Another busy weekend is upon us again. It's amazing to me how quickly the week seems to go by. Anyway, this morning Justin and Claire got some good Daddy/Daughter time while I was out of the house. This is apparently what happens when Mom is outta da house is playing the piano. I hesitated to post these pictures since she looks like an orphan with her hair in her face, however, I would appreciate any helpful hints on what to do. Barrettes and Ponytail Holders come out of Claire's hair in about 0.2 seconds.




Then, this afternoon once Justin went to work and Claire had her nap, she and I packed up to go to Houston. We went to see Cole (Claire's first cousin) play t-ball. Cole is 5 years old and is almost done with kindergarten. He played so well today and is a very quick runner. I didn't manage to get too many pictures at the game since Claire was running around as usual screaming at the top of her lungs. I know it probably annoys some people, but it is a happy scream and not a temper tantrum scream. We still are working on it though. I did manage to grab a picture of Cole batting and his little sister Alyssa (7 months old) being as cute as can be.





On a much sadder note, Justin's boss lost his daughter-in-law yesterday to a drunk driver. She was a police officer just doing her duty and it ended up being "her time." I had also known her from CVS and was truly saddened by the loss.

Today was a special day. Not only because it was Sunday, but because of Ryan. Ryan Morris is a friend of ours. Well, originally he was a friend of Justin. They went to high school together and to the same church as well. He was one of the 3 groomsmen in our wedding. Well, tomorrow he is going to Basic Training. He has joined the military and we won't see him again until late August. We haven't really seen him that much with our busy, crazy, hectic schedules, but I guess the idea that we could if we wanted to was always there. Now it is gone. Did I mention that Claire absolutely loves Ryan? We attended a barbeque at his parent's house today after church as a sendoff for him. As soon as she saw him today, she reached for him to pick her up. He's just such a great guy and an awesome friend. We're gonna miss you Ryan. Good luck!



We got back home just in time for Justin to go to work. This meant that Claire and I had some good old fashioned mommy daughter time. We played outside in the yard with her Strawberry Shortcake ball and even sat down and threw grass at each other. She didn't get the point at first because she started to eat the grass. Then she figured it out and started laughing. That threw us into a tickle fight which she just loves. I have to admit I like them as long as I'm not the one being tickled. Her laugh is so infectious. Once inside again, she found her favorite plastic Easter eggs and began her funny face again. I tried to capture it with the camera, but once she sees the camera out, nothing else matters.




We finished off the day with Sunday evening church and a guest speaker on Financial Freedom. It was an excellent message and very encouraging to us as Justin and I have been doing some real work on our finances lately.

Off to another week of craziness but this is the last week of the semester at Lamar. After Friday, it's just finals left. Just finals. HA!

Last Saturday, we had pictures of Claire done for Easter/18 months old. I tried to put her Easter dress on her and it just didn't look right so I opted for a more casual look. I think they turned out pretty well. What do you think?

This week also brought new adventures for Claire. She now is capable of feeding Nina treats. Nina is our dog and although I was a little afraid at first that Claire would try to eat the dog treat herself, she did well and gave it to Nina. Of course, I'm sure it helped that Nina was basically going to knock Claire over to get to her treat. Once Claire has given Nina the treat, she follows Nina to the corner where Nina is eating her treat and gets down in Nina's face to make sure she eats the treat. Once Nina is done, Claire stands back up and claps for Nina finishing her treat. It really is just adorable.
Another something new for Claire this week is a very distinct frustrated look. We were playing with the plastic Easter eggs that we got a few weeks ago when we noticed it first. Claire opens them up and then hands them to Justin or I to close the egg back together. She is usually pretty good at getting them opened up, but every once in a while the egg sticks together. This is where she grits her teeth, puts her lips in a square, and literally shakes her head in frustration. Her cousin, Reece, used to do the same thing. He eventually grew out of it. Hopefully, Claire will too, although right now it is still cute.

Today we went to the library and Claire was very good about keeping the books on the shelves AND being quiet. I was a little nervous too because when we first walked in there were quite a few senior citizens and well, usually, they're not as understanding with toddlers as others. All was good though and I got 3 new books to read this next week.

Last night I read an entire book called House by Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. It was an excellent book (obviously if I read the whole thing in 3 hours) even though it was scary. I'm usually not a suspense book reader, but I have to say this one was really good. So today at the library I got 3 more by Dekker and Peretti.

My dearest Claire,
I know that it has been a long while since I posted on here, but here I am again to write to you about yourself. You turned 18 months this week and I honestly have no idea where the time has gone. You have changed from a baby to a little girl with your own personality and individual ideas. Your favorite thing to do is CLIMB on anything and everything you can. You have a determination that is unmatched. Yesterday at Meemaw's you spent 3 minutes trying to climb into your own chair. You never gave up and you finally made it. I pray you never lose that tenacity to get what you want. However, on that note, you are also very talented at throwing temper tantrums. Daddy and I get frustrated with you sometimes due to these, but always know that we love you more than anything and just want the best for you. We let you cry it out which isn't easy, but you are learning that when you cry like that, it doesn't get you what you want. You have lots of fun at day care and although it still hurts me to have someone else watch you all day, I do see benefits. You are a very sweet, sharing, patient, little girl. You like to read books, but only at your own pace. You are an excellent eater. Today is Easter, and we learned you like brisket. You ate brisket almost exclusively at lunch and dinner today.
Anyway, I hope that when you are old enough to read this, you understand most of all that we love you and more than us, God loves you. He sent His Son to die for you and if you were the only sinner in the world, Jesus would still have come down from heaven and died for you to be able to go to heaven to live with Him. Not only that, but Easter is so important because that is the day to celebrate Jesus rising from the grave to proved His true identity. Claire, He loves you so much!
We love you too. Happy 1/2 birthday!

Love,
Mama