3 Years and 9 Months

Clare turned 3 on August 13th.

It was a fun day...
complete with Monster Toast (where you get to paint on bread before toasting it), cake (which was a bit of a fiasco), a "Cartoon Walk" through Fremont's Industrial Park (that's a story all in itself), going to the movie theater for the VERY FIRST TIME, AND getting SICK.

Eating her Monster Toast

Winnie the Pooh was one of the characters on the "Cartoon Walk."

We ended the walk in front of McDonald's, 

and that is where the birthday girl decided to have lunch.

The cake, another interesting detail of the day, did not end up the way Mommy planned.
Clare decided to sample it before it was frosted.
Therefore, the 9x13 cake had to be cut down to a 8x8 revision.

She didn't mind the revision.

We decorated the cake for Clare and Lauren
who was celebrating her 18th birthday.

The day went VERY WELL...  

until the sweet birthday girl got sick on the way home from the movie theater.

She proceeded to run a temp. of 102 degrees, and she threw up twice.  That only slowed her down for a few minutes, and I don't think she'll remember that portion of the day.

At Clare's 3-year appointment, she impressed her doctor with her "concise and clear vocabulary" as well as her "good manners."  She weighed 33.2 pounds (50th percentile), and she was 39 inches (90th percentile).  That's our girl!  :)

Isaac is now 9-months-old, and it's hard to believe that he's been outside the womb longer than he was inside.  SLOW DOWN TIME!

He's happy-go-lucky.

He giggles at the littlest things...especially his sister.

He LOVES going for walks with Papa.

He is finally starting to swallow solid food without gagging.

He has seven teeth...with another one on the way.

He's still an army-crawler...but he's FAST and EFFICIENT!

He weighed 22.1 pounds (75th percentile),

and he was 29.5 inches (90th percentile).

That's our boy!

My Boys

I just LOVE these pictures.

 And I LOVE these boys!

Who Knew Fiber One Could Be SO MUCH FUN?

Do you like Fiber One?

I have tried SEVERAL Fiber One products over the years.  I add the original Fiber One cereal to my oatmeal in the morning, I nearly always carry a Fiber One granola bar with me, and I really like the Fiber One yogurt.
Until recently, I hadn't tried Fiber One's new 80 Calorie cereal. 

 Thanks to General Mills, with MyBlogSpark, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to try this new cereal for FREE!  I LOVED IT!  Seriously, I will buy it on my own as soon as this box is gone.  Not only did they send me the cereal (which I've sampled dry, with milk, AND mixed with yogurt), they also sent a pedometer
and a case for a phone or music device.  NICE!

Check out this nice gift.

Would you like to try it as well???

MyBlogSpark.com has offered to send one of these Fiber One gift packages
to one of my readers.
Just add a comment on one of these questions:

- What do you do for breakfast that helps keep you full?

-What are your favorite sources of fiber?

Thank You, MyBlogSpark and General Mills!

Check out the Fiber One Website: http://bit.ly/FiberOne

Fiber One's Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/F180Cal

There Were Six in the Bed...

Why are there six people in this bed???

After several years of having an old, mediocre bed, my parents bought a new fancy pants one.  It has dual adjustable frames, a Tempurpedic mattress, and a built-in-massager.  NICE!  Needless to say, we've been like little kids playing in Mommy and Daddy's bed. 
I omitted the picture of Phil and my Mom on the bed...
for fear that it could start some saucy stories around town.  :)

Silver Lake and Mac Woods Dune Rides

We had a fun day as a family last week.  We drove up to Silver Lake and enjoyed the dune rides...all seven of us.

 It was a very windy day, so the sand was spitting at us during the ride,

but we still had a BLAST!

 My little Snuggle Buns fell asleep...despite the bumpy ride and the flying sand.

 My big Snuggle Buns made a goofy face upon being kissed by his bride,

so I decided to publish it.

 As always, Clare LOVED the water more than anything else!

GREAT, GREAT DAY!!!

"Clare in the Air" AND "I in the Sky"

If you've followed our blog for any amount of time, you know that our children learn to "fly" as soon as they have trace amounts of neck strength.  We have SEVERAL "Clare in the Air" pictures from the last few years. 

Clare would do this ALL DAY LONG, but it's getting harder and harder to toss 33 pounds in the sky repeatedly.

Now we have "I in the Sky."

Our little Isaac loves flying as much as his big sister.

 This one is a bit different...but it kind of fits the theme...

"Eyes Like the Sky"



Ice Cream Junction

We tried our hand at making homemade ice cream last week.

 Clare LOVED the entire process.

 Patience was practiced as we waited for it to harden up in the machine.

And she somehow lost her skirt in the process,

although that didn't seem to bother her one bit.

Phil and I, who are BIG ICE CREAM CONNOISSEURS (we tend to go through a couple containers a week), weren't crazy about the homemade stuff.  We'll have to try again.

Grillin' in the Rain

Phil planned a huge feast for our anniversary,

and he wasn't going to let a thunderstorm stifle his plans.  

I LOVE THAT ABOUT HIM!!!

 He adapted his normal grilling routine, 

and Clare stripped down to help him.

Yep...I got a strip show from our two-year-old on our anniversary.

Phil loves it when I make cake because I use a secret ingredient (homemade pudding...the secret's out) with the mix.  Clare and I made a special cake for our anniversary, and we polished off the entire thing in less than 24 hours. 

This isn't how the cake looked upon presentation.  

We just have fun playing games with each other as we leave obvious clues as to who was the last person to indulge.  :)

Lubber Love - YEAR 2

Do you know what a Lubber (pronounced loober) is?

