Silence

I never really appreciated silence until I had children. I also never quite grasped why anyone would want to go on a silent retreat. While I was sitting at dinner tonight and the world was exploding in my ears I only had one thought...I NEED silence!!!! I could TOTALLY use a 24 hour sabbatical at one of those nunneries that offer silent retreats. I doubt that is going to happen anytime soon so until then I guess I will just hide in the closet with a pillow over my head for a few minutes and pray that my sanity returns one day.

Worn Out

WARNING!!! The image below has never been seen or photographed before, prepare to be amazed....
That is right, for the first time in 13 months BOTH of my kiddos fell asleep late in the afternoon and slept for quite a while on the couch. I was in awe, all I could do was sit and stare. It was actually a sweet little moment and I am so glad I thought to grab the camera and capture it.

Going To The Ball

A few days ago Claire decided it was time to get dressed up and head to the ball which was being held in my bedroom. She picked out both of our beautiful outfits and then we danced our hearts out for about twenty minutes. It was such a fun time with my girl.

Claire Alyse, my royal daughter, looking as beautiful as ever.

Little Rascal

Could this boy be any cuter? I mean seriously! It is a good thing he is so cute, because he is also a little rascal and is already giving me a run for my money. Someone recently said to me that the hospital should hand out running shoes to moms that give birth to baby boys because you are going to need them and boy were they right.

A few recent adventures:
- he stuck a spoon in an electrical outlet and burned his finger
- he climbed over the barricade at the bottom of the stairs (which I didn't think was possible so I was letting him roam while I got ready for the day) and thankfully I found him playing in the loft and not crumpled after falling down the stairs.
- he climbed up on the fireplace and started eating last winters ashes
- he crawled straight into a pool without even pausing. I was actually RIGHT BESIDE him and just wanted to see if he would hesitate at all...he didn't.
- he ate a dead junebug

He is also doing a lot of fun things:
- the boy has rhythm; it is so cute to watch him get to shaking and bouncing anytime there is music playing
- he LOVES making anything into a bat and finding balls to hit around the house
- he actually loves anything to do with balls and seems to have a good arm and good coordination. he can already catch a ball from close range, throws mainly with his left hand (which makes his left handed daddy so happy), and can consistently kick a soccer ball around the living room
- he enjoys wrestling anytime he gets a chance and especially loves to secretly assault you when you are laying on the floor.
- he eats like a champ which is quiet obvious

I was so glad I could capture his assault on his sister which was hilarious. He looks so innocent sitting behind her while she is watching a movie and then...

WHAMMMO!!! He is on the attack. Check out that face, so stinkin' funny!!!

Scavenger Hunt

A little while ago I decided that we needed something a little more creative to do with our day so I looked up a scavenger hunt online (I am sure that creative people could come up with a list on their own, but I didn't have it in me that day). It was so fun. We did the indoor list during the heat of the day and the outdoor list that evening. It was a little hard for me not to help her find the "proper" items, but once I let the control go it was so fun to watch her creative mind get to work. The days in the summer can get a little monotonous since it is so stinkin' hot and we can't make it outside all that often, so it was fun to break the mold of coloring, watching TV, and playing dress up. I highly recommend a scavenger hunt to spice your day up when you are a stay at home mom (by the way how sad is that sentence?!?).

Little Swimmer

Claire has been doing swimming lessons with Mrs. Davis the last two weeks and I am totally in awe of the progress she has made. Michelle was a miracle worker with all of the kiddos. Claire said on day one that she would not be going under water and she fought it for the first lesson and a half, but eventually gave in. She turned into a little fish right before my eyes. Today was her last class and she was swimming the length of the pool all by herself flipping from her stomach to her back the whole way. She is so proud of herself and there is just about nothing better than watching your child grow in self confidence. I am SO thankful for Michelle's sweet but tough love for these little swimmers, she is exactly what they needed.
On a side note...Claire wrote her first letter to Mrs. Davis last night and I CANNOT believe that I forgot to take a picture of it. It said "I love you Miss Davis. Thank you for swimming. Love, Claire" and was decorated with Barbie stickers

Claire had so much fun seeing her buddies everyday for two weeks. She was almost as excited about them as she was about swimming.

