Summer Fun

Claire has made the big move to forward-facing car seat, and she is loving it. I've noticed that she likes to stick her toes in her mouth...perhaps this has always been one of the (few) ways she entertains herself in her car seat, and I'm just now finding out?






























This past weekend, my little brother Tyler finished up his coach-pitch baseball season with a tournament, and we went Saturday morning to watch a couple games. Tyler has a lot of fun with his best buddy Derek (pictured above), and he's doing great! We played on the playground at the sports complex in between games. Claire LOVES playing with her Uncle Ty. I think she's even said "Ty" a few times.

This is my last week of my last Master's class, but I've got a presentation to put together this week (and just did one last week!). Then we're leaving for a beach vacay Friday! Whoop!

Big weekend, no pics!

Well we had a fun day yesterday, but no pics to show for it! Jay, Claire and I went to Edmond for Kerrigan's first birthday party. Lots of fun--loved Carson helping her unwrap presents: "Here baby sister, don't you love it?" Then we went and saw babies! Jay's college and fishing buddy, Nate Myers, and his wife Ashley just had a baby last Sunday, Miley Rae. We stopped by there, and then headed to the Norman hospital to see my cousin Dani and her new baby, Molly Rose! They're just like baby dolls that make all these hilarious expressions! It's weird to think Claire was that little, but at the same time it's weird to think it's already been a year since she was born. After eating some din in Norman, we headed home. Poor Claire did not sleep the whole way home, even though she'd only had two 30-minute naps the whole day! She was protesting her car seat. I hate to think how she'll do with our 12-hour drive to Florida in a couple weeks.

We've been taking it easy today, recovering.

Happy belated birthday, Kerrigan and Molly!

My cousin Dani Rose had a healthy baby girl, Molly Rose Spencer, yesterday! And Kerrigan Mauck had her first birthday! Happy birthday, girls! That's two birthdays that have fallen on mine and Jay's anniversary. It's been four years! We had a lovely date at Olive Garden last night while Claire spent some QT with Ma-maw, Pa-paw, and cousins Zach and Abby, and Uncle Brian and Aunt Jen, the last two being fresh back (well, maybe not so fresh) from a European vacation.

First mud puddles!

It rained most of the day today. This afternoon after Claire's nap, it was the perfect light sprinkles with ankle-deep puddles, so I took her outside to experience her first mud puddles splashes! She was a little unsure at first, but then I splashed in a few, and she totally got it. She was a mud puddle natural. I'm so proud.

Nuh-Nuh!

Here's an example of Claire pushing boundaries:

Claire pulls a pack of gum out of my purse, something she knows she is not allowed to play with. I see her from the couch, where I'm reading as usual, and say in my warning voice, "Claire..." She turns quickly and says, "Nuh-Nuh." Sometimes she makes it into a game, sticking something in her mouth, grinning and watching me, and saying "Nuh-Nuh!"

I'm working on weaning her, and have fairly successfully replaced the afternoon nursing that I had been doing when I got home from school with a sippy cup of cow's milk. At first, she just let it run out of her mouth and gave me this look like, "What are you trying to feed me, woman?" So like the slavishly devoted, yet also cunning, mother I am, I tried warming it, adding honey, spooning it in her mouth, and then pouring it into a cup, which seemed to sufficiently trick her. Now she drinks it cold just fine.

She just finished up her week of mornings with Nana and Grandad, which seemed to go pretty well, except at the beginning of the week, she was pretty cranky and a little feverish. She's getting two teeth at once right now.

Jay and I will begin our fourth anniversary extravaganza this weekend, when we go to the Sand Bass festival in Madill, the site of our first unofficial date. We'll introduce Claire to the joys of mullet-counting! We won't really have much of an anniversary celebration, if you couldn't detect my sarcasm. We're going to Destin with my family at the end of the month, and we don't really want to leave Claire for a night yet (pumping tends to extinguish the romance, I've found).

Summertime Bliss!

A fun Memorial Day cookout at Mom and Grant's.

This is what Claire and I have been up to this past week. Lots of sun and fun. Plus, we've been shopping and cleaning house quite a bit, as Amber Hearn and I hosted a baby shower for my cousin Dani Rose at my house yesterday. It was a great success and lots of fun. Molly Rose Spencer will probably be joining us in the next couple weeks!

I start my last class to finish my Master's tomorrow! Yay! And it's going to be a great class, too: Adolescent Literature! My favorite kind of book to read, and the kind I want to write! It's just during June from 9:30-12:30 Monday-Thursday. Claire will spend some QT this week with my Nana and Grandad, along with Uncle Ty, who is staying there this week while my mom enjoys a spa vacation in Illinois.