Like Sugar with a "T"

Claire Says the Darndest Things...

2012-02-07T13:05:00.008-05:00

The other day we were in the car and I was asking Claire if she remembered the Bible story that we read the night before. Honestly, Spencer and I didn't think she had been listening at all, as she was really wired that night, so I didn't expect her to remember anything.

Me: Claire, do you remember the Bible story we read last night?
C: Yeah.
Me: Remember how Jesus washed His disciples' feet?
C: Yeah, and a bowl.
Me: Yes, He had a bowl of water, and He washed His disciples' feet.
C: That was yellow Jesus.
Me: Yellow Jesus???
C: Yeah. I have a purple Jesus too.
Me: Okay...

That night when we opened up Claire's picture Bible I noticed that Jesus is wearing a purple outer robe. That was Claire's purple Jesus. Then I remembered, when Jesus washed His disciples' feet, He took off His outer robe. I told Spencer to turn to that page, and sure enough Jesus' "under-robe" was yellow.

She was paying attention after all :)

In another car conversation, we started talking about how not everyone knows that Jesus loves them, and we want to do things for people to show them Jesus' love, and how we need to tell people that Jesus loves them, etc. I think I ended with a restatement like, "Because, Claire, we know that Jesus loves us, but not everyone does!" Claire thought about this for a second, and then nodded her head and said, "It's ok. Daddy fix it."

Daddy can fix anything.

She loves playing with dominoes but calls them her "dinosaurs."

She makes "lists" all the time on scrap paper and says she needs to go to Walmart or Kroger.

One time Spencer told Claire that her shoes smelled bad. I can't remember why, but now Claire will randomly start sniffing the air and saying, "I fell ('smell') something....Might be my shoes."

When we say the blessing before eating, Claire always wants to pray first. She says, "Thank you God and my food, amen." Well, at nighttime we pray before bedtime and again, Claire wants to pray first and then either Spencer or I will also pray aloud. It's so funny though because she starts in with her traditional "thank you for the food" prayer but then remembers that we're not about to eat...and it goes like this..."Thank you God and...thank you God...and...I...can't...say...the...words." Cracks me up every single time.

In other awesome news, Claire hasn't worn a diaper (except at nighttime) since last Wednesday (like, a week and 2 days ago!) I believe we have a potty-trained 2 year old on our hands! Thank the Lord for His perfect timing! :)

I am going for my 37-week checkup today and will try to post the news (or non-news) later this afternoon. It is always a thrill to hear sweet Averi Kate's heartbeat!

Rainy Saturday = Baking!!!

2012-01-22T14:34:00.007-05:00

What better way to enjoy a rainy Saturday than to try a new recipe for a treat that even Little, with all her allergies, can eat???

We made super easy and surprisingly yummy banana muffins. I do have another blog where I try to keep up with most of my recipes, but I thought I'd include this one here instead if anyone is looking for a simple treat to enjoy with your own littles!

In a large bowl, mash up 3 ripe bananas with a fork or a mixer. Add 1/4 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup brown sugar. In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Stir the dry into the wet until all combined. Spray muffin tin, fill, and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. This recipe made 36 mini muffins for us.

But there aren't many left now.

Claire-isms and a Trip to the Museum

2012-01-07T16:20:00.012-05:00

First of all, I need to include a shout-out to my second little girl, Averi Kate (or, according to Claire, "Aybee Kake)! She is growing like a weed, as my tummy shows. She is very active but doesn't keep me up at night yet (thank you sweet girl!) The doctor said that he could feel her head already down in position - hold on girl, it's not quite time yet! It is hard to believe that she will very likely be here in 8 weeks or less!

Now for some "Claire-isms"...All week I've been jotting down things that I never want to forget about the things that Claire is saying these days. She is a hoot. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do...

**When Claire asks me a question and I answer (for example...Claire: "Snack?" Me: "Yes, I am cutting up a kiwi for you right now.") Her response is very often: "Oh, cool, yum." The best is when she responds that way and the conversation has nothing to do with food...
Me: "Guess where we're going today, Claire?"
Claire: "Yeah."
Me: "To the LIBRARY!!!"
Claire: "Oh, cool, yum!"

**The other night after supper, Spencer let Claire have some of "Daddy's cereal" for a treat.
Me: "Did you tell daddy thank you, Claire?"
Claire: "Thank you for the treat, Daddy. Amen."

**I know that kids sometimes ask the best theological questions, but I really did not think it would start this early. But it has. It started a few weeks ago when I was running and Claire was in the stroller, chattering away like she always does, and suddenly she asked: "Where'd God go?"
What??? Well, I think I better get ready because that was just the beginning.
Let me just fill you in on our breakfast conversation from yesterday...
(After we said the blessing, ending with..."in Jesus' name, amen.")
Claire: "Where's Jesus?"
Me: "Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus is in heaven right now."
Claire: "In the sky?"
Me: "Sort of...well, yes. In the sky. But He is coming back for us one day, right?" (We have had this conversation a lot recently, so this wasn't any surprise for Claire)
Claire: "Take us back?"
Me: "Yes! If we love and trust Him, He will take us back to live with Him forever."
Claire: "In a house?"
Me: "Yes, He is building a house for us right now."
Claire: "Oh, cool, yum. I love Jesus."

**Even though Claire can communicate clearly with her words now, she still falls back into what we call "speaking in tongues" when she prays :) "Oioioioioioioio and the food oioioioioioioi Dobby oioioioioio. Amen."

**Claire has always been a really sensitive soul...like the time when she was about a year old and she saw a video of herself crying as an infant, and she started crying in response to the video...Well, she is still really sensitive. I can't hide it when something is wrong. I could just tear up a little thinking or praying about something, not even say a word out loud, and Claire will come out of nowhere and say, "it's okay Mommy." The other day I squatted down to get a pan out from under the oven, and seeing as how my center of gravity is about 7 1/2 months out of balance I just sort of tipped over and landed on my rear end. Totally non-concerning, it was just easier than standing up at that point. Well, Claire thought I "fell down" and came running over, nearly choked me to death with a strangle-hold, I mean hug, and kept saying, "I sorry Mommy, I sorry. It's okay Mommy. I sorry."

Last week we had a wonderful treat. Claire and I drove to Chattanooga to see some of our dear, dear friends from NC who were there for a conference. Amanda and Ivy treated us to a day at the Children's Discovery Museum, and we all had a blast! (Disclaimer: I stole all these pictures right off of Amanda's blog! Thanks for bringing your camera, friend!)

It was so much fun to watch Claire and Ivy interact. They have both grown up a lot in the last few months, but of course the changes in Claire have been a bit more drastic due to her age. It was funny watching Ivy try to "baby" Claire and seeing Claire exerting her independence a little. Here Ivy is trying to hold Claire's hand and Claire doesn't want to!

But she soon changed her tune and all she wanted to do was hold her friend Ivy's hand!

The museum was really awesome. There were no "off limits" or "do not touch" signs anywhere. Everything was designed for little hands to touch and little feet to climb all over!

Claire and Ivy at the water station...

Digging for dinosaur bones...

Putting on a puppet show!

Oh, how we love and miss our friends!

Christmas at Dobby's

2012-01-03T14:32:00.019-05:00

We had a fun and busy Christmas weekend at Dobby and Pawpaw's house. Saturday Dobby hosted all of her family at her house. Here is Claire with the 2 of the triplets, getting into some mischief...

Of course the most exciting part of the evening was watching the kiddos open presents!

And here are all the littles. This was the closest I could get to everyone being still and looking at the camera!

Christmas morning, Claire was ecstatic to find that Santa had visited the living room! She walked in, gasped, and said, "A BIKE!"

Nanny Faye and Papa gave Claire an awesome new car! Here she is trying out her new wheels!

It was fun watching Claire interact with Hughley this time. In the past she has been a little apprehensive to get too close, but this time he was absolutely her best friend all weekend. Not too sure how he felt about that, but Claire sure did love it!

And here are Dobby and Claire hanging out in the yard!

Claire's Chicken

2012-01-01T18:59:00.005-05:00

My family came to visit a few days before Christmas and brought Claire a kitchen! The minute she saw it coming through the door, she yelled out, "A CHICKEN!!!!"

Claire loves her chicken.

