Hide n' Seek

Clare has recently become enamored with playing Hide n' Seek. It seems like daily she says, "You come find me." Then off she runs. When she feels she has found a good hiding spot, she'll yell, "I'm ready!"

However, she doesn't quite get the hiding part. She doesn't try to make it hard for the "seeker" at all. Here is one of her favorite spots...in plain sight in the dining room.

Another great location, under the dining room table. At least here she is getting under something.

This is actually a pretty good spot. She is under an old church pew. Her daddy taught her this one during a recent game.

And my personal favorite. Here she is again in the dining room. I guess she figures if she can't see me, then I can't see her.

F.D.O.S.

Today was Clare's first day of school! It was supposed to be on Tuesday, but she was sick, so today was her big debut!

I was really nervous. She is going to a place where I don't know anyone, and we had missed Meet the Teacher night because we were out of town. AND she still isn't feeling 100%

On the way to school, she said, "Mommy, will you go to school with me?" Ugh. So, we got there this morning, and sure enough, she cried her eyes out. It was hard to leave her. Really hard. I knew she would be OK and probably even like it, but it is still hard to leave your child with someone you just met.

All day long I felt like I was missing something. Even with the twins home, our house felt very quiet. I know it is good for her to be with other kids, but we have spent a lot of time together over the past two and a half years, and it will just take some getting used to.

When I went to pick her up, her teacher said she had a "typical first day." Clare was sad a lot of the day, but participated in all of the activities. Ms. Lisa said she thought that she would settle in nicely. I felt much better after talking to her teachers. When I asked Clare what she did at school, she said "I cried." Then I asked, "Just a little bit?" She said, "A whole bunch."

Since we have been home, she has been talking about her day and her teachers. I think it is going to be a good fit; it will just take some adjusting. Thankfully, she survived her first day...and so did her Mommy.

Catching Up With Clare

Clare has kept us laughing around here lately. Here are a few of her most notable moments:

• I was sitting on the couch holding Sydney, who was crying. Clare walks up to me and says, "Here, let me take her."

• Tonight Casey was giving her a bath. She squeezed her rubber duck and it made a tooting sound. Clare looks as the duck and says, "What do you say, ducky?"

• After hearing about Julie's successful family movie night, we decided to try it at our casa. We had pizza, ate popcorn and watched Cars. Well, at least some of us did.

This is as close as Clare came to sitting down and watching the movie. She was all over the place. During the movie, Casey said, "Clare do you like the movie?" She looks at him and says, "No." Although she didn't see more than two minutes of the movie, she seemed to enjoy herself.

It's Potty Time!

The other night at dinner, Clare wanted to say they prayer. It went like this:

"Dear God, Thank you for family. Clare went tee-tee on the potty. Amen."

Can you tell what has been the topic of conversation around here for the past few days!

She has been doing so well!

She completed her sticker chart on Sunday, so she got to pick out a new toy.

This is what she picked. A "mermaid bubble toy."

Yesterday we transitioned to big girl underwear. Today we had an accident-free day!

I must confess that even though she has taken to this relatively easily, I think all of the "training" is worse than diapers. We have been spending A LOT of time in the bathroom! It's got to get better, right???

A Special Birthday Message

Happy Birthday, Mamma! We hope you have a great birthday on Sunday!

Here's the Latest

Here's what's new with our crew:


Clare:

• We took her for her two year check-up on Monday. She weighs 32 lbs and is 37 inches tall. Those stats place her in the 95th and 99th percentiles. Where did she get that height???
• She continues to talk up a storm. Last night I counted a six word sentence!
• She is loving her new sand table that she got for her birthday. She also still loves her play-doh and doing anything outside.
• She is doing great without her pacifier, although she still gets it to sleep.
• She is timid around people that she isn't familiar with and it usually takes her a while to warm up to new people. However, once you're "in," you're "in" for life!
• She knows her colors, all of her family members, most of the numbers from 1-10, and a few letters.

The twins will be four months old on Friday. I'll post their stats after their appointment.

Jane in purple, Sydney in yellow

Jane:

• She continues to be my easiest baby yet. She is most often content and easy-going.
  
• She takes her pacifier and is napping well.
• Jane has started to laugh a little and has a very sweet smile.
• Her eyes are the darkest of all three of my girls. I think Casey's brown eyes may have gotten through to Miss Jane.

Sydney:

• Sydney rolled from her tummy to her back yesterday!
• My latest concern with her is that she won't take a bottle. She nurses great, but won't have anything to do with a bottle. Any suggestions????
• She is snuggly and pretty content---when she is being held!
• She is a cat-napper. She sleeps for about 45 minutes at a time. I am working on this one!

Both girls are typically waking up once during the night, usually around 3 or 4. They are cooing all of the time and are more expressive everyday. Now that flu season is over, we are going to start venturing out more often. I am sure these outings will warrant many blog postings!

Here are a few pics of Clare "playing " with the twins.

The Big Birthday Post

Clare is officially two. We had a great birthday weekend with her, complete with donuts, a trip to Chuck E. Cheese and a family birthday party. I think she enjoyed herself all weekend, and we enjoyed celebrating with her.
Her party was on Sunday afternoon. All morning we talked about what was going to happen, and she was very excited. She woke up from her nap, and I heard her calling me. However, instead of yelling "Mommy," she was yelling "CAKE!" This girl knows what she wants! Speaking of....

Trying out her new wheels

Waiting on her cake

Of course, she had to try out her new sprinkler.

My favorite two year old

I have a ton more pictures, but Blogger isn't letting me load them right now. Maybe tomorrow...

One of My Favorite Things

When I was on bed rest, Casey started taking Clare to McDonald's on Saturday mornings. They would have pancakes and play on the indoor playground. Since the twins have arrived, this has become a standing date between the two of them, and I love it. Every week is a slightly different experience, from what I am told. Sometimes it is very crowded, and Clare is too shy to go play. Other times, they have the run of the place and Casey will climb through the tunnels with her. Or there was the time that a kid threw up one of the tunnels....one of the tunnels that Casey and Clare had to climb through to get out! However, the constants are pancakes, 'dip dip' (syrup), and the playground. Of course there are weekends that they don't get to go, but more often than not, on Saturday mornings you will find two of my favorite people eating under the golden arches. I love this weekly event for several reasons:

1. I get some extra, much appreciated sleep.
2. I think it is great for Clare to have some special time with her parents, without her sisters around. Especially with her Daddy. There is something special about a father/daughter relationship, and I want to encourage that as much as possible.
3. Also, this outing is something that I can see continuing well into the future. Even when Clare is older, I still think she might enjoy have pancakes with her Dad....hopefully.
4. With the babies on lock-down, Clare is forced to stay home most of the time. This is a fun reason for her to get out of the house.
5. Did I mention the sleep?