Life's a BEACH!

We spent an afternoon at the beach, and Clare loved the water.
She even took home a load of sand as a souvenir.

She also enjoyed spending time with her cousins, Jeb and Grant.
All smiles!

Despite the toothless grin, she is working on her third tooth right now. Her first top one broke though last night.

FAMILY time!!!

April is the month of family and friends. Living in Florida means that we are blessed with lots of visitors during the spring, and the past few weeks have been a lot of fun.

Grandpa and Grandma Hillary are in town right now.
As you can see, Clare is pretty happy about that!
Grandma enjoys cuddle time with her "Southern Belle."

Aunt Delores is trying to turn Clare into a hat girl.

Clare loves her Daddy!!!We had a fun day, and a terrific meal, with some of the Hillary Gang.

Just the three of us! :)

A day at the park!

We had a GREAT afternoon at the park.This seemingly inquisitive shot is actually just moments before she licked the slide.

She LOVED the swing....

...and the slide!

WEEEE!!! I did it...with some help from Mommy.

Can I have an underdog?

This is the life!

Clare LOVES...

Clare is such a happy girl,
and there are so many things that make her smile.

She LOVES... playing Patty-Cake with Grandma (Patty) Durham!She LOVES her corduroy ducky.
That little guy is used as a diversion in many situations.

She LOVES helping Mommy with laundry.

She LOVES the phone.
Even when she is surrounded by tons of bright, age-appropriate toys, she prefers the phone.

She LOVES hearing voices on speaker phone.
Grandma Durham, Grandma Hillary, and Auntie Ann talk to Clare, and she is mesmerized by their voices.

She LOVES putting EVERYTHING in her mouth.
I mean EVERYTHING...including my shoes, flip flops, and anything else that she can get her hands on. :)

WHAT is Daddy doing???

Life with my hubby is a wonderful adventure!!!
He keeps me on my toes, and every day is full of laughter and silly surprises!

This was the afternoon that Phil and Clare decided to play hide-and-seek. I did the seeking, and this is what I found in our guest room. Phil was trying to "shhh" Clare so that they wouldn't be found.We were visiting Grandpa Hillary,
and Phil took a nap with Care Bear instead of Clare Bear.

Looking for bugs? Doing the army crawl?
Playing hide-and-seek with a terrible hiding spot? Who knows?!

This was when Phil strapped on all of his climbing equipment
to go on a grapefruit mission. He climbed "our" big tree and came back down with 30 grapefruit. :) This has become a yearly tradition (click here).

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my dearest husband!

Time with Mommy!!!

Clare and I enjoy our days together. We have several "routines" throughout the day, and one of them is reading lots of books.Clare loves helping me turn the pages.

Daddy always calls on his way home from work,
so he gets to read with us too. :)
Clare takes advantage of any opportunity to eat the books.

We play silly games...

...and we give LOTS of kisses!!!

I wouldn't trade this for ANYTHING in the world!!!

Shuttle Launch

There was a shuttle launch a few evenings ago. It appears to be just beyond our tree line, but it was actually on the other side of the state. It was neat to watch the colors change, and it was hard to believe that we could see it all the way from the other coast.

Irish Jig

Phil's brother, Brian, created this eCard for St. Patty's Day. It is hilarious, so I thought I would share it. Check it out!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Irish Girl

Clare is our Little Irish Girl.

The Hillary Family loves St. Patrick's Day,
and it is definite cause for celebration.

Clare, decked out in GREEN, got to experience her first St. Patty's Day feast of corned beef and cabbage. We had a special meal with Grandpa Hillary, and he filled our bellies with all of the family favorites (corned beef, cabbage, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, and carrots...with key lime pie for dessert).

No pinches for Grandpa or Clare Bear!

7-months-old TODAY!

Clare Ann is 7-months-old today, and we can't believe how quickly the time is passing. She is full of energy, and she learns something new every day. She's working on waving. :)
What a BIG GIRL!

Clare enjoys practicing her gymnastics while in the highchair, car seat, stroller, bath tub, and anywhere else that allows her to grab her feet. This is why we find applesauce between her toes.

Just lounging around...waiting for more food.

Kisses for Clare Bear from her new Care Bear.

Bath Time Bliss

Clare Ann LOVES bath time.

She especially loves her new Discovery Toys bath toys.