Happy Birthday Asher Case!!

My sweet nephew is celebrating his first birthday today. This past year hs flown by. Asher is such a happy little man and I am so looking forward to him and Claire growing up together and becoming better friends every time we get together. I love that they are only four months apart. it was fun being pregnant at the same time as Sara and helping each other survive the first year of first time motherhood. By the way, Sara is doing an amazing job with her little boy. I wish that I could be with him today to give him a big hug and kiss on his actual birthday, but it wasn't in the cards as they say. I love you so much Asher Case, happy birthday!!!!

Playgroup = Sanity

Claire and I are a part of two playgroups. They are both very unique.

One is made up of four first time moms, we all have daughters and the age range is ten months- twenty months. We are all just trying to figure it all out and we are desperate for adult companionship. We spend most of our time together having conversations about how to get our babies to sleep through the night, how to get our kids to eat and what we feed them, how to be a wife AND mother all at the same time, you get the picture. We are in total awe of our babies and celebrate with each other over things like first words, first steps, etc. This parenting thing is new, exciting, overwhelming, frustrating, funny, and all that good stuff. Although we only see each other every other week I would say that the moms in this group are my good friends and I am truly thankful for them and all they bring to my life. We were all a bunch of random girls who knew one girl and she brought us together, thank you Sarah.

The second playgroup came together by chance. This group is made up of seasoned moms and me. In all honesty the only reason I am a part of the group is because my sister, Amy, kind of headed it up and had to invite me, but I could not be more thankful for this opportunity to be around women that have been through this parenting thing a time or two before. I am loving getting to know these women a little better each time we all get together. I think that soon I will be able to call them good friends as well. We all met up today and I really enjoyed myself. They are funny and genuine and they have shown me that there is life after surviving the first year of motherhood.

It is funny the difference in the groups, the conversations are usually so different. I mean in my first time moms group we all tend to hover over our babies and in the seasoned moms group we just let the kids play in the backyard alone (granted there are a nine and ten year old there to help out- thank you Kennedy and Elijah). I think that being a part of both groups will help me become a little more balanced, Lord knows I could use it. Knowing that ever week or two I get to hang out with other moms while Claire plays with her friends is such a sanity saver for me. I tend to get a little stir crazy if Claire and I hang out at the house too many days in a row. I wouldn't trade either group and I am thankful for the unique opportunity I have to get to know such great women.

Moments

My daughter made a sweet moment for me today. This morning she was still in her candy cane striped PJs when she brought me her soft pink coat and her new light pink fleece lined crocs (a gift from her daddy) and wanted me to put them on her. She then disappeared behind the couch and popped back out with her purse over her shoulder. This is a purse she found in my closet a few days ago and has been carrying it around ever since. She looked like such a little girl. She went to the front door and asked to go outside "side". When we walked out she reached up grabbed my hand and took the lead we were off on an adventure. She kept struggling to keep her purse on her shoulder and never let go of my hand unless she needed to explore a dead worm or a leaf. It was one of those tiny moments that don't look all that significant to the untrained eye, but for this mommy it was a moment that my baby girl seemed like a little girl and I was honored to be included in it. I love you Claire Alyse!!!

A Little Weird

As if it were not cold enough, Claire decided to eat her snack in an odd place...my parent's refrigerator. She might be a little weird, but I sure do love her.
***Don't worry, she was being supervised the entire time and there is no way she could get shut in there, because there were so many dang leftovers from Thanksgiving =)

Asher's FIRST Birthday Party

Well he is not quite one yet, but we had his birthday party this last weekend. There was yummy second cake (the first cake was a disaster and hilarious. I guess it is a bit hard to cook an egg and milk free cake (Asher has allergies). There were tons of presents and Asher even seemed interested in opening them. All the cousins were there and had so much fun playing together. I would say it was a success.

