Just So I Don't Forget

I am 90% sure that at 11:10pm my baby gave me three little taps just to say Happy New Year. It is so fun to think that I will possibly start feeling this little one from here on out. I love having that connection with the baby I am working so hard to grow. It was a nice New Year's present.

A Few More Pictures From Christmas

Christmas was great this year, maybe the best we have had since we got married. I loved celebrating with just my little family and with my big crazy family as well. We had a lot of good food, fun times playing games, and lots of talking and laughing.

Allan and I cooked dinner for some of our family on Christmas night. It was so fun to do a low key hosting gig and use our china, crystal, and silver for the second time since we got married.

Claire and Asher figured out how to get to the toys at the bottom of the bucket. They are so smart and funny. I love watching them play together.

Ainsley Grace flying around our living room. It was pretty funny, for a little while the only way she was happy was with Beau holding her above his head.

Claire walked around in her princess dress and high heels pulling her chair and carrying her brush asking Asher to sit down so she could brush his hair.

Claire figured out that little boys are not always up for playing beauty shop and that was really disappointing.

We headed over to the Powell house the day after Christmas to have our big family Christmas and to eat a really yummy breakfast. It was so fun and chaotic.

Amy and Jack waiting for the presents to begin. I think it is hilarious that Jack is working on keeping his eyes open for pictures, he is such a cute kid.

The two oldest cousins, Jack and Allie, survived the little wild indians running around their feet for a few hours.

Claire and her cousin Skyler insisted on making funny faces which was fine by me, they are hilarious. I love the friends they are becoming.

The best gift of the entire exchange. Allan drew Amy's name for the big kid gift exchange and immediately knew what he was going to get her...a Twilight shirt. She loved it as much as he hoped she would. It says Forks, WA- Making it sprinkle so you won't sparkle.

Claire helped me open a gift for Kav Kid #2. It was a few onesies that we will get embroidered once we know what it is. Thank you Adrielle and Coby for thinking of the shrimp inside my belly.

The reason for all this chaos- these two people started it all. Thanks mom and dad for getting us to adulthood alive and well so that we could find our spouses and help populate the world.
Poppie and Gibbie and their eight post womb grandchildren: Asher, Allie, Chloe Grace, Ainsley Grace, Claire, Jack, Cooper, and Skyler
This is what it takes to get eight kids to all look in the general direction of the camera and smile

After we finished up at the Powell house we headed to my grandparent's house near Amarillo. It was great to be there. I have not celebrated Christmas with them in way too may years. I loved being with them. My aunt and two of her kiddos were there too and it was good to see them as well. I sadly didn't take many pictures on this leg of the trip.

This hair extension was part of Claire's gift from my grandparents. It completely cracked me up and she wore it for two solid days.

Me and my grandad. I love this man like crazy. When I get to see him it is like no time has passed. He has great stories and is funny and he loves his family so much.

Less Than A Month

In less than a month (January 22nd) we will hopefully find out what this baby is. It will absolutely be a boy or a girl. I have a guess as to what I think it is, do you?



I am setting up a poll on the sidebar so let me know what you think.

Christmas Morning Memories

It was so fun to go upstairs and get Claire out of bed this morning. As soon as we reminded her that it was Christmas morning she got so excited! Don't judge us by our bedhead =)

Claire and her daddy waiting on the stairs to see what Santa left under the tree. This was such a fun Christmas morning with Claire, our best yet. I love seeing her get into the spirit of this fantastic holiday.


Here is Claire's first reactions to what was under the tree. She asked for a baby doll for Christmas, she gets the American Girl doll catalog and has wanted this baby specifically for a few months. It was so great to see her reaction. She loves it and has already given it a few names- Baby Belle, Baby Grace, and Baby Boy. We will see which one sticks.

It has been a good Christmas morning! We had fun exchanging gifts, eating a yummy breakfast, watching Polar Express and Fred Claus, cleaning up a bit so that when my family gets here in a few hours they can walk without tripping, and getting Christmas dinner started. I wondered if I would like being with just my little family on Christmas morning and I have to say it has been great, don't get me wrong I am ready to see my family and celebrate with them, but I love making memories with my hubby and Claire Bear.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve festivities got a bit of a late start since Allan had to go into work for a while, but once they got rolling we had a really great evening. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church which was so nice. We had planned on taking Claire into "big church" with us but she asked to go to her class when we got there. When we picked her up I asked her what she did and she answered "we just had fun, um did crafts, and watched Jesus movies". After the service we went to dinner at a yummy Italian restaurant and sang Jingle Bells (the only Christmas song Claire knows) over and over all the way home.

We have a tradition of exchanging Christmas Eve PJs and so we took care of that as soon as we got home then started the photo shoot. I love the pictures of Claire and I doing the belly pictures. We even took some of us touching buttons which we do on a regular basis. We finished the night off making cookies for Santa and watching a Christmas show before heading off to bed.

you can click on the collage to see the pictures a bit better

We Are Both Daughters

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today and in her post she made a comment that totally struck a chord with me.

