Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

We went to a friend's promotion party tonight and they had their own personal bouny bounce. Claire really enjoyed having the whole thing to herself. She loves to fall face first into a bed of pillows so this was even better because there were sides! They didn't have toys like this when we were kids!

Windy City

We took a trip to Chicago this past week. We thought hey we will only live this close once so we might as well go. It was an okay trip. Very expensive and we aren't much for the city...We went to an aquarium and that is a picture of C looking at the dolphins jumping while she was standing in my lap. We also saw the cubs and braves play. She did so great!!! I was really worried about what I was going to do with her. Well, she was so tired that she just chilled in my lap the whole time!! It was great. Then she got to the car and CRASHED! Fun times.

Strawberry Picking

Near our house is a place called Eckert's Farm and we LOVE to go there and pick things. We have been to pick pumpkins and this weekend we went to pick strawberries. While you are picking it is all you can eat. C took advantage of this the most since she just loves strawberries. We picked a huge bushel and they were so yummy. When we got home we realized there was no way we could eat all those strawberries before they went bad so we gave some to neighbors. After we picked strawberries we went and had some frozen custard (an illinois speciality) We all enjoyed that as well. You can see C loved it too--It's all over her face. The weather is finally getting warm. It was in the 80's today. Where has it been for so long!!!

Family Cuddle

Well, maybe partial family cuddle because Abby and I were not a part of the fun. Aren't they cute?

New Hair do

Finally, C-Bear has a ponytail! We've have been dealing with crazy hair for a few weeks now and i think we have a solution. She actually leaves it in her hair maybe in a few days we will try to add a bow.

While the Boys are gone...the girls will play

Another thing I love about the Air Force is when my husband goes out of town. He He. I can say that now, because he doesn't go out of town very much! I usually get together with a friend. Well, tonight my friend Andrea and her daughter, Kada, came over for Spaghetti. It just so happened that her husband, Nick, was out of town too. After we got the girls bathed and in bed we Pay-per-viewed "In Her Shoes" which was a very good movie!!! It was so nice to have a girl movie night! It felt like we were in college again. Except when Claire started crying and I had to go and give her a paci!!! Then I remembered oh yeah...I have a baby. Fun times...good memories! Here is Claire and Kada taking a bath together.

We love it when our friends move

The great thing about being in the military is moving!!! We'll kind of. Our next door neighbors are moving in July and are getting rid of all kinds of great things. Their kids are 5 now so they don't need "baby" stuff anymore. They gave Claire this super neat slide with stairs!! She loves it :) When we get into the car we have to factor in some slide time and coming home she always wants to go to the yard and slide. It has helped her to overcome her grass fear as well. Thanks Neighbors!

Book Worm

As you can see my little girl loves her books. She takes them out one by one from the basket and throws them all on the floor. Then, after they are all on the floor she sits down and flips through the pages and reads them. She even makes babbling, baby talk language the whole time. It is the cutest thing ever. She can keep herself happy doing this for almost 35 minutes. But, only if they all start out in the basket!

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday we went to an Easter Party at our friends house. They had an Egg hunt for the kids and food for the adults. It was a fun time. We made Claire her own little area and placed some eggs for her to find. She was actually pretty into picking them up and putting them into her itty bitty basket.

The greatest thing was, she loved the grass. At our house she hates the grass. The minute you put her down she screams until you pick her up. Well, the Pavelschaks grass was soft and lush and she thought that was pretty cool. She crawled around and played in the grass almost the whole time we were there. I was a bit worried because I didn't want grass stains on her super cute outfit but I put that aside and let her explore.

So, I guess we need to tell the realtor that we want soft grass at our next house!

Swimming Pool

We got this swimming pool from some of our friends that are moving TODAY and Nate was so excited to let Claire try it out. We got home from church and she was exhausted so she had to take a nap. Nate wanted her to swim right when we got home. So while she was napping he went and scrubbed it all out and filled it with water to let it warm up while she was sleeping. After 1 hour he was ready to wake her up. I said, "No, she really needs to take a longer nap since she is only getting one today." So he waited some more and helped me cook Easter dinner. Finally she woke up and he seriously took the girl straight from her bed to the changing table to get naked and then straight outside. I wonder what he would do if I did this to him! Well, she was a great sport and stood by the side of the pool until we let her go in.

I just have to say that the water was FREEZING. I mean like ice cold. I could barely put my feet in it. But Nate, with his socks and shoes on holding the video camera wasn't going to let that stop this swim excursion. I kept telling him it was too cold but he said, "Nah, that is just how pool water is." After much convincing he decided to fill about 20 bowls of very hot water from our sink to make the water warmer. Not sure if this did anything. We were ready to try at this point so we stuck Claire in the pool and she didn't cry. It was amazing. I mean the water did take her breathe away and her little belly sucked in pretty far but she enjoyed it. I played with her for about 10 minutes and she splashed away. She never would sit in the pool but walked around and went down the slide.

Then Daddy wanted to get in with her so he went and changed into swim shorts and the minute he put his feet in he decided it was too cold!!!! But he knew how much his little girl loves to swim in the bath tub and knew she would love the pool. He was right, even though it was pretty darn cold, the girl is a fish at heart!''

Up and walking

Finally, our little girl is a walker. Here is one of her on the go. Sorry my camera can't focus worth a darn... A new one is on my wish list. But you get the picture. She hasn't quite figured out how to sonsistently get from a down position to an up position but if she can bounce off of things she can go all the way across the room. She'll figure out the tripod stand soon enough. We are a proud mama and papa.

Bed Head

When Claire woke up today she had some major bed head! I thought it was too cute. I guess we didn't let her hair dry after her bath. I guess that is why they say don't ever go to bed with wet hair! Or maybe they say that so you won't get sick :)

Tip Toes

Claire received this fridge farm for her birthday and loves to take all the animal pieces off and throw them on the floor. She would do it 100 times if I kept putting them back. Well I cleaned the kitchen and wanted them to stay on the fridge for a while. She didn't think that is where they belonged so she was trying to reach high and pull them off. Here she is on her tip toes trying to get to them! It was pretty funny. She got about half of them and then got really mad and frustrated until I moved them so she could throw them on the floor.

Texas Bluebonnets

Claire and I made a last minute trip to H-town last week to help my dad after he had surgery. My dad is home and doing better although still in a lot of pain. We stopped on the side of the road to take some pictures in the Bluebonnets. For those of you that are not from Texa, we have wildflowers all along the Texas Highways. Something about Ladybird Johnson and how she wanted our roads to be pretty. Anyways...March and April is usually when the Bluebonnets are out. They are the state flower of Texas and are illegal to pick and sit in to take pictures :) Claire hated them, of course, and wouldn't look up or smile for any of the pictures. She is becoming increasingly harder to take pictures of. We got some good "artsy" pics but nothing for the wall with her smily face.

Stairs

Chair

Visit to Colorado

Claire and I went to Colorado this week to visit Andrea, Luke and Baby Ben. Ben was born about 7 weeks ago. We had lots of fun spending time with Andrea and Ben. Babies and so much fun. Claire loved climbing up and down their stairs. She wanted to do it over and over. She also mastered how to climb in and climb out of Ben's chair.

SPRING IS HERE!!!

It was 84 today and we are so excited!!!! We took two walks, went to the park and played in the grass. Claire wasn't to thrilled about the grass. She will get used to it. It was the first time she got to wear her spring clothes so I was pretty pumped!

Wonder where she learned this???