Starting Her Out Young...

Claire doesn't remember this, but she has been hiking before. When I was eight months pregnant, Spencer and I hiked a mountain just a couple of miles from our house. Well, today Spencer was itching to get out of the house, and even though it was chilly outside, we decided to bundle up our little bundle and let her see Mount Pinnacle with her own eyes.

Of course, we didn't hike to the top this time. Last time we did that, Claire was a lot warmer inside my tummy! But we did explore a little at the bottom of the mountain, and she seemed to love seeing the trees and the water.

Claire is never happier than when she is being walked around, so this was a perfect outing for her!

Claire loved climbing things with her Daddy!

The case of the missing shoe...

Don't worry! After a long, hard search, we found it!

All the excitement wore Claire out...



We had such a good time on our family outing! We are so glad to introduce our little girl to her heavenly Father's wonderful creation!

Just a Few Pictures...

Claire has some strange sleep positions. This is the latest...

This girl loves her daddy...

What a big girl!

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

Claire entertains herself (and therefore, us) pretty easily. But she also loves when we play games with her. These are a couple of her favorite games. The first one is the "Blanket in Your Face" game, and the second is the "Here We Go" game. There's also one called the "Hide from the Mirror" game, but we don't have a video of that one yet. I'll try to get it documented and added soon :)

Claire also really loves it when I fold clothes. It's kind of like the "Blanket in Your Face" game, just with clean clothes instead. Plus, the clean laundry basket makes a pretty convenient baby carrier...

A HUGE Milestone...

I am stoked. Claire is discovering stuffed animals. My dad and I have a thing about stuffed animals. I remember every night as a child when my dad would say goodnight, I would ask him to make a "place" for my stuffed animals. To this day I don't think either of us knows what that means, but whatever it was, he always made a place for them and then I could go to sleep. So, of course, as soon as he found out he was going to be a Papa, he ran out and bought two stuffed animals for Claire. This giraffe is one of them, and I'm so excited that Claire is starting to become interested in holding it...

and sleeping with it...

and eating it...

I know that rolling over, sitting up, crawling, etc., are considered to be important milestones. But the awareness of stuffed animals has to be the most important one so far.

Oh, here is the cookie cake that I made for Spencer for Valentine's Day... Whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookie cake with homemade peanut butter icing...yummmmmm...

My Valentine

We really don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. I mean, it's a nice excuse to, I don't know, make a cookie cake "for Spencer" and then eat it myself...or to sit on the couch for a couple of hours *away from the books, notes, and flashcards* and watch "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (hilarious)...but the holiday itself is just not that important to us. But it is a nice reminder of how thankful I am for the marriage that God has blessed me with. I love Spencer more every day. We have been married for going on four years, and while in some ways it seems like just yesterday that we became husband and wife, in other ways I can't remember ever living without him.



I was pretty giddy on June 24, 2006. I pretty much still feel that way when I see Spencer or when I hear him introduce me as his wife.


I always said he was amazing. I still feel that way...he is amazing...and godly, and funny, and humble, and sincere, and extremely attractive. He is not perfect. But he knows me and all my imperfections, which seem to me to be a lot bigger than his, and he loves me anyway.

He is a good husband and a good daddy. He loves the Lord, which is the best gift he could give to me and to our daughter.

"I have found the one whom my soul loves...This is my beloved and this is my friend..." Song of Solomon 3:4, 5:16

She Likes to Talk...

Claire is getting very talkative. She seems to be discovering the sounds she can make with her voice. Here's a little sample of what we hear...all day...every day... :) I love it!

A Very Happy Birthday

We were able to head to Milledgeville this weekend to celebrate my dad's and sister's birthdays. It was so wonderful to have everyone home at once - this was the first time my parents, brother and sister-in-law, sister and her boyfriend, and the three of us were able to be together in one place at one time! We had so much fun! Claire thrived on all the attention. We definitely have a little people person on our hands. She is smiling and "talking" all the time now, and she loves to have "conversations" with anyone who will listen and respond!

Grankay came to visit us on Friday since we were so close to Perry. It was so great to see her and we are super glad she came...especially since the snowstorm kept her away from her intended visit the last weekend!

Uncle Bo and Aunt Bonnie were thrilled to get a little practice as they get ready for their little one who will be arriving in August!

Here are the birthday kids! Jeni turned 20 on the 7th, and Dad turned 60 on the 8th. Two big birthdays! You can see Claire enjoying the activity from her carseat on the table. She slept right through the festivities :)

Jeni and Ben loved playing with Claire!