I cannot believe that it was almost a year ago that my little nephew Asher was brought into this world by his very tough mom (her epidural didn't work). I have absolutely LOVED getting to know this little boy. His name means happy and he is living up to it. He is funnier every time we are with him. Over the Thanksgiving break we were all entertained by his fake laugh. He would actually try to make us laugh by pretending to laugh or do his famous wink. He is a true joy to be around. I love that he and Claire are getting closer and seem to really enjoy being around each other. Every morning at mom and dad's house Claire would get so excited when Asher would walk around the corner coming out of the bedroom. She would run over to him waving really big and then they would give each other a hug and kiss (which usually ended in more of a tackle, but they laughed so that was alright).

Thanksgiving 2007

Well we did it...we survived 22 people in two rooms eating one dead bird, one dead pig, and a whole lot of carbs. I actually really eanjoyed this holiday, even the chaos. There is almost nothing better than family get togethers. Claire seems to enjoy her cousins more and more every time we get together, it has been especially fun to see her and Asher play with each other. Another HUGE blessing of this trip was Claire actually slept well, this was the first time in her entire life that she slept through the night at my parents house. One thing that was special about this Thanksgiving is that we gor ro celebrate with my grandparents as well. They are usually not around on holidays, it was great to see them. My aunt and two of her boys were there too which was really nice too.

Allan and I decided to take turns giving each other down time without Claire Bear. He got to go hunting for the first time which I think he really enjoyed and he and my brother played a round of golf in the cold. I was able to go shopping with my sisters and the most exciting thing was seeing a movie. I will take this opportunity to HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. This movie has such a great message, my favorite quote that I am going to try and live by is "your life is an occaision, rise to it", I got chills when he said this.

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday. I would love to hear about your favorite memories as well.

Traditions

We do not have a ton of traditions in our little family, we are working on it though. We decided that we would start a new one this year. We did a shoebox for Samaritan's Purse. We decided that we will let our kiddo(s) do one for a child that is their same sex and as close to their age range as possible. So last night we went to Target grabbed a box and started filling it with things for a little girl between the ages of 2 and 4. It was so fun to do this as a family and what better way to start the holiday season than giving to someone in need. Claire picked a tiny babydoll which she had a hard time parting with this morning, but that even makes it more special.

I truly desire to raise children that are compassionate, giving, full of joy, and just darn good people overall. I hope that adding this little tradition to our family will help accomplish this goal.

A Bit About Last Week

This was taken after she realized we were gone, look a that sad little tear on her cheek

Allan and I hired our first nonfamily babysitter on Wednesday night for a date night. We found a fantastic girl at our church, her mom and my sister are good friends which is nice that we know a little more about her. I think that Claire did pretty well and it was so nice to have the peace of mind that she was being well cared for. Madeline told us that she didn't realize we were gone until about five minutes after the fact and she got pretty sad for a little bit, but with a little Wiggles therapy she bounced back. We look forward to using her services on a semi regular basis (until she gets too busy with sports and being social in high school).

She bounced back with flying colors and was as funny as ever

One of my neighbors asked me to watch her little guy the other day while she went to her daughter's school and then packed for a trip. It has been fun for Claire to start playing with all of the little friends that live on our street and I was honored that she would ask me to watch her son. I never really realized what a big deal that was until I became a mom. Trusting your child into someone else's care is a big deal indeed. Claire and Evan had fun playing chase, jumping on the ottoman, snacking on cheerios and then miraculously taking naps at the same time. I will say that Evan is one easygoing little man which made the day go so smoothly.

Post 100 and Quote of the Day (yesterday)

Well first and foremost let me celebrate my 100th post!!! Who knew that this blogger thing would stick when I started it a few months ago. I have grown to love this way of connecting with my family, friends, and the few select strangers that I feel like I know.

