5

Claire and her BFF Jordyn! Go Bumblebees!!!

Uncle Tommy and the 5 balloon!

Angry Bird cake time.

"ICE CONE" time as Paige calls it.



Pottery Party

Getting serious about the painting.

Claire picked a puppy to paint.

Singing happy birthday. (and no, we don't know those 2 boys. haha! everyone loves a party)

=

Claire loved all the cards her friends drew for her. Mom stressin about who gave what present. Girls + presents = crazy

SHE'S FIVE!!!! Finally 5! She just couldn't hardly wait any longer to be five like her friends. This birthday was a big deal and all of our friends and family made it extra special! Our weekend started Friday when Aunt Carolyn and Joe flew in from Chicago to surprise Claire for her birthday. They came right after she went to bed so when she woke up she was so SURPRISED!!! Then we were off to Claire's first soccer game Saturday afternoon {where she told her coach she could just refer to her as "Birthday Girl" instead of Claire for the entire game. OMG, don't be shy.}. She got 2 goals and had a great time. Saturday night we had a family dinner and opened more presents. It was like Christmas in our house! Toys, clothes, and crafts everywhere!!! My OCD side was slightly dying at the little pieces that come with her new found interest of all things girly. Wow. I needed a xanax. Sunday we had her friend party at a cute pottery painting place. It was so perfect. The girls painted and crafted the perfect little pottery pieces. We had a little lunch, cupcakes and of course...MORE PRESENTS!! It was a great time. This was Claire's first "destination" party and it was awesome. I have the most awesome friends and they have they most awesome kids.

Happy Birthday Claire!!! I can't believe you are 5!! I let her fall asleep in our bed last night and at 9:50pm when she was born I sang a very quiet happy birthday to her while she slept. I love her so much and all her spunk and sass. I love her brainy side and her love of trains, cars, and Barbie. I especially love that she is mine.

Girly Girlz

Starting to notice a theme...this is her birthday party outfit!!

Claire had birthday party at Girly Girlz this weekend and it was VERY girly!!! Claire attended a party here last year but she wasn't into dress up, princesses, or anything with glitter (which suited me just fine!). This year she has changed. She is embracing more girly stuff and it's fun to see. I like her just the way she is no matter what she is in to. I actually liked the Thomas the Train phase and the Disney Cars stuff. I almost miss it but I enjoy watching her explore all parts of being a girl! I have never pushed dolls or hair bows on her. Not because I am against them. I just haven't wanted to stereo type her by buying what I *think* she should play with because it's a girl toy. I don't want her to think life is like Cinderalla and a prince always rescues you but I want her to feel adored someday.  I am okay calling my daughter a princess sometimes. I don't believe it will give her a complex or ruin her life by making her feel special (have you seen these articles onine that talk about what "not" to say to your daughters. there is a message board on baby center about parents debating using the word princess. gag). It's all within boundaries.We have always just followed what makes her happy. "Nurture her nature" which isn't always easy because Claire is serious, literal, and strong.

It was so fun to see her getting her hair done. She had a fancier hair do than I did on my wedding day!! She was nervous before we got there about doing all the hair stuff but once I assured her that it would all wash out and her curly hair would be fine she was OK! Beautiful girl.

Girl in motion

Spinny spin like a ballerina.

Point and flex

Cute little body.

Paige and I started a Mom and Me dance class last week. I really want to capture some better pics but a girl in motion is hard to capture especially when mama is supposed to be dancing too. I think I get more of a workout than she does. It's pretty cute. The class is for 18-24 months and they pretty  much just play around the room and pretend to dance. They run the class! It's only 30 minutes long and that is plenty because after about 15 minutes they are animals!! Paige LOVES to twirl and put her arms above her head like a ballerina. This is the same studio Claire took class last year so Paige remembers watching every week. She is excited to actually be in the room now!

13.1 miles

My first morning run!! 6am!!!

