Pictures

Father's Day Weekend

We have had a very busy Father's Day weekend. Jason brought Ali to visit for the weekend. On Friday, I took the girls to the pool at Prairie Life. Ali and Claire absolutely LOVE swimming! After we swam, we grilled out at Papa Mark's house and played a game of spades. Claire was very interested in the cards and wanted to help out by grabbing at them and putting them in her mouth.

Claire and I headed out early Saturday morning for swim lessons. She is the youngest in her class and loves the water the most. She loves to kick and splash her hands in the pool. I think she is a natural. Our afternoon was spent at Grandma Shirlee and Papa Jim's for a yummy lunch followed by more pool time at Hope and Reid's. (and homemade ice cream)

Last night we got to watch Ethan. His mommy and daddy came in town for a high school reunion. Watching a 2 month old and 6 month old can be challenging, but thanks to Aunt Amanda it went smoothly. My night was adventurous....who doesn't like projectile vomit and poop on them?? (from 2 different babies)

Our church service this morning was wonderful. Claire loved the "rock and roll" service. (as one of the older women in our church describes it) We stopped by Papa Mark's after church to say our goodbyes to Uncle Jason and Ali and then headed to eat Mexican with Mimi and Aunt Amanda. Harry's request for Father's Day was a relaxing afternoon with a movie and that is exactly what he got. Today I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. He is an amazing daddy!

Wordless Wednesday

Our New Home

This is our new home. Last Saturday we left Knoxville headed for Cordova. Since I was traveling with Claire alone, our drive took just over 7 hours. When we finally made it, we had lots of helping hands to move us in. We are still unpacking, but the kitchen, living room, and our bedroom are for the most part complete.
Harry started working on Tuesday. He is really enjoying his new office and co-workers. Claire and I have been staying busy going on walks and running errands. We are really enjoying being so close to our family!
Shandy posted new pictures on http://claired.shutterfly.com/. Enjoy!!

Mother's Day and a Big Announcement

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day. To start off the celebration we grilled out steaks on Saturday. It started raining and I was disappointed that we wouldn't get to eat our yummy steaks, but the rain stopped just long enough for Harry and Jason to grill. Our dinner was delicious!! My friend Lindsey came over and we all had a great night just hanging out at home.
On Sunday Harry, Claire, and I had a very relaxing day. It truely was a great day!
I have been thinking a lot lately about the troubles I had while pregnant with Claire. I feel so blessed that our little miracle baby made it. Every second I get to spend with her fills my heart with so much joy. Claire babbles, blows bubbles, rolls over, smiles, and laughs so much. I am so proud of my little girl.
Now on to the BIG announcement.....if you haven't heard, we are moving back home on May 30th. Harry picked up our leasing papers today for a house in Cordova. I am so excited that Claire will get to grow up around all of our family. (of course we are thrilled that we will be closer to our family too)But I will really miss all my friends in Knoxville and as crazy as this sounds, I will miss my work. Speaking of jobs, Harry is working for Northwestern in Memphis now and I am on the job hunt.

Lastly, Claire had her 4 month check up last Friday. Dr. Linn gave us the okay to start baby food. We are taking it slow, but Claire has started or I should say attempting to eat rice cereal. Here are her stats from the appointment:
Weight: 14 lbs 7.5 oz
Height: 24 inches
Head Circumference: 41.7cm

Papa Mark

On Friday afternoon, I received a call from my Grandma Shirlee letting me know that my dad was in the ER with chest pains. After performing a heart cath, the doctors found two arteries that were 90% blocked and one 80% blocked. They decided it was necessary to perform bypass surgery. I packed all of our things late Friday night and we headed out early Saturday morning. Claire did great on the ride there.
Once in Memphis, we spent lots of time at the hospital visiting with my dad and family. On Monday, my dad had surgery. Dr. Powell was only able to do a double bypass since the third artery was so small. My dad is recovering and we are so thankful everything went well.

Thanks for the prayers!!

Updated Beach Trip

What should every doctor prescribe for new parents? You guessed it...a trip to the beach. On Wednesday, we left Knoxville headed to Panama City. I was really nervous about flying with Claire, but she was such a trooper. She didn't mind the flights at all.

Claire had a lot of "firsts" while we were on vacation.

1. She flew on an airplane.

2. She went swimming. (and LOVED it!!)

3. She stuck her feet in the ocean. (she wasn't fond of the sand, but she loved to nap under the umbrella on the beach)

Our trip was so relaxing! We rode on a golf cart every day to the beach or the pool. Claire played and napped with Papa, Mimi, and Aunt Amanda. We ate lots of yummy seafood and "grill master Harry" cooked us a delicious dinner one night. So to sum it all up...we had a BLAST!!

Please pray for my dad, Claire's Papa Mark. He started having chest pains early this morning and is at Germantown Methodist. We wish we could be there with him!