Possum Creek

A couple weeks ago Grammy & Grandpa took Claire to Possum Creek Metro Park. Claire was able to get up close & personal with the farm animals. Claire loves animals so this is the perfect field trip for her! She talked about the animals and the different sounds they made for days after their adventure!

Such a cute picture of Claire looking up at Grammy as they were feeding the goats!

Intently watching the animals!

I still can't believe how close Claire was able to get to the turkey's.

More turkey's... Claire was going around the house hunched over saying "gobble, gobble" for sometime after seeing the turkey's! It was quite a sight!!

Claire had the awesome opportunity to feed a lamb (or "baby sheep" according to Claire!!). Whenever I was feeding Anna, Claire would tell me all about giving the baby sheep a bottle of milk! She was very proud of herself!

Two Little Lambs!

Papa and Claire looking at the pigs!

Claire loved driving the tractor with Papa!

After going to the farm, Grammy & Papa took Claire to get a special treat! Grammy thought it would be cute to give her a cupcake because she had a cupcake on her dress!

6 Month Quilt Pictures

On June 21st, Anna turned 6 MONTHS OLD! Wow... I really can't believe she is a half year old now. I thought the time went by quickly with Claire, but I'm telling you... my time with Anna has flown by. I know it's because I am busy with two children under the age of two. Life is like a whirlwind sometimes, but I wouldn't want it any other way!! I remember crying when I was early in my pregnancy with Anna, not because I was upset about having another baby, but that I was having two so closely together. I know now that this is God's perfect plan for our lives. The distance in age between Anna & Claire is great. There has never been any jealousy or meanness on Claire's part. She adores her baby sister and Anna lights up when she sees Claire. Now, I'm not going to pretend that life is easy or that I always get a ton of sleep, but my life is so rewarding. Claire tells me now that she loves me and she thanks me for everything I do for her. Anna gives me the sweetest smiles and giggles. Most importantly, I have a great, supportive husband who absolutely loves his family. I am truly blessed!
Anna has her 6 month well check next week so I will update you then on her progress!

I love, love, love this sweet girl!

This picture is a great depiction of Anna. She really is such a joyful, smiley girl!

Grammy's friend and neighbor, Carolyn, got Anna these adorable personalized shoes. One shoe has her name and the other has her birthdate! She also got Claire a pair when she was born. I love personalized stuff! Thanks Carolyn!

As I'm sure you can tell by the pictures... Anna really likes putting her hand/fingers in her mouth! She has done this since she was a newborn.

Anna sits up well now! The only time she falls over is when she gets excited!!

Grammy got Anna a "Sophie the Giraffe" when she was born. Sophie has been both of my girls favorite toy! I highly recommend this to anyone who has a teething child. This is about the best toy to sooth aching gums and is one of the all-time best selling toys ever. It definitely gets this mother's seal of approval! We don't go anywhere without it!

Half Birthday

Grammy bought a "half birthday" cake for Anna a couple weeks ago! The poor girl was cursed with a Christmastime birthday!!! Anyway... thanks for the cake Grammy! I think Claire enjoyed it more than anyone. She loved picking off the icing and blowing out the candle. She's getting some practice for her own birthday in a couple weeks!

Visit with Phil

Last week Ben's best friend, Phil, was in town from Seattle. He hadn't seen Anna since she was a newborn at Christmas. It was a nice visit and Ben was able to hang out with Phil and play golf several times! We hope to see you again SOON!!!

I took these pictures late at night when Claire was asleep and Anna should have been asleep! You can tell how cuddly she was with Phil! Claire was a little hesitant when she saw Phil initially, but warmed up quickly when he gave her a piece of his Marion's pizza! If you know Claire... the fastest way to her heart is through her tummy!

First Time in the Nursery

A couple weeks ago we decided it was time for Anna to go to the nursery at church. Both Claire & Anna were right around 6 months when they HAD to go. They got to the age where they were becoming very verbal and becoming a distraction to those around us. To keep from being a disruption I was having to leave the service with her, which means I don't get anything out of church. This is when we know it's time! Anna did great and when I went to pick her up she was asleep in the swing!

Sound asleep!!

Anna must've heard my voice because she woke up within minutes of getting to the nursery to pick her up!

"Hi Mamma... where were you?"

To the POOL!

One evening last week Ben & I took the girls to the pool. We go to the pool for swim lessons, but we wanted to take them just for fun. It was a really nice night and there weren't very many people there which made it even nicer! It's a super neat pool with slides and waterfalls and wading areas. We had a great time and both girls seemed to really enjoy the water!

Bottle Feeding

Recently I allowed Claire to feed Anna. Not just hold the bottle for me, but actually hold her and feed her! I was right there in an event Claire decided she was done, and when she's done there in no warning. She just pushes Anna away and tries to get down. I was surprised when I had to force Claire to let me finish the feeding. Claire was giving Anna lots of air. She doesn't quite get the concept of tilting the bottle up yet!! Claire is going to be a very good mommy one day!

You could tell Anna was confused with Claire feeding her. She was very distracted by that fact and stopped eating to look at Claire and laugh. Claire got a little frustrated by this and told Anna several times to "eat baby Anna".

This is very serious business.

"Claire... you are doing a very good job feeding me!"

"I know Anna, I'm a BIG girl!"

LOVE my Cousin!

Claire absolutely LOVES her cousin Caroline. She talks about her all the time and when they are together they are like glue... always with one another. It really is so sweet to witness their obvious bond. Claire loves kids in general, but there is definitely a different connection with Caroline! They love to play and so many times when they are together they'll hold hands... totally spontaneous, never because we ask them. They sure do love each other and I can't wait to see their relationship continue to grow and blossom! I know they will not only be cousins, but lifelong friends!

Sooooooo sweet!!!

CRUNCH!!!

I am a little late posting this... Deanna & Heather have had this blogged for a while! Anyway, we took the kids to Boonshoft (one of our favorite places) to see the special exhibit of Crunch, the oldest Alligator Snapping Turtle. He is 150-200 years old and weighs 165 lbs. On average, these turtles gain about 1 pound a year, which is how they approximate his age. It was so neat to see such an old creature. I think the Mommies were more intrigued with Crunch than the kids. He wasn't a very lively animal, but my goodness... he's like 200 years old!!!

And here's CRUNCH!!

Wow... so impressive. Definitely not the prettiest creature alive, but fascinating nonetheless!

Claire was more interested in this little box turtle than Crunch!!

The turtle in this picture is a 9 years old Alligator Snapping Turtle and about 9 pounds. His name is Crumb!

The girls loved playing with the bunnies! They were very sweet!!!

Going down the slide!

"Pretending" to eat the fake fruit. When I told Claire not to put the play food in her mouth she said, "I pretending Mommy" ... okay????

Having fun digging for fossils!

Recently, Claire is really into coloring. I was surprised though she took the time to stop and color a dinosaur.

Landon & Caroline liked playing with the microscope. Claire... well, not so much!!

Claire coaxed Landon into giving her a hug. Poor boy! He is surrounded by affectionate little girls! He puts up with a lot!!

I think by far, this silly truck is the group favorite at the museum!! Aren't they adorable!?!?

Anna was with my parents, but little Olivia came along and she was sound asleep next to her Mommy in the sling the whole time!! Look at those cheeks!

Anna's First Solids

I introdudced Anna to her first solids last week. I've given her rice cereal so far and will gradually introduce veggies & fruits. It was so funny watching her response when she tasted the cereal for the first time. She did a lot of spitting... not sure how much she actually ingested and as evidenced by the pictures, it was quite messy!