Perhaps you remember my post from last year...click here if not.

My sweet daughter has a ridiculous obsession with them.

RIDICULOUS!

 I can assure you (although I'm sure no one doubts this) that this fascination did not stem from me.  Not in any way have I encouraged this obsession...although the same can't be said for another adult in my house.

 Clare LOVES it when it's lubber season,

and it's lubber season.

They're everywhere...

Including our driveway, the gardens, our front door, 

and the ceiling of our garage.

YES...this is our daughter ON TOP OF OUR VAN...

with the ultimate goal of catching that lubber.

 Where might she get such an idea???

As aforementioned, I wash my hands of this...

although not so far as to refrain from videotaping it.

AND HERE IS WHERE THE OBSESSION 

HAS SPUN OUT OF CONTROL!

This little video is only a tiny glimpse of the absolute unraveling of my little lubber lover.  Daddy was at work, and Mommy wasn't as keen on playing with bugs.  Take a look.

8-Month-Update

Isaac turned 8-months old yesterday.

Whoa!

 Other than teething, getting over a little cold, waking up EVERY NIGHT to eat (a new pattern that makes me revoke the "best sleeping baby award" that I gave him months ago), he is a delightful little guy.

 ~ He's on the MOVE...all over the place.  

We can no longer put him on the floor and think he'll stay there.

~ He enjoys eating...although NOTHING with texture. 

He literally vomits with anything more solid than stage 2 baby food.  

This is a phenomenon we haven't quite figured out, but we'll give it time.

~ He loves babbling...and he seems to say, "Da da" over and over as he gets his diaper changed.  Haven't figured out the connection...
must be a boy thing.  :)

~ He's in the "drop it and watch Mommy pick it up" stage.

Over, and over, and over.  Fun game!  Ha!

~ He's had three hair cuts, and he's due for another one soon.

~ Just like his sister, he loves shoes.  He crawls over to them, wherever they may be, and he attempts to teeth on them.
Another phenomenon that may go unanswered.

~ He's probably 21-22 pounds...although that is based on weighing myself and then doing it again while holding the little tank.  Very accurate.

He's LOVED!

7/7 x 4

My sister called me today to read an excerpt from one of her old journals.  In 1996 she wrote, "Corrie has a crush on Phil Hillary, and they have their eyes on each other."  That was half my lifetime ago, and now we're married.  Four years ago marks the beginning of the best love story imaginable.  We were married on 07/07/07, and the journey gets better every year!

Here's the slideshow that my sister made for our wedding reception.
Fun memories!   

Happy Anniversary, Hubby...Best Friend...Dearest Love!

Seventh Generation

 "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

 When Clare was born, we seriously considered using cloth diapers.  We bought a few "all-in-one diapers," and we really wanted to make it work.  I'm sorry to say that it didn't happen, and we resorted to using disposable diapers.  Every time I wad up a used diaper,
I think about how long it will sit in the landfill.  

Seventh Generation is different:

Their diapers "now have an improved environmental footprint, due to a redesigned core that is more efficient at absorption and uses less processed chlorine free wood pulp."

I've heard about Seventh Generation, but it wasn't until recently that we sampled this product.  Thanks to Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark.com, I was able to try these environmentally diapers for FREE!  MyBlogSpark sent me a pack of diapers, and they're going to send a pack to one of my lucky friends as well.  They look a bit different than the diapers we are used to because they don't have anything on them: no pictures, no color, no prints, and no "fluff."  Considering the location of diapers, does that really matter?!  :)

What do you think of Free and Clear Diapers?

Why are eco-friendly/conscious products important to you?

  Please leave your thoughts in the comments section!

Here is some more information, and a link for COUPONS, on Seventh Generation:

Seventh Generation

 

Seventh Generation Free & Clear Diapers COUPON

Information about Pigments in Diapers

New Friends...Dear Friends

This is my sixth summer living in Florida.

My life has had some amazing twists and turns since I moved down here.  Overall, I LOVE being here.  I love the weather, I love the nearly-constant sunshine, I love the plethora of things to do, 

and I love that this is where the love of my life lives.  

The one thing that I didn't love about living in Florida was that it was thousands of miles away from my dear family and friends.  I missed having a close network of friends...REAL FRIENDS.  That prayer has been answered in BIG WAYS over the past few months.  God has opened a new door in my life, and I've been incredibly blessed with some new friends: 

like-minded, genuine, spirited, and fun new friends! 

(Here's a picture from our fun morning.  I don't have a picture of my mommy friends, but I love knowing that my littlest loves will grow up with these dear ones.)

I still miss my family and friends from Michigan, but I don't feel like that is "missing" from my life down here anymore.

Scalloping: 101

Phil and I (along with SEVERAL HUNDRED other people) went scalloping this weekend.  We didn't think about the fact that it was a Saturday on a holiday weekend, but it was totally worth it!

 Getting ready to test the water.

 Scalloping is one of our yearly traditions, and this made YEAR #6.

Here's a glimpse of what we do:

Despite my nervousness at taking our camera under water, Phil captured some awesome footage of catching a scallop.  It's like treasure-hunting.  As soon as you see one of the little buggers, you dive down and grab it.  Check this out!

While Phil was busy finding scallops, I had other matters to tend to on the boat.  Being away from a nursing baby for the entire day requires some creative planning.

No worries though...I did have my share of relaxation 

in between all of the scalloping, pumping, and eating.

Here's a peek at the cleaning/shucking process.

By the end of the day, we had over 50 scallops, patches of sunburn in random places, and refreshed spirits from spending the entire day with each other.  Can't wait for next year!

Scalloping 2008

Scalloping 2009