She was talking about her five year old daughters first dance recital and praying for her daughters self confidence because she is not a very public person and this thought came into her head:

That she and I, we are in the same boat, we're both "daughters" just facing different tasks at hand. We're on the same journey, at different places in the road, yet with the same needs, the same struggles really, just at different levels. The same need we both have for God, our Father, to affirm us as His daughters. To make us secure in Him, to fear not, to do what He is calling us to do - the inner strength coming from Jesus Christ.

I have really been thinking a lot lately about the impact that I can have on Claire's life recently with the things I say and how I say them, with the actions I take in front of her, and just our daily interaction. When I think about what she needs it has occurred to me that our needs are not that much different at their base.

I am challenged by this blog author every time I read a post by her. I know that she is not perfect, but she is a role model that anyone who is currently a wife and/or mother or may be at some point in their future could learn a lot from. I will probably never meet her, but the lessons she teaches by sharing her everyday journey will impact me forever. Thank you Alyssa for sharing your life so freely!

Happy Birthday Sister!!!

Today is my sister Sara's birthday! I LOVE her something fierce! I am so thankful that she is in my life, she is not just a sister she is one of my best friends. She is a woman that I would trust with my life. She is the person I call first when I am excited, sad, or bored. I love that we get to share life with each other. I love the memories we have made over the years and the I am excited about the many memories we will make for the rest of our lives. Sara is a woman of integrity and wisdom, she is full of joy and life, she is a fantastic mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend. She is not perfect, which makes her even more fantastic. Sara, I love you and I hope that this next year is one of your best yet!

Sweetest Quote EVER!!!

A little bit ago Claire said she wanted to see the baby so I raised my shirt and she started her standard conversation with this little one (through my belly button of course). She said "Good morning baby (even though it was 8:45pm)! I love you so much!". She then stated that she was going to give the baby the "best hug" and while her head was squished against my tummy she said:

"The baby will be my best buddy forever" and followed that up with a kiss on the belly button. That is not a phrase we have ever used with her and my heart melted immediately. The love that she shows for this little one is so far beyond anything I could have hoped for. I am so blessed my my kids and the relationship they are building even before they see each other face to face.

After the sweet photo shoot I wanted to get a picture of my belly and Claire wanted to join in on the fun. Her pose cracks me up and obviously I am exaggerating my pose to match hers. This is going to be a fun six months!

A Great Staycation

Allan found out a little bit ago that he had an extra day of vacation that would be lost at the end of the year so we decided to take advantage of it. We went through a few vacation ideas- mountains, San Diego, and San Antonio- but in the end we decided to go with the more budget friendly "staycation". He took Friday off and we headed out for day one of fun.

Our first stop was the Dallas World Aquarium

We were in awe at the size of these fresh water fish!We named our manatee friend Barbara, they were so neat to watch swim around so gracefully.

Claire would say "look at that big guy" every time the really big sharks swam by.The shark tank was so cool because it was a big tunnel that you walked through and the different sharks swam all around you. Claire liked "petting" this saw nose shark.Claire's baby doll "Baby Grace" made the trip with us and Claire thought that she needed a picture with Daddy and the fish.

We had the most delicious lunch accidentally. We drove to Deep Ellum and happened upon a restaurant called Cowboy Chow. They do cowboy cooking and serve your food in mason jars and skillets. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was so fun. I hope that we can go back sometime soon.

Next we headed to the mall to do a little shopping, see Santa, and ride the carousel. We saw Santa walking around on break and Claire didn't mind waving but was not interested in talking to him or touching him so needless to say we chose not to wait in the crazy long line just to get a crying picture.

Friday night (after taking a two hour nap) we headed to the outdoor shopping center near our house. It was so festive feeling with Christmas music, kids playing chase around the huge Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, and going on a horse and carriage ride around the shopping center.

It was such a great opening day to our staycation!

Saturday we had a pretty low key day. We woke up and headed to the local Christmas parade. It was Claire's first parade and she loved it, especially the grabbing candy and being able to run into the street.

Checking out her candy stash in her sparkle Christmas bag.She was still all smiles even after a parade that lasted well over an hour.Waving to Santa Clause and saying "Merry Christmas!!!"

We just rested and watched movies throughout the rest of the day and then Saturday night Allan and I headed out to a swanky winery for his department Christmas party. We had a good time, but I was excited to get to bed a little earlier than we did last year after his party.

Sunday we went to church and since the weather was FANTASTIC today we hung out in the back yard swinging, sliding, having lunch, and just enjoying the beautiful day. After Claire's nap we went out to hang out with all of our neighbors for a while and then decided to finish the staycation off with a trip to the ice cream shop.

It was a simple weekend, but one of the best family times we have had in a while. I loved spending time with my husband and daughter. I loved making memories. I loved being festive and relaxing. I just loved our staycation and hope to make this a yearly tradition.

Ornament Exchange

Allan and I started the tradition of exchanging ornaments the day that we put up the tree our first married Christmas. I love having little family traditions. This year I thought that all the ornaments were perfect. Allan bought me an ornament of a mother and daughter. This has been a special last few months for Claire and I and I love that he recognized that.
Allan LOVES to work in the yard so his ornament this year was a wheel barrel filled with tools and goodies like that.

Claire got a daddy or mommy bear dancing with a daughter ballerina bear. This one was so perfect for her- we call her Claire Bear, she was a ballerina for Halloween, and we all dance together on a daily basis.