In honor of the big 1-0-0 I will share one of my famous quotes from yesterday. We had friends over for dinner last night and after Claire had finished dinner, by finished I mean all her avocado, hot dog, cheerios, black beans, etc. were thrown on the floor around her chair and mine. She got down to play and since we were still eating she kept coming to me and asking for more food. I didn't skip a beat I said to her "you can't have anymore food until you eat all the food on the floor." Now to those of you who are parents this might not sound too weird (even if you don't want to admit it), but to my friend Leanna who has not started into the adventurous world of parenting she thought it was stinkin funny. As for Claire, she didn't skip a beat before she was sitting on the floor at my feet eating cheerios. Hey whatever works right, at least she ate.

Latin fusion Video

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!I forgot to add this to my last post. They took this video in the class since it is so rare to have a man in the class.

Latin Fusion

We joined Lifetime Fitness a few months ago and were super gung-ho in the beginning and then life happened (sick baby, sick mama, travel, etc.). We have been trying to get back in the groove, but it hasn't gone as Allan would hope. I need structure to get me in the gym and so I had the grand idea to start going to a class. One of my neighbors is wanting to get back in the gym too so we thought it would be fun to go to a clas together when she gets home from work. We looked over the schedule and decided that the one that sounded the most fun was called Latin Fusion and it meets on Monday evenings. Well, yesterday was supposed to be our first class, but she had to cancel at the last minute. I decided that I would still go up there, but just do the treadmill and whatnot, I didn't want to do the class alone. At the last minute Allan decided to be my knoght in shining armor and go to the class with me since I was really looking forward to it, but I was too chicken to go by myself.
When we were dropping Claire off in the nursery the worker asked where we would be adn Allan proudly said "Latin Fusion". The girl paused and said "Are you really going to go to that? I mean it is a fun class." That should have been a sign. We got to the class and Allan was definately the only guy for most of the time, another guy came in for awhile but didn't make it all the way through. The rest of the class was a pretty good mix of old women to teenage girls. The class was a lot of latin dances (aka pelvic thrusting) it ended with belly dancing so as you can imagine (or maybe you don't want to) it was hard to keep a straight face with Allan beside me.
He was a trooper for sticking it out for an entire hour, but I think that was the last time he will make in to Latin Fusion. I think I will wait and do it one more time with my neighbor friend and then I may see see if she is up for finding a more "real workout" not just a fun one. I am not even a little bit sore today so I think there may be better things to help get my body in shape.

Fingerpaints and Spiderman

Sunday we had the Powell family over to watch the football game (well Corey and Allan watched the game and the rest of us just hung out). It was so fun to have a low key evening with family. After hanging out talking in the kitchen for awhile I decided to bust out the fingerpaints for the kiddos. It was so fun to see their creativity come to life. Copper was a free spirit, Allie used her handprints to do cool stuff, Jack made a beautiful rainbow on a plate, and Claire was a bit of a bystander (she tends to eat the paint).

Cooper decided that he was Spiderman once he had a lot of blue paint on his hands. He would use his monster/super hero voice and say "I'm Spidaman". As usual Claire was quick to mimick her cousin. she will pretty much try to repeat anything that Allan, Cooper, and I do or say so we have to be careful.

Always and Forever

This is the bench I sat on the day my life was forever changed. This is the bench that the love of my life asked me to spend the rest of my life as his wife. This is the bench I will remember as long as I live.

I have found the one my soul loves
Song of Solomon 3:4

Family Time...Yeah!!!

We are sitting on the bench that Allan proposed to me on

After six weekends of either having people at our house or being out of town visiting family and friends we are finally getting a chance to just be together. The weekend is only half over and I can already say that our goal to do some little family reconnection is a success.

Last night Allan and I were given a sweet surprise from one of our neighbors. They asked if they could watch Claire so we could go have a peaceful dinner. It was an unexpected offer, but we were thrilled to take them up on it (after a little personal pep talk- for those of you that know me, I am not a fan of leaving my baby girl with anyone other than family, but I am trying to do better). We had a good (fast) dinner at The Noodle Swing and it was so good. When we got back home we just played with our girl and laughed a lot. Actually Allan and I had a bit of a dance off to The Wiggles and Claire was very entertained.

