I used to spend my Spring Breaks on the beach with wine coolers and a crop top...

I now prefer the stay-cation with my girls!  Yes, it's September and I'm just now posting about Spring Break, but bear with us.  I will get there. 


We had a great Spring Break Visit with Bella!  She was able to meet her new cousin Asher (although I can't seem to find any pictures of that?) and spend a lot of time outside since it hadn't yet reached the inferno that is Summer in the South.

But we did have to take this picture in front of our neighbor's house because we didn't have any pretty flowers.  Oh well, we do the best we can!

 

We'll keep trucking along until we get back up to the present day.  Right now we are gutting the guest bathroom and trying to get it finished before Claire's second birthday party (which is in less than a month! AHHH!).  One day, I'll be sane again.  Hopefully.

Happy Halloween! (and only five weeks late)

I promised these pictures by Christmas and made it!  It was a great time, trick or treating with her cousins.  And I'm pretty sure you don't want a sappy account of how I was sad my baby was walking door to door with her big blue eyes and smiling at strangers for candy, so I'll jet leave you with pictures.  I'm pretty sure that's what you came for.

Getting Claire dressed.

Cousin Liam was a monkey

Claire's First Trick or Treat House

Claire and a bumble mee Mommy

Once they got tired of walking, it was into the wagon

How we will top Tinkerbell next year, I don't know.  But hopefully we'll come up with something!  Now, is it possible, I could also have Thanksgiving pictures up by New Year's.  We shall see.

License and Registration, Please

Please take a look at the adorable-ness (if that's a word) of my daughter...  I know you can't help but tilt your head to the side, say "aww" and only wish your kids were this cute.  Ok, I'm kidding.  About the last part, at least.  Totally sticking to the first part about how those bright blue eyes and oh-so-pinchable cheeks make your heart melt inside.

And please note that this picture was taken about a month ago before our lawn was covered in fallen leaves (like where you can't even see the starting-to-die-grass-at-all) and sandals were still appropriate for toddlers outside.  But you already know how speedy I am about posting pictures, so I'll leave it at that.

If she stays this way, she'll never get a speeding ticket in her life!  (Unlike her mother who has had more than you can count on a single hand in less than as many years.  What can I say?  I had a lead foot in college, but it has been over five years since my last ticket.  I have precious cargo now!)

Tailgating with the Tide

We have made it to Tuscaloosa twice and Knoxville twice so far this football season.  And we love tailgating.  I get caught up in the friends, food and fun, so I don't grab many picture, but here are a few...

This was her hang out place while snacking

And when she got down, see needed something to play with.  Don't judge.

So we pull out the toy bag

Found some!

My amazing friend Katie with Claire doing her best to make this a blurry shot.  Well done, Claire.  Well done!

I couldn't believe she kept that bow in all day!

And ROLL TIDE ROLL!  We went to the Mississippi State game too, so pictures from that are coming eventually.  (Notice, I said "eventually," and not "soon."  I'm accepting my own limitations.)

Smashing

And here are the smash cake pictures... Yes, I forgot to do this at the party because there was so much going on, so a few days later, we all had cake.  And three weeks later, I'm finally getting around to posting about it!  In the mind of Claire (wait, I didn't tell you I was a mind reader? Ha, I wish!)  So if I could read minds, I think this would be her recap of events...

You let me put my tutu back on and now you expect me to sit here?

And then you put my hand in a brown pile of mush? 

And you think you can put a bow in my hair?

But this is pretty tasty!

And if I smear all this chocolate on the bow, you won't put it back in my hair!

I'm trying to push this tray off with my feet so you now I'm ready to get down and twirl in my tutu!

The End.

PS. Hope to have Halloween pics up by Christmas so bear with me here!

