More Slide, Grandma!

For those of you who don't know Grandma well, you need to know that Grandma is afraid of anything tall, fast, slanted, twisty, etc... She won't get near a kiddie roller coaster and you would never see her on a diving board. She hates to fly in airplanes and she would never speed. But when her granddaughter says "Grandma, hold you. More SLIDE!," off she goes... You can tell that Claire loved it but the jury is still out on Grandma. You are the best, Grandma. I have never laughed so hard in all my life. Daren and I were still laughing about it today. LOVE IT!

PS- Grandma went on the slide 3 times!! Go Grandma!

Pump It Up

There are no words to do justice to how much fun Claire had at Pump It Up celebrating the boys' 3rd birthday. The boys had a great time too. We were all worn out after our time at Pump It Up. :-) Overall, the party was a blast. Charlie and D took their share of trips down the slide and had a great time.
Claire was fearless and she had a blast!! Every time she made it down the slide, she would giggle and scream "More slide." We couldn't get her up the slide for more quick enough. It was a bit surprising to Mommy and Daddy, too, how fast the slide went. The first time, Mommy almost had a heart attack. We all went with some combo of a child and adult at least 1000 times, but the coolest part was that Claire got brave enough that she wanted to go alone. She has Mommy and Daddy's adventurous spirit in her which is pretty cool.For most of the party (and the weekend), Claire wanted "Catherine, Hold you" so Catherine and Claire were attached at the hip. Here is one of the many times they hung out together.

Fun times on Claire's 2nd Birthday

On Claire's actual birthday, we woke her up to play in the house that Daddy built her. (see picture of Claire in an earlier blog to see her in the doorway of her house) Later that afternoon, we took Pops, Daddy and Mommy took cupcakes to Claire's class (Grandma went to the boys' school for bday cupcakes). We had big fun and the kids loved their special treat. We then headed to Grandma and Pops for dinner, homemade cupcakes and some presents!! She loved telling everyone "Happy Birthday Claire" and that she is "TWO!!" Grandma and Pops gave Claire this tunnel and it is a big hit. The only problem is that she likes it so much that it is hard to get her out of it sometimes. :-)

Look how far they've grown- The blessings of April 22

Claire's day of birth- April 22, 2007

Claire's 1st week home...
Claire's 1st birthday- April 22, 2008
Claire's 2nd birthday- April 22, 2009 We still can't believe that Claire is two years old. It is crazy how time flies by. We are loving every minute of her and we finally understand what it means when adults say "enjoy it because they grow up so quickly." We blinked and she is two.


The boys together in their crib a few weeks after their birth- April 22, 2006
Their 1st birthday- April 22, 2007

Their 2nd birthday- April 22, 2008
Their 3rd birthday- April 22, 2009 Charlie is laughing and Chris is a fireman.


It is crazy that they all share the same birthday but it makes it that much more special. April 22 will always bring our family much joy and happiness. First came Chris, then came Charlie, then came Claire...all on the same day. Three beautiful blessings that share the same day of birth.

Triple Birthday Party Weekend

Claire had a big weekend! We had 3 birthday parties to attend, which for Claire means "cake, blow out candles and presents." She had so much fun at each party.

We headed first to Brooke's 3rd party where Claire rumbled and tumbled at Little Gym. Claire loved the bubbles, the donut where she rolled down doing somersaults and the bouncy house. She had so much fun. She kept running around and every so often, she would run by me and say "Hi Mommy" and keep on playing. Brooke was an old pro at all the Little Gym equipment and it was fun to see her. She is such a sweet, sweet girl. Happy Birthday to Brooke!
The next morning, we went to Eleanor's 2nd birthday which was a painting party. Claire had a big time painting the boxes and painting herself. Eleanor and Claire have been friends at school since they were around 10 or 11 months old. Claire loves her very much. I love that the birthday girl wore her tutu...it is something that she wears every single day. :-) It wouldn't have felt like Eleanor if she hadn't been wearing her special tutu.

That afternoon after Claire's nap, we headed to Wyatt's 2nd birthday. Now Wyatt and Claire have something special. I don't mean that in a gross way, but if you ever wondered if 2 year olds can truly be close friends and really love each other, watch them. She adores him and he adores her. We say good night to Wyatt every night. Claire and Wyatt have gone to school together since they were 7 months old and their bond is deep. My favorite moment at the party was Wyatt and Claire dancing while Wyatt played his guitar. I tried to take pictures of it but they didn't do justice to the moments. I included one but you can't see Claire's face. You can tell, though, that they were really into it.

A Little Spanish Flamenco Dancer

Aunt LaLa went to Spain over Spring Break and came home ready to turn Claire in to a flamenco dancer!!

Easter escapades

We kicked off our whirlwind of Easter events with Claire's school's Spring Fling. Grandma and Pops joined us and it was great fun! There were all kinds of activities, but we couldn't get Claire off of the slide so we spent our time there.

We then headed to Riverbend with Grandma and Pops for the Easter Eggstravaganza for an incredible morning. It truly was one of the most spectacular children's events I have ever seen- face painting, petting zoo, egg hunts for every age group, moon walks, chicken dances, etc... We did it all! It was a blast and Claire was POOPED!