Today was a great day! We woke up early and headed out to the new fancy Wal Mart so Allan could get some Dunkin Donuts. This was not an original idea however, the wait for a donut was about twenty minutes. Evidentally every northern transplant in our area had the same idea. We then headed to a few of the other shops that are close by and got the bright idea to go to the local animal shelter because we were sure that Claire would love all the animals- turns out not so much. I think that we are definately not in any position to get a pet, maybe when she is older. She loves dogs from a distance, but once they get within about five feet of her she panics. That is just fine with me, I am busy training a fifteen month old, I can't handle anything more at the moment.

After Claire took her nap at the house we headed to the Dallas Arboretum and headed down memory lane. It was fun to go back to the place that Allan proposed and to have an area for Claire to just explore. She is so independant and it is usually such a battle to go out in public and keep her reined in, so this was just what the doctor ordered. She could roam anywhere but inside the fountains which we tried to steer clear of. When we got home I actually cooked an early dinner and then we headed to church.



Chasing the Bear, this is her all time favorite game at the momentI am sorry but she is too cute, I can't get enough of those pigtails and her funny faces

After the week I had this was a much needed fun family day. I am really looking forward to tomorrow as well. I plan to do a whole lot of nothing and I am even going to take a LONG nap- woohoo!!!!

A Good Week For Allan

Allan just celebrated his one year anniversary with Southwest Airlines last month and he is loving working for that company. He has really proven to be a star in the Revenue Management Department, although he would never say that himself. This week has been a good week for Allan because he was officially promoted to Analyst 2, a position that many in his office have not gotten to and they have been there a lot longer. Yesterday their department had a big meeting and he was asked to be a part of a team of three to figure out the new role of the analysts in the department. There are a lot of other details that I don't wuite get, but I know that it is a big honor for him to be on that team. I am just so proud of him. He is the picture of a man that held fast to his dreams and saw them come to pass. There is still a lot he wants to do professionally and he is well on his way. So YEAH for my hubby, he has a good life and he deserves it!!!

Sad News

Some of you may remember that a few months ago I wrote about a two year old little boy named Jud that had been diagnosed with Krabbe disease. He passed away yesterday around lunch time. He was a very healthy and thriving boy in May. This disease is one of the most horrific things I have ever heard of. He lost every ounce of control in his body- his sight, his ability to speak, his ability to walk, even his ability to eat. The only thing that they know stayed in tact in his little body was his mind and spirit.
Jud the Stud is what his family called him and over the last few months I almost feel as if I got to know their family through their online journal and blog, their postings on You Tube, and the pictures they shared on their website. The Levshaff family is a family that I will admire for as long as I live, the faith and hope that held on to was beyond inspiring. I have prayed for them almost daily and I will continue. I know that he is in a better place, but that doesn't mean that his family isn't feeling a heartbreak that I desperately hope I never have to endure. If you think about them, please pray for them in this deeply sad time.

Marvelous Marinara!!!

Yesterday one of the most thoughtful things happened to my family. A new friend of mine had read my blog entry on exhaustion and took action. I got an email yesterday morning saying that my friend was coming over at five o'clock in the evening and she was bringing us dinner. My first thought was, she doesn't need to do that. I mean she has four kids of her own, what kind of wife/mother am I if I can't even handle cooking dinner for my little family, and she can not only care for her own family but mine as well. Then I decided that I needed to just accept this blessing. I guess since she is a mother of four she truly can understand that sometimes life is just hard when you are a mommy and you need a break. She brought us such a yummy meal, there was even homemade marinara sauce. Thank you so much friend!!! I don't know if you grasp how much this simple act of service meant to me.

It Could Be Worse...

