A Genius

Claire said her first seven word sentence to Allan and we are so impressed with our little genius. Are you read to hear the words of wisdom she shared with her daddy?

"I dip grape in milk, it good"

She has also started chatting to herself or an imaginary friend while riding in the backseat of the van. This is the conversation I heard yesterday.

"Oh baby cute!"

"No no, be nice!"

I have started asking Claire to join me when we pray in the morning and she is so sweet. She tries really hard to bow her head, but usually cant help but look up at me almost laughing because she can't hide the anticipation of her favorite moment- the big finale when she gets to loudly say "Amen", clap, and give me five. She will repeat a few key words that I ask her to and I can't help but believe that God is loving hearing her sweet voice talking to Him. There is one prayer in particular that I will share with you one day that almost brings tears to my eyes every time she says it, but today is not the day for that.

I LOVE my baby girl! She is getting more and more fun everyday. I love hearing her funny words and thoughts everyday. She surprises me all the time and I can't help but fall deeper in love with her with each new day.

Wonderful Weekend

-

We had such a great few days down in Waco with my whole family. My parents have done such a great job making their home a little retreat for all of us when we are there. We spend hours upon hours on their back porch and the kids have so much fun with the freedom the country offers. Claire and Asher were super cute exploring with each other. On saturday night we had the best time cooking out, playing football, duck-duck-goose, ring-around-the-rosie, and just being a family. We HAVE to spend more time down there.
We also had a great time celebrating Skyler's birthday party with her and having a small family shower for Adrielle. I do not have pictures from these two events, I have to get them from Amy, but I will absolutely share them as soon as I have them.

Cupcake Playgroup

We had so much fun decorating cupcakes at our last playgroup. I just love getting together with these mommies and kiddos every other week!

Creative Correction

WOOHOO!!! I had my first (and second) success with a tip from this book.

For those of you who know me and my little family well you know that there have been times when I have been TOTALLY overwhelmed by my princesses strong will. Sometimes I am so stressed that I do not have what it takes to help shape this little girl into the person God has called her to be. Around the one year mark I really started trying out some different discipline techniques and I have not had a ton of luck. I have had to adjust my expectations for her and myself and that has helped. I am pretty much sure that spanking is not something that is going to make much of a difference with this little one, time out works sometimes. We have just entered the all out temper tantrum phase and good gravy I thought it was going to kill one of us until I read something in this book that was recommended in our small group at church. When I first bough this book I thought that she was too young for it, and in a lot of cases she is, but then I saw a few tips that I could modify for an almost two year old.

Success #1: Throwing an out of this world tantrum that even scared her daddy....

The idea in the Creative Corrections book is to send the kid outside and tell them that they are not allowed to act that way inside your house and when they can stop throwing a fit they are welcome to come back in. Obviously I am not comfortable sending my baby outside, so I have a pack n play set up in one of the guest rooms and when she seems to be possessed I tell her that she is not allowed to throw a fit like that in front of me, put her in the pack n play, and tell her that when she is all done to let me know. The longest she has ever had to stay in there was three minutes, usually she is all done in less than one. When I pick her up I make a huge deal about her being a good girl and happy and all that stuff. She gives me a high five and we are back to life as normal.

Success #2: Getting out of the basket at the store and running like a wild woman through the store...

Today I did as much shopping as I could before she started getting antsy then we went to the sticker aisle and she picked out a package to hold. I told her that IF she stayed in the basket until I paid she could have the Elmo sticker treat. It worked like a charm. Every time she would try to climb out I would remind her that I would open the stickers IF she stayed seated. Once I bought them I made a HUGE deal about giving her the stickers and how proud i was of her for having a happy heart and sitting down the WHOLE time we were in the store.

Who knows if it will work next time, but as of today I am impressed with CREATIVE CORRECTIONS!

Sorry

Today Claire actually said "sorry" when she spilled her cereal (which she does almost everyday and it drives me crazy). She was not even prompted. My heart melted.

