And she's off

We had a slow start but Paige is a crawler now!!! 2 days before her 11 month birthday. We had a visit to the doc the other day (i thought she had an ear infection but it's just crazy teething) and he gave us the warning that if she couldn't crawl in 4 weeks and 3 days (her first birthday) then she would need physical therapy. It was a combination of reasons....she doesn't pull up yet either or show signs that she is maybe one of those kids who never really crawls but just goes into cruising/walking. She was showing small progress in the past 3 weeks by learning to sit up from laying down and rocking on all fours and that was a good feeling. Although I was concerned I knew she could do it! The light bulb went off in her head and she connected the movements. I cried and cheered all at once. GO PAIGE!! It's your world now. You are off!!

Claire knows her states

Thanks to an iPad game called Stack the States, Claire is completely crazy about the USA! She has since moved on to Stack the Countries and is pretty crazy about the whole world too!!! This is what Claire considers "fun" and don't forget about "fun" math games too. I feel like I am the one getting an education around here. Boy have I forgotten a lot.

Happy New Year 2012

 Happy 2012!!! We had our annual stay home, cook dinner, and tuck in safely New Year's Eve. No, it's not the most exciting night but it is special. Ever since Claire was a baby we have been playing this zydeco music CD and dancing around the kitchen. She was getting her boogie on this year and danced with her Dad til she dropped. We even got her sparkling cider to toast with and the cutest little cake that Eric had made at Walmart. The sparklers were the hit of the evening. (fyi...all this toasting, dancing, cake eating, sparkler fun all happened between the hours of 5-7pm. PARTY!). Paige missed all the real fun. It's hard being a baby and going to bed early. Next year I am sure she will be dancing in the kitchen with us!

HAPPY 2012 NEW YEAR!

ps~Claire specifically told me after she got dressed in something "fancy" (she is wearing a sequin skirt) that she wanted to do "absolutely nothing" with her hair. "I repeat, nothing!".

Princess Claire...could it be?

Claire had a birthday party last week and the theme was "princess". Claire doesn't have anything princess or dress up clothes because it hasn't ever been her interest. I clearly remember her yelling at someone just last August..."I DON'T LIKE PRINCESSES!!!". That was until we went to Disneyland and she started to grow fond of them. She has even started piling on the jewels and my heels and striking a pose while saying, "I'm fancy!". Seeing a castle can do that to a girl! We borrowed this dress from a friend for the party (thank you Liz and Scarlett!!). She was Rapunzel (she only knows who that is from a coloring book we have). What a cutie pie. Nothing like a princess wearing purple crocs. No glass slippers here!! She really loved seeing Sleeping Beauty and Arial. What a fun surprise.

Christmas

Christmas was a good one this year. We did our usual Christmas Eve at our house with church and dinner with the family. I made my chicken pot pies with salad like always (4th annual). YUMMO!  We stayed up way too late with Tom and Carla having cocktails after the kids went to bed and playing Santa. It sure was fun though. Claire loved her camera and scooter as promised by Santa. Paige was confused looking and pretty much had the same look on her face most of the morning. Sizing things up and being very skeptical of all this action. She is much like her father. It's just hard to get them worked up over much or too excited....gasp...we wouldn't want that! Haha!

Claire is loving her camera. She is quite bossy at telling us how to pose but she does take pretty good pictures. The scooter is awesome and she rides it in the house all day. I thought I would freak out about her using it in the house but it's not too bad really. She just rides back and forth in the living room and kitchen. Hasn't destroyed any walls or furniture....yet. We have taken it outdoors too. Don't be worry. The weather is great this time of year.

We spent Christmas day with Tom and Carla and their house. We had a fab meal (prime rib!!!) and enjoyed looking at Christmas lights after dinner. It was super nice and relaxing. They always make our holidays special and treat us like kings and queens.

December Craziness

My last post seems to be the last day I can remember feeling "normal" around here! Claire's school had a crazy permanent closure November 25 and we had to get shuffled around to a new location and days/times. After the break we will have to move to another new location that is temporary the rest of the school year. We will be moving to afternoon school as well. Kind of nervous about that since Claire still naps often and when she's overtired she sleeps poorly at night. I know she will adjust and so will Paige and Mommy. So things have been a little nuts around here but life is good overall!

We are getting ready for Christmas around here and the girls got to visit with Santa. Paige cried right after this picture was taken. She was a trooper. Claire gave Santa her wish list (all 2 of her items). The rain the past few days has been awesome but we are getting stir crazy around here (see last picture!)

Happy December!!!

Claire READING Hop on Pop!!!

Click here to view this video


Claire told us back in August that she wanted to learn to read all by herself. We found the Bob Books and a few other easy first readers and off she went. Over the past few months she has been memorizing every book that we have read together. It's cute and she feels proud that she is reading (memorizing really!). It wasn't until the other day that she brought me a book that we have never read and started to read all by herself. It was a very proud moment. I almost cried. She was really reading! GO CLAIRE! This is just the tip of the iceberg and I hope a long love of reading for her.