The Party

The party was amazing, but we are all exhausted!  We all took nice long naps yesterday in an attempt to recover.  The house is still in shambles, the floor covered in wrapping paper and cupcake crumbles smashed in the run.  All the serving platters are under the dining room table, which is where I put them for Cooper to clean since we literally ate.every.thing.  The balloons have deflated and bounce along the floor with little movement when someone walks by.

The party is over.  And the second year begins.  But here are some highlights!

(And if you couldn't already tell, I typed this up last Monday- over a week ago- and am just now getting around to posting it!  Ah, such is life!)

Thankful on a Thursday: Birthday Edition

So here it is!  My turn to tell you why I am so thankful for birthday parties!  And oh is there so much to be thankful for!




<a href="http://themcglothinfamily.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="McGlothin Family Nest" src="http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab30/ginimcglothin/TOATBadge3.jpg " /></a>

96. Presents. Of course, the best part of every party is presents, right?  No, it's family and friends?  Well, not for Claire bear.  She loved tearing into the presents and may have consumed a few peices of tissue paper.  She got so much "baby learning" stuff, I'm convinced I'm raising the next Einstein.  But with much better hair!

97. Family and Friends. See I did include them, just not above presents.  We had a great time with my parents, Jay & Grace came in town as did Luke's family.  But Claire has a special place in her heart for Pop!

98. Birthday Banners.  That are not coming down for a while.  We hung it weekend before last and it's still up.  I like to refer to it as "birthday month" but her daddy doesn't agree.

99. Ladybug Lollipops.  These consumed my life for an entire weekend, and Luke thought we would have enough lolipops for the whole neighborhood, but they were a big hit!  Not easy, but totally worth it!

100.  The fact that she won't remember.  Why, you ask, am I thankful that she won't remember her party?  Because, I forgot to let her smash her cake!  I know, terrible mother, I admit it.  But tonight we are putting her ladybug outfit back on and smashing some cake.  Hopefully the pictures are as cute as I picture it in head!

And don't forget to link up with us!  Happy Thursday!

One Year

No way my baby is a year old.  No way, Jose.  But then again, I have learned that no matter how many times I say this to myself and others, Claire is still one year old today.

I am posting soon about how wonderful the party was, and how  much fun we all had, but today is all about her.  Her piercing blue eyes, that sweet smile, and the way she says "mama" that makes me want to call in sick to work every.single.day.

Yes, my baby is one.  I made it through a whole year of motherhood, and my child is still alive.  For all of those nights that seemed to drag on until she finally started sleeping through the night at SEVEN months, I take it back.  The rest of it went by so fast!  She went from a little baby to a toddler...




Things she loves:
* We learned from this party that the kid loves icing.  And loves getting icing all over herself.
* My mom tried getting her to drink from a water bottle and now she wants to do nothing else.  We may be rid of sippy cups before we really ever got started.
* Playing in her new sandbox (but she's not a big fan of sharing her new sandbox toys)
* Riding in the new Ride Along Buggy that Grandmomma and Grandbarry gave her for her birthday.  (And Luke has vowed to take her on nightly walks up and down the street now that the weather is so nice.)

Things she is amazing me with:
* The way she holds her arms up for me to pick her up
* How she can smile even when I had to wake her up early this morning.
* The fact that she is wearing 10 month clothes (Well, really this doesn't amaze me, it just reminds me that she is half Luke.)

Party fun to come soon... When I wake up from this walking sleep that is the result of aforementioned party!

Rite of Passage

I think taking your first baby to the ER must be some sort of rite of passage.  And one I wish I did not have to pass through.  But we did , and we made it out on the other side.

Thursday night as I was leaving work, Luke called to say that Claire had fallen and her mouth was bleeding.  She was crying and he was a nervous wreck.  He wanted to take her to the ER, but I thought they should wait and see how she looked when I got home.  Well, if you know men, they can't wait.  So I met up with them and off to the ER we went. 

Her mouth had finally quit bleeding, but it was still pretty swollen.  The nurse gave Claire a little teddy bear and combined with a bottle, you would have thought she was good as new.  And then the waiting began... first in the waiting room, then in the triage room, back to the waiting room, then in the exam room. 

