I WANT A BATH!!!

Even though Clare has graduated from the baby tub, she still lets us know when she's ready for a bath. She sat here and played with the old tub as the big tub filled with water.
Where's the water?

Now I'm HAPPY!

Is it time to get dunked yet???

Fun with Grandpa Hillary

Grandpa Hillary was in town for a few days, and Clare LOVES spending time with her grandparents. Doesn't that smile prove it?It's no wonder why Clare has fun with Grandpa. He lets her have things like Diet Coke...
...and ROCKS! Grandpa gave her a rock to play with, and she was thrilled...until Daddy took it away.

YES, I did it!!!

I opened our snack cupboard to find this hairy beast. Unfortunately, Phil was at work. That left me with a few options: 1). Shut the cupboard and hope that Phil could take care of it upon return. 2). Use one of my three magic wishes to wish it away! 3). Let Clare kill the spider that was half her size. 4). Take on the beast myself!
Since Phil wasn't going to be home for eight hours, my genie was trapped in her bottle, and Clare was taking a nap, I had to do it MYSELF! After several swats with the fly swatter, and completely emptying out the cupboard, I finally got the speedy little bugger. YEAH!

I thought that I should include a cute picture instead of just the nasty, killer spider.

Happy Little Monkey Girl!

Making a MESS!

Clare, like most babies, enjoys putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. From power strips, plants, rugs, DVD's, coins, to dirty shoes and sandals, we've seen it all. What we've quickly learned is that we can't turn our back for even ten seconds! She found her way to the box of Peppermint Patties, and she had a few moments of chocolaty bliss. She opened the package and somehow managed to smear it in every crevasse of her hands.
It took a while to scrub all the melted chocolate off of her face and pajamas, but her sugar buzz kept her smiling through the whole ordeal.
There were also chunks of tinfoil stuck under her tongue and in between her tiny little teeth.
The next food disaster was planned and supported. I gave her a cornbread muffin...

...and she destroyed it!

I had to hose down the highchair after Clare was finished with her feast, and then I had to scrub her from head to toe as well.
As Clare becomes more and more independent, I know that we'll have more and more of these "learning" experiences. :)

On the move...

Clare has suddenly become VERY mobile. She crawls ALL over the place, and she likes to stand up whenever possible. It seems like these big milestones happened overnight. She insists on tasting EVERYTHING!

BIG GIRL!!!

On the move...and HANDS-ON EVERYTHING!

Her tricky little eyes saying, "I just made another mess, Mommy!"

Teeth Brushing

Now that Clare has some pearly whites, we've included teeth brushing in the daily routine. As you can see, she loves it!The toothbrush keeps her entertained for several minutes. Anyone with young ones understand the blessing of sustained engagement. :)

Million dollar SMILE!

Our trip to Washington D.C.

We spent a few days out east so that we could be with family during the visitation and memorial services of my dear Grandma. This was on our flight there. Clare loved looking out the window.We were snuggly crammed into our little space.

Grandpa and Clare had some reading time.

We went to the National Zoo on Thursday afternoon,
and then we had the visitation.

This was at the visitation.

Clare enjoyed playing with a few of her cousins...
or second cousins...or first-cousins-once-removed.
Does anyone know how that works?

I enjoyed seeing my cousins, Shannon and Nick, as well as the rest of the extended family.

Clare snuck a little nap in between all of the activity.

This was on Friday...after the memorial service.

Playing in, and with, the flowers.

Dissecting the flowers.

Eating the flowers.

Clare was covered in wood chips and dirt,
so she had to be picked clean by Daddy and Grandma.

Family Photo!

I LOVE Grandpa! Amen!

This is in the airport on our way back home.

Where's the water?

This doesn't seem to work either.

Frequent Flyer!

Almost home!!!

Even though it was hard saying goodbye to my Grandma, we know that her legacy lives on in all of us. We had a great trip, and it was wonderful seeing my family.

Updates Galore!

We've had quite a week down here in the Sunshine State.

Here are a few updates...
Clare is 8-months-old TODAY,
and she is officially crawling ALL OVER THE PLACE!She also has FOUR new teeth. Her top teeth started coming in last week, and we hope that her pain has subsided for a while.

Even with an endless supply of Discovery Toys, she is drawn to cords, outlets, and dirty shoes. Here's a picture of her on the move towards one of her favorite gadgets.

We celebrated Easter with our dear friends, Sarah and Tory.
This is Clare's bunny robe (for after a dip in the pool).

We spent a lot of time with extended family down in Ruskin.

Uncle Mel taught Clare how to golf.

Kim (my college roommate) and her husband, Chad visited for a few days. It was TERRIFIC seeing them, and we enjoyed playing games and spending time together. See their blog for more pictures and stories of their visit.

Clare had fun with cousins.

She also got to spend time with Aunt Marcie and Uncle Brian.

My Grandma Durham passed away on Saturday morning. She was a special woman, and she will be dearly missed. We are traveling to Washington D.C. this week to attend her memorial service. We look forward to seeing our extended family and celebrating my grandma's life. We love you, Grandma!