A few other things that she is saying these days that I super love hearing...
Bless- almost every time I sneeze (thank you alergy season)
Yep- not yes, not yeah, not uh-huh, just yep
Doodipop- her way of asking to watch the Doodlebops
I'na Hold You or just Hold You- I can pretty much never resist her request
Skin- when she needs a little snuggle time this is how she asks to lay her head on my chest, she does not like there to be any type of cloth barrier between us

She says so much more, but these are the newest and cutest.

Yeah Daddy

Allan just had another good week at work and was recognized for all the hard and good work he puts in for Southwest Airlines so we had to celebrate. Claire helped me make gooey brownies yesterday to celebrate him. Thank you babe for being such a hard worker, you are amazing!!

It is so fun that Claire is wanting to "help" in the kitchen. I found it especially funny that she wanted to eat the batter with my Sonic straw...the best of both worlds. She is so funny!!!

"My Sky"

We were so lucky to get to spend some time with my sweet niece Skyler. She stayed with us on Friday night while her parents were doing wedding stuff for a friend. I loved watching Claire play one on one with her, this was the first time that has ever happened. They were such girls together squealing and running around, wearing their high heels and carrying babies around. Claire started calling her "My Sky" which was too cute.
We spent some of Friday evening up at the little outdoor mall near our house and let the girls run free (under a watchful eye of course). They made a whole lot of wishes in the foutain, played chase, and finished the outing off with a cookie break.


Of course the grand finale of the night was bath time...I think that was because they got to have crazy hair and splash as big as they wanted to. We had water EVERYWHERE.
Thank you so much Coby and Adrielle for sharing your super fun daughter with us for a little bit. We love her SO much and are thrilled that Claire had the chance to get a little special time with her cousin.

No Use Cryin' Over Spilled Milk

Claire is trying to test out the big girl cup...I don't think that she is ready just yet :)

Thank YOU Amanda!!!

Amanda is the chick on the right posing with her bestie (who happens to be my sister, Amy)

I could not let this evening pass without saying the biggest thank you ever to Amanda for her FANTASTIC help with getting my blog looking pretty darn good. You are a blogger computer genius in my book. You can "hijack my comments" anytime!

Zoo Day

Today Claire and I joined our friends at the Ft. Worth Zoo and had such a nice time! The weather was actually great and although Claire would not stay in her stroller we were still able to survive. She had such a great time looking at the monkeys, I think they were her favorite. She tried to talk to the elephants and blew kisses to the white tiger. While we had our picnic the girls loved running around and taking turns eating each others food. I personally loved taking the time to enjoy watching my little girl look around in awe at the real animals and having some time to connect with good mommy friends.
The monkeys captured Claire's attention better than anything else we saw. She would quietly make monkey noises. I think she had a hard time realizing they were really real, it was too cute.Taking a little cheese eating break with her friend Caroline. I love that they are truly becoming friends, they really enjoy the time they get to spend with each other.All three girls, Caroline, Hailey, and Claire watching the White Tiger. After we walked away Claire said "where my tiger go?" We had a display of tiger sounds and Caroline definitely won with her deep growl. Hailey was a little confused and just barked, so funny.

Favorite People

No doubt these are my two favorite people. Last night we went to cheer Allan on at his softball game and we had such a fun time. Claire was too cute cheering for her daddy and entertaining the other ladies that came to cheer on their men. We even taught her to say "Go Sandbaggers" which sounded a little more like "go bags".
I look forward to many more chances to watch Allan do something he loves and something he is so good at. I have to brag on my man a little, at the last two games I have watched he has been the one to put his team ahead with amazing hits. I think that everyone on his team is really happy he joined the good ol' Sandbaggers. He is such a stud!!

New Fun

Lovin' the new ride! Claire and I have gone on a couple of fun rides and Allan even joined us on an evening ride to eat dinner at Sonic.

HELP ME!!!

do any of you computer geeks know how to put my new picture at the top as my actual header and center it? Right now it is just an "image over the header" and it is driving me a little crazy. I am NOT computer savy to say the least so you will have to walk me through step by step :)

PLEASE HELP!!!

