Mother's Day sentiments

I have always wanted to be a Mommy. Interestingly, I always knew I would be a Mommy to two little girls. Always... Things have turned out as I thought and I love my life. I am lucky and I often have to pinch myself. I have the most incredible Mom in the world. She loves me unconditionally. She knows how to have fun, but also always set very clear boundaries for me. She pushes me to be the best and she reassures me when I am too hard on myself. She is strong and honest. She is opinionated and full of conviction. She is a wonderful lady who is and always has been 100% available to me and has taught me what it takes to be a good Mom. I try to emulate her in all that I do with my girls. The bar is set high... I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was special. It was exactly as it should be...lots of family time, quiet moments, and some sweet sentiments for Mommy. Daren made me breakfast this morning. We had no groceries in the house, so he toasted me an English muffin (one half only because the other half had already been consumed) and brought me a yogurt. :-) It's the thought and I loved it. I wanted to go to church. Our service is at 9:45 but the girls (BOTH of them- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME) slept until 8:30ish, which meant that we slept until 8:30ish too. So we showered, scrambled and made it to church running behind, as the Nixes always do. I still haven't progressed to taking Harper to her Sunday school class but she definitely has surpassed the age of snuggles, sleep and newborn stuff. So, she was a wiggle worm. Mommy spent much of church in the foyer. Luckily I could still hear the sermon because I loved the message. :-)

After church, we went to ACC with Christi, the boys, Grandma and Pops for a Mother's Day buffet. It was incredible and they gave each Mommy a flower and a box of brownies. Yummy!!
Daddy took Claire to the putting green to get a few in... Watch out, she is getting pretty good. While they putted around, we sat and watched and played with Harper.
I love being a Mommy. It is the best gift I have ever received to be in charge of two innocent, beautiful souls. It is hard work but I wouldn't trade it for anything. My life is full and my heart is happy. I am proud to be a Mommy.

My favorite moments lately...

Life has definitely changed with two children. I have to say that I was pretty nervous about having a second baby because everyone kept warning me about how much harder it is and how tough it is without as much rest. I have to say, with no disrespect to anyone who has ever told me that, that I completely disagree. While it is definitely more tiring and there is definitely no break, I have a clearer sense of what I am doing. I have much more confidence in my instincts. I am much calmer. I love watching every little new thing Harper and Claire are doing because I do have perspective from having been through it with Claire about how quickly each phase does pass. When I was going through all the sleepless nights, while it was hard, I loved it because I knew that it passes quickly and also that I had to return to work very soon. I truly wish I could push the "pause button" on my life right now. I love the ages/phases of my two children. Harper is a sweet, easy going baby. She rolls with the punches and smiles all the time. She is a really busy girl and is very inquisitive. She is already crawling, standing, pulling up and trying really hard to keep up with her big sister. Claire is so happy-go-lucky, loveable and totally flexible. She is really into ballet and princesses. She is adventurous and will do just about anything with us. She is truly a sweet soul, just a really good little girl. These pictures are some of my favorite moments of watching the kids grow up.
My family loves to take Saturday walks to Taco Shack for a breakfast taco. I cherish these mornings. They are quiet and enjoyable. The routine of it makes me happy.
I also love watching the kids totally let loose and just be kids. Mimi and Papa gave Chris and Charlie water guns for their birthday. Claire and Charlie had a blast fighting Daren, Catherine and I. We went to dinner one night with two of Daren's best friends from college, Brett and Henry. Henry is a brand new Dad and Brett will be a Daddy in August. These boys have partied really hard together and now have grown up to be such incredible men. It made my heart smile so much to see them with all the babies in our lives.Lastly, Claire and I went to Harper's crib when she woke up from her nap on Saturday. She always wakes up so happy and smiling. Anyways, we walked in. Harper is smiling at us STANDING up in her crib. Claire was so excited to see her standing that she asked to get in her bed with her. Harper was ecstatic to have Claire in her crib with her and literally laughed hysterically the entire time. DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!

April 22, 2010

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet, sweet Claire bear. We woke Claire up singing and had decorated her door with streamers and balloons. She LOVED the streamers! Daren and I were afraid her room was going to have to permanently be covered in streamers. :-)
We took Claire to school and both went to work, as usual. After naps, we came to bring birthday cupcakes to Claire's class.

We went to Grandma's for dinner, homemade brownies and ice cream and more presents!
Claire all dressed up in her princess outfit and loving her new blender!

I really can't believe my sweet, sweet baby is 3 years old. She is the most amazingly compassionate, funny, spunky, smart little girl. Granted, I am biased but I love EVERY minute of being her Mommy. Claire truly lights up my life and fills my heart.

Pump It Up, Claire bear!!

Claire's birthday celebration started a little early with her birthday party at Pump It Up. We shared the birthday party with Chris and Charlie who turned 4. They all share the same birthday and it is always really special and fun to watch them celebrate together. We gathered up Chris, Charlie and Claire's friends and family for a FUN birthday bash. Here are some of our favorite Pump It Up moments:

So, Princess Claire went to the ball with Daddy. Seriously, she did. Austin had an event called the Wonders and Worries Ball for Daddies and daughters only. Daughters dress up like princesses, get magic wands, tiaras, etc... The proceeds go to the Wonders and Worries organization that raises money and provides services for kids with ill parents. So, Miss Princess Claire went off to the ball with her Daddy. Boy, was she excited!!!
She met her two favorite princesses- Ariel and Cinderella.
She waved around her magic wand, danced with her Daddy, got her face painted, wore her tiara around and just had a royal night! :-) It was a really special night for Daddy and Claire. I know it is one that Claire will look forward to for years to come.