Thanks for the chicken, Popple and Nan!

Snapshots of Life These Days

2011-12-13T07:28:00.016-05:00

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!

2011-12-04T19:05:00.007-05:00

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!

2011-11-28T14:05:00.013-05:00

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!

2011-11-28T13:44:00.005-05:00

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!

2011-11-22T15:20:00.017-05:00

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!

Cousin Love

2011-11-15T15:58:00.012-05:00

I still have many birthday pictures to put up!!! But, until I get them all on the computer, I'll go ahead and share a few "cousin pictures" that I took of Claire and Justice. Oh how we love these sweet girls!!!

Our 2 Year Old

2011-11-07T15:34:00.006-05:00

2 years ago today... well, I was in a lot of pain. But Spencer and I also experienced the most insane rush of pure joy we've ever had, when a perfectly created little girl was handed to us in the delivery room.

Today, we celebrate the wonderful gift that God has given to us in Claire Alyse!

At 2 years old, Claire is full of wonder and joy. Life is an adventure. She is bold in some ways, looking for adventure and fun, but she is also cautious and thoughtful.

She is growing in every way. She is finally starting to fit into *some* 24 month pants, even though she has already been wearing 2T tops for months! She is growing in knowledge, in her reasoning skills, in her verbal communication.

She is fiercely independent at times, and yet at other times she just wants to "hold you mommy."

She has taught me more about love and grace than I have ever comprehended before. I can understand why the father ran as fast as he could to meet his prodigal son. I can understand why Jesus wept over Jerusalem. I see Claire's heart, yes, with the joy and wonder of childhood, but also filled with sin and marred by the fall. I see that she is selfish in her nature, like us all, and she seeks her own way. I see that she would rather rebel than obey. I see that and I cry out to God on her behalf. I pray that she would understand her need for a savior. I pray that Spencer and I would provide her with an environment of unconditional love so that she will understand the love of the Father. I pray that we would provide her with loving discipline so that she will understand that obedience leads to blessing. I pray that we would show her the character of Christ so that she will love Him above all else in this life.

I pray that she will "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Happy birthday, Little. You are God's gracious gift to us, and we love you.

Cooking with Claire...

2011-11-07T15:32:00.005-05:00

Halloween Catch-up

2011-11-07T15:27:00.008-05:00

On Halloween night, Claire got to don her infamous butterfly costume for the second time. Luckily, this time was far less eventful than the first.

Here is our little butterfly, ready to go find treats!

She really had no idea what was going on, but she was very excited nonetheless.

Knocking on her first door of the night...

Success!!!

Love my little butterfly!

And Then There Was Tuesday.

2011-11-03T21:41:00.008-04:00

So.

I have to tell this story. Because I keep this blog, mostly as a record for us to remember the moments that make our family who we are. And this is one of them.

Let's take ourselves back about a week and a half, to last Tuesday.

Tuesdays are special. Claire LOVES Tuesdays, because Tuesdays are when the puppets come out at the library and do storytime with the children. It is most definitely a highlight in our week. And this particular Tuesday was even more special, because it was on the storytime schedule as the "Fall Party." So not only was Claire going to see the puppets, but she was also going to dress up in her butterfly costume that her Dobby got her. And I was going to make rice krispy treats out of cereal, almond butter, and agave nectar, so that my allergic child could enjoy them! So we were both excited about Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, 9:40. Storytime starts in 20 minutes. We are both dressed, bags are packed, rice krispy treats are ready to go, butterfly costume is laying by the door. I begin to look for my keys. They are nowhere to be found. With a sinking feeling, I realize that my keys are in the console of the car...which Spencer has driven to work.

Fight or flight kicks in, and my mother instinct says, "NO!!! I will not allow this day to be ruined! Claire will not miss the fall party! I WILL PUT HER IN THE STROLLER AND RUN TO THE LIBRARY!!!"

Then I realize that the jogging stroller is also in the car.

Bummer. But, we still have the old Graco stroller that we got for $10 at a yard sale, the big one that fits a carseat that we don't even have. I run upstairs to change clothes and shoes, pull the big stroller out of the closet, strap Claire in, put the rice krispy treats and the butterfly costume (and the camera) in the bottom, and we are out the door. (I realize that I won't make it by 10:00, but luckily our library has back to back storytimes, one at 10:00 and a repeat at 11:00)

Well, immediately I realize that this is no jogging stroller. And since there is no sidewalk for half the journey to the library, it's going to be a struggle. But, determined, I plow through the grass and the bumpy shoulder of the highway and jog along, five months pregnant and everything.

And then there was the bridge.

For most of the way, the shoulder was pretty decent. And I knew that once I made it into the city, there would be sidewalks for the rest of the way. But there was this one spot, this one little bridge, that really didn't have any room to run on the side. So I waited until no cars were coming, and then decided to sprint across as fast as I could.

You can't sprint with the Graco.

We made it to the other side, but as soon as I pushed the stroller back off the road, one of the front wheels got caught on something, causing the stroller to stop in an instant, and since I was just finishing up my pregnant sprint, the momentum was too great - and yes, I flew right over the stroller and onto the ground, crashing the stroller along with me.

It was at this point that I realized, this was not the smartest idea I've ever had.

Claire was fine, of course, in the monstrous stroller, but she was a little upset about being sideways on the ground. Of course, I immediately jumped up and used my wonder-woman strength to heave the stroller back to an upright position, unbuckled my crying child and held her. I asked her if she wanted to just go back home or go on to the library, and of course she wanted to go to the library.

I was not going to let her down now.

So we finished the trek, and finally arrived at the library all in one piece, for the most part. Well, my knees were bloody and bruised, but I didn't care. We had made it. Claire was going to be a butterfly. And she was going to see the puppets. And, by george, those kids were going to eat my rice krispy treats.

I sat in storytime the entire time, thinking about how I absolutely did not want to make the 4-5 mile trip back home. But we did, and we are still alive to tell about it.

Although, the next day... I. could. not. move.

Meet Averi Kate

2011-10-30T21:15:00.003-04:00

We are thrilled to share the name we have chosen for our second little girl...Averi Kate!

This name is meaningful in a couple of ways. Claire Alyse was named largely after my side of the family - Claire was my middle name, and came from my grandmother on my mom's side. Alyse came from my sister's middle name, Alesa, and that name was formed when Jeni was born to reflect both my dad and brother's middle name ("Al" from Alan) and my mom's name ("esa" from Teresa). So there's a lot of Pickard heritage in Claire's name! Well, this time we were thrilled to go to Spencer's side of the family for our inspiration! Spencer's mom (affectionately known to us now as "Dobby") is named Kay, and her maiden name was Avera. So we went from Kay Avera to Averi Kate! We are so excited that Averi Kate will have such a sweet heritage from such a sweet, precious lady. Mrs. Kay is a wonderful example for our little girls to have in their lives. She is a fun-spirited, compassionate, and loving woman. We love her and are proud to name our second daughter after her!

The second reason we love the name that we have chosen is for the meaning itself. We want our kids to have names that reflect qualities that we pray over them. For example, "Claire Alyse" means "clear, bright, beautiful, and noble." Those are things that we pray for Claire - to have a clear understanding of the truth, to have the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that 1 Peter talks about, to have a noble character to choose right over wrong. Now we can pray Averi Kate's name over our second little girl. Averi means "wise". What better prayer can a parent have for their child than for wisdom? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and we pray that our sweet little girl will come to understand and glory in God from an early age, developing a wise heart from knowing Him. "Kate" means pure. How we long for purity for our daughters! Pure in heart, pure in mind, pure in motives, pure in action. We pray that Averi Kate will understand that purity comes from Christ, that He alone can wash the dirt from our hearts and make us pure, and that she will live a life that reflects the purity that Christ offers to give us by His grace.

Here is a picture of our sweet Averi Kate at 17 1/2 weeks...

And here she is from the outside at 20 weeks...

