What have we been up to? Photo Dump

This spring Claire had her first manicure and pedicure. We had so much fun and she absolutely loved it. She has been back mutiple times since then and just loves to be pampered.

We decided to get a Children's Museum pass and the kids play so hard that they all ways pass out on the way home.

Claire has really taken off on riding her bike. She is getting so big!!

 We had a blast flying our angry birds kite. Hopefully this fall we will be able to get the kite back out and take turns running with it.

 Claire and I went to the Orpheum to see Super Why with our friends Kate and April. Both of the girls loved the show. I think there will be many more girls outings to the Orpheum in our future.

 We just adore the Collierville square. A visit to the trains is a must!

Summer time shades and popsicles

We were a little late planting flowers, but the kids were great little helpers.

In early July we headed to Lake Junaluska. This is one of the trips that we look forward to every year. We get to spend several days relaxing and enjoying being together with family. I love the picture above. We decided to go to a craft fair one day and Claire insisted that she needed her baby and baby stroller. Lucky for her, there was a booth selling baby clothes. Finally we have babies with clothes on instead of them all being naked.

 Family trip to St. Louis. You have to stop at Lamberts!! The kids enjoyed a train ride after.

Claire's favorite part about Grant's farm was bottle feeding the goats.

 Grant's Farm

Grant's Farm

We had great seats at the Cardinals game. I am not sure how much of the game we were actually able to watch, but it was lots of fun!!

The beautiful view from our hotel room.

The kids absolutely love Johnson Park. We have gone to the spray park a couple of time this summer too. 

The zoo is always a blast and we can't wait to go more this fall when the weather is cooler.

 What's a summer without home renovations? Our projects this summer included new windows, new carpet and a freshly painted front door

Harrison started out the summer unsure of the water, but now he really likes it. He would prefer not to wear the life vest, but we have had 2 occasions where he decided to hop right into the pool and thank goodness his life vest was on.

Claire is my water girl. She loves the pool and would swim all day if she could. Next summer, we are going to swimming lessons.

I can't believe summertime is almost up. Both of the kids start preschool next week. This year is flying by.



Tubes

Since March of 2011, Harrison has had an ear infection every month except one. We went to see his pediatrician on MLK day and she set us up with an ENT. After visiting the ENT, we scheduled surgery for the following Thursday. Harrison was relatively happy the morning of his surgery. It was such a quick procedure. His doctor was wonderful!! We went home and took a long nap after the surgery. When Harrison woke up, he started talking and wouldn't stop. It was so cute! His doctor said that his hearing is now 4 times better. And the best part of the surgery is that he has slept so much better.

Cake Pops

For Christmas, we gave Meg a cake pop maker. Luckily, she wanted to use her new gift to help us make cake pops to send to school with Claire to celebrate her 3rd birthday.

 Claire loves helping cook. We do not use our mixer very often, so she was thrilled when she saw it sitting on the counter. I love how serious she looks. She was so sad when the timer beeped for her to stop mixing.

 Once the cake pops cooled off, it was time to dip them in white chocolate and cover with sprinkles. Ali and Claire both loved the sprinkles.

I thought the cake pops were so cute and they were so Yummy! Thanks Meg for sharing your gift and for helping make what seemed like a thousand cake pops.



Birthday Party

December is a crazy month for our family. Having 3 out of our 4 birthdays in December and add in Jesus' birthday, it makes December a little hectic. Harrison had to have a minor procedure a few days before his birthday, so I wasn't sure if he would be up for a party that weekend. We decided to have a joint birthday party for the kids. It was so much fun! Claire was still sleeping when all of our family arrived, but slowly woke up and was excited to open presents and eat cake. We had a blast celebrating Harrison's 1st birthday and Claire's 3rd birthday with all of our family!

Jason, Ali and Meg Come to Visit

We really hate that my brother and his family live so far away, but it sure does make for an awesome visit when they come in town. They arrived late Thursday night before Claire's 3rd birthday. When Claire woke up on her brithday, she was so happy to see Uncle Jason, Meg, and Ali. We made breakfast and let her open her presents.

Claire got an Innotab and pretend make up for her birthday.
After presents, we got ready to go take pictures. Recently Meg got a new camera and we were so happy that she was dying to take pictures. 

I love how to pictures turned out! We took a candy break half way through the pictures to keep the kids happy.

After pictures, we headed to Chick Fila (Claire's request). It was insane, so luckily Claire decided that Burger King would work. The kids played so hard on the playground that Claire and Harrison both fell asleep on the ride home.

We continued the birthday celebration that night and got ready for the big party on Saturday.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Claire,
     I can not believe that you are already 3. It does not seem that long ago that I was on bedrest anxiously awaiting your arrival. This last year you have grown so much. You have taken on your role as a big sister and absolutely adore your brother. You are still very independent and super head strong which I remind myself daily is a blessing. You love to take "big baby" aka Nockey or whatever her name is for the day everywhere. Usually you pretend to be her mommy or her babysitter. It makes me smile seeing how sweet and loving you are to "big baby". You are such a blessing and we love you so much!!

Christmas in the Country

Every year the Autry's have "Christmas in the Country" the weekend before Christmas. It is so much fun and a wonderful tradition that I am glad to be a part of. It is an all weekend affair, but we made a day trip of it on Saturday (the best day).

We rode on the hayride and sang Christmas carols. Claire enjoyed the ride in Shelley's lap.They stop the hayride and everyone ventures out to find the perfect tree. Once the tree is selected, everyone helps cut it down. Claire loved swinging the ax with Darrell.

We decorated the tree and then Santa made a visit. Claire and Harrison both sat on Santa's lap. Claire asked for a baby doll with a paci and she told Santa that Harrison wanted a dump truck.

Harrison and Mamaw took a little rest after Santa's visit. I am so glad my kids have great grandparents to love on them!

We definitely enjoyed "Christmas in the Country".