105 and still alive!

Our home thermometer read 105 degrees the other day. YIKES! It has been HOT and DRY down here, and we are in desperate need of rain.
Clare is waving her hand so quickly in this picture that you can't even see it. She loves seeing herself in the mirror.

Blueberry Math

Did you know that blueberries grow in Florida? Until recently, we assumed that they were not a local fruit. Boy were we mistaken! As you can see, Clare is joyfully sitting with 8.5 pounds of blueberries.
We went to a local U-Pick Blueberry Farm, and we picked 4.5 pounds in about thirty minutes. As we drove home, we ate at least a pound as we talked about what a GOOD DEAL it was to buy the blueberries at the farm rather than the grocery store.

Clare wasn't quite sure of the taste, but she loved squishing them in her hands.

We ate the 4.5 pounds in four days, so we went back for MORE. That is when we picked an additional 8.5 pounds. So, within one week, we picked 13 pounds of blueberries.

You may think it is crazy to spend $36 on blueberries, but that's nothing compared to what we would have spent at the store. I did the math, and it would have cost us $140 to buy that amount from WalMart and $200 to buy that amount from Publix. NO JOKE! Therefore, we "saved" well over $100.
Needless to say, we already have the calendar marked for next year's blueberry season. :)

Motherhood...

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there!
There's nothing like being a mother, and this special day has a whole new meaning now that we have the gift of a precious daughter. Clare brings the greatest joy to our lives, and we now have a stronger respect for our mothers.
It has been a TERRIFIC day. Phil made breakfast for me, he cleaned my bathroom (from TOP to BOTTOM), he surprised me with a few special gifts, and then he made my favorite lunch. WOW! This is almost better than my birthday or Christmas.
Thank you, Mom! You've been the greatest example of Christlike motherhood, and Clare and I are blessed because of your example.

A "Hard" Day...

Hard at PLAY...
Hard at flying on the Clareplane...

Hard at working the sippy cup and Early Twirly at the SAME time...

Hard at preparing dinner with Daddy...

Hard at reading and learning...

Hard at crawling ALL OVER the place...

Hard at pulling herself up...

Hard at slumber after a hard day's work!

Ruskin TOMATO Festival

This past weekend was the Ruskin Tomato Festival. As silly as it sounds, Phil and I were kind of excited about this event. Several years ago, we went to the Tomato Festival on one of our very first dates.
Clare wasn't quite sure what to think of all the sights, sounds, and festival-folk.

Clare has been giving kisses lately...but they are more like giant face bombs!

The food court (see in the background) was full of "delicacies" such as fried mullet, conch chowder, tomato sandwiches, elephant ears, and a few other unrecognizable treats.
We had a fun afternoon. Even though we didn't buy any tomatoes, we went home with three different types of honey and a jar of cocktail sauce. Who would have guessed that you could have that much fun in Ruskin? :)

Fun in the pool!

Phil grew up spending hours in the pool, and I grew up spending hours in the lake, so it only figures that our Clare Bear would grow up as a little fish as well.
We've been having fun in the pool, and she splashes around with glee.

For those of you who don't appreciate naked baby buns, close your eyes.

Happy Weekend!

Things have been CRAZY for the past few weeks, and this is the first weekend that we've been able to relax and enjoy some family time. YEAH! We are incredibly blessed!

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!"