Doggie Dash-N-Splash

Saturday we took Sophie to the 2nd annual Doggie Dash-N-Splash. We went last year as well and she had so much fun swimming and hanging out with the other dogs. This year was no different! The one thing that was different this year was the number of people and dogs! There were HUNDREDS of dogs this year. I think since last year was the first year not a lot of people knew about it. This year they had a ton of media publicity and boy did the dog lovers come out! We took Claire and of course she just loved seeing all the doggies! She got so many doggie kisses! All of us took a bath/shower when we got home!! The only VERY sad part of the day was we saw a beautiful Golden Retriever die. When we came in they were doing CPR on him. A vet was there and even gave him medications, but the vet said he had a heart attack and just couldn't save him. It was horrible to witness and I, of course, was in tears. I can only imagine how his mommy was feeling. They are our babies... part of the family and it's such a huge loss when they leave us. She is definitely in my prayers.
Despite the horrific event, we had fun! It was good for Sophie to get out and socialize with other dogs!

Sophie hanging out in the baby pool with some other Greyhounds!

Sophie swimming in the deep end! She wasn't so sure about the that! She liked the baby pool much better!

Graduation Sunday

Well, today my baby "graduated" from the church nursery to the toddler class. The requirements are they have to be a least a year old and a good walker. Claire fit the requirements so we decided to take the leap! I knew she was ready because when I worked in the nursery I felt like Claire was too big to be around some of the smaller babies and I also felt like she was getting a little bored.
When I went to pick her up from her first Sunday in the Toddler room her teacher, Miss Amy, said she did great. She sat at the table for story time and snack time. Miss Amy said she would let her try coloring next week. She didn't want to overwhelm her on her first day! Claire was playing with all the kids when I went to pick her up and appeared to be having a great time! I still can't believe she is old enough to be out of the nursery! Wow... she really is a BIG girl!!

Claire with Miss Amy!

Claire leaving her new Sunday school room!

I'm a BIG girl now!!

Rice Krispy MESS!

Today while I was putting away groceries, Claire was taking boxes in & out of our pantry. She was quiet and content so I let her play. I ran a couple toiletry items into the other room and when I came back 15 seconds later, I found Claire on the kitchen floor with a box of Rice Krispies. She was literally stuffing them by the handful into her mouth. Needless to say, they were EVERYWHERE! I had to run and get my camera because it was so funny. The even funnier part of the story is when I got the vacuum out to assist in the cleaning process, Claire went to get her toy vacuum that she got as a birthday gift (thank you Avery!!) and started vacuuming with me. She was so proud of herself that she was helping me. She even at one point stopped, put down the vacuum and began clapping for herself! It was hysterical. I didn't even know she had ever made the association between a real vacuum and her little toy one! They really are smarter than we think!! Anyway, that was too cute of a story not to share!! I love this little girl!

Let me get my arm as deep into the box so I can get as many Rice Krispies out as possible!!

This is definitely a big handful!

I'll eat some...

...and throw the rest on the floor. Maybe Sophie will want some???

Did I do that???

Helping Mommy clean up my mess!!

My Pal Landon

Yesterday Landon and his Mommy dropped by to give Claire her birthday gift. Landon was the ring bearer in his uncles wedding the day of Claire's party so he wasn't able to make it. It was so cute when Claire saw Landon she ran over to him and gave him a big hug. It was the cutest thing and Deanna and I both wished we had our cameras to capture the moment! They play very well together and are both just adorable! Thanks so much Deanna & Landon for visiting and for the great birthday gifts!!

Ignore the HUGE toy mess in my living room.... our house is now a playground!

THIRTY... is it Possible???

Sunday I turned THIRTY! It's hard to believe that I am entering the 4th decade of my life! It's amazing how quickly your "adult" years go by in comparison to your youth. The last ten years have absolutely flown by, and now that I am a mother it seems like we are in warped speed. I am so thankful for thirty years of health and love. I was born into a loving, christian home with wonderful parents and "usually" wonderful siblings! I was taken to church at least two times a week and given a christian schooling from pre-school on. I am so thankful for a strong, christian heritage on my mom and dad's side of the family. I am very fortunate to have that kind of support as the foundation for a great 30 years! I am also blessed with meeting my wonderful husband at such a young age and being able to grow up with him and start a family! I couldn't ask for a more loving man and he is an awesome daddy! Thanks also to Ben's family for accepting me as part of the clan! I really am so thankful for Ben's family, too! Of course being a mother has been the ultimate prize in life. I love motherhood and everything that title brings. Claire is such a gift to us and I can't imagine my life without her! I also can't wait to meet this little life growing inside me. I love him/her so much already!! I feel like I am giving an acceptance speech at the Oscar's, but I just want everyone to know how thankful I am for 3 terrific decades on this earth. I know I truly owe my happiness to the Lord. He has blessed my family more than we deserve. Without Christ in our lives this earthly existence would be pointless. He gives us our true hope!

