Snapshots of Life These Days

One of Claire's favorite activities these days is that of "changing" her babies' diapers. She will get all the necessary supplies (this is great practice for helping when Averi Kate gets here!) and then "check" her babies, usually follow this with an "eeewwwwwww!", and proceed with the "diaper change." Here is "Mommy Claire" in action.




And here is the finished product.


We love going out to Berry College to run, bike, or just explore. Here are some "just exploring pictures."

(Rocks still make the top 10 favorite things list for Claire. It took us about 20 minutes to make it down this short, rocky path.)


Claire loves to run. I guess she's been "running" all her life; when I was pregnant with her, I ran all the way up to the week that I had her, and she's been in the jogging stroller with us ever since. Now she calls her tennis shoes, "running shoes," and she will be walking along and then say, "I run", nod her head once, and then take off.




We saw all kinds of animals on our outing: ducks, geese, deer, dogs...Here we are looking for the horses...




And finally, here are some pictures that I took yesterday as we made our first ever gingerbread cookies!

Thanksgiving!

On Thanksgiving Day, we celebrated at home in our new little apartment as Spencer had to work the next day. We had an eggless, dairy-free feast :) Claire was able to enjoy all the traditional dishes along with us - turkey, dressing, beans, and sweet potato casserole, along with an apple cobbler for dessert, with no eggs or milk involved!

After work on Friday, we were able to head down and spend the weekend with my folks. What a fun time we had with Popple and Nan, Uncle Bo (aka Justice's daddy), Aunt Bonnie, Justice, and Gigi (Aunt Jeni!)

I am beyond thankful for all of our family, and especially for the family that God is building in our home daily. My heart can't even hold the gratitude that I have for the Lord's blessings...namely the Coach, Little, and the second Little!


And speaking of the second Little, here is Averi Kate at 26 weeks! Only 3 short months until D-Day!

Claire and her beloved Gigi...

And of course, the traditional "Gigi holding both girls" picture. I told Jeni that we would keep taking this picture until the girls are at least 12.



Love this precious family!


What a blessed girl I am to be part of this group...our ever-expanding family!

Birthday Pictures - Round 3!

And finally, round 3...Claire's actual birthday! We had a whole weekend of celebration with the family, and on Monday 11/7 the Coach and I got to give our little 2 year old our own gifts.

First, here are her first pictures as a 2 year old...


And here we are on the other end of the day, after the Coach got off work and we were able to sit down and give Claire some presents from us!

First, a Leapfrog Leap-pad and backpack that Spencer found at a yard sale! Claire absolutely loves it, even though it's really beyond her ability to do by herself right now, and asks constantly to play with her "puter".




And finally...


A guitar!







We love you Claire! We are thankful for every moment of the past 2 years and look forward to so many more!

Birthday Pictures - Round 2!

Round 2 = a visit from Dobby!!! Oh, how we love when Dobby comes to see us! Here are a few highlights from the weekend...


Barbie Jeep!


A hooded Princess towel from MeMaw!



Playing with her new Play-doh Fun Factory!

We also took a "girls' morning out" on Claire's birthday, before Dobby left to go back home. We hit such places as Hobby Lobby (!!!!!!!!!!), Kohl's, and Target, ate lunch out at Moe's, and finished with some serious playtime at the Chick-fil-A playground!

Birthday Pictures - Round 1!

Birthday: Round 1 -- Popple, Nan, Gigi, Aunt Bonnie, Justice, and "Justice's Daddy" (aka Uncle Bo -- it's true, Claire always refers to him as Justice's daddy, even though "Bo" is the easiest name in our whole family to say) came to our house to celebrate!

And what better way to kick off the birthday weekend than with Claire's favorite food - Corn on the Cob!!! (Yes, she ate 3 of them, and we had to stop her or she would have eaten more)


Claire was thrilled to see everyone, and we had a great time. Of course, one of the highlights of the evening for Claire was opening and playing with her presents!



Claire loves her new stroller! She has been wanting one ever since we moved to our new apartment, where our 3 year old neighbor friend pushes hers around in the yard. Claire is right beside her, pushing her own stroller now!


And this child loves nothing more than a new baby!




Check out the new hat from Aunt Bonnie and Justice's Daddy! She adores this hat, wanting to wear it even when it's not the slightest bit cold outside!



Learning how to share... :)

After lots of fun, the girls got into their pj's and settled down for a while. Claire enjoyed some book time on the couch...



And Justice took some music lessons from Uncle Coach!

I think we are definitely making progress, seeing as how Justice used to cry every time she saw the Coach! :)

What a sweet mommy with a sweet little girl...


Claire LOVES her Gigi!


Oh, that silly Popple...


What a fun night we had! And the next morning, Nan, Popple, and Gigi came by before leaving town to grab some pumpkin pancakes - another fun birthday weekend treat!

Round 2 - "Fun with Dobby" - is coming soon!