I was checking out at Target this evening when I heard a lady screaming. When I saw her I realized it was one of my neighbors. She was running with her 16 month old son and yelling for her other two boys to hurry up. I grabbed Claire and ran towards her, she was crying and saying that her baby was having a seizure and his medicine was at her house. I told her that I would get her boys and bring them to her house, she immediately took off running. I finished checking out and got her boys and Claire loaded up adn we were off. When we got to their house a firetruck and ambulance were out front there was already another neighbor there to pick the boys up, Allan took Claire, and I went into their home to let her know that the other boys were fine. The medicine that she had given her baby totally knocked him out, he was just limp in her arms. I almost started crying just thinking what she must be going through. Did I mention that her husband is out of town and she is having to make all these decisions alone?!?!

After I got home and started processing I just thought oh my goodness I thought that Claire's fever and lack of sleep was hard to handle...it could be so much worse. I am so thankful that we have never had to deal with anything so traumatic and I pray that we never do.

As for the little guy please pray for him (his name is Jameson). He had a massive seizure in July and spent four days in the hospital having many tests run and the doctors could not figure anything out. They have been to a couple of neurologists and again there is no "reason" for these episodes so they don't even know how to treat him. This is so frustrating to the parents as you can imagine. They need wisdom in what to do for their son and he needs to never go through this again.

Exhaustion

I thought that I knew what this word meant before motherhood, but I have grown to define this word after I became a mom. In the beginning no sleep is completely do-able because it is expected. As time passes by and you have a baby that isn't a sleeper you figure out a way to survive. For me I pretty much have let everything slip except being a mom which sometimes makes life even more stressful. I just survived possibly the hardest few nights since Claire was born with almost no sleep at all. I feel sorry for her because she was feeling so horrible, but I also feel sorry for me because I NEED sleep and that is not an option when you are the sole provider of comfort for your little one. I have literally been in tears at times since Friday because I feel ill I am so tired.
I will say that we are through the worst of it and I can see the light at the end of this tunnel, but holy cow I think that my body may take weeks to recharge. We finally went to the doctor last night after three days of pretty high fever and all they saw was that she has a severe double ear infection...surprise, surprise. I also have to give a shout out to my hubby once again. He was a trooper holding my hand through most of the sleepless nights and encouraging me that I in fact was going to survive. I have a few friends who move upstairs when their baby isn't sleeping well so their husbands aren't bothered, but Allan is a man who fights in the trenches with his family and I am blessed beyond belief by him. Well I think that I will head off to napland while Claire is sawing logs. Lord willing she will sleep longer than twenty minutes today.

Trick or Treat

Claire was a little more into trick or treating this year than last which was fun. We only took her to a few of our neighbors houses where she chose a lollipop at pretty much every opportunity. She was the cutest garden fairy on the block I must say. She cracked me up, she didn't want anyone to put candy in her bag she tried to just carry it all in her hands which was pretty cute. She also was allowed to eat her first real piece of candy and we may have created a monster.

First attempt at trick or treating (thank you Mrs. Lori!)



Playing chase with daddy while waiting for more trick or treaters to come by

Finally a picture with the flower on her head and no tears (the two lollipops definately helped accomplish this feat)

Trying to brush her teeth after eating candy wasn't the highlight of Claire's night

Fun with the Neighbors

Claire loves little Chase An attempt at a group shot, was not too successful
Playing pumpkin ball toss with with her friend McKenna
A shot with Elly and Addy

I feel like we are getting to know our neighbors more and more which is fun. Yesterday before the trick or treating began we were invited over for a get together so all the kids could show off their costumes, eat hotdogs, and play some games. It was also a good time for the parents to hang out too. It was a real americana moment. I am really enjoying our time that we get to spend with all the people that live around us.
We are so blessed to live in the area that we do. There is such a focus on family around here which is great since family is so important to Allan and I.

Haloween at Southwest Airlines

We spent yesterday morning up at the Southwest headquarters for their big Halloween spectacular. It was more fun than I expected . Claire had fun jumping in the bounce house, getting candy, and getting her face painted. I can't wait until next year when she kind of gets it even more. Claire, Allan, and the SWA CEO Gary Kelley
Claire helping out in the Revenue Management Department
Claire's first face paint (we were shocked that she would sit still enough for this)
Jumping in the bounce house, she loved having it to herself for awhile