire says Happy Birthday

32 years later

Then and now! This pic was from my first birthday. I was enamored with the sunshine. Awe! I almost see a glimpse of Claire in my profile. Just blonder!

I woke up to a special gift today. Eric leaves for work before I get up so he left me a card and cute little box in the kitchen. Inside was this beautiful necklace. The emerald is my birthstone. I was so surprised. We don't really do gifts these days and we never do jewelry! It was incredibly thoughtful. He made my day as he does all the time. Happy Happy Birthday.

How time flies

This was today a year ago. Eric and I had just come home from Puerto Vallarta. It was our first time away from Claire. This picture was taken moments after we got home. We were so happy to be reunited! Can you tell! So much has changed in the past year. Besides me being older on Monday (but not by much)....Claire has turned into this little toddler.

Right before our eyes.
She runs, she talks (a lot), she gives eskimo kisses.
She will even say "I love you" if you ask her to!
Her laugh lights up our world.

What a wonderful year it has been. Full of surprises. I can't imagine what another year will bring. I am very grateful that Claire has given me a reason to celebrate Mother's Day.

It was bound to happen

Well, my little monkey caught herself a bug. And not the kind you trap in a bug box! A viral infection and early ear infection. We caught it early though so I hope she will continue to eat and sleep well. She had a fever so I called the doc this morning and brought her in. After the doctor visit she was swimming in her baby pool and eating hot dogs, rice, and corn for lunch. All good signs! Let's hope this bug doesn't get her down too much over the weekend. I will keep my fingers crossed!

We have been very fortunate with Claire's health. We managed to make it 19 months with nothing more than a stomach bug and some runny noses. I'd say we were due for the good ole ear infection at some point! These sickies are bound to happen.

claire saying "cheeese" while playing with her new dora book.



























taking my drink again!!

A little footage

This video is from last month when we went to the Museum of Natural History. There was a kids room with crafts and toys. She loved the dinos and has been raaaahring ever since. I had to share! I watch this often and it just cracks me up everytime. Of course, she is my kid so I think a lot things she does are funny. Such a source of entertainment. What did we ever do before Claire!

Not much happening here

at the Cox household. Eric went to Florida last Thursday for the weekend. His first boys trip in 5 years! He really needed some time away. Claire and I have been having some seriously lazy days at home. With all the "bugs" going around we have been laying low until things appear on the downhill slope. Better safe than sorry. We were having a rough week up until Friday anyways. Claire was waking up from her nap and at night into these crying spells. They were so distressing to watch. I took her to the doc and even he didn't find anything more than a gassy stomach and 3 cuspids causing her grief. Otherwise there was no concrete reason why she was waking up crying like that. Luckily after 3 days she went back to herself and all was well again. That was exhausting! We did go to swim class one day and that went pretty good. She got scared a few times which was to be expected but she gave it a go and I was proud! We are going for the next 2 months and I can't wait to see her progress.

Here is the extent of our weekend. Playing in the backyard and running through the sprinklers. I bought a new Elmo DVD and Baby Einstein DVD so Claire has been glued to the TV. It's like baby crack! We are both getting pretty bored and ready to see Eric! She even looks bored in this first pic just standing in the water.