claire - two years.

our little claire is TWO! who can beleive it? certainly not us. it feels like yesterday that we found out she was on her way, and it feels like this morning i was arriving for c-section.

but in reality? our daughter turned two. she stood in her crib and shouted "MAMA! I TWO! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and giggled her heart out. she ran into jack's room and threw open the door, shouting "HI, JACK!" and jumping up and down. she bounced on our bed and sang twinkle twinkle little star and kissed the dog. she asked for a bow in her hair and to go play in the dirt. she ate a bagel and cereal and begged me to get her brother out of bed. she helped to get herself dressed and opened the gift from her brother while he patiently waited, and he was just as excited as she when claire opened his gift. jack had picked it out himself and was beside himself with anticipation to give it to her. they hugged and exchanged nose rubs and laughed together. we went to the zoo and claire requested taco bell for lunch (gross!) and daddy joined us for a half day off work. we ate cake and ice cream and talked about dora. she napped and we went out for dinner, and went to the nature center to observe the animals...one of miss claire's favorite activities.

happy birthday to our darling daughter! you are so sweet, sensitive, spunky, and you are a spitfire. you are musical, and dramatic, love songs and knock knock jokes. you love dora the explorer and your "beebees." blankets and baby tiger are your favorite naptime accessories. you love to play in the mud, climb like a monkey, swing from your arms, and shout. you never leave the house without a "big bow" and an accessory...a purse, necklace, or bracelet. you adore your big brother and hang on every word he says. he is so loyal to you...and you know it. every time we leave the house, people stop and stare to tell us how beautiful and cute you are. everyone loves your big blue eyes, long lashes, and sweet hair. you are so shy at times, but around the right people you are downright hilarious. you are still your mama's girl, and forever loyal to your daddy. you are still so tiny, but what you lack in size, you make up for in personality. your vocabulary is absolutely astonishing and you amaze us each and every day. we love you, miss claire! we couldn't be prouder of you if we tried.

the wedding!

good friends

my dear friend andrea has children that are 3 months behind ours....tyler is 3 months younger than jack, and evie is 3 months behind claire. jack and tyler are the BEST of friends, and are always asking to spend time together. in fact, they use our phones to call each other!

andrea and i work at the same company, and sadly she is leaving her position and going to another job. this one is not from home, like our current jobs are, and our whole family will be affected! i can't just call her on a whim to play any more.

this photo is from one night where andrea had a meeting, and the kids came to play!

best of friends.

Spring-ing ahead!

Spring has had us very busy so far...with an upcoming wedding!

Marc, Jack, and I are all in the wedding. So we have lots of responsibilities...the bachelorette party, bachelor party, the shower, and upcoming rehersals. Not to mention working out, fittings, hair appointments, nails, and trying to get some color on our pasty skin!

The bachelorette party was a few weekends ago:

And the shower was yesterday:

We have so much more planned ahead! A few super fun home renovations on the horizon and a trip to NH for me in the early summer, as well as a family trip mid-summer! Lots of updates headed our way...we are hoping to keep our heads above the water at this point! Ha ha. It has been so fun so far. Stay tuned.

happy easter!

(jack checking for hitchhiker butterflies at teh butterfly exhibit!)

happy easter! we have enjoyed a breakfast out, our annual visit to the franklin park conservatory to visit the butterflies, and are getting ready to enjoy a special meal!

the kids were very excited to find their baskets this morning. we hope you have a wonderful Easter!

school update

We have made the decision to register Jack in a private Catholic school. He was accepted and now we wait for the info.

Unforunately, our district is threatening to cut the Magnet School program, which is the one reason we were considering staying here. It's a day-to-day update on whether or not they will continue this education program. So we bit the bullet and decided to enroll him. We are making budget cuts within our home to be able to send him there long-term.

It's a great school and we are looking forward to seeing what he can do. We have several friends that send their children there, and the education is leaps and bounds above what the public schools are offering the children.

It will work - it has to. We are not gambling with our child.

an old orange kitty

When Marc and I first starting dating, in 1999 (so long ago!) we celebrated our first Valentine's day in 2000 by buying him an orange cat. He had always wanted a pet of his own and we found an adult cat with a broken leg, ear mites, pinkeye, and no hair. He was a pitiful stray that noone wanted and we took him home and made him ours! He went from a total of 7 of our apartments (3 of mine, 3 of Marc's, and 1 we shared together) before moving into our house that we own now. He survived a new dog, 2 new cats, and 2 babies!

He had been declining in his elder years and had gone from over 14lbs to just 6 lbs. We took him in on Friday night and it was as we thought...kidney failure. We chose to not let him get to the point where he was uncomfortable, so we put him down. He was happy and purring away, and Marc held him. It was one of the most horrible things we have had to do, and it was only 6 months from when we put down his long-time companion.

Good bye to a special kitty...we are so sad.