Sunday rolls around and Claire woke up to her 1st real visit from the Easter bunny. He came last year but all of her goodies were in a basket. This time, she hunted eggs (in the house since it was raining). She definitely caught on pretty quickly to the idea of "eggs" and "chocolate," as she puts it. She had a blast and we had even more fun watching her.
We headed to church after her hunt and it was wonderful. It was packed and all of the children were dressed in their Easter suits and dresses which I love! Let's not forget, though, the real meaning of Easter. He is risen! The sermon talked about the Good News attached to Jesus's resurrection and the hope it brings people each year when we are reminded of His blessing. I love going to church because it reinforces for me all the blessings of my life and all the good news we constantly receive, even in the midst of the bad. It puts things in perspective for me. I am blessed. I hope that I can pass on the same feelings to my daughter of appreciation and satisfaction. Too many waste time on what they don't have or what they wish they had. I hope that she will learn the true meaning of Easter and that it is not just about bunnies, candy, chocolate and eggs. I hope she learns that Easter is about the resurrection of God's greatest gift.

We had brunch with my nephews (which is always a treat), my sister, my brother in law and my parents. We ate at the UT club which was fun because the kids love to run around outside there. We had naps and then we met back up at Grandma and Pops for another Easter egg hunt and a special treat from Grandma. She baked a bunny cake and let the kids decorate. Check it out!! It is pretty funny!

Lillie Mabel Carter

December 16, 1915 - April 3, 2009

We were all blessed to know and love her. All of us will love deeper and give more generously because of her. I personally am so thankful for the 10 years I was blessed to be loved by her. She was the grandmother I never had and she always treated me with love and care. I am thankful she got to meet Claire and will treasure this picture of the 4 of them always. I really love the picture Becky took of her by herself. She looks so pretty. I wish Baby #2 got to know her but I know that Mrs. Carter will protect the little peanut and smile down from heaven on him/her.

What to name Baby Nix? Ask my boys!!

I called Christi this afternoon and she asked the boys what we should name baby Nix.

Here is the conversation:
Christi: "Charlie, what should we name baby Nix?"
Charlie: "Melissa."
Christi: "That's a good name. What do we name the baby if it is a boy?"
Charlie: "Chocolate Milk!!"
Christi: "Oh, Chocolate Milk Nix. That's a silly name."
Charlie: "I like it."

Now on to Chris...
Christi: "Chris, what should we name baby Nix?"
Chris: "Marmel!"
Christi: "Marmel? Is that for a boy or a girl?
Chris: "I want the baby to be a big boy like Chris."
Christi: "The baby will be little for a while, Chris. And, it could be a girl like Claire."
Chris: "Okay. Then, Ducky!" (Chris just got a ducky stuffed animal)

So, what do you vote for? Melissa? Chocolate Milk? Marmel? or Ducky??

We celebrated Grandma's birthday today. We had brunch at Westwood and then went to Grandma and Pops's house for ice cream and cake. We took some nice family pictures. We were missing Catherine, but maybe we can Photoshop her in there. :-)

The Ferina Family

The Nix Family

Pops, Grandma and Claire bearGrandma, Pops and all the kiddos!
My favorite one, though, is the one I took at the end of all the festivities as we were leaving Grandma and Pops to go home for a nap. Look at my sweet girl! She is posing...she knows she is cute! She is such a ham!

Claire the caretaker...

On Sunday Mommy had a lot of grading to do once we got home from Houston. So Claire and Daddy were able to spend a lot of quality time together. We played outside, went to the grocery store, read books... the usual Sunday afternoon at home for Claire whether it's with Mommy and Daddy or just one of us. Sunday evening after Claire's bath and when it was time to go to bed, I shut the door to her room so we could start winding down. This is when Claire decided that she was going to help fix Daddy's hair and put it in a bow. I was a little reluctant but then she said "lay down Daddy, lay down" in her very demonstrative manner that she has recently found. So I proceeded to lay down in front of her as she sat in her big girl chair with her brush and bow ready to get to work on Daddy's hair. I put my head in her lap as she brushed through my hair and would trade off working the bow into my hair then switching back to brushing my hair. If I dared to turn around and look at her or move she would tell me to "turn around Daddy." At one point, she bent over and looked at me and said "Daddy so pretty." My heart melted. This is what Mommy and Daddy say to her when we get her dressed each day. This lasted a good fifteen- twenty minutes before I realized it was WAY past bed time. I will always remember this night and it brings a smile to my face each time I think about it. Such a sweet little girl we are so blessed to have.

Got rid of the mullet!!

Miss Thang took over a year to grow hair, so you can understand why we were reluctant to cut Claire's hair. The dilemma became, though, that our sweet Claire bear refuses to wear bows or clips as soon as she realizes they are in her hair, and our darling dear pulls out a pony tail the minute she feels it. So we have a child with an overgrown mullet who looks as if her parents don't take care of her. Trust me, we brush and comb her hair every time we leave to go anywhere. We always dress her in a bow to match her outfit and the works. It just doesn't last long...

Daren didn't want Claire to get her hair cut because he didn't want her to look like a boy and because it took so DAMN long to get hair. Mommy just wanted to trim around the edges to give Claire's hair some shape...try explaining that to a man. Needless to say, Daren reluctantly gave in.

Here are the "before the hair cut" pictures:


And, after the hair cut:




Mommy is very pleased! Claire can wear her hair with a bow, with a clip, in a pony tail and still look like a girl OR she can just let it all hang loose and it looks like she is well taken care of.