Oh yeah and thank you Sarah for giving out the scrapblog website. I LOVE it. I am sure that those of you who are actually creative people could have a lot of fun with this site.

Thoughtfulness

I never posted a thank you for all the thoughtful things that were done for me on my birthday...better late than never right?!?!?

I had such a great actual birthday night. Sara and amy watched Claire while Allan and I went out to dinner at Patrizio's, desert at The Grotto, and then headed to Rockin' Ivories for karaoke night with a couple of friends. We had so much fun at this total bomb of a bar...it is what you make it and luckily we were with good friends that made the night a hitMy friend Leanna and I waiting our turn to sing a little Dixie Chicks. Unfortunately it got too late before they called our name so we had to postppone the performance until next time ;)

Sweet Allan got up the nerve to serenade me with his favorite love song "Lady". He was fantastic!

On Saturday my whole family came into town so that the girls (Me, Sara, Amy, Adrielle, Mom, and Allie) could have a fun girls day that my mom had planned just for me. We started out the day getting pedicures which was so fun, then we headed to Le Madeline for lunch, the biggest surprise of the day was when we got out of the car at the gardens in Grapevine and played a game of croquet...that is right I said croquet. This actually turned out to be my favorite part of the day. I loved that Mom made an effort to do something out of the ordinary and special for me. We ended the day at the movies. It was such a nice time with all the ladies. I have to give a big shout out to the guys in our family as well, because they stayed home all day with all the kids so that we could get a good break. I wish that I had pics from the day, but I didn't have my camera and I highly doubt that I will ever get copies from my sister, Sara, God love her.

I also had a tone of sweet calls, cards, and emails from friends and family. You all made me feel so speacial, thank you so much. What a great way to start off the last year of my twenties.

Funny Cards

I just emptied my camera and remembered that I wanted to share a couple of my birthday cards with you. Allan kind of prides himself in picking out "the perfect card" and this year he didn't disappoint...

The inside reads: No cake for me please. I seem to have lost my appetite. You just have to love a sentimental card from your loving husband on your birthday. He did write a mushy little note, so I got the best of both worlds.The card "from Claire" was perfect too since the picture depicts an every day occurance in this house. It reads: Just taking a time out to wish you a happy birthday MomI love my sweet girls hands on the envelope. It is something I will keep forever.

Thank you babe for picking such great cards and making me feel so loved with the words you write inside them!

Fantastic Few Days!!

Allan and I used to pride ourselves in being fun and that is something we have missed since moving back to Texas and having a baby. I guess you could say that we tried to make up for lost time over the last four days. We spent time with new friends and old friends, as a little family, and just as a couple. It was a fantastic few days!!

Thursday we went to eat at Babe's in Carollton with some of our newest friends Mike, Emily, and baby Ava. The food was delicious and we really enjoyed hanging out and getting to know this sweet family!

On Friday we met some of our closest friends, Sarah and Karl, for a night at the Ballpark. The Rangers lost, but the time we got to spend catching up without our kids in tow was fantastic. We are going to be SO sad to see these sweet friends move away in a few months (bit that is whole different post). We will just try and make the most of the time we have with them close and not think too far into the future.

On Saturday Allan and I headed to Six Flags Over Texas to spend a few hours just having some fun one on one time. Thank you Sarah and Karl for watching Claire while we had a few thrills!!! The weather was perfect and the lines were not too long which was nice. After we picked up Claire we headed back to Flower Mound and bought a seat for the back of my new bike and we ended up getting Allan a bike as well. We are quite the threesome wheeling around the neighborhood. We went on our inagural ride which was pretty fun and exhausting. I had no idea how out of shape I was until I tried to make it up a large hill (I will blame some of it on the fact that my bike has an extra thirty pounds with Claire sitting on the back in her comfy seat). I think that the bike riding thing is going to be one of my new favorite activities. I am sure that I will post a picture or two of me and my girl in the near future, we make quite the pair.

On Sunday we hung out with our favorite neighbors, Mike, Stephanie, Julia, and Amelia. They invited us to go on a hike down at Lake Grapevine and then we had a cookout at their house. We had so much fun and were so happy to be introduced to another fun activity that is nearby, outdoors, and free (three of our favorite things). Claire and Julia did a great job "hiking" and they really LOVED throwing sticks and rocks into lake.