She is growing daily and becoming more and more active. I can see her kicks from the outside already if I am looking at the right moment. Claire loves her and calls her "A-B-K". Claire is very concerned that Averi Kate needs to put shoes on. I keep telling her that she doesn't need shoes right now because she is in Mommy's tummy, but when she comes out we can certainly put shoes on her. It doesn't matter, because every time Claire sees a little pair of Averi Kate's shoes she grabs them and comes running to me, yelling, "ABK ready?? ABK ready???" I'll say, "Sweetie, Averi Kate doesn't need shoes. Do you know why?" And she replies, "ABK mommy's tummy. Pop! Shoes." I believe she is saying, when Averi Kate pops out then she can wear shoes. I don't know where she got the idea that Averi Kate is going to "pop" out.

Favorite Things Update

2011-10-26T13:50:00.004-04:00

Some of Claire's favorite things these days include...

Books:

Food: Goat Cheese, Soy Yogurt, Broccoli, Cereal

Activities: Playing with her babies (especially "changing their diapers"), checking the mail (we lead an exciting life), going to story-time at the library, playing the "Where's ___?" game (she loves to ask, "Where's Daddy?" At work. "Where's Dobby?" At her house. "Where's Nan?" At her house. "Where's Mommy?" Right here...etc., until she goes through her entire list of family and friends at least twice. It never gets old. To her.), seeing her "fends" (friends)...

Fun stories lately:

Claire really loves reading her Bible. A lot of times that's the first thing she'll want to do when she wakes up, and the other morning was one of those times. I walked into her room just as she was starting to wake up, and the first thing she said was "Jeekuh...Bibuh" "You want me to read you a story from the Bible about Jesus?" "Yeah..." and she grabbed her Bible and handed it to me. So I opened it up to the story of Jesus' first miracle (turning water into wine) and started to read. At the end of the page, the narration goes, "Mary told the servants, 'Do exactly what Jesus tells you to do.'" I asked Claire before we turned the page, "What do you think Jesus is going to tell them to do?" Her excited reply: "Water!!!" It took me a moment, and then I was like, Oh my goodness, she is right! He told them to fill up the jugs with water! It's amazing how much information she is soaking in right now!

Another story: Just now, as I was writing this update, I hear a frantic cry from Claire's room. I run up the stairs to find that she has crawled from her bed to the changing table and can't figure out how to get back down. She is on all fours on top of the table, crying. Poor thing. She is getting adventurous enough to get into trouble. Don't worry, she's sound asleep now. On the bed.

I love me some Claire Shugart!

Fun at the Fair

2011-10-26T13:39:00.016-04:00

About a week and a half ago, we got the chance to take Claire to her very first fair! There is no better fair experience than the GA National Fair, so off we went to visit Perry and to let Claire take it all in. Some of the highlights for her were...

Petting the animals...

Sitting on Papa G's shoulder to watch the pig races!

(Look at this sweet couple!!!)

Riding on her first "roller coasters" :)

Taking a dinner break, of course...

Feeding fish with daddy...

Feeding herself...

And spending time with Dobby!

Of course, what trip to Perry would be complete without a ride on the 4-wheeler with Daddy?

Claire had a great time at the fair and talked about it for days afterward, especially mentioning all the animals that she saw. Can't wait till next year, when we get to take 2 girls to the fair!

Just Life

2011-10-13T08:05:00.010-04:00

Does she look like she's in kindergarten here, or is it just me???

Claire loves her "pack-pack." She feels like a big girl when she has it on her back.

These are some pictures from our learning time. Here she is decorating her word family cards. Claire knows most of the sounds of the alphabet (thanks in large part to LeapFrog's Letter Factory dvd) so I figured, why not start decoding with her? I don't know if she gets it, but it can't hurt.

And here she is doing a counting activity.

Gotta love the "finger-up-the-nose" pictures.

This video is from about a month ago. I think Claire was making up a song about the rain at first, and then she started making her squinty face.

And this is from just the other night, playing ball before bedtime. Sorry for the lack of lighting quality. But you can see the administrative side of Claire as she gives instructions to her daddy :)

Well, hello October...

2011-10-07T13:09:00.007-04:00

Did I ever show you a picture of flat-Nan? No? Oh, well, a while back, we were playing with play-doh and I asked Claire what we should make...her response - "Nan!" "You want to make Nan out of play-doh???" "Yeah!!" So we did.

Anyway, hello October! Where does the time go? We are semi-settled into our new apartment. We desperately miss our dear friends in NC and are anxious to join a church here soon so we can form new friendships with sisters and brothers in Christ. We have been able to make some friends here at our apartment complex, though. There are several other kiddos that live here and they have accepted Claire with ease, always running up to her and telling her hello, and allowing her to think that she knows what she is doing in their games of tag and hide & seek.

Please forgive me, I haven't broken out the camera since well before we moved. It just hasn't been at the forefront of my mind, what with packing, unpacking, and such. But I did get a couple of pictures with my phone this morning of Claire and her cousin Justice playing at the park...

Things do seem to be settling a bit, at least for Claire and myself. Though the upstairs is atrocious still, everything is pretty much unpacked and in place in the living room and kitchen, and that's where we spend most of our time anyway. Claire had, we'll call it "adjustment issues" earlier this week. Either that, or it could be simply that she's quickly approaching 2 years old and this was bound to happen anyway. But she has been a handful, that's for sure, and I realized that my focus really didn't need to be on unpacking and organizing while she was up and active. I thought that adding a little more structure to her day may help matters a bit, so for the last few days we have been doing a concentrated time of learning activities after lunch. We call it "school," and Claire loves it. We do a math activity and a reading activity, and by the time we are done, she is ready to play by herself for a while, freeing me up to do some things around the house.

All that said, I do see more and more of a sinful and rebellious heart in Claire, just the same as is in all of us. Structure helps me manage the temptation for Claire to become bored and unsettled, inevitably displaying more of that natural tendency toward trouble. BUT, structure is not the answer for the heart problem. Whenever Spencer or I discipline Claire, we always strive (though we don't always succeed) to explain to her that none of us can obey all the time. The reason we discipline her is to point her toward Jesus, who always obeyed the Father perfectly, and who through His death and resurrection offers to transfer that perfect obedience to us. Does she get it yet? I'm pretty sure not. But on the other hand, I know that she understands more than I always think she does, and I need the practice in explaining it anyway. Who knew that the "terrible two's" would be such a good theology teacher?

Side note: If anyone is looking for a great book to read concerning parenting, "Give Them Grace" by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson describes a theology of parenting that is far from the moralistic stage that we naturally tend toward. It is all about convincing your kids of the sufficiency of Jesus - not teaching them that obedience makes them a "good boy" or "good girl", but showing them that we are all desperate sinners in desperate need of a wonderful Savior. That's what I want for Claire and for my Baby Girl. Not for them to be like the pharisees who thought they were righteous because they kept the rules...but to be the ones who love much because they are forgiven much.

Drumroll Please...

2011-09-27T13:46:00.003-04:00

Oh, how I wish I had time to upload pictures today, but alas, we are loading up the U-haul in less than 4 short hours and we still have lots of work to do. However, in spite of the busy days, we have news that we just can't wait to share...

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

That's right, Claire is going to have a little sister, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the healthy little girl growing inside of me. Praise God that He knows just what we need, and we are so blessed and privileged to be the parents of 2 sweet daughters. We pray that we can raise them up in the fear and the love of the Lord, and train them to be godly women who love HIM with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. We pray that the Holy Spirit will begin drawing them from an early age (even from the womb!) to see their great need of a loving and holy Savior.

We are so excited to welcome Baby Girl Shugart #2 into our family!

22 Months and 15 Weeks

2011-09-10T19:50:00.007-04:00

Well, I'm not doing a very good job at keeping up with the blogs, am I??? Maybe after we move and get settled I'll get back into a good routine again! For now, my days are filled with packing up boxes, repacking the ones that Claire unpacks, and taking things out of boxes when Claire tries to "help." Just a couple of weeks left here in the place we've come to call "home." We surely will miss this place and these wonderful people, but we are excited about the opportunities that God will give us to grow and to serve when we move.

Anyway, here are some things I would love to remember about Claire at 22 months old...

My favorite new development is her new-found love of singing. She will often sing with me when I am singing, and if I exaggerate the last word of each line she will quickly catch on and sing that particular word with me. She also loves to make up songs, sometimes consisting of nonsense sounds and sometimes made up of words strung together. I could listen to her sing all day long!

