More from a Family Christmas...

Here are a some more pictures. Heather and I both agreed we may have some strong willed, feisty little girls on our hands! They definitley have a flare for the dramatic already. Watch out!!

Caroline, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Oh yeah... we can't walk yet can we???

This is TORTURE!

Okay... life is good again! I feel better now that my clothes are off. I'm sorry Caroline... maybe your mommy can take your dress off, too! It's much more comfortable!!

I'm not exactly sure why my mommy feels the need to put matching hats on me all the time???

Grandpa McDowell with his girls!! Note the pen in grandpa's pocket. It's a dead give away that he's a teacher! Who else keeps an ink pen in their front pocket even outside of school? I guess you never know when you're going to need a pen!

A Family Christmas

On Saturday evening Ben's mom had the McDowell side of the family over after our church's Christmas program. Last year we did the same thing and that was when we told both of our families that I was pregnant! Everyone was hoping for another announcement from us this year, but they were disappointed when the only "announcement" from us was that I WAS NOT pregnant! Anyway... we had a great time and of course Heather and I had to get more Claire & Caroline pictures. After a long day that was the last thing they wanted to do. They were not happy at all, but they were so cute, both decked out in their Christmas dresses and berets! Hopefully they'll catch on soon that their mommy's aren't going to stop taking pictures of them!!!

Uncle Shawn holding Claire as her older cousins watch on!!

Claire was enthralled with the lighted Christmas package!

Grammy holding the book I gave both Grandma's last year when we broke the good news! It's called The Gifts of being Grand. I wrapped it up and told them I had an early Christmas gift for them to open. Inside I had a picture of Claire's first ultrasound. Needless to say, everyone was ecstatic!

Here the girls were just on edge... the unhappiness has only just begun!

All in the Family

I love this picture of me and Scott, my younger brother by 11 months (can you imagine?). We are both holding our daughters. Claire and Caroline are just 11 weeks apart. I think it's only fitting that Scott and I have children that are so close in age! I know they are going to be such close cousins and the best of friends!

Claire the Fairy Princess

I found this adorable fairy princess outfit and had to try it on Claire. I am going to use it for some of her 6 month pictures in January. I also have another tutu and matching headband that are even cuter. I'll post pictures of that outfit later. As you can tell by the pictures Claire wasn't too thrilled with the fairy dress up session. She isn't a big fan of costumes as you may remember from my Halloween posts. One day she'll beg to dress up in this kind of stuff, but she's not quite there yet!

Daddy's Girl

Tonight Ben was holding Claire while he was working on the computer. She had been a little fussy so he was bouncing her on his knee and I guess she must've liked that because she fell asleep while he was bouncing away! So sweet....

Santa's Little Helper!

We are so excited about Claire's FIRST Christmas! She is old enough to really enjoy looking at lights and all the Christmas decorations. She is mesmerized by our Christmas tree. It is so cute to watch her as she is experiencing all the Holiday excitement for the very first time!

She is getting so active. At four and a half months she is already rolling from her back to her stomach and her stomach to her back. She is a rolling maniac! She also is so intrigued by people's faces. She is constantly reaching out to touch your face (and Sophie's face, too... poor Sophie!). She isn't always so gentle. It's more like a grab or a scratch, rather than a touch, but it's so sweet! She has already given us the BEST Christmas gift we could ever hope for or want!

"I'm liking the Christmas slippers".

"Where did everyone go?"

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year was a wonderful Thanksgiving! We truly have so much to be thankful for. The Lord has blessed us with a healthy, beautiful baby girl and loving & supportive families. We were busy on Thanksgiving. We split our day between the the Cutting side and the McDowell side. We had so much fun both places and stuffed ourselves silly! Thanks to both of our mothers for all the great food and all the hard work that entails! Sorry... I only got pictures of Claire & Caroline from the McDowell celebration. They have definitely taken the limelight! Thanksgiving was the first time the girls really noticed each other. They were smiling at one another and Claire was leaning towards Caroline trying to get to her! It was so sweet. I can't wait to see their relationship blossom!

The Hunt

Ben wanted me to blog his big hunt. Ben, his brother Brad and dad have made it a Thanksgiving tradition to go Pheasant hunting every year. This year they "got" 8 birds. The last picture shows them preparing the birds for dinner (of which I did not partake). They said it was delicious. I'll have to take their word for it!

Family Pictures

Here are couple family pictures... I am thankful Claire is more photogenic than her father. I told Ben that his infant daughter did a better job at getting her picture taken than he did!

My Doggie!

I love my doggie! Sophie is very sweet and cuddly. I love to lay against her soft fur. She is also very entertaining and I think it's fun to watch her. I'm not afraid of her at all!! I think Sophie likes me, too! We are going to be such good friends when I am old enough to play with her! At the rate I am going that shouldn't be too long!

Look Ma, no hands!!!

4 Months Old

Last Thursday Claire turned four months old! It's so hard to believe that four months have gone by so quickly. She is getting so big!!! Claire is 14 lbs 12 oz and 25 inches long. She is in the 75th percentile for weight, length and head. She is rolling over and grasping objects. She is even starting to teeth which is definitely no fun for her. She is a "very busy" little girl as we are told by everyone that meets her, but she is so much fun and brings so much excitement to our home! We can't wait to share the Holidays with her!!

Notice something missing? It's her hair. We now have a bald baby! Where did all her hair go???????

The two pictures below show how interested Claire is in her shoes. She loves to stare at her shoes... it's so funny. She may be obsessed with shoes like her mother!?!

Meeting Uncle Brad

This weekend Uncle Brad came home from Atlanta to visit for Thanksgiving. This is the first time I got to see my Uncle Brad. I was very happy to meet him! I wish I could've met him sooner, but we are glad he is finally here!!

Family Reunion!

This past weekend we were in Kentucky for the LeMaster family reunion which is 105 people strong! The family had 4 babies born in 2006... the last of which was cousin Caroline! We also added cousin Sam to the family this summer! He is adopted from China and is adorable! Here are a couple pictures from the trip! We had a great time!

Here we go again Caroline....

Yummy... your hand is delicious!

Here is a picture of the 4 new babies and their Grandma's! Jonathan, Ian, Caroline and Claire! Too cute!

Below are pictures from the "Baby Parade"!!

So Sleepy!

Last week Ben took Claire & Sophie on a walk. When he got home I went in to see Claire and she was sound asleep! Ben didn't even realize she was sleeping! It was so cute. She was sleeping so hard she was drooling and didn't even wake up when we took her out of the carrier! How sweet! Oh... and yes, she is wearing a cow sleeper!! Isn't she a cute little cow?