No event would be complete at Randi's house without a party. So after the last lesson today the kids had a pizza party and of course Randi made the cutest cake ever to celebrate all the kiddos learning to swim. It was so fun!

I Hope I Never Forget

(but I probably will, so I better document this stuff while it is fresh in my head)

My sweet Claire is quickly approaching her fourth birthday and she is more and more amazing everyday. I seriously could just sit and listen to her talk for hours, I actually do on most days. I am so thankful for my bright, funny, imaginative, beautiful daughter! There are a few things that we have talked about or she has done that I want to always remember so that is what the rest of this post will be.

* At the moment Claire's dream job when she grows up is being a "farm girl". She recently told me that she will have a barn with horses, cows, sheep, and bunnies in it and that there will be three dogs and kittens there too. She also asked me where she can meet a farm boy to marry to which I replied I was not quite sure but that we could brainstorm for the next twenty or so years and then she can find her special farm boy.

* Speaking of farm life she is still very obsessed with all things animal related. She likes to act like a cat or dog sporadically throughout the day. This girl has an amazing imagination!

* Dress up is a staple at our house. She has even talked me in to putting on my wedding dress and another formal I have hanging in the closet to go to "The Ball" which is usually held in my bedroom. We twirl and leap and occasionally bring in our prince charmings (aka Allan and Jacob) to spin us around the room.

* While I got amped up to see Wicked a couple of months ago I started listening to the soundtrack which my dramatic daughter has fallen in love with. She can sing bits and pieces of all the songs but has Defying Gravity almost completely memorized and sings it with true passion. It is SO cute! After one of her performances on the stage (aka couch) she told me that she "just wants to sing and dance on a real stage when she isn't at her farm". More power to you my friend!

* She started a little tap/ballet class three weeks ago and is LOVING it!! She definitely has a mind of her own and refuses to believe me when I try and tell her where her feet are supposed to be in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions.

* This girl loves her treats! She asks for them non-stop and that kind of makes me crazy.

* She is hilarious and loves it when I ask her to tell me a story. She makes up absurd stories on the spot and I can't get enough of them. The voices she uses and faces she makes crack me up.

* Tomorrow is her last day of swimming lessons for the summer and the amount of improvement from day one is out of this world. On the first day she did not even want to go under water and she can now totally swim on her own. I am in awe of her.

* She has started calling me "mutter" when she really wants my attention and thinks it is hilarious when I respond with "yes daughter".

* She pronounces a few things in a special way that I know will change soon enough so I am just enjoying it for now.
-"Kink" instead of think
-Wrong pronouns "give THEY a drink" instead of them

* When it is time for our family to get in the car she says "Kavaliches mount up"

* I have taken her out for some girl time a few times this summer and I just love my time with her. She still tells me that I am her best friend and I hope that doesn't change anytime soon. She will lean over and say "I have a secret for you." This is almost always followed with her saying "I love you more everyday" in a whisper I can barely hear. It melts my heart every time.

There are so many more little things that make her so unique and so wonderful. She is a treasure for sure and I will never get enough of my sweet girl. I wish you could all know her the way I do, but I guess that is one of the special honors of being her mom and what an honor it is. I love you Claire Bear!!

Parent's Night Out

Terry and Marquette are friends we met almost four years ago when we hired Marquette to take pictures of Claire as an infant. I am so thankful that they came into our lives and that our relationship has moved from business (although she still takes amazing pictures of our kids) to friendship. They are so fun every time we get together and even though it can be months in between visits we are always able to pick up where we left off.

I love this lady, she is a total blast to be around! I only wish that we could see each other much more often!!

Dancing Princess

Claire started her first dance class today and I have to say it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. It is half tap and half ballet and totally adorable! She went with me to pick out the ribbon for her tap shoes and hair and and chose sparkle rainbow of course. She was so excited that she slept in her leotard last night and was dressed for class about four hours before it started. I love the way she loves life!

Claire was so giddy throughout the class that every once in a while she would turn around and beam with a little clap or a thumbs up (notice the bottom right picture). There were only a few times that she wanted to take a break and come sit with me and was a bit sad when I encouraged her to stay with the group. I was so proud of her and how quickly she was picking up the movements the teacher was showing them. I have decided there is pretty much nothing cuter than a bunch of girls in leotards and dance shoes dancing to "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"!!