We think we figured out her "squint" face. She will often look at us with squinty eyes to make us laugh, and we recently discovered (we think) the reason for this: My eyes disappear when I smile. They always have. I have been told that I smile with my whole face, and my eyes just go all squinty when I'm really happy...Well, if you tell Claire to "smile like Mommy," she'll make her squinty face!!!

Claire's favorite new discovery is Play-doh. Oh, she loves it. And everything she makes is a "snake."

While she loves the kind of bubbles that you blow outside on a summer day, she is terrified of bubbles in the bathtub. I've never seen anything like it. It's slightly hilarious.

Claire loves to read. At about 7:00 each night, she will walk on over to her bookshelf, grab a book, and request to read on the couch. We will read together for at least 30 minutes, sometimes even an hour! I never thought she would get to the point where she would sit still through one book, let alone an hour's worth! But she loves it. And she is also starting to "read" by herself at times. The other day I heard her chattering and peeked in her room. She was sitting in the rocking chair "reading" her Bible. This is what I heard..."blah-blah-blah...Jesus...blah-blah...water...blah-blah...night-night (I could see the picture and it was the story where Jesus was asleep in the boat during the storm!)...blah-blah-blah...tee-tee...poo-poo..." Oh, well, the story was going really well until the end.

Claire continues to adore Ivy. Here she is with Ivy and Ivy's new baby sister...

She is starting to use more and more phrases and short sentences. My favorite is when she wants something really badly but she can't quite remember how to say it, she will default to, "I want me!"

The other night I took Claire to the park to run off some energy before bedtime. She literally ran off some energy. There is a walking track that is 4/10 of a mile long at the rec park, and she seriously ran around the entire track, only stopping once to go down the slide about halfway around the track. At this rate she'll be running a 5k by the time she's four.

New concepts she is learning or at least gaining more understanding: colors (she can identify pink, purple, blue, green, red, and yellow); letters (she can point out pretty much all the letters of the alphabet and also knows what sound most of them make); and numbers...Up until today I thought she didn't really get numbers at all yet because she counts like this: "2...2...2...1...2...1...2...2..." And then today while we were riding in the car I started counting and then stopping suddenly and Claire called out the next number in the sequence...and she did this all the way from 1 to 10!!! So that was pretty exciting. I had no idea she had that good of an understanding of number sequence!

She loves her baby brother or sister. She thinks the baby is in my belly button and sometimes I'll even catch her pulling her shirt up and looking intently at her own belly button, as if a baby might be in there. Sometimes she'll come up and say, "Hey baby!" and tonight she started laughing and then tickling me, saying "Tickle baby!!!"

Speaking of baby, he/she is now 15 weeks! We got to see our little love about a week ago on an ultrasound, and in two weeks we go back to try to determine if the little peanut is a he or a she! Baby was resting comfortably at first, but once the ultrasound started to poke and prod, he/she woke up and put on a show! Kicking, doing flips, sucking thumb...What a little ham! I have actually been able to feel this baby move for about 3 weeks already. I was amazed when I actually felt the first flutters at 12 weeks. What an amazing feeling!

Alright, no promises, but I'll do my best to keep the updates coming!

Charleston

2011-08-23T13:13:00.028-04:00

We were so blessed to be able to get a week of true vacation before all the changes that are coming up in our very near future start to take place! Mrs. Kay (aka "Dobby") invited us to join her for a week in Charleston, SC, and we had a blast!

Claire was a bit apprehensive of the water, but she sure did love the sand!

And of course, she adored spending so much time with Dobby!

We nicknamed Spencer "The Professor." This is what he did, well, pretty much the whole time...

Claire in her sun-hat, chilling in the boat...

The professor did manage to pull himself away from the books a few times!

Taking a snack break...

We were also excited to get to see Spencer's brother some while we were there. Travis lives in Charleston, and one night he took us all out to see the minor league baseball team play...

Here is Claire, cheering for the Riverdogs...

The ocean is one of my favorite parts of creation. I always think about how Scripture tells us that the voice of God is like the sound of many waters. I seem to remember better when I am at the beach, just how vast and beautiful and powerful and breathtaking God really is.

Thank you, Dobby, for a wonderful trip!

Not much has happened here lately...

2011-08-12T07:13:00.020-04:00

No, not much at all. Let's see, just a few things like...Finding out I am pregnant...Spending my first trimester as a "single mom" as Spencer completed his last 6 week clinical in SC...Spencer having shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum...Spencer GRADUATING from PT school...

Nah, not much at all.

It has been hard to keep up with blogging lately. We have had so much going on here, I feel like I haven't even sat down much at all in the last 2 months. And it's been doubly hard with Spencer being gone and then having surgery as soon as he got home, and quadruply hard with the ridiculous "morning" sickness I've had with this little peanut. I was not even the least bit queasy with Claire, but this time I have been sick all day every day! I think it's waning, though; I've been feeling gradually better over the last week and I am starting to be able to eat more like a pregnant lady :)

Here's a bit of old news...Claire took swim lessons this summer, and though it was exhausting to go every evening for 2 weeks, the consistent exposure to the water was well-worth it. Claire now loves to blow bubbles and "swim" in the bathtub every night!

Of course, the major news in our house is that the Coach is done with PT school! Here is Claire on graduation day, so excited that her Daddy gets to be home more now!

And waiting for graduation to start, what else would she do but eat a snack???

I had to put this picture in, so you can see this face. We have a little comedian on our hands. She LOVES to make us laugh, and any time she wants to do so she just has to look at us like this. I don't know where the squinty eyes came from, but she just thinks it's hilarious, and well, we do too. Last night we spent a good 10 minutes at supper laughing because Claire would look down at her food and then slowly lift her head and look at one of us just like this.

I can't even tell you how excited Claire was that Jeni and Ben came to visit. They were awesome. When it was time to fill the auditorium and take our seats, Jen and Ben walked Claire around outside until graduation started so that she wouldn't have to sit any longer than necessary. Claire has talked about "GG and Beh" ever since.

The graduation itself was really well-done. The class has become super close after spending their last 2 years basically living in the Moore Building at WCU, and it was a really sweet time for them to celebrate together. The class voted on 2 awards to give to classmates, and we got a pleasant surprise when Spencer won the Leadership Award. Actually, it wasn't that surprising at all, but it was so encouraging to hear the comments made by classmates about Spencer and know that the Lord has used him to make a difference in his friends' lives.

And here he is, hooded and all graduated and stuff.

The "Spencer Shugart Fan Club."

Claire did awesome during the ceremony, though she didn't quite make it to the end...

Proud wife with her crippled, graduate husband.

Eating. Again.

Some of Spencer's family stayed on through the weekend to visit. Claire certainly enjoyed the company. Yes, I do know how she is dressed in this picture. Don't judge.

We drove up the parkway to Waterock Knob, one of our favorite places to hang out, hike, and just enjoy the view. Ooohhhh my. Is it possible that we are about to move from this place?

I will try to be better now about keeping updates current! Especially with #2 on the way, and life about to get crazier and crazier, I want to be intentional about recording our life together so we don't forget these moments!

If you don't want to watch a toddler dance...

2011-07-24T20:30:00.004-04:00

...then don't watch these videos.

This is Claire's favorite song: "Roll Away Your Stone" by Mumford and Sons. Watch how excited she gets when the drums kick in on the bridge...

And here is what happened when we switched up the tempo and put on a slow song. The girl's got rhythm.

Finally, some "Night-night" shout-outs...

Our Second Little Peanut...

2011-07-15T13:54:00.003-04:00

"Children are a blessing from the Lord; they are a gift from Him...blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them!" Psalm 127:3, 5

Happy Birthday Ivy!

2011-07-05T20:32:00.014-04:00

Saturday was one of Claire's favorite friend's birthday party. "I-tuh", as Claire calls her, (better known as "Ivy" to the rest of us) was so patient with Claire at her party as she helped her draw on the chalkboard...

All of the kids had a blast!

Claire's favorite parts of the party were playing with the balloons...

Digging through her party favors...

And especially playing with the bubbles! Thank you, Mrs. Ellen, for entertaining Claire for a good 10 minutes, at least!

To make the weekend even better, the next day it rained! Oh, how Claire loves the rain!