Claire started acting much better.  She wasn't crying, but she was actually putting her whole hand in her mouth (result of the first year molar teething I am sure).  I figured she wouldn't be playing with her hands in her mouth if her mouth was hurting her.

The nurse looked inside of her mouth, and once the blood was wiped away and the swelling went down, we could see that she was fine.  A pit stop for a Frosty on the way home and we all survived the first ER adventure!  Let's hope we don't have another one any time soon!

Eleven Months

I know I've been saying "I'm not ready" for the past, I don't know... ten months, but today is the day.  I feel ready.  I feel like I can handle the whole "turning 1 thing," and that feels good.  And it's coming at a perfect time, considering I only have one month until this happens.

So here we are at 11 months.  Invitations are going in the mail this week, banner is under construction and there are lots of ladybugs are covering my dining room table.

And to top it all off, this girl is WALKING!



This she loves:
* Still on goldfish, scrambled eggs, french fries
* Trying spaghetti was really fun! (I'll have to post about that later because the pictures are priceless but I can't find them on my computer at the moment.)

Things she is amazing me with:
* A smile that lights up a room and have definately lit up our lives
* Two more teeth- one top, one bottom- bringing the grand total to nine
* Did I mention she was WALKING?  Enough said.



Not a whole lot of time to write much more, and I know I'll regret it later, but life has been crazy so I feel good getting this much down!

God is the Ultimate Healer

So I took Claire to the pediatric urologist yesterday, and the results were awesome!  The ultrasound showed good functionality in both kidneys.  And while she is having trouble with only one, we were worried that this might cause the good kidney to be overworked and damaged, but that is not the case!

Now we wait three more months for another round of tests, but she will get to keep both kidneys for sure!  They haven't ruled out any "intervention," which is just a more pleasant word for "surgery."  While things would be alot better alot quicker if we did do a small surgery now, there is still a chance that the kidneys will heal themselves without it.  Since this is not painful to Claire in any way, Luke and I agreed to not do the surgery yet.

We thank you for all of the prayers you have said for Claire, and ask you to continue to pray for the doctors to have wisdom, for Luke and I to have peace, and of course for the miracle of ultimate healing that is only possible through Jesus Christ!  Happy Humpday!

Ten Months

Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!  Ten months?!?  Already?!?  I'm not ready for this.  I'm not ready for walking, for the first birthday party (which I am very behind in planning), and I feel like she'll be asking me to shave her legs next week.

But time doesn't seem to listen to me and continues to move at the speed of a jet plane.  And ten months is here.  So, I guess I need to embrace it and get ready for

Things she loves:
* The girl is all about some french fries.
* Goldfish.  Since my mom gave her some in the mountains last month, she reaches for everything small and orange thinking it might be goldfish.
* The library... Thanks to her Auntie Jessica and cousin Camille, Claire doesn't have to sit at home all day every day, and gets to go on lots of outings, like the library.
* Swimming.  We had so many fun days at Alabama Adventure with Bella this Summer and Claire was loving all the time in the water.  As a former swim lesson instructor, I am slightly excited for the day she can swim without that pesky life jacket.
* Oh, and one things she hates?  Bows.  It was quite rare that she kept this one on for most of Holly's shower.

Things she is amazing me with:
* Saying "bye-bye" with her cute little wave and stunning blue eyes makes it hard to leave her in the morning.
* Saying "Bella" to her sissy on the phone, makes me smile from ear to ear.
* Just saying more and more words every day.
* Her eight little teeth make her look like a little person and not like a baby anymore, and as sad as that is, sweet smile is truly amazing!

Nine Months

Three-quarters of a year?  How is that possible?  How is my baby girl this close to a year old?  Time, we already had this discussion, but to no avail, Claire continues to grow faster and faster- right before my eyes.