Water Lovers

A weekend with the cousins was super fun! Claire loves spending time with all of her cousins and asks for them almost everyday. These are just a few of the fun times they had splashing in the water two weekends ago. They are all just too cute!!

I Heart Pops

Dear Lollipops,
I know that my mommy keeps trying to seperate us, but I will always find a way to get my hands on you no matter how high up she puts you on the counter. I am sure that if I hold as many of you as my little hands can grab on to and give my mommy a sweet smile she will let me keep you. If not I will just start running as fast as I can in the opposite direction of her screaming bloody murder and hope she isn't strong enough to pry you out of my hands once she catches me. I love you pops!!!

Claire Bear

The Answers

Let me just warn you now this is one incredibly LONG post. I was shocked ho many questions I got in twenty four hours.
Well thanks for your interest. You guys thought of some fun questions and a couple of scary ones that make me feel a little vulnerable (which I set myself up for)! Hopefully I can keep the sarcasm to a minimum so you can get to know the real me. Afterall Courage to be Real is the title of this blog right?

What color are your toenails painted?

they are bright pink thanks to the pedicure that my mom gave me for my birthday

Do you eat breakfast? And if so, do you eat breakfast because you want to, or because it is highly recommended?

I will usually eat a little something like cereal or toast on the weekdays and then Allan cooks eggs and waffles on the weekends. I didn't eat much breakfast before I got married, but the hubster gives me a big guilt trip if I don't since "it is the most important meal of the day". I guess I would blow up like a hippo if it were not for the whole eating before lunch thing.

Do you have big plans for the summer?

I guess I have a pretty busy summer I will hopefully be doing a lot of little fun things with Claire like swimming lessons. In July I am going to Colorado with my family for a family reunion (FR). In August Allan and I are heading to savannah, GA for a friends wedding and we are making it into a romantic getaway, then we are heading to Hawaii with Allan's family. In September (is that still summer?) we will go to Cape Cod for another friends wedding. I am sure that we will find a few other side trips to go on, we love to travel!

Besides giving her a solid foundation in Christ, what is one thing you hope to teach Claire?

I desperately hope and pray that Claire will grow to be a woman full of compassion. This is something I have prayed over her since before she was born. I hope that I will be a good example of that for her and that I will provide opportunities for her to care for those that are having a hard time in life. I NEVER want her to feel like she is better than someone because of money, health, or any other life circumstance that comes into play.

If you were suddenly wealthy what luxury item FOR YOURSELF would you buy first, and why?

I would get a full time housekeeper. I didn't even have to think hard about this answer. Keeping my house clean is the bain of my existence. Even now there is laundry that needs to be done and wood that needs to be dusted but I am sitting on this computer answering questions. I HATE cleaning house with a passion!

If you were given three wishes, and you could wish for anything (small or large), what would you wish for? Would you have always wished for these three things or have your views changed?

This is actually a REALLY hard question for me to answer! In no particular order: determination to work out on a regular basis, an endless supply of money, contentment

I would say that these are not the first three things that would have come to mind ten years ago for a few reasons...exercise never crossed my mind back then because I was just always skinny and had a body that I was super proud of without putting out any effort; I also just lived day to day thinking about nothing but making myself happy so I always seemed pretty content in my eyes (but not so much in my heart which is a whole different issue); I feel like I should explain the money thing- that actually would have been on my wish list ten years ago, but for completely different reasons than it is now. I would love to have the money for a some selfish reasons of course (i.e. housekeeper and travel), but I would also like to have money to donate to a lot of the "causes" that are out there (i.e. poverty, hunger, pediatric AIDS, etc.), I would also love to do extravagant things for my family and close friends.

What affordable things do you like to get for gifts?

HAHAHA- sentimental gifts, pedicures, going to the movies, babysitting Claire so I can have time away either alone or with Allan (FYI, I like my Target clothes very much Amy!!!)