When it stopped raining, she asked for more! "More ray. Mommy, more ray!" I wish I could make it rain for you, Claire!

And to top off the weekend, what could be better than wearing her fancy headband that Gran got her???

I hope everyone else had as great a weekend as Claire did!

Life These Days

2011-06-30T20:28:00.017-04:00

Here are some glimpses into our life these days...

Claire still loves the rain. She talks to the rain ("Hey rain!") and tells stories about it. She loves to watch it and to play in it. Here she is a year ago, playing in the rain.

And here she is just recently. Some things never change. At least, I hope they won't.

The other day Claire tried to eat an ink pad. Don't worry, she wasn't successful. Well, not completely.

Here she is reading with Gran and "Bopple." Goodness knows that we pray for all our "nans and bopples" every night. And every day. And every meal.

I can tell just by looking at this picture that either the word "little" or "big" was on that particular page. Claire makes the same sign for both. It's pretty funny when she claims that something is "big" and pinches her thumb and finger together for emphasis.

Today Claire found her old bouncy seat. She came and found me and said, "Buckle me. Buckle me." That could be her first complete sentence, I'm not sure. But buckle her I did, and she loved it. Here she is as a baby when she actually fit into the seat...

And here she was today. Little cheeseball.

Soon she realized how silly it was for a big girl like her to be in a baby seat, so she climbed out and proceeded to buckle her baby in. Then she brought all the toys that she thought her baby might want to play with while in the seat.

Apparently this included a small canister from the kitchen.

Claire is fascinated when I put on my makeup...which is kind of a joke since most days I don't make it past a little concealer under my eyes and some blush so I don't look dead. Anyway, I gave her a little makeup bag of her own and included an old stick of concealer. She went to town.

Silly girl.

Finally, Claire is loving her bears these days. She won't get out of the bed without holding as many bears as she can and bringing them to breakfast with her. She won't leave the house without one or two to keep her company in the car. Tonight when I put her to bed she kept asking for more! "More bear. More bear." When I went in to check on her a few minutes ago, this is what I found...

I love my life these days.

Little

2011-06-12T20:07:00.014-04:00

Little is growing up.

She is still as full of life as ever. She gets extremely excited over things like puddles of water, seeing dogs and butterflies, and...well...rocks.

She talks all the time, putting 2 words together into simple phrases ("Mommy bye", "Doggy water", "Daddy truck"). She also retells stories in a very animated manner. It's one of my favorite things, listening to and watching her tell a story. "Claire, can you tell Daddy about the thunder?" Little's hands go flying up in the air, her face brightens and her eyes widen, and she talks with her voice and her hands and her face all at once..."OW!!! (her version of "loud")...followed by excited gibberish and pointing..."Claire, was the thunder loud?" "OW!!!" "Where did we hear the thunder?" "Doh!!! (door)...OW...doh...Daddy OW!!! Mommy OW!!!"

Little is still as busy and active as ever. She runs and dances all the time. She has some serious dance moves. Really, I'm not sure that dancing is her spiritual gift. But she tries, and it is very amusing to watch. She hasn't gotten the "jump" down yet, but she sure is cute when she tries.

Little loves to laugh. She loves to make other people laugh as well. If I ever laugh at something that she says or does, she is delighted and I can be sure that the scene will be repeated at least 10 times before it's all said and done.

Our prayers are becoming longer these days, largely due to Little calling out everyone's name that she knows during the prayer...and trust me, she won't allow the prayer to finish before each person is thoroughly prayed for. No general "bless everyone in our family and all of our friends" prayers for Little.

She calls everyone under the age of four "baby." She still loves the rain. She talks to inanimate objects such as, well, the rain, and all the plants in our vegetable garden. The only way to get her to give me her sippy cup at night before she goes to bed is to say, "Tell your milk night-night." She will wave at her cup and say, "Nigh-nigh meh," and then relinquish it.

She loves to have a task. She helps Daddy change the oil in the car and helps Mommy cook. She wants to be so big.

A friend told me that she could see this picture next to one of Claire walking down the aisle in 20-something years. That would be sweet, if Claire was ever actually going to grow up and get married. But she's not. Because she is going to stay little. Right???

Slow down, Little! You're growing up too fast! Come back!
Every day is a gift with the Little. She is a priceless gift that God in His grace has entrusted the Coach and myself with, to love and enjoy and to nurture and discipline and to teach and disciple. And despite my emotions screaming, "Stay Little!!!", every day my prayer for her is the same..."But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen" (1 Peter 3:18)

Perfectly Average

2011-06-09T21:24:00.023-04:00

Claire had her "18 month checkup" (but really at 19 months!) today. She was, and I quote, "perfectly average." Right on target for all her motor, social, and cognitive benchmarks, and right around 50 percentile for both height (34.25 in) and weight (24 lb 12 oz). Other quotables...The doctor said, "I think she's going to be a climber." Hmmm. Not surprised. What else? Oh, Claire called the doctor "Bopple," which is her word that she uses for all of her grandpas and great-grandpas right now (with the exception of my dad, whose name she still whispers out of reverence.)

Meanwhile, here are some more pictures from Memorial Day weekend with Papa, Nan, and the gang.

Is it just me, or does it look like Papa is teaching Claire how to preach???

This beautiful girl smiled every time she came into a room all weekend. Little ray of sunshine!

Here is how Claire spent the weekend: Reading books with Papa...

Making faces while Papa was reading...

Swimming with Justice and Aunt Jeni...

Playing the drums with Aunt Jeni! This was her favorite activity of all...and she was actually pretty good!

Building a fort with Aunt Jeni...

And just hanging out!!!

And of course, eating... here's some watermelon...

...and corn.

With Uncle Bo.

Look at these precious girls!

And here are a few family pictures. The girls with Aunt Jeni...

I love my sister!!!

And my crazy brother!!!

Blessed beyond measure...

The girls!!!

And the wonderful Nan and Papa!!!

Claire and Justice

2011-06-06T13:32:00.010-04:00

We had the opportunity to visit with my family in GA over Memorial Day weekend, and I have plenty of other pictures to share in a soon-to-come post. But I thought that these 2 little monkeys deserved to have a post all to themselves.

It was so much fun to watch Claire and Justice interact, as they have both grown so much since the last time they saw each other. Claire went from being a little bit wary of Justice the first day, to the last day when Claire was trying to force-feed her a bottle everytime Justice made a peep. In between, they made very good playmates, with Justice following Claire around and Claire getting her younger cousin into plenty of mischief.

Claire was so funny. She has been walking and even running for months now, but she quickly reverted to crawling when she was playing with Justice.

Here is the first of many "secret-sharing" times between the two...

Pool-time!

This is my favorite picture of the two. "Be gentle!" is a phrase that might be the theme of the weekend :)

And here are the girls saying "goodbye"...

Claire has not quit talking about Baby Justice since last week. She randomly comes out with, "Baby, milk!" and "Baby, aaah-aaah" (crying sound) and "Bye Baby!" And the other morning when Spencer asked Claire who she wanted to pray for at breakfast, Claire adamantly pointed to Justice's picture on the fridge and said, "Baby!"

Can't wait to see their friendship develop!

The Toenail

2011-06-01T20:42:00.004-04:00

This is a toenail.

It's a Claire-sized toenail that got stuck in our astro-turf...I mean, carpet. Yes, anyone who saw this would think, "Look at that small toenail in the carpet."

Anyone except for Claire.

Because to Claire, this was no toenail.

It was the moon.

I noticed Claire leaning over the toenail, intensely studying it. Then I heard, "Moon! Moon!"

This continued for 10 minutes, with Claire excitedly telling me that yes, in fact, we had the moon stuck in our carpet.

And this is her face after I gently informed her that, in fact, it was not the moon, but a toenail.

She's thinking, "Right. Next she's going to tell me that Elmo is just a puppet."

Happy Friday

2011-05-27T12:55:00.002-04:00

Completely her idea...

Oh, what a fun morning we had!

Hope your Friday is as good as ours!

Boot Camp

2011-05-18T10:52:00.003-04:00

A Few of Claire's Favorite Things...

2011-05-17T13:03:00.005-04:00

At 18 months, here are a few of Claire's favorite things...