And now I have had officially had a baby outside of my belly for as long as she was inside of my belly.  That's a weird feeling.

She is crawling all over the place, to the point that we had to buy a gate.  I always teased people that had these, saying I would never gate my child and that those things were for dogs, but after her first attempt to climb the stairs, I was in Target faster than you could say "I told you so."

Things she loves:
* Scrambled eggs. She would eat a whole pan of them if I would let her.
* Bella's "fruit salad" - which is actually a combination of every flavor puff we have in the house (and that's a lot)

* Bella's "soup" - which is actually oatmeal
* Trying to crawl off the bed.  She thinks it hilarious to crawl to the edge of our bed and have us pull her back to the center, only to do it all over again. 
* Eating grass.  We have been doing some fun and exciting things in our backyard only to look over and see Claire eating grass.  Oh well.

Things she is amazing me with:
* Crawling everywhere
* Pulling up on everything

* Standing on her own
* Walking behind her Step Start Walk and Ride
* Everything.  She is constantly amazing me.

We are going to have Claire a mini-birthday party at the end of July before Bella leaves to go back to Hawaii, so that she can have her big sissy celebrate with her.  And, since last Friday's post, we are also going to have a baby dedication at out home with close friends and family.

Happy Nine Months Claire!  We love you sweet girl!

Eight Months

Oh my, I can't believe Claire is really eight months old already!  She is really coming into her personality and learning already how to get her way.  This also means we are a mere four months from her first birthday! 

:::runs off to start the planning because four months is not neraly enough time to arrange a proper first birthday party:::

Oh, hi!  I'm back.  So we have decided on a ladybug theme and I found some cute invitations, drafted the guest list and started brewing some fab party ideas.  But back to the present... eight months!

Things she is amazing me with...
* Crawling forwards.  Yes, last month she was only crawling backwards but now she has the hang of going forward!
* Six teeth.  All I can say about this is teething really stinks.  I hate it!  She was fussy and running a low grade fever for days, but we finally saw two more top teeth poke through last week. 
* She looks like a little person.  Maybe it's more teeth, but she doesn't look like an infant anymore.
* She is a toddler!  I can't get over how fast time has gone by.  I feel like I just write the Seven Months post earlier this week.
* Pulling up.  She was kinda doing this last month, but now she is pulling up on everything and trying to stand.  While it makes me think she is growing up too fast, she so darn cute doing it!  I think it's time to lower the matress.

Things she loves...
* Lots and lots of puffs.  Apple-strawberry, blueberry, cheddar, peach-mango and sweet potato are her faves.
* Apple juice.  We had been offering 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice in a sippy cup for a few weeks, but she just recently began to really drink it.  Now she wants everyone's cup.
* Bedtime stories from sissy. (And I just love watching them together!)

So tonight Luke is taking Bella and her friend Hadyn to the movies while Claire and I meet up with some other moms from church.  Tomorrow we'll head to Tuscaloosa to celebrate Grandbarry's birthday and to see Aunt Benna and Uncle Michael, Haley and Thomas, and then go to a wedding shower for Matt and Kendall Saturday night.  Another jam packed weekend, but one I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Happy Friday!

Life is Good!

I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to come home to my girls, who are exhausted from a long day of playing in the sun, ready for me to make dinner, partake in some dancing and snuggle up after a bath for a good movie. 
That is living.

With a little prep work Sunday night and some help from my wonderful mother-in-law, I pulled off dinner before 8:00 at night.  And it was even tasty!

And then for some dancing (with Claire in her new outfit that big sister brought from Hawaii).

And lots of laughing...

And now Claire is tired and Bella is telling me that she is thirsty!

And while I'm usually wary of bathtime pictures, this one was pretty safe.

After Claire went down and I won a round of Wii bowling, we packed our new backpacks for two days at Grandmomma's house and it was off to bed to watch Marley & Me.  While I am exhausted as well, I could get used to this.  Just my girls being together and my family complete.