Back in the Mountains

Wow, we are back!

We have been in GA for four weeks (not including Christmas!) while Spencer completed one of his clinical experiences...and we got to stay with my parents the whole month!!! It was awesome to spend so much time with them. Claire was spoiled (as she should be at Nan and Papa's house) and had such a great time.

She helped Nan load the dishwasher...

She got to visit with friends, like Aunt Bamber...


and the Furrs...


She spent lots of time in Papa's chair...

She ate lots of food...



She got very excited when Spencer got home every day...


Unfortunately, halfway through our visit I got the flu, and just as I started to feel better Claire got it too. That was no fun at all, but at least we got sick when we had Nan there to take care of us!

We were so thankful for the time we spent in GA.

In other news, today was BEAUTIFUL. We went to the park for a couple of hours this afternoon and just soaked in the warmth. Thank You, Lord, for gorgeous sunny days in the middle of the winter.


Claire is so full of joy these days. Every day is a new adventure. She cracks up at the drop of a hat; if you so much as look at her she will start laughing. She understands more and more every day. Today I told her to throw something in the trash can, and walked with her to the trash to show her. Then, every time I directed her to put something away (put your crayons up!), she would walk over to the trash can and try to throw it away.

We have a cd by a company called "Seeds Family Worship." It is full of scripture verses put to music, and Claire loves it. She starts clapping her hands every time it comes on in the car.

And finally, the other day I found half of a banana in my shoe.

The end.

Oh, here are some videos.

Claire playing on her new slide...


Claire eating her oatmeal...


Claire playing with Spencer...



And Claire rocking her baby...

Claire Lately...

• When she gets excited, she screams. It is...ear-piercing.
• She holds phones, remotes, and anything that is close to the same shape, up to her ear and says, "Whoa-whoa?" Other recent words include "nye-nye" (night night), "la-la" (elmo), and "hey."
  
• She calls my dad "Papa." But she doesn't say it out loud; she whispers it.
• She is really starting to take the initiative to ask specifically for what she wants. She will take my hand and lead me to the kitchen, point at the refrigerator or cabinet, and make the sign for milk, food, etc.
• When Spencer gets home, she almost explodes with excitement. Developmentally, she is not supposed to be able to run yet...but I promise, she definitely "more than walks" (complete with very excited and very loud screams) to the door as soon as I say, "Daddy's home!"
• I pray with her before she goes to bed at night. I often pray in a whisper to set a quiet mood before bedtime, and she whispers right back. I have no idea what she is saying, but a one-year-old whisper is very cute.
  
• She has learned how to kick a ball. She is so very coordinated for a 14 month old. We are pretty sure she will be a natural athlete.
  
• The other day, she wanted to wear my big fluffy winter vest. She looked like an Ewok.

Or a mummy.

Shugart and Spice, and Everything Nice

Just wanted to put in a plug for my new blog, "Shugart and Spice." I'm going to try to post different meals that I cook for my family, mostly as a record for myself so I don't forget all my recipes! But if you are looking for meal ideas, you should check it out!

The Greatest Show on Earth...

We took Claire to the circus today...

...and she loved it!

It all started before the show. We got there about an hour early so that we could meet Gran and Me-Maw and spend some time with them before the circus started. Since we knew that we would be sitting down for a while, we took her down to the floor of the Coliseum to get some energy out. She walked around...and naturally wandered right to the nearest dog...


It was hard to pull her away from this pooch!



But soon it was time for the show to start, so we made our way back to our seats. The question: How would our fourteen-month-old ball of energy do, sitting down for a two-hour circus show??? The answer: Amazing! Yes, she did have a few "ants-in-my-pants-I-have-to-get-out-of-here-and-run-around" moments. But, with a little help from a steady supply of cheerios, clementine slices, and chunks of almond-butter sandwich, Claire remained surprisingly still and incredibly focused!

Some of her favorite parts included the lions...


The man jumping through a hoop of fire...


The elephants, of course...

And her favorite act of all, which held her attention the whole time, was the acrobats!


We had such a good time with Gran and Me-Maw. We were so glad we got to see them and share Claire's first circus experience with them! (The next two pictures were taken after the circus was over. By this time, you can tell, Claire was "done" with sitting still and being focused!)


The end!

Four-wheeler Fun

Since our main computer is being worked on right now, I'm going to be a little late uploading the rest of the Christmas pictures. However, I did remember that I had saved a few pictures on Spencer's laptop, so I'll just go ahead and share those now...

Gran is very creative. She found an old toddler sized four-wheeler at a yard sale. She painted it pink and Claire loved it!





Playing with Daddy...

Swinging away...