The never ending birthday

This has been the longest birthday celebration ever but I have to say that Claire is really getting the hang of this whole birthday thing. 2 parties and countless gifts later...and still coming via UPS...and she is loving this thing called a birthday. She sure got good use out of her birthday girl t-shirt too!

We had such a fabulous day at the park today. We got seriously lucky with the clouds covering us today and giving us some much needed shade. It's still pretty warm here in AZ! Our friends came out to celebrate and it was super nice. I am so glad I decided to throw a friend party because we were originally just doing the family thing this year. It turned out to be such a great day. It really reminded me of how lucky I am to have met some great ladies here in AZ and their beautiful kiddos.

Happy Birthday Baby

I can't believe it's been 2 years already. How fast time flies when they are learning so much all the time. It's night and day from last year! What a treasure she has been to us (even when she screams louder than any other kid i have ever met!).

A few pics going back down memory lane. Pregnant at 9 months plus 4 days. Claire just hours after she was born. First birthday party princess! Blowing out 2 candles tonight with Daddy!!

I asked Eric if he thought it looked weird if I cut my head off in this picture when I cropped it...he said "not after seeing what it looked like before you cropped it"! NICE! So with that being said, this is the worst picture of me in the entire world but it's the only picture that shows my belly hours before I went into labor. I was HUGE!

Jumpy Jump

Claire got a trampoline from her Daddy for her birthday. I think she likes it just a little! Jumpy jump!!

Party Pics

Pics from the family party last Friday! Claire had a blast....can you tell?! She is one happy girl and so lucky to have such a loving family to surround her.

Dancey Dance

Today we had a birthday party for one of Claire's dance class buddies, Emma. It was so cute. The girls dressed up, ate pink cupcakes, and danced their hearts out. There is nothing cuter than little girls dancing and being girly girls. All the moms were melting at the sight of our sweeties. Now if only I could get my girly girl to love shoes a little more (shoes other than crocs and tennis shoes!) then this mom would be in heaven!

Birthday #2

Between a surprise guest and toys galore, Claire had a fantastic 2nd birthday party with the family. Her real birthday is September 29 but we kicked off the festivities early this year. We could not have pulled a fraction of this off without all our family near and far helping out. Claire was over the moon all evening.

Right after we got out to the Gold Canyon house (Gordon & Carol's new place) Claire opened presents. We were all gathered around and then all of the sudden the front door opens and in walks her Uncle Bill from Seattle. SURPRISE! He wasn't supposed to be here this weekend due to work circumstances but he managed to switch things around and fly in for one night of partying. No one knew anything so talk about a shock. All 6 Cox siblings together for the first time in 9 years! We have had several gatherings where 5 of them have been together but never all 6 until Friday. What a night! There are about 100 more pics and videos and when I get them all I will post more. We had about 3 cameras capturing the moments all night. For now I will leave you with our group shot and Claire getting excited over her Little Einstein's birthday cake! She LOVES Rocket!!

top row: Tia (Carla), Uncle Tom, family friend Gina, Mom & Claire, Uncle Gordon, Daddy, Uncle Ken (or just call him Ozzy with the new do). bottom row: Uncle Bill, Aunt Carolyn and of course Cristy the family pup!

Grandma's

On Saturday, I got a surprise phone call that my grandma was in Phoenix overnight. She and her husband, Ernie, live 4 hours south of Phoenix and had a conference to attend. I took Claire to their hotel room and she had a ball. It makes me so happy to see my grandma (my dad's mom) and Claire together. I was so lucky to have grandparents for all of my childhood and more. Eric only had one maternal grandparent at birth just like Claire. I find this so interesting that they have this in common. I know they will be able to bond over this later and Claire won't feel alone in her situation. Eric and I think of our parents often and how much they would have loved Claire. Being grandparents would have been their greatest joy. A piece of them is with us everyday though in our little girl.

At school last week the kids made Grandparent's Day cards! So cute. Anything with hand prints just melts me every time. We mailed the card to Grandma and she was so excited. My mom wanted to show Claire on web cam that she had received the card and let's just say Claire wasn't too excited to see her art work not in her possession anymore. She gave a little bit of a stink eye to Grandma with folded arms. Attitude!

I can't forget a shot of Claire having Friday Pizza Night with her dad and Uncle Gordon. Every Friday is pizza night at the Cox household. Exciting!

What's Mama doin?

This is Claire's favorite phrase! What's Mama doin? What's Daddy doin?

Two weeks ago when I put Claire in preschool I was so nervous about how things would go when I dropped her off. I guess calling it school made it seem so "big". Back home in Texas anything before the age of 3 is simply called "Mother's Day Out".

My mom scanned this project I did when I was only 1 yr old and emailed it to me the night before Claire's first day. It put me at ease to know that I had been down this road when I was little and loved it. Claire has been loving her time at school too. Each craft she brings home is such a big deal and she oohs and aahs over them for days (until the next batch comes home!). It's been awesome.

So I never did mention that a few weeks ago I went "away" for the weekend. A little stay-cation for mama. ALONE! Before Claire started school I was going a little crazy (that's just putting it midly!!) around the house and Eric took note. He suggested I go stay out at the new house in Gold Canyon since Gordon (E's brother) hasn't officially moved in yet. The pool, mountain views, and quiet were just what I needed to regroup. It's only 30 minutes from our house but I felt like I really got away for those 3 days. It's just so peaceful out there and feels far from the city. There are actually stars in the sky! My husband really came through for me and knew exactly what I needed. He had a great weekend with Claire too. Here is a little pic of my favorite moment in GC! Bubble bath, Blue Bell chocolate ice cream, and a good book.

One more time!

Claire, Kailyn and Conor had a super fun time the other day. We were cracking up watching them. They definitely had the beat those 3!

Claire had just come from her new dance class. She went from ballet to tap/ballet last Friday. Since school is on Tuesday we had to switch dance days. She did really well in the tap part of class. It is a fun change. We are getting used to our new routine of school, dance and hanging out with friends. It's been an awesome adjustment so far!

First day

Today was Claire's first day of preschool in the 2 yr old program. She did GREAT!!!! The school is great and we love the teacher. Ms. Melissa knew exactly how to make Claire's first day a hit. She welcomed her into class and took her right into the room as soon as we got there. A positive first start. I ran some errands and just wandered aimlessly around Target and other stores. I am sure I will get into a groove and actually start getting things done like grocery shopping soon. Today I just took it all in and every time I looked in my rear view mirror and saw her empty seat all I could do was smile knowing what a big step we took today.

I took these pics after we got home since getting dressed and fed was about all I could get done this morning before class started at 8:15. Is that one big cheesy smile or what! Her back pack came just in time last night via UPS. I was dying at how cute it is and the size is so perfect. Gotta love Pottery Barn Kids!