Favorite Books:

Favorite Foods:

Sauteed Mushrooms
Avocado ("cacko")
Black Olives
BREAD ("beh")
Goat Cheese
Almond Butter
Mango ("minim")
Strawberries
Grapes
Pasta

Favorite Activities:

Reading a "bahk" (book)
Doing a "bockle" (puzzle)
Playing with a "bockle" (buckle...what, you can't hear the difference???)
Coloring
Dancing
Eating
Transferring...well, anything...from one container to another

Happy Birthday Coach!

2011-05-06T09:16:00.007-04:00

Last weekend we celebrated Spencer's birthday! We commemorated the event with taco salad, peanut butter cookies, and a round of golf.

This was Claire's first golf experience. She wasn't quite sure what to think at first...

But she soon discovered how much fun she could have on a golf course!

And, though the golf cart was not quite as cool as a four-wheeler, she enjoyed hanging out and eating her mango!

For Spencer's birthday I made him a "magazine" with a compilation of stories, memories, and letters written by family and friends from high school, college, seminary, and PT school. I had the magazine printed and bound at Staples. Here is the cover that I made in Photoshop...

Happy birthday to the best coach/husband/daddy/PT in the world!

Claire-isms

2011-05-05T21:37:00.011-04:00

Claire has two new favorite words. The first is "yeah", which sounds more like "yah". Claire, do you want to go to the park? "Yah." Claire, do you like your snack? "Yah." Claire, do you see that dog in the back of that truck? "Daggy...yah! yah! Daggy!" The other word is "whoah". Claire falls down..."whoah." Claire spills her water... "whoah." Claire is startled by a man-sized burp that could not possibly have come out of mommy..."whoah."

When Claire gives a kiss, she leans her forehead forward and says "mmmm-nah." When she is being disciplined, she immediately starts saying "Naah-naah" (which translated means, "yes ma'am"), as if repeating that over and over will end the conversation early. She even says it when Spencer is disciplining her, which makes it even harder to keep a straight face.

Claire is in love with the moon. Every night when it gets close to bedtime, she starts saying, "Moooo? Moooo?? Daddy, moooo?" She gets so excited about seeing the moon. And the horse that lives in our backyard. Oh my goodness. She calls it a "daggy" (we're working on that) and she just about explodes with excitement whenever she spots it.

My back has been hurting all day...pretty sure I strained a muscle due to not properly warming up before lifting weights the other day (don't worry, I've already shaken a finger at myself.) Anyway, all day I have been letting out random yells when I turn the wrong way or move too quickly or breathe too deeply. So tonight I finally sat down on the couch after supper, and Claire walked right up to me and said, "Mommy...ow." So precious. Oh, and earlier, I was cooking supper and Claire was trying to get my cell phone out of my front pocket. She got it out but promptly dropped right on my bare toe. I let out a yell and automatically flinched, causing more pain, this time from my back, and let out another yell. Claire stared at me and then wordlessly walked into the living room and laid down on the floor. It was so funny. She didn't know what to do, so she just laid down. As soon as I got myself together, I went to make sure she wasn't traumatized. She just sat up and grinned at me, and then went about her business.

Tonight Claire sat right down in her little rocking chair and cuddled her stuffed cat. I said, "Are you going to rock your cat to sleep?" She proceeded to put the cat down and go to her room. She came back with her "Going to Bed Book", sat back down with her cat, and started "reading". It was awesome.

Easter Festivities

2011-04-29T13:26:00.026-04:00

The Easter season is so special because it reminds us of the reason for our hope...the death and resurrection of our Savior. He paid the price for our sins on the cross, absorbing the wrath of God that we earned for ourselves...and then rose victorious to prove that His sacrifice worked! Our Redeemer lives!

We were so excited to spend the week of Easter with Spencer's side of the family. We had a great time seeing family members that we don't get to see very much (such as Spencer's dad and brother) but missed seeing others that were out of town. Claire had loads of fun, of course.

And Hughley enjoyed watching all the fun...

Claire had her first ride on the four-wheeler...and she was hooked. After this, she wanted to ride every chance she got.

Family ride...

And of course, Gran wanted in on the action, too...

Pawpaw, Gran, and Claire...

On Friday night we had an Easter egg hunt for Claire and her cousins, Grayson, Bryson, and Garrison.

Claire caught on very quickly to the idea. She loved opening each egg as she got it to check out the "goods"...blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries! Mmmmm...

The boys were very kind to let Claire "find" the prize egg.

And here is Claire sitting with her cousin Madison, enjoying the banana that was in the prize egg!

Of course, lots of bubbles were involved during this visit...

And some quality "Gran-time"...

Claire finally got a basketball goal just her size. This was like a dream come true. She has showed a love for basketball ever since she could point, and she just had the best time finally making the goals for herself.

Claire had lots of fun with Uncle Travis, playing ball...

...and getting in the kayak!

We were so thankful for the time we got to spend with Spencer's side of the family. On Easter morning we got up and traveled to see my side of the family for a few hours. We didn't get to stay long because both Claire and her cousin Justice were not feeling well by that time, but it was great to see everyone even just for a little while.

Aunt Jeni was so happy to see her nieces, and they were happy to see her too!

Claire just loved seeing "Baby Justice."

Here is Claire giving Baby Justice a kiss...yes, it resembles a head-butt more than a kiss, but trust me, it was given with the best of intentions.

My sweet niece!

Here is our beautiful, ever-expanding family! Due to Nan's request, I will refrain from putting pictures of her on here, but of course we loved seeing Nan and Papa as well. They gave the girls the sweetest books that they recorded themselves reading. What a precious gift!

Welcome Back

2011-04-19T21:36:00.004-04:00

Today - April 19, 2011 - was Spencer's LAST DAY OF CLASS. He took his final final...and tonight, for the first time in two years, he did not study. Now, the road isn't over yet...we still have a few months of clinicals and then the boards exam, but today was a huge day for all of us.

We celebrated by...well, by playing. And not studying.

I am going to be mushy for just a second. So if you are not comfortable with mushy, then tune back in to the next post and I'll be back to normal. But I can't begin to express how proud I am of my husband. For a guy who swore he would never go to school past college, he has now been in graduate school for five years, and he has completed the most vigorous and intense program that I have ever witnessed myself. Not only that, but up to this point he has only had one B the entire time he has been in PT school. (I am saying that now, before he gets his final grades for this semester :)

Besides the academic work, he has remained a man of integrity during these crazy, stressful couple of years. He is a godly husband and a loving father, and Claire and I could never ask for a better leader for our family. He loves Jesus and demonstrates God's love to us.

Have I mentioned that I love Spencer? That I have a slight crush on him? And that I am proud of him? Just checking.

And we are more than thrilled to have him back. We loaned him out to PT school for a couple of years, but we are reclaiming our husband/daddy now, and we couldn't be more excited...

Welcome back, Spencer. And congratulations...we love you!

Could I Get a Little Ham with that Cheese???

2011-04-15T22:18:00.001-04:00

A Day Before 17 Months...

2011-04-06T16:11:00.007-04:00

Spencer and I are now officially "Dadduh" and "Mammy." Mammy? Really???

Every book that is bigger than most of Claire's books is officially a "by-buh" (Bible). Yesterday I was trying to read a few pages of a book when Claire took it out of my hands, shaking her head and assuring me that it was "dadduh by-buh" (Daddy's Bible). In actuality, it was a book called "Jump off the Hormone Swing." Haha.

I can't keep enough food in the house. For my ONE YEAR OLD. I'm not kidding. It takes 30 extra minutes to go anywhere because I have to pack an arsenal of food. This morning we were at the gym for 2 hours, between my fitness class, personal workout, and playtime on the jungle gym. I packed grapes, cheerios, a banana, an orange, and an almond butter sandwich. (Please understand, this was AFTER a bowl full of oat bran for breakfast.) How much was left by the time we got back home? You got it. NOTHING. And she was asking for lunch as soon as we walked in the door. What am I going to do when she weighs more than 24 pounds???

Claire likes to put things on her head.

We Love That Gran!

2011-03-30T15:31:00.013-04:00

Why do we love Gran? Let us count the ways...

1. She will make the long trip to see us, even when she can only stay one night!

2. She takes us to fun places like the park!

3. She loves to see Claire have fun...

...and while Claire is swinging...