Claire loved playing with my birthday balloons!

The best gift was cuddle time with Claire... it is rare!

Our UNCOOPERATIVE Baby!!

Today I had my 20 week ultrasound and check up. We were so excited to find out if this little baby is a boy or a girl, but our baby is very modest and wants to keep his/her gender a secret! The baby was very active during the ultrasound, but just not in the right way for a good view. I was in there 25 minutes with no luck. The tech said if she had to guess that she would say it's a girl, but she could only give us a 50-60% chance of female. The most important news, however, is that the baby is perfect structurally and the growth is right on for my gestation. The sex of the baby is really inconsequential. It would have been nice to know though! The tech said when I come back in 4 weeks for my doctor visit that she would do a quick scan to see if the baby is in a better position to determine the gender. Let's hope!! :-)

Bible Story Time

While at the fair, Claire was able to go to the child evangelism booth and have a Bible story read to her. She was the only child there at the time and gave the lady her undivided attention. I can't believe she sat still for the whole story and Grammy said she was very interested. I think the pictures definitely show how enthralled she was in the presentation! It just warms my heart that even at such a young age she is so interested in God's word. Our deepest prayer for Claire is that she comes to know the Lord as her personal Savior!

Fun at the Fair!

Last weekend when Ben & I went to Leah's wedding, Grammy & Grandpa babysat Claire. That evening they took her to a county fair and snapped some really cute pictures! As you can see from the pics, Claire had a great time. I was shocked that the pictures made her look like such a big girl. She is definitely not a baby anymore!

Grammy & Grandpa at the fair with Claire!

Grammy said Claire wouldn't let go of "her tickets", even when she was suppose to hand them over to the ride attendant!! They just let her keep them!!!

Claire loves drinking from straws and her new favorite is drinking juice boxes!

"This is FUN!!"

"Those are some BIG doggies!!"

Aren't these pictures of Claire in the car adorable!

ONE Year Pictures

In July we had Claire's one year professional pictures taken by Shante Welch. She was recommended by several of my friends and I loved their pictures, so I thought we would give her a try! Well, I am so glad I did! I am very happy with the pictures! If you are interested in viewing the pictures and slideshow click on this link...

http://www.shantewelch.com/claire/index.html

The slideshow is set to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. When Claire was about one week old, Ben made a slideshow of her birth and set it to this music, so it only seems appropriate that her one year pictures have the same song! Every time I hear it, it makes me teary because I think of Claire as a little, tiny newborn! I can't believe she is already a year old! My baby is getting big!

Congratulations Leah & Jason!

My friend, Leah, got married last Saturday during a beautiful wedding at the Dayton Art Institute. Leah and I went to school together at Dayton Christian for years and then she got a job in the NICU in 2003 and I actually trained her when she started ( a little scary!!). Anyway, I am so happy for Leah & Jason and pray they have a wonderful marriage. They will be spending about 2 years in Egypt due to Jason's job assignment. Pray for their protection oversees! Leah also just completed schooling to be a Certified Nurse Practitioner.

Congratulations Leah & Jason!

Leah looked radiant! Don't they make a beautiful couple? I see some very cute kids in the future!

Nuna's Work Adventure

Last Monday Aunt Heather, cousin Caroline, Mommy and I went to Nuna's work at the hospital to visit her. Her co-workers had a birthday party for her so we thought it would be a good time for Nuna to show me and Caroline off to her friends! Everybody loved us and told us how cute we were. We got so much attention while we were at the hospital. I really loved walking all by myself down those long, wide hallways. Occasionally I'd stop to explore some of the interesting medical equipment, but I was on the move the whole time and didn't want anyone to pick me up or try and hold my hand. I am a big girl now and I can walk on my own, I don't need anybody to help me.

We had so much fun! Happy Birthday Nuna... I love you!

Nuna with her girls!

Caroline, I have a secret to tell you...

Oh... that is so funny Claire. I promise not to tell our Mommies!

This is a big bed... and it has wheels??

Well, enough of that. I have places to go and people to see!

Summer Birthday Celebration

Last week we went to my mom's house to celebrate all the adult summer birthday's in my family. We have quite a few birthday's in our family in the summer months so it's easier just to get together once. We celebrated my birthday, my mom & dad and my brother Scott's. Somehow I managed to only get pictures of the kids though... they are a lot cuter!

Claire & Caroline are always touching now when they are together. It is so cute to watch them play and interact! The other day they both squealed when they saw each other... how cute is that?

The last cousin picture before Shawn, Kristen & the kids moved to Illinois :-(

A cute picture of the girl cousins. Lauren & Jillian love their baby cousins!

One of the funniest things that happened was, Claire is in a stage where she loves to crawl behind furniture and she found a good spot at my mom's house behind a table in the corner, so she crawled back there and almost immediately Caroline followed her back to play! It was so cute... they were there for a long time just playing and exploring! We all said these two girls are definitely going to get each other in trouble in the future!

Don't they just look mischievous???