What things do you NOT like to recieve for gifts (that some might think you do)?

This is also a hard question...I didn't care for the brown suede vest, polyester rainbow shirt, and granny panties that granny gave me for Christmas that year (although it made for some dang good laughs); I would also say that it is a bit of a bummer when you know that someone just threw a last minute gift together that you can tell they didn't put much thought into or the gift is something that they would like, NOT something you would like; home decor gifts can be hit or miss as well.

What do you appreciate about your life?

Wow...my list (in no particular order) having one of the most supportive husbands in the world, my funny daughter, my family that goes out of their way to be together to celebrate even the little stuff, owning our home free and clear, having insurance, looking back on my past and knowing that there must be a faithful loving God that took care of me through all the crud I got myself into, flying for free

What do you hate about your life?

This is another doozie because it is so much easier to share the positive stuff. I would say that there is not a ton that I HATE, but there are a few things that I dislike about my life...I hate how isolated I feel sometimes (if I don't initiate seeing other people I would live in a world that only my husband and daughter were a part of), I dislike how sad I have been at times since Claire has been born, I hate that I sometimes take my relationships for granted, I hate that I have high expectations for people in my life and not too many for myself

Who is your favorite sister that lives in the same town as you? Why do you love her?

Unfortunately there is not a sister that lives in the same town as me so I can't answer this question.

Do you sing in the shower? What kind of songs?

I do sing sometimes and oddly enough it is usually Christmas carols or worship songs (which I rarely know all the words to so I just sing the same parts over and over)

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

I am almost always wearing flip flops or slide on shoes, but when I do wear tennis shoes I never untie them when taking them off

At the beach, would you rather play in the sand or in the water?

The water no doubt. I love to scuba and snorkel. I hate how sand always ends up inside your swimsuit

What is the most useless class you took in college or high school?

I took TWO Ag classes back to back my senior year and they were the biggest wastes of time. I actually flirted with the teacher (who was only 23) just enough so that he would let me go play on the computer the entire time in his office while he and the other "serious" ag students did things like welding and sheep shearing. Every once in a while I would go answer a question or two about dirt so he could justify giving me an A ;)

If you could change your name what would you change it too?

I honestly love my given name: Emily Joy. When I was little I used to wish my name were Elizabeth.

If money were no object...where would you want to travel next?

Since money isn't an object and I would be on my private jet that had a king size bed I could lay in and travel very comfotablly I would head out on a tour every continent (except Antartica, I'm not all that interested in that one, too cold). I would probably spend the most time in the Swiss Alps though because from what I have experience so far there is no better place.

Who is your best mom and why?

Alright wise guy...I would say that my best mom is Beatrice Eugina Eloise Johnson (aka Jeannie Selke), probably because she loves me no matter what

What names have you picked out for your next daughter/son?

Girl: Abigail (Abby) Joy; Boy: Joseph ? These are both up for discussion still, nothing set in stone until A- I am pregnant and B- we know what it is

What is your favorite physical attribute?

My brown eyes

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Physically: I would love to have a flat stomach again; Emotionally: I would become truly joyful

What is your greatest weakness?

Soda and feeling like the victim in a couple of my relationships

How many children do you hope to have?

3 maybe 4 (in a perfect world I would have a girl next and then two boys)

If you were not a SAHM, what career would you have?

I would absolutely be a Child Life Specialist in the Oncology ward of Children's Hospital

How is your relationship with God?

Vulnerability Alert!!! Not so great if I am being totally honest. I have good intentions but I don't follow through with them all that often. I have a really BAD habit of waiting for others to lead me through my relationship with God and not taking control of it on my own...not much of a relationship if you ask me.

What is your favorite color of lipstick?

Brownish red, not too cherry red, but something that pops

Who is the celebrity that you would most like to meet?

I used to say Brad Pitt, just because he is a hottie, but I don't think that we would have that much to talk about so I am going to go with Jennifer Garner. She seems so sweet and down to earth. I am sure that Allan would totally tag along on that meeting because he totally crushes on her.

What do you see as your greatest trait?