...Gran is having some fun of her own!

That's where Daddy gets it from!

4. She makes Claire do silly poses for a picture!

5. She is so helpful!

6. She tries to talk Daddy out of letting Claire hang off the edge of a bank!

We just love that Gran so much!

Life with Claire

2011-03-26T21:40:00.005-04:00

A taste of life with Claire...

The other night she discovered what fun it is to yell into a bottle.

Claire loves to slide, and she wanted her bear to know how much fun it is, too...

This child has got some serious moves.

Pushups with Daddy...

How I Love Your Word...

2011-03-24T22:04:00.003-04:00

Tonight Claire went to bed at 7:45. Pretty normal. She laid down without complaint, accepted her bear, baby, and blanket as usual, and said "Nye-nye." As we sat in the living room, we could hear her talking to herself, or her baby, or her bear, as usual.

1 hour and 20 minutes later, she was still awake. She had been laying in bed talking, tossing, and turning the whole time. No complaining, just a lot of...talking. Finally we couldn't stand it anymore so we went in to see what was going on. She sat up in bed as soon as we opened the door and began signing that she needed a diaper change. So, I changed her (even though she really didn't need one), sat back in the rocking chair, sang to her, prayed with her, and put her back in the crib.

"Baa-baa," she said.

I handed her a bear.

"Baa-baa," she said again.

I handed her a baby.

"Baa-baa," she said more insistently.

I gave her a blanket.

"Baa-baa. Baa-baa. BAA-BAA."

"Oh," I said. "Do you want your bible?"

Yep, she indicated. That's what she wanted. So I got her picture Bible, handed it to her, and left the room.

She was asleep within 2 minutes. (This picture is not posed, I promise.)

I wish I was more like Claire.

Pigtails and T-Ball

2011-03-18T20:46:00.011-04:00

1. Pigtails

The day has finally arrived when I have gathered enough courage to actually "fix" Claire's hair. Okay, this does not actually happen every day...or even a majority of the days. But so far we have braved the storm and done pigtails at least three times.

Then again, you can always just throw a hat on. Like mother, like daughter.

2. T-ball

Today was BEAUTIFUL. We spent all day (minus naptime) outside. When Spencer got home this afternoon, we decided to run (literally - it's only a mile and a half from our house) and get a T-ball set for Claire. It's something we've been talking about doing for some time. Claire has shown a lot of interest in...well...anything having to do with a ball. And today was just so beautiful, we decided it would be the perfect time to try it out.

Let's play ball!

Ready...

Aim...

Fire!!!

Watching her homerun...

T-ball = Success!

Time Change + No Nap =

2011-03-15T14:19:00.001-04:00

Minnumminnumm

2011-03-06T20:08:00.009-05:00

Claire's new word of the week is "minnumminnumm." This can variously mean "cinnamon," "mango," or "flamingo," depending on the context.
Tonight Claire had her first pizza. Be still my heart. Pizza is my FAVORITE food...and now is one of Claire's as well. It was a Mediterranean style pizza...homemade whole wheat crust, fire roasted tomatoes, artichokes, black olives, and fresh basil. She devoured it.

We went to a get-together the other night with several people in Spencer's class. One of the couples has a little girl, Nova, who just turned two. Claire saw Nova jumping and she has been trying to jump ever since. It's hilarious. She just squats down really far (sometimes she goes down so far that she falls over) and then just stands up really quickly. She'll figure it out soon, I'm sure!
We've been sort of informally working on identifying letters of the alphabet. Claire can pretty consistently say and identify both A and B now.

Whenever Spencer randomly falls down in the floor to do push-ups (which happens several times a day at our house, of course) Claire immediately climbs on top of him and straddles his back to add resistance to his workout. We already have ourselves a little personal trainer.
Claire loves to sit on her bouncy ball. Today she tried to sit on one ball and have her baby sit on one beside her.

Mt. Leconte

2011-03-03T22:24:00.036-05:00

Hooray for Spring Break! Even though Spencer spent most of the week studying for midterms next week, it was still so nice to have him home more...and he managed to take one whole day off so that we could go on a great hike!

Spencer, Claire, and I, along with Spencer's classmate Jeremy, made the trek up to the third highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Wednesday. Here are Jeremy, Spencer, and Claire setting out on the trails Wednesday morning.

It was quite cold when we started! Jeremy helped take care of Claire to make sure she was warm and cozy!

This is my favorite nature shot of the day. I love to see flowing water! It reminds me of when Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He had living water, that once she drank it she would never thirst again.

Claire had lots of adventures riding on Daddy's back...

Here I am walking across another bridge...only I am holding onto the rail...and I don't have a baby on my back! If Claire has a sense of adventure, it is probably more from her Daddy than from me!!!

More adventures...Claire was really funny because every time Spencer would start to climb or hang or do something kind of crazy, she would begin to say, "Mama...Mama...Mama..."

Alum Cave Bluff...

Just hangin' out...

Can we say, "Cheese"?

This was a really neat part of the trail where you could see straight out over the mountains...

Though it started out pretty cold that morning, things warmed up quickly as we hiked up the trail. But the closer we got to the top, the colder it became again. Here are some of the first icicles that we saw along the trail. Eventually the trail would turn to complete ice.

Near the top of Mt. Leconte are some cabins and a lodge for people who want to stay overnight during the warmer seasons. We stopped here to eat some lunch before continuing to the peak.

Here is Claire enjoying a sandwich...

And some oranges...

After lunch we made the short hike to the peak itself. It was breathtaking.

As I said earlier, the closer we got to the top, the more ice covered the trail. The stretch from where we ate lunch to the peak was almost completely covered. We found that it was much easier hiking UP this portion than DOWN it! So Spencer decided to take a different approach on the way down...

Claire did so great on the hike. She soaked it in and enjoyed being outside for over six hours. When she got tired, she didn't complain...she just went to sleep! Here she is, sacked out on Spencer's back. An eleven mile hike will do that to a girl :)

In other news, Claire had her checkup yesterday. At 16 months, she is 32 inches long and weighs 22 lbs 8 oz. We are so thankful for our fun, sweet, nature-loving, energetic, healthy little girl!

Ivy and Swimming

2011-03-01T08:03:00.009-05:00

The other day our good friend Ivy came over to stay with us for the afternoon. Ivy and Claire just adore one another and had a great time together.

Here is Ivy "rocking" Claire in the rocking chair...

We love Ivy!

And Claire also adores Ivy's mom! Amanda has a way of getting this little ball of energy to actually sit and cuddle!

This weekend we went to an indoor pool in a neighboring town to see if Claire still likes to "swim"...it's been a while since she's been in a pool! Here she is looking at the water and thinking, "Are you serious?"

Daddy coaxing her into the water...

Still not too sure...

Okay, so the pool was not a big success at first...

BUT, as soon as we took her out of the little "kiddie" pool and put her in her float in the big lap pool, she was totally content...and stayed in there for nearly an hour!

Dancing Queen

2011-02-27T20:32:00.002-05:00

Claire has actually gotten much better at strumming since I took this video...

A Day with Good Friends

2011-02-23T20:17:00.018-05:00

We had an extra special treat this weekend when some of our good friends from seminary came to visit! Steve, Beth, and their precious little boy Caleb were vacationing nearby and took the time to visit with us on Saturday afternoon. It was so good to catch up with them and to meet their precious son!

Look at this little heart-breaker!

Claire loved her new friend immediately...

This is what happened when we told Claire to say hello to Caleb...the gentle head-bump...

Claire and Caleb chatted like old friends...

They played in the tunnel...

Enjoyed the swings...

And had fun on the slide!

I'm so grateful to the Lord for good friends. No matter how much time passes between when we see each other, it is always encouraging to see our brothers and sisters in Christ, and it feels like no time has passed at all! What a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ! We love you Steve, Beth, and Caleb!

Bible Time

2011-02-20T21:55:00.001-05:00

Just a picture to start your week off right...

Claire and Daddy enjoying some time in the Word. May we all enjoy time in the Word this week!

