Carlyle's Nursery

Well, I decided I had better get some pics of Carlyle's nursery before she arrives. Who knows when that will be. I absolutely LOVE her nusery. When I walk into her room, it makes me so happy. Here are a few pics.



Love these letters above her bed




A black/white collage of maternity pics above the changing table

First Day of School

Today was Camden and Claire's first day of school (or Parents Day Out). Camden started Pre-K today with Mrs. Connie and Mrs. Chaney and Claire was in the 3 year old class with Mrs. Jennifer. Both girls had a great day! Camden came home with a "kindness ticket", which she was so proud of. When I asked her why she got it, she said because she said kind words to her teachers and friends. They also made Gingerbread Men and they ran away, so the class had to go around the church to look for them. She thought that was SO FUN! Despite the fact that she woke up at 4:15am, she seemed to be in a good mood all day. The teachers let her sleep until it was time to go home, which I am thankful for because obviously she needed it! Claire also had a great day. Since her birthday was yesterday, she wanted to take cupcakes to share with her new class. So, I made cupcakes again last night for her class today. I sent a candle and they sang to her. I think both girls are going to have a SUPER year!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Claire Bear!!

I can't believe that Claire is 3 today! These past 3 years have flown by. Above is a picture of Claire, 2 days old. And, then one of Claire and Mommy tonight at Chuck E. Cheese. She decided that's where she wanted to celebrate her birthday!

Our morning started off good, except that Camden woke Claire up at 6:00am because she was excited that it was Claire's birthday...how sweet! Claire came in and saw balloons and a birthday banner and immediately said, "Thank you Mommy for my birthday!" How could I not get up after that?? So, I took a shower and got ready and got the girls ready. I decided to go ahead and let Claire open her presents before we left. She loved the Aerial purse with all the "stuff" to put inside, like keys, money, credit card and brush/comb. And, she thought her new Aerial shoes and wand were pretty neat.




After opening gifts, we headed out to get some donuts. Not just any old Donut Palace donuts...if we were up that early then Mommy got to choose and we went across town to my favorite, Shipley's. It was well worth the drive. Claire really enjoyed her chocolate sprinkled donut and chocolate milk.




Then we headed off to church, where all the Parents Day Out teachers had a work day. We brought cupcakes for all the kids that were going to be there, and they seemed to really enjoy that. After we left there, I dropped the girls off with my dad so I could go to the doctor. Then, I picked them up and we headed to meet Daddy at Chuck E. Cheese. Jeremy had been at work all day and had to go back to school tonight for Open House, therefore, I knew he would want to sing Happy Birthday to Claire and share in her cake. So, I brought cupcakes with us to dinner, along with candles, a lighter, and Backyardigans plates and napkins. After using all our tokens and trading them in for some really cool stuff, we headed home.





Nana and Papa had a birthday present for Claire, so they came over after we got home. They also had presents from Uncle Jeremy for both girls, since he couldn't make it to their party. Camden and Claire loved their princess bears and they both wanted to read and sing along with Claire's new books. Thanks Nana, Papa and Uncle Jeremy.

More dress up

Yesterday at church, Mrs. Robin brought Claire a birthday present. She must have known how the girls LOVE to dress up now. She got Claire a wand, tiara and a tutu. So cute!! After lunch, the first thing Claire wanted to do was put on her tutu and get her wand. She shared her tiara with Camden, who decided she needed to put on some of dance attire. They are having so much fun with all their new dress-up stuff!

35 weeks

Here's my 35 week picture. I went to the doctor today, just expecting her to measure me and listen to the heartbeat, however, she checked me for Group B Strep and went ahead and checked me to see if I was dilated. She said she felt the baby's head and that I'm a 2. WOW!!! Such a surprise! We discussed induction on the 18th of September, unless Carlyle makes her appearance earlier, which is likely. So, we're just waiting now.

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

Today is Jeremy's birthday, his 30th birthday! He finally made it to the 30's. He said it wasn't so bad, except that he pulled a muscle in his back today playing golf. That's what happens when you get old, huh?? Just kidding. Anyway, the girls and I stopped by and got some balloons and made one of his favorite desserts, red velvet cake. I pulled out the candles that I had, which wasn't a significant number, but the girls wanted to put them all on the cake. We sang and Camden and Claire blew out the candles. Our afternoon was spent napping, which was a nice change from our busy paced lives. Then, we went over to my parents house for dinner to celebrate again. My mom made chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, corn, dinner rolls and another one of Jeremy's favorite desserts. Not sure this is the official dessert name, but our family always calls it the "4-layer dessert". It has a homemade crust, chocolate pudding, cream cheese and cool whip. We added more candles and let the girls blow them out. After dessert, Jeremy opened cards and gifts. He had been wanting a new pair of golf shoes, so that's what he got from my parents, me and the girls. Overall, I think 30 wasn't too bad for him. Happy Birthday, Jeremy! We love you!!

Tired and hungry

Well, my day started off a little earlier than expected. I woke up at 2am to go to the bathroom (this is a nightly thing) and then headed to the living room, where I usually sleep the rest of the night on the couch. I like the firmness against my back. I went to turn the fan on, like usual, and looked over to notice two little girls sitting as quiet as mice, watching a recorded cartoon. I have no idea how they figured out how to get a recorded episode to play, but somehow they did. Anyway, I'm not sure how long they had been up, but it was definitely time to go back to bed. As I walked them back to bed they both kept saying they weren't tired. And, apparently, they weren't. It took them until 3:30am to fall asleep. So, I crept out of the room and headed for the couch. I think I finally fell alseep sometime around 4:00am or so, only to be awakened by Camden around 5:15am. I motioned for her to lay down on the opposite end of the couch and after she finally got settled and stopped tossing and turning, I guess she fell back asleep for a little while. However, not long enough. Anyway, after we all got up I started my morning duties...unloading dishwasher, making breakfast for girls, taking a shower, getting ready and dressing the girls. We were going to meet Mrs. Caren and Charley at the Discovery Science Place today and the girls couldn't wait! We arrived right as Charley pulled up and all three girls had a great time playing for two hours. After we left there, I had a couple of errands to run and then I decided to run through the drive-thru at Chick-fil-a for lunch. I was STARVING. Got the food and brought it home, pulled everything out of the bag, only to realize that my Chargrilled wrap was NOT in the bag....ugh!! I was SO mad...mainly because I was so hungry and there was no way I was going back up there because as soon as the girls finished their lunch they were taking a nap. I attempted to call them 6 times, letting the phone ring at least 20 times each call. No one answered. Finally, on my last call a lady answered and I told her the situation. She was really nice and apologized, taking my name down and told me the next time I was in that I would get a wrap for free. That's nice...but it doesn't take away my hunger! I ate my fries and now I'm still hungry, and a little sleepy...I think dinner and bed might come a little early tonight. Girls are finally napping. Maybe the rest of my afternoon will go better. Here are some pics of the girls playing with Charley.

Claire, Camden and Charley in outer space


Claire's having a hard time carrying her heavy basket of food


I think Claire got her shopping basket as full as she could


Camden weighing her produce


Claire and Charley having lunch


Chef Camden is preparing something yummy


Claire with her apron and oven mitts