Rock N Roll Course! Blue is the half marathon!! Can you imagine doing the red course?!
NO WAY JOSE!

WHAT HAVE I DONE?!!!! My dear friend, Amanda, talked me in to doing a HALF marathon with her in January! She has done this marathon before and said it was an amazing experience. I haven't always understood the whole marathon thing. I don't get just running around! In the past couple of years though I have seen friends do different marathons and mud runs that look like a total blast. I have been curious what it's really all about and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. I want to feel that. Amanda is a great support and this will be a great bonding time for us.

Now why didn't I start with a 5K or even a 10K instead of a 13.1 mile half marathon?? I am crazy I guess!! I am SO nervous and freaked out about the current state of my body and how far this course is that it is giving me the motivation to really get out and start working on myself. I haven't worked out consistently since I was a teenager and having 2 kids really shows now. I have gained 20lbs since having Claire (10lbs with each kid) and although I am proud of my body for carrying my girls, I don't love it anymore. I am tall and skinny and all my weight goes to my middle and butt which is easy to cover up. Skinny arms, legs, and face give the illusion that I am in great shape but I ain't!! It's time to get my body back to a good place. I can't promise to lose 20lbs because I don't feel like I need to look like I did at 29 but I do want to feel good overall. I know some of my friends shake their heads at my "out of shape" comments but I hide it well. I plan to take pictures of my body now and my body in January so that the proof is there. I don't want to set myself up for failure so I am keeping my goals realistic for now. I really really hope I can do this!!!

If any of my friends (Kelly???) are as crazy as I am sign up here:

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/arizona

Claire Bear

Claire Bear has been a busy girl these days! She had her BFFs birthday party last weekend and her first Girl Scouts meeting. Guess who her troop leader is?? ME! That's right....what have I done!!! What did my sweet friend, Megan, wrangle me in to is the real question!? It's quite the under taking to set up a troop but we are figuring things out the hard way. Our first meeting was cute but a little too long. We lost them about 45 minutes in to the meeting. All went well overall and I can't wait to see what other crafts, meetings, and field trips we have up our sleeves this year! Soccer starts next week! Then it's Claire's 5th birthday. FINALLY!! She has been dying to turn 5. 11 more days!

THEN....it's Halloween and Claire already wants to be Minnie Mouse. Luckily her bff, Jordyn, had a costume for her to borrow. Paige thinks that Claire is the real deal Minnie and gives her lots of hugs. Claire loves all the attention. So cute!

Labor Day

This cracks me up. I said "SMILE" and Paige (who has total bed head!) gave me this face and Claire stopped smiling as soon as I snapped the picture. Gotta love taking pics of the kids. Eric looks thrilled too with my point and shoot! Claire then proceeded to make "crazy" excited faces.

 

Labor Day weekend Claire got to have a sleepover at her Uncle Tom and Tia's house and boy was she excited. She woke up at 7am fully dressed and drug wheeled her suitcase down to the front door. They didn't pick her up until 1pm. It was a LONG morning. She sat in her car seat for about an hour waiting. She was a bit excited! Good thing she had fun because she came home late Monday and ended up sick Tuesday - Saturday and missed school all week. Terrible viral crap hit her hard!  Glad that is over.

Picture inspiration

I have rarely been able to blog without a picture and lately I just haven't had too many pictures! Since my last post we moved in to our new house and have been busy with all that entails. We are completely unpacked which is great and wasn't too hard to accomplish since we don't have that much stuff. Now we are in this big empty house! Okay, it's not that empty but it feels like it since we don't have much stuff to hang on the walls. Our last house didn't have a lot of wall space but rather windows so we have a lot of empty walls. We also have white walls. I want to add some paint and color but it's a big job! Slowly but surely right? I love the girl's rooms. We painted those before we moved in and Claire's all pink room is adorable. At first I thought it was too much pink but I love it! The entry way is my other pet project. I added a table so far with some decor....much more to come!