Biltmore

2011-02-13T20:36:00.019-05:00

Well, it seems like we just have one great weekend after another these days. This time Gran got to come visit for a couple of days! She got here on Friday and immediately sent Spencer and myself out on a date! Yay! We don't get out by ourselves very often at all, so it was great to spend time together out to eat for a Valentine's treat. The next day we woke up, got ready, and went on a field trip to the Biltmore Estate. I had never been there before, and I loved it. It was beautiful and so full of history. A sweet friend from church had given us two free tickets, and Spencer wheeled and dealed to get a third ticket for only $19.00!

Here is Gran with our little Valentine, getting ready to explore the estate!

Claire's first view of the Biltmore House...

It's amazing to think about the fact that this was actually someone's home! I'd hate to have to keep this one clean!

Miss Independent...

We enjoyed a tour of the house that lasted for two hours! Claire did great, riding on Daddy's back in the pack. Here we are after the tour, enjoying a banana break. Claire does not know how to take ladylike bites of food!

Exploring the shopping/food center...

Family pictures...

Please take note of the ginormous gloves Claire is wearing in the next few pictures.

Claire did so great! It was a long day, but she seemed to enjoy the sights and sounds. I kept her satisfied with a steady supply of snacks throughout the day, and of course, I'm sure it helped to have Gran along for the trip!

Lovin' on Gran...

And finally, a picture with my Valentine...

A Wonderful Saturday

2011-02-05T20:41:00.029-05:00

What a wonderful Saturday we had! But before we get to Saturday, here's a cuddle-time picture with Daddy from Friday...

This morning our good friend Amanda hosted a Valentine Party for moms and daughters at her house. Here's Claire with "Mrs. Mando"...

The girls dressed up in their Princess dresses and got to hear a story about the greatest love that was shown when Jesus died for us...

They got to eat Valentine muffins...

...and make Valentines for their daddies!

Here is the Valentine we made for Spencer. I had to get a picture of it before Claire proceeded to tear it into pieces :)

Then this afternoon we took a little hike to enjoy the semi-warm weather. When we got to the trail, we spent a few minutes playing ball before we started our hike...

Here is Spencer trying to figure out...

...how to get over this!!!

Water break!

Before we got back to the car, we let Claire get down and explore a little. She loved exploring...

...but hated having her gloves dirty!

Mommy/Daughter Valentine Party + Family Hike = A Perfect Saturday!

Back in the Mountains

2011-01-30T18:49:00.016-05:00

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...

2011-01-17T20:27:00.009-05:00

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

2011-01-11T15:04:00.003-05:00

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...

2011-01-08T20:55:00.015-05:00

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

2011-01-05T09:37:00.011-05:00

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...

Christmas Catch-up

2010-12-31T13:45:00.019-05:00

With so much catching up to do, I think I'll start with some "Claire-facts." I love that I'll be able to look back on this blog and remember Claire at every stage. Right now, at the "almost-fourteen-month-old-stage," here are some things I don't want to forget...

Over the past month or so, it seems that Claire's understanding and ability to communicate have increased every day. Somewhere along the line, she started to understand and respond to things such as, "Can you go get your shoe, please?" "Where is your book?" "Are you ready to eat?" All right, maybe she has been responding to that last one for quite a while now. But not only is she understanding more and more, she is also really starting to communicate back with us. The simple sign language that we have been doing with her for months suddenly seemed to click around 13 months old. With her hands she now says "eat" (of course), "more," "drink," "please," "thank you," "banana," "dog," "fish," "I love you," and "all done." Some of her verbal language includes banana ("ba-ba"), baby ("bweh-beh"), ball ("ba"), dog ("duh"), mama, dada, hey, and bye ("die" - possibly my favorite :) If there is something that Claire wants or needs, between her words and her body language she is pretty capable of letting us know what it is.
She remains a very good eater. Although she is beginning to have some *relatively* picky days, all in all she still devours whatever we put in front of her and continues to ask for more. Some of her recent new diet staples include almond butter, soy milk, and turnip greens. We did find out that she is allergic to cow's milk, eggs, and peanuts, as well as dust. I am hoping that she will outgrow at least the food allergies very soon!
One of her favorite games right now is the hiding game. I'll hide one of her stuffed animals in one room, and as soon as I ask her where it is ("Where's Elmo????") she will grin and take off to go find it. This game can go on indefinitely.
She has her quirks. Recently she has been falling flat on the floor a lot, for a couple of different reasons depending on the context. Either she is just tired so she falls down and lays there for about three seconds to recharge, or she is throwing her version of a tantrum. This consists of falling down, rolling over onto her back, and just looking at me...at which point I usually burst out laughing. I'm not sure how she feels about that.

Now on to Christmas! I'll start with our time with Spencer's side of the family. We left town a week before Christmas to head down to a dear friend's wedding, in which Spencer was a groomsman. This is important because it was the first time that we have ever left Claire overnight!!! She got to spend some quality time with her Gran and Pawpaw while we went to Scotty and Jadison's wedding. She did great, of course, and we did pretty good too, if I do say so myself!

The wedding was beautiful, and when we got back we had a few days full of fun with Gran, Pawpaw, and the gang. Here we are riding in the golf cart...

...and enjoying a nice walk with Gran...

Claire had a lot of fun seeing some people that she doesn't get to see very much, like her cousin Hudson...

And her Uncle Travis!

Here she is helping Uncle Travis open his gifts.

And here is a shot of our time with Gran, Pawpaw, Nanny Faye, Papa, and Uncle Travis.

She absolutely adored the piano that Uncle Travis got her!

Christmas Part 2 - Coming soon!!!

The Littlest Christmas Angel

2010-12-15T20:29:00.004-05:00

We had our children's Christmas play at church tonight. Claire was the "littlest" angel.

Here she is not the happiest angel.

Here she is playing on set before the play started.

And here she is doing what she did best. Being the star of the show, even when she wasn't supposed to be.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2010-12-12T21:45:00.007-05:00

We woke up this morning to...

SNOW!!!

One year ago this week, Claire experienced her first snow...

A lot has changed since then!

Activities of the Day

2010-12-09T19:44:00.004-05:00

Here are a few of Claire's favorite activities these days...

Coloring. Is a thirteen month old supposed to be able to hold a crayon correctly? I don't know, but ours does. And I am now finding beautiful works of art....everywhere.
Reading books. Or at least reading the first page of books. If Claire is upset about most anything, I can say to her, "Go get a book and bring it to me." She will light up, toddle over to her bookshelf, pick up a book, and come sit in my lap. After we get through the first page, she usually starts turning the pages very quickly and then moves on to her next activity. But at least she is developing a love for books!
Carrying stuff. Kind of random, I know. But she just loves to accumulate things in her arms and walk around the house with them. The other day I was in the bathroom getting ready and everytime Claire walked by the door she had something else in her arms. A pair of pajamas, a book, a shoe, a cup...the pile just kept getting bigger until I couldn't see her face anymore.
Riding in her new carseat, which is now front-facing.
Playing "Where's Claire? There She Is."

Tender Heart

2010-12-04T19:10:00.003-05:00

When we were home for Thanksgiving, Claire did not like it whenever her little cousin Justice would start to cry. A couple of weeks before that, I had already noticed this trend. Claire and I were watching home videos together, and when we got to one that had baby Claire crying, toddler Claire started crying as well! A sign for the future? Do we have a tender-hearted little girl on our hands?

Thanksgiving, Part 2

2010-12-02T13:33:00.020-05:00

Time for the second half!! After Thanksgiving with Spencer's side of the family, we headed to the Pickard house! It was wonderful to have everyone together under the same roof, even just for a night or two! Claire was excited to see her cousin...

Sweet Justice has changed so much since we last saw her! She has developed a little personality all her own, and she loves to laugh at anyone who will talk to her!

Claire had fun playing basketball...

and football!

She loved playing and reading with Aunt Jeni...

No, silly, the pants don't go on your head!!!

Here is Claire after a full day of fun. Spencer, Claire, and I went for a walk with my Dad and when we got back, we found that Claire had fallen fast asleep...

Jared challenged Spencer to a tripod contest. Spencer took him up on the challenge...

and won!

Jared, Bonnie, and Justice...

Aunt Jeni and her two nieces!

All the "Pickard kids"...

The proud grandparents!

I truly count it as one of the greatest blessings in my life to have such a wonderful, fun, loving, and Christ-centered family!

"From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children..."

Psalm 103:17