Claire is taking this class with her friend Lila. I am so glad they can do this together every week for the rest of the summer.

The Fourth of July

I have a feeling that spending the Fourth of July in California is going to become a tradition. The actual 4th was so fun and festive. We cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and spent most of the day in the pool. There was a water balloon toss that could become a yearly competition. Allan and I were the big winners, but our victory was a little overshadowed by Aaron getting injured and having to get an x-ray to see if his elbow was broken after taking a nasty dive for a balloon and colliding with a sprinkler head (it wasn't broken, just bruised). After the adult toss we decided to let the kids in on the action for a while, but couldn't resist ending the afternoon with a huge water balloon fight. Only one kiddo took a balloon to the head and she bounced back pretty quickly.

We got all cleaned up and headed over to the country club for the Fourth of July festivities. All the kids, minus baby Catherine, got their faces painted and balloon art made. Claire got a kick out of the bounce house and Jacob's highlight was playing on the putting green and pulling up the little wind mill decorations.

We finished off the night with fireworks which we all loved, except for poor Caroline who spent the entire show hiding under her snuggle puppy. Claire actually fell asleep just before the grand finale, she was a little worn out after the super fun day. Jacob was in awe of the light show and didn't seem to mind the pops at all.

It was a great way to celebrate this great country we live in...happy birthday America!!!

Fun in California

We just had one of our most fun trips to California. The older girls are getting to be at such a fun age where they can pretty much entertain themselves with the occasional refereeing by a parent. It is so fun to watch them become friends. We all wish that the trip would have been longer. The first thing Claire said when we got off the plane in Texas was "I want to go back to Mimi and Papa's house, it is my favorite, and I don't like our house because it isn't fun." I think we all felt the same way. I am very blessed with in-laws that help us feel as if we are on vacation when we visit. There was a lot of time spent in the pool, cooking out, playing out in the backyard and in the Bird's Nest. Mimi of course had things to make cupcakes and a lot of fun surprises for the girls and Jacob. The weather was AMAZING! It was the perfect break from this Texas sweat box that we live in during the summer. Thank you so much Allan and Gig for a fantastic few days, we love you!!

The pool was by far the highlight of the trip for all of us. We spent many hours splashing and swimming and floating and laughing and dreaming of the day we will have a pool in our own backyard.

I loved how active the kids were the entire time we were at Mimi and Papa's house. There is so much for them to do and they hardly ever asked to watch TV. The kids loved pulling each other around in little carts on the basketball court and taking turns riding in the jeep. They could all use some driving lessons, Claire almost took my toes off at one point. Mimi is always giving the kids books and reading them stories, I love the picture of her and most of her grandkids reading a book, it is so her.

Gradias Day

My family just got back from a wonderful trip to California. We spent the majority of the time at Allan's parent's house (more to come on that later), but we got to spend most of one day with our dear friends Ben, Krista, and Madyson. It was such a perfect day. We hung out at their house for awhile and let the kiddos play then we picked up lunch and headed up the mountain to Oak Glen where we had a picnic and the kids got to run around. We looked at goats and a llama, fed some deer, and had a sweet treat. That night we dropped our kids off with the grandparents then had an adult only dinner which was divine. We have not spent time together without kids since Claire was born.

I LOVE this family! The time we get to spend together a couple of times a year is never enough. It is always sad to say goodbye. They are very special to both Allan and I and we are always looking for a reason and a way to get a little more time with them. Thank you so much for taking a rare day off to spend with us Gradias Family...we love you!!!
Krista and I

Claire and Madyson

I love the moment that Krista captured between Jacob and I. This may be one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.

Three little buddies- Claire, Jacob, and Madyson. All they need now is Madyson's little sister who will join the ranks in January.

A few more pictures from our day. Claire decided to wear a mermaid costume for the day just for the record ;) She also loved being "the big girl" and was pretty proud of herself for teaching Mady to buckle her shoes. Madyson was pretty entertaining the entire time we were together. That girl has quiet the personality. I wish that our kids could all spend more time together.

Rainy Day Play

I have loved the overcast rainy days we have had this week. The first day of downpours was by far our favorite. The kids played outside and got soaked. It was so fun to listen to them squeal and splash.