I think I am pretty compassionate. I don't just feel sorry for people that are having a hard time I want to actually help them.

What is your favorite vacation spot?

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

What's your favorite food?

I am going to go with almost anything mexican

Which of your playgroups is your favorite?

HAHAHA- I would say the one with kids for Claire to play with and the good conversation between the moms

What is your favorite date activity you and Allan like to do?

I would say before Claire we had fun spending long days at the lake in Mission Viejo with our friends or going on last minute random outings (i.e lunch in NYC); Now that the bear is around, we settle for going out to dinner and an occaisional movie. I prefer doing things that are a little less ordinary, that just doesn't happen all that often anymore.

What is your favorite store for clothes?

Nordstrom

What would you name your family pet if you got one? What kind of pet would that be?

Roger would be the name of our Lab, but I don't see us getting one any time soon. I can only raise one thing at a time and human children win that toss up.

Now that you are a mom, what do you appreciate that your mom did for you/ with you/ taught you?

I still have not figured out how she kept a clean house with four kids running around, but looking back I am thankful for it. I also appreciate that she never missed one of my sporting events that I can remeber (and there were a lot of them). Even when I was a punk, I always knew that she loved me, even if she were disapointed in me.

What was one of the funniest moments of your life?

I know that I have had a lot of times that I have laughed really hard, but off the top of my head I would say that one of the funniest things for me was when Sara and I went to Gimmelwald, Switzerland with our rolling suitcases. The story is too long for this post, but let's just say that in a village that is built into the side of the Swiss Alps with no real roads most peole have hiking backpacks, NOT rolling suitcases that they have to carry on their heads like African women and their baskets.

Where do you feel most comfortable?

Hanging out with Sara or Allan. These are the only two people that I know that I can ALWAYS be myself around and can pretty much never offend. I love that I NEVER have to walk on eggshells around them.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In ten?

In Five Years- still living in Flower Mound with three kids surviving stay at home motherhood, hopefully I will have it a little more figured out by then. I doubt too much will have changed between now and then. In Ten Years- I doubt that we will have moved yet, but since all my kids will be in school I think that I would like to be volunteering in the pediatric ward of a hospital again. I am not a big future planner so this one was a hard one for me.

What is one thing you MUST do before you die?

Go to Africa and love on some kiddos!

My first Q & A

I was on one of my favorite blogs Adventures of a Supermom and I decided to steal her latest posting idea. I have decided to let you people ask me any question about ME that you might be interested in knowing. It doesn't have to be deep or anything (but it can be). Who knows you may want to know what color my toes are painted or you may want to know what my biggest regret in life is I will try and stick to the anything goes policy.

I am doing this because I can't think of anything else to write about these days and it is driving me crazy that the last time I posted was a week ago. I also realize that I am not one of those famous bloggers that gets a bazillion, or ten, comments a post so this might be a total bust; but hey at least the next time I open up my blog there will be a new post at least for the next couple of days.

So here we go...

29

Since it is "my day" I thought I would share a little bit about those that make my life happy. I am blessed with the most amazing (and quirky) family. Each of these people have helped me figure out my way through this confusing world. Thank you all for being the greatest support system I could ever need.

This is the youngest picture I have of me on my computer. I thought why not share a snapshot of where I came from. This is also a picture of some of my favorite people on this earth. I am so blessed to have a brother and two sisters that are also my closest friends.
Here is a picture of the woman that brought me into this world. Thanks for having me, raising me, and letting me go. I am so thankful that we have grown closer after all the bumpy years. Thanks for never giving up on me. I love you Mom!

I have mentioned before, but this is a picture of my hero. He is someone that I have looked up to as long as I can remember. I would be so happy if I could learn to connect with people the way that he does. He is a great daddy...thank you so much for loving me unconditionally.

A picture of my true love! He is the man who keeps me sane and happy. My world is a better place because he shares it with me.

Here is a picture of the person that me brings me the most complex emotions I could ever imagine. She make me happy and crazy all at the same time....I am on a constant roller coaster of emotions since becoming a mommy. She is one of the greatest gofts I have ever recieved, I would not trade her for anything!