We Need a Sandbox!!!

"Look...No Hands!"

One of Clare's new games is climbing on and off the green chair. It keeps her entertained for several minutes, and that's a treat for me as well. As soon as she gets on the chair, she puts her hands in the air as if to say, "Look...No Hands!"

Goodbye Grandpa Durham!

My Grandpa Durham passed away on Friday, September 25, 2009.

He was a terrific man with a lifetime full of experiences.

He was a pilot as well as the captain of a Naval ship

(pictured in the back row...second from the left).

He will receive military honors (with a 3-gun salute) at his burial service at Arlington National Cemetary.

He was a Great-Grandpa to our little Clare Bear.
His health has been declining for a few years, but we had a nice visit with him in April. This was just days after my Grandma, his wife of 64.5 years, passed away. We took a 4 Generations picture, and he smiled at the sight of Clare.

He grabbed her little feet and didn't want to let go.
My dad has lost both his mother and father within the last five months, but he knows they are in a better place...without any pain...and back in each other's arms.

We will miss you, Grandpa Durham.

We love you, Dad!

The Shopping Cart

Phil and I went on a special date a few weeks ago.

Grandpa and Grandma stayed with Clare, and this is what we found when we got home. She enjoys pushing her new shopping cart all over the house. Such focus!
Such JOY!

Oops...road block!

Ann: I know you "love" all of the white onesie pictures,

so these are especially for you.

Fun in the drawers...

"Are you looking at me?""Look what I found!"
TREASURES!

Who Dressed Clare?

Lovely outfit, Clare! Who dressed you today?
Oh...the fish shorts are perfect with the heart shirt.

Here's the proud Papa.

This was the little joke that Phil played on me when I asked him to get Clare dressed. He closed the door to the nursery, and he couldn't stop laughing as he picked out the perfect outfit for our little beauty. Apparently, he enjoys playing dress-up. I will remember that when Clare wants to have princess parties. :)

Fist-Pumper!

Clare is still a new walker, and she tends to pump her fists as she moves along...perhaps for balance.

She also happened to find those hand-weights in our hallway closet (covered in dust from lack of use), and she wanted to pump some iron. Does she know that she's supposed to hold them in her fist-pumping arms??? :)

I'm not very skilled with the camera, so some of the video didn't record very well. It gives you the idea. The second and third snippets highlight the fist pumping! :)



Fist-Pumper in Action!

"Slacker"... BRING IT!

For those of you who don't know it, my sister lives in the middle east. Ann was home for the summer, and we had a terrific time with her. She returned to Qatar in August, and she's been on a blogging spree ever since. In her past few comments on my blog (feel free to check out her personal blog as well), she has referred to the fact that I've been "slacking" on my blog. I beg to differ!

Here are the statistics, my dear sister...

Corrie's 2009 Blogs = 106

Ann's 2009 Blogs = 78

Of the 8 completed months this year, I have out-blogged you in 6. We tied in 1, and you beat me (by a mere one blog) in the last. SO, I think that makes you the slacker who is finally catching up. I welcome your efforts to join the ranks of "regular bloggers." :)

Take a look at some of the blogs (pictures and links below)

that Ann has posted in the last month:

"Clare (again)" ~ Click here to see more!

"Toddler Hairstyling" ~ Click here to see more! "Clare and the Bear" ~ Click here to see more!

"Yogurt Baby" ~ Click here to see more! "A Carrot a Day" ~ Click here to see more! "A Day With Clare" ~ Click here to see more! "You Rang?" ~ Click here to see more!

1 year, 1 month, and 1 week old

Clare is growing up so quickly,

and we love her more and more every day! She makes us laugh!
She fills our days with JOY!

She makes us a "family."

She is 1 year, 1 week, and 1 day old TODAY!

Since we like number games, I thought this was a fun one.

A day of FIRSTS

Tuesday was Grandpa and Grandma's last day in Florida, and they made it a special one for Clare Bear. They took her to Chick-Fil-A and bought her VERY FIRST kid's meal. WOW!

She was more excited about the juice box than anything else. After lunch, we went to the carousel.
Clare rode the kangaroo, and she was THRILLED!

Grandpa rode a horse, and he was holding on tightly!

I stood in between them and smiled the whole time.Sometimes the little things bring the greatest joys!

In 191 Months...

In 191 months, Clare will be driving on her own.

This will have to do for now!

Backyard Bananas

These bananas have been growing in our backyard for months. It was finally time for them to be picked.
Bananas GALORE!

This was after a couple days of ripening.

Banana BLISS!

Clare's Mama is a monkey,

and the banana doesn't fall too far from the tree.