Crazy Claire

Here are some recent random pictures of Claire. She loves to laugh and wants to do everything that Andrew is doing.

This picture is actually from right after Christmas, but I think it is really funny. She is pushing Elaina in a doll stroller wearing my heels and her favorite pajamas. How do they think of these things?

Here is Claire attempting to "feed" her doll. She learned this from Natalie, if you have any questions ask her.

Fun with watercolors! Andrew likes to paint, so Claire thought it was time to join in the fun. The whole concept of paper was lost on her. Watercolor vs. body paint what's the difference?

It is time to dance with "Marney"!!! The big purple dinosaur is a favorite of Claire and Elaina. Andrew likes it too because he knows all of the answers.

Cereal is one of Claire's favorite foods. Sometimes things get out of hand and the milk gets splashed around rather than eaten.

Here she is riding Andrew's tractor. This isn't actually a ride on toy, but she had fun anyway. She likes to wear Danny's or Andrew's hats - always backwards.

A Sweet Valentine

Natalie and Andrew had a sweet Valentine idea up their sleeves. She drew outlines of flowers on a piece of paper and Andrew filled them in with watercolors. Then they were cut out and pipe cleaners were attached as stems.

And here is the end result! A watercolor bouquet. It is so cute and Andrew was very proud. He made the vase for me for Christmas. I can't decide if this should go to work with me or stay home. Either way it was a very special surprise.

Play time

I love these simple pictures that Natalie took of the kids. They aren't fighting or arguing, just playing together. Aahhh.....to be little and the only thing to argue about is who has more farm animals.

These two pictures are taken through the window in the play barn. So creative!

Block Towers

Andrew received wooden blocks for Christmas from my dad. We had them when we were kids and he thought that Andrew and Landon would enjoy them as well. He and Natalie have been building block towers while the girls are napping. I asked her where she came up with the elaborate design and she said, "the front of the box".

Here is Andrew finishing up a masterpiece.

He is really proud of his creation.

Of course, everything has to have a Star Wars theme, so characters were added. Apparently, after the tower is destroyed, the Jedi's must use the force to rescue themselves and others.

Book massacre

There was a book massacre at our house today. Let me start at the beginning of the story.
I got a series of books at Ross for super cheap. They are called "Mommy's Little Girl", "Daddy's Little Boy", etc. There are four of them. This is (was) Claire's favorite book. There is a cat on each page that she liked to point out. She wants to read it every night before bed.

I noticed a month or so ago that Claire has a tendency to tear pages. At first I thought it was an accident, but it kept happening. As a side note, Andrew never did this!! So I would tape the pages back together like the one shown above. There are about 5 or so pages in the book with tape on them.

Well, today Claire really went to town. She not only tore out most of the pages in the book, but she also proceeded to tear the pages into smaller pieces. And then there was the crinkling, folding, and bending of other pages. Maybe she has some sort of pent up baby rage, but why would she do this? Lest you think that she was unsupervised, she did this in her crib when she was supposed to be taking a nap. Sometimes she insists on books in her crib - and at that point we'll do anything to get her down. It's a good thing that they weren't expensive books, but still, what is the problem? She has even "eaten" the corners off of board books. No book is safe around here. If she ever gets a hold of one of Andrew's Star Wars books and somehow damages it, well........it would be REALLY bad for everyone.

Snack time

If the kids are good they get to watch some type of "show" before bed. It is anything from Barney to Star Wars cartoons. They also get to have a snack during this time. Lately the snack has been Oreos.

This is what I get when I try to take a picture of Andrew while he is watching a show. He said that he was looking, but there are several others just like this.

Claire is a big fan of Oreos. They end up all over the floor, sofa, and her face. When she is done with her two Oreos she tries to steal Andrew's since he eats them slower. She also likes to have both cups of milk. This does not make Andrew happy. If they are still hungry after the first snack, the second snack is something a bit healthier like fruit or yogurt. Andrew is fine with that, but Claire petitions for more Oreos.

Faux Pinewood Derby

Danny is the assistant Webelos leader in the Cub Scout troop at church. The annual Pinewood Derby was last week and they had an extra car kit so Danny decided to make a car with Andrew. Danny thought it would be fun to come up with a Star Wars themed car. I will proudly admit that the Land Speeder was my idea. My dad and Danny worked on the shape of the car and on Monday night it was ready to paint. Andrew actually painted most of the car, but I didn't get a shot of that. Andrew was very excited that he was going to get to go to the event. His car was not an official entrant, but they raced some other cars after the event. With some expertise from my dad, his car won all but one race. It was probably good that the time was up, because it wouldn't have been good to show up the other racers and their dads.

The finished masterpiece. I'm not sure what happens to the car now. It has been on the kitchen counter for a week so that no one touches it. Hopefully it will find a new home soon.

Cousin shots

These are more cute pictures that Natalie took of the kids. They all love baby Chris and often fight about who gets to be closest to him. Elaina is very protective of her brother and thinks that she should always be closest. Claire doesn't like to be told what to do, so you know what that means....check out the wounds on Elaina's face in the second picture.



I may need to become really good friends with a plastic surgeon.

Oakwood Meadow

It was going to be another beautiful January day, and we needed to get the kids out of the house, so we headed over to Oakwood Meadow park for a change of pace. This park is also known as "the park with the train".

Claire went down the slide by herself over and over. Every time she got off she would say "gen" (again) and climb back up the steps.

There is an old firetruck the kids can sit on, and they both took turns driving.

Claire tried out the swings. She hasn't been on many swings. It took a bit for her to warm up the feel of it, but she enjoyed it. There were four swings in a row and she had to try all four out. I don't know why, they all appear to be identical, but maybe there are slight differences that only kids can see.

Andrew at the top of the big slide. He was all over the play structure and kept asking other kids their names. He was very distracted by the lure of the train and couldn't wait to get on.

Here we are waiting to take the train ride. Claire was not thrilled at first and Andrew kept assuring her that it was fun.

The last activity was riding the carousel. Claire wanted to go on this the whole time we were in line for the train.

This awesome picture is courtesy of Danny. In case you forgot what I looked like, there I am behind the horse! Claire loved riding the carousel and was quite upset when it was over. Andrew wanted to know exactly what day we would be coming back. We ended the adventure with lunch at the park and very long, steep stroller push back to the car. Or maybe I am just really out of shape. A great time was had by all and no meltdowns occurred until we got home.

Backyard Fun

I was downloading pictures from my camera last night to do a post about our day at the park (see next post) and I found these gems. According to the time stamp they were taken on January 20th. They were taken by Natalie and they are so cute that I had to share. I keep telling Natalie that she needs to re-start her blog, but until then I will post the pictures.

Elaina and Claire wearing matching jean jackets and romping through the ivy in the backyard. If I was more knowledgeable about Photoshop I would fix the brightness on this picture, but I think it is hilarious.

I had no idea that they liked to do this. I have never seen Claire, or Andrew, for that matter in the ivy. Is it that fun?

Down a man, but doesn't care. So much ivy to stomp, so little time.

The kids can't wait until summer when all of the bubble blowers, guns, machines, wands, etc. come out.
Elaina with her head out the window of the play house. I don't quite understand how she is up that high inside the house.

Claire guarding the play house door for grown ups.