Playing Catch Up

It's been a busy summer for us, so I haven't had a lot of time to blog. So this post will be a brief catch up and then hopefully, with the start of school quickly approaching, I'll get back on track with regular blogs. So here we go!

I turned 3! I had a Thomas the Train-themed party and it was a lot of fun.
Mommy took us to visit Nanny and Happy. We swam in Grammie and Papa's pool and shot off fireworks.


We finally got our backyard fixed. I can't find any "before" pictures, but let me assure you that it wasn't pretty. An ugly dogpen, a ditch/stream running through the middle of the yard, and lots of concrete. Now we have a nice flat yard and a swingset. I like to tell people, "My dad built that."
Mommy and Daddy took me to see a demolition derby. I liked it, but I don't think Mommy wants to go back.
We watched the Independence Day parade downtown. I came home with lots of candy, a beach ball, a flag, and some necklaces that daddy doesn't like for me to wear. Later that night we went to MawMaw and Papa Funke's building and watched fireworks from there. I got to do my first sparkler, much to Mommy's dismay.
My Aunt Debbie and Cousin Laura came to visit from Montana and...um...well, where ever Laura is living now. :) We swam and had such a good time.
I spent a week at VBS. Mommy forgot to take any photos of me at my first VBS ever. She was busy helping with games, so I guess it's okay. Here's one of me and my friends Olivia and Addison at the beginning of the last day.
Aunt Allison and Uncle Jody came to visit for a few days. We celebrated Grandma's birthday at MoMo and Papa's house.

And that pretty much catches us up. August is less busy, but I am starting preschool on the 28th, so I may be busy getting ready for that. Hope you're having a great summer!

Claire's First Cards Game

Last month (yes, I know I'm behind again) Mommy and Daddy took us to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play. This year I've become very interested in baseball. I want to watch it on tv and listen to it on the radio when I'm going to sleep. I've even declared that Skip Schumaker is my favorite player. So, we met some friends at the game and made a whole weekend out of it. Mommy was proud because I (unlike Claire) sat nicely through the whole game.
And they gave away free hats at the game! I kinda took over Mommy's hat and have been wearing it ever since.

Claire's 1st Birthday

This is Claire. Saturday we celebrated my very first birthday. We had a lot of family over for lunch and cake and ice cream. Mommy decorated in a cupcake theme, so we served cupcakes along with a regular cake. I had my very own little cake that the bakery decorated to look just like a little cupcake.


But I really didn't want to have anything to do with the cake.



I got lots of new clothes and toys, too. I got a tea set, baby stroller, and a little horse to ride on. Jack really liked my tea set.



Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday wishes and cards. I had a wonderful first birthday!

Ridin' the Rails

The first weekend in May, Mommy and Daddy took us over to Jackson and I got to ride on a real train! It was the Iron Mountain Railway. I really didn't want to at first, but once we got on and got going, I loved it. I wish I could say the same for Claire. Daddy had to walk her around most of the trip because Mommy had a hard time standing up when the train was moving. Daddy got me a train whistle in the gift shop and I even used the potty on the train. I can't wait until my next train ride!

Catching Up

It's been way too long since my last blog, but we've been living a busy life. Here's a run-down:

Claire ate two of my crayons (the orange and brown if you can't tell). Mommy says we're lucky crayons are "non-toxic" and "washable."
Palm Sunday came and went.
I went to a birthday party for my friend Evan. We had lots of fun together and Claire had her first cake and ice cream.
Grammie and Papa came to visit and brought me a little desk. I love it!
I learned to hunt Easter eggs.
I learned to color Easter eggs.

Claire turned 11 months old and Daddy lowered her crib mattress since she can now pull up onto her knees.
Claire had her first Easter. We were busy all day with family dinners and egg hunts.
We took a field trip to the Bootheel Youth Museum with our playgroup. They had a special presentation of Australian animals. We saw lizards, birds, snakes, and even a baby kangaroo!
I went to Nana and Happy's house and got a new haircut. I didn't like it very much. Mommy would spike it up and I'd smooth it down. I kept telling her I was having a "bad hair day" but she wouldn't listen.
I watched a few movies and ate some popcorn.
I ate my first corn (on the cob, that is).

Claire's Antics

Claire turned 10-months-old this month and she's getting pretty active. She scoots around everywhere on her bottom and likes to explore the whole house now. She's pretty fond of the computer, too.

She also likes to play with my toys.
And her new favorite thing--being outside! Now that it's warming up, we've been able to take walks and play on the back patio (I hesitate to call it a "backyard" at this point, but hopefully there will be a future blog about that this summer). Daddy brought out my swing and cleaned it up. I let her use it, but I really wanted to be the first one in. She really liked it.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

Last week I was playing in the snow and this week I learned how to fly a kite. Daddy and I went to the park to play and when we came home, Mommy brought out my Elmo kite and we all went outside. It was really windy and it flew really high. It had a long, green tail that I thought was pretty neat. Claire really liked being outside, too.

Snow Time!

We had another snow this past weekend. No ice, just snow. Daddy tried to take me out to play in it Saturday, but I really didn't want to. It was still snowing pretty hard and it kept getting on my face and I didn't like that. On our way home from church Sunday morning, we saw one of our neighbors making a snowman. I thought that looked like fun, so I convinced Daddy to take me back outside and help me build one of my own. Here I am watching Daddy do the hard part: Photo op with carrot nose in hand: Putting the eyes on (they were vanilla wafers): Me and my snowman:
Later that day, it was sunny and a bit warmer and the snowman fell over.

Be Mine

We had a really fun Valentine's Day. I got Valentine's from all of my playgroup pals and Mommy and Daddy gave us new books. And we got lots and lots of cards from all of our grandmas and grandpas. We're so loved! That night, Mommy and Daddy went to a dinner at church. Claire and I got to stay with some really fun babysitters and lots of other kids. I played "Duck Duck Goose" for the first time and got to draw on the chalkboards. Mommy dressed us up in special Valentine outfits, but I didn't feel like cooperating for a picture with Claire. I did, however, strip down to my diaper, put on my fireman hat, and ham it up later on.