Yo Yo Wassup?!

Easter weekend whirlwind

Easter weekend was a whirlwind of fun!! We celebrated Grandma's birthday, Papa's birthday, Hayes's birthday, and we celebrated that Jesus has risen! We hunted for Easter eggs at our house, at church, and at Grandma's house. It was lots of fun! Harper is still too young to know what is going on but she attended all the events with a smile and lots of laughs, as always. Claire was VERY weary of the Easter bunny. She wouldn't go meet him at the church hunt on Saturday and then told us on Saturday night as we were tucking her in bed that "the Easter bunny is not coming in my house! If I get treats from him, he'll leave them outside!" So the Easter bunny obeyed the rules and left all the treats outside.
The weekend began with a birthday celebration for PapaThis is at the church Easter egg hunt



This is after church on Easter Sunday at the UT Club brunch. The kids love to go there and play together. This is at Grandma's for the 3rd egg hunt of the weekend and to celebrate Grandma's birthday

UT Club

We have had some other fun nights with Grandma and Pops. One in particular was at the UT Club. It is great because they have great food and a great patio. So Claire (and some day Harper) can eat and then run around and play in the yard. Claire loves it out there and Harper loves being held by her Grandma. It was a bit chilly that night so Claire wore Daddy's jacket most of the time.

Rodeo and a haircut

Daddy left town for the weekend and went golfing with some buddies. So, Mommy decided to take Claire to the rodeo while Harper had a fun morning with Grandma, Pops, Christi and the boys. Unfortunately, I told Claire ahead of time we were going to the rodeo and unfortunately on Saturday we had a horrible storm, 40 degree weather and wind that made it feel like it was in the 20s. But, Claire woke up wanting to go to the "RAY-DEE-OH!!" So off we went... I was not going to disappoint her. She had a ball! She rode a horse named Apache and had no fear. In fact, she rode him two times. She's a natural! Mommy was proud. While all the other kids were crying and their parents were forcing them to ride, Claire just hopped on and off she went. We went to see all the different animals. She liked the cows the most, especially the one that was feeding her baby. We wanted to ride some rides, but due to the wind they were all shut down. So we pretended on the tractor.
And as you know, my kids are born bald and stay that way for a good solid 18 months. But Claire NEEDED a haircut. Yes, she needed a haircut. Here are the results:

I enjoyed having the girls to myself for a few days. We had a great time. We watched The Princess and the Frog, got pedicures, ate some treats, played with the boys, dressed up as princesses, had a slumber party, went to church...We just had fun! We missed Daddy and were glad to have him home, but the three of us had some good girly time.

Harper at 6 months

I am behind on my posting. I had no camera for a while. Life is busy working full time and raising two kids, but life is good. Harper was 6 months old on March 10, 2010. Harper's appointment went well. She is doing all that she should be at this point- sitting up on her own, rolling over both directions, laughing, talking, tracking with her eyes, acknowledging her name, holding on to things... She is doing great!! She is full of smiles all the time. She is such a happy, laid back little munchkin. We started her on solids and she has done really well with them. So far, she likes it all! She loves to take a bath and she is now in the big girl bathtub. No more infant tub... She loves it the most when Claire and she get to take a bath together. Harper has both of her bottom two teeth and I believe she is working on some more as we speak.

Her 6 month stats:
Weight 17 lbs. 9 oz (90th percentile)
Height 25 inches (25th percentile)

So we have a short, chunky little monkey and we love her to pieces!!!

Priceless Valentine cards

Mommy asked Claire the following questions to write in Daddy's Valentine card:

"Claire, what is your favorite thing about Daddy?"
Claire's answer: "His toes!!!"

"Claire, what do you like to do with Daddy?"
Claire's answer: She screams, "SNUGGLE!!!!"

Daddy loved his card so much that he repeated the same process for Mommy and gave me my card from the girls much later in the day. Here are Claire's answers about Mommy:

"Claire, what is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?"
Claire's answer: "play"

"Claire, what do you like to play with Mommy?"
Claire's answer: "I like to fix her hair."

"Claire, when Mommy comes in your room in the mornings, what is your favorite thing y'all do together?"
Claire's answer: "Sing lots of songs and SNUGGLE!"

Priceless...

My Harper girl cut a 2nd tooth this morning. She took a wonderful nap on Mommy today. I LOVED it! What a great Valentine gift...a baby nap!! There's nothing better. As a family, we ate breakfast, played hide and seek (Claire's favorite), took naps, played at the park, went to the grocery store, and watched The Fox and the Hound. It was a great day!!! To top it off, Christi came over to help me clean out and organize the girls' closets and cabinets. We needed it and it was an awesome gift!

Tiny Dancer

Claire started ballet class two weeks ago. The first week, our instructions were to bring her in her tutu and a t-shirt. We were to purchase her ballet clothes, shoes, and tap shoes after class. So, here is Claire before her first ballet class. She is doing very well in class. Surprisingly, she is a little shy?! I couldn't believe that, but she is slowly loosening up. She is certainly NOT shy at home, and Mommy already can't wait to see her dance recital. She cracks me up with her new moves!!!!!!

4 month stats...a little late!

We had our 4 month check up with the pediatrician a few weeks ago, and Mommy is a little behind in posting Harper's stats. Our sweet girl is doing great! She hardly flinched when she got all of her shots. She is one tough cookie!

Weight: 15 lbs. 10 oz. (90th percentile!!!!) Biggest girl...! :-)
Height: 24 inches long (50th percentile)

Overall, Miss Harper is doing all that she should be doing at 4 months old- sleeping well, eating well, turning over by herself, cooing, smiling and laughing a lot.