Swim Night

It was swim night again and Clara had a lot of fun. Here are some shots from her trip to the Aquaplex. She especially liked the water slide this time. She would crawl up into the slide as much as she could and then flop down and slide back down. She also puts her face under water by herself now.

How do you like this cute swimsuit? The skirt on bottom is very figure friendly for her chunky little legs ;)

Trip to Chicago

Back when my Mom and I were discussing her upcoming visit, she said she was watching Oprah and saw a story about the American Girl store in Chicago and she really, really wanted to go. American Girl is a doll company that sells historical dolls...these girls are so cute! You can buy matching outfits, accessories, and pretty much anything else you can imagine for the dolls. Mom has always loved dolls and the American Girls were no exception. So we decided when she came to visit this trip we would take a trip to Chicago to visit the American Girl Store.

So...yesterday Mom, Clara, Tom and I left around 1:00 in the afternoon for Chicago. Tom had been working a 30 hour shift (nope, not a typo...he has to work some crazy shifts) and he got home around noon. We dropped Chelsea off at the dog sitter's house and we were off to the Windy City. About 3.5 hours later, with some major traffic jams, we pulled into our hotel. We went out to eat at Giordano's, an awesome pizza place with deep dish Chicago style pizza. It was different...they put the tomato sauce on the very top of the pizza (with the cheese and other toppings between the tomato sauce and the crust). Yummm! After dinner, my Mom and Clara went to the hotel pool and Tom and I headed downtown on the subway for a Cubs game. Wrigley Field was a lot of fun - Tom and I bought some tickets from a scalper and found our seats. We each drank an Old Style beer and shared a pretzel. The game was fun, but the cubs lost so we didn't get to sing the fun 'Go Cubs Go' song. Darn. Back at the hotel, after playing in the pool, Clara got a bath and went to sleep in her handy pack 'n play. This was Clara's first night ever away from me. She slept in my mom's hotel room all night :) She slept like a champ and I was happy to have a night off!

The next morning we were excited...We all headed downtown to the American Girl store!! We had reservations for brunch at the American Girl Cafe. This was quite a place!! Wow...a little girls dream (and a big girls too). We picked out an American Girl doll to sit with us at our table...a cute little blond girl with long hair. They really try to make this special for the little girls and their dolls. The napkin holder is a cute hair scrunchy you can take home and the dolls are served their very own tea cup and saucer. The food was great and Clara was happy and well behaved. It was really sweet to see the excitement on all the little girl's (and big girl's) faces. Many were there for their birthdays and you could tell this was a special day. After brunch, we did some shopping and looked around the store. Can you believe they have a doll hospital, a styling salon for the dolls hair, and 3 floors worth of American Girl dolls? We spent quite a while looking around! The doll styling salon

Later on we met up with Tom down on the "Magnificent Mile" and went to Millenium Park. We walked around the reflective sculpture which looks like a kidney bean. After that we found these cool, urban fountains. After some discussion, Tom and I decided to let Clara play in the water, but we would take her clothes off so she wouldn't be soaked all day. After being in the stroller most of the day, Clara was ready to move! She had so much fun splashing and crawling through the shallow water. So cute!!


Here are a few video clips of Clara playing in the water.


After walking around a little bit more, we loaded back into the car and drove home. Clara was asleep within a few minutes of being in the car. So were my mom and I :) We had a great time and are hoping to go back again soon.

Clara's Birthday Party

Wow - today was crazy and fun! We had a birthday party for Clara with some of our friends from Tom's work and from our church. It was a blast! There were 9 kids, with the oldest being 6 and the youngest 6 months...3 boys and 6 girls. The theme of the party was Ladybugs. The weather was perfect...81 degrees, low humidity, and a nice breeze. We were outside in the backyard the whole time. Paul (Clara's Godfather) and Tom grilled burgers, brats, and dogs on the deck while the kids played on the swingset, blew bubbles and drew on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. Clara also had 3 birthday cakes - one personal cake for her, a ladybug cake and a chocolate sheet cake made by Grandma. Yum!! My mom was a huge help with the cooking, cleaning and watching Clara...we could not have done it without her. Tom was in charge of getting the yard ready and I filled in the gaps. At the end of the party, Clara decided to try walking again. Maybe a little peer pressure from the big kids perhaps? We got a great video of her efforts. We are all tired here, but happy to have celebrated with our friends and family. Thanks to our friends for coming and the gifts for Clara.










These are all of Clara's birthday cards - displayed on the closet door :)

Happy Birthday Clara! (Video added)

Clara is one year old today!! Thank you so much to our family who sent gifts and well wishes. Clara is a very loved baby! Clara started doing some new things today. She can now get herself to a standing position without using anything to balance. She continues to take a couple steps at a time...it won't be long before she is really walking.



She also started drinking from a straw from her new octopus cup.

She also had her first birthday cake...and she LOVED it! The pictures say it all...check out the video too.

Little Clara, you are the light of your dad's and mom's life. We cannot believe how much our life has changed over the past year and we could not be any happier to have you as our daughter. You have taught us so much and continue to delight us with your smile and sweet hugs. We love you so much!

Grandma's Coming!

In just a few hours, I will be picking up my mom from the airport! She will be spending a few weeks with us and is going to be a huge help with Clara. Will update with pictures soon, but here is one from March during her trip to Colorado with us.

The Joy of FedEx

Clara's birthday is coming up and today she received a package from her Aunt Amy. We spotted it on the front porch after coming home from a long afternoon of running errands. Once we got in the house (we come in and out through the back door) I told Clara she had a package for her and that we should go get it. She crawled from the kitchen to the front door. After I brought the package in, she was all over it! She seemed to realize it was for her and was so excited to check it out. It was really sweet to see her cruise around the big box and bang her little hands on the top. She was so happy and cute, babbling and shrieking about the new box :)



Here are some other random pictures from the past few days.

I should have done this a long time ago....

Clara is an amazing little girl...she is sweet, fun, happy, playful and beautiful. This past year has been awesome. She has brought so much joy to our lives and I couldn't be happier. If there is one thing Clara isn't, it's that she is not a great sleeper. I have learned to function on way less sleep that I ever thought I could. I never thought that I would think sleeping till 7 am was gloriously sleeping in. Tom and I have drank more coffee in this past year than all the years of the military, college, med school and in corporate America put together. It's crazy how a little 8 pound baby can change your life! I'm lucky in that I stay home with her and can sleep during her naps if needed. Which I still do every now and then. Poor Tom - he definitely doesn't have this luxury and suffers from sleep deprivation a lot more than me. Over the past couple weeks, Clara has decided her new wake up time should be around 5:30 in the morning! It doesn't matter if she goes to bed early, late, on time - 5:30 is also my new time to rise and shine.
Since we live on the eastern edge of the Central Standard Time line, the sun comes up very early here and it is really bright out at 5:30. Clara has two windows in her room and I decided to cover them with dark colored sheets to try and darken the room as much as possible. I have to say this has REALLY worked! She has started sleeping a little later in the morning and as a bonus, her naps have greatly improved. I have kept the sheets up permenantly. She is sleeping much longer during her naps and going down for them so much easier. I love this! She is a better rested baby and I am getting a little more sleep myself. This is so simple and obvious, yet it's taken me a year to think of it!! Maybe some of my new mommy friends will read this and benefit a little earlier than I did :)

Happy Father's Day!

It is almost Father's day and here at our house, we are blessed to have a loving, hard working, and dedicated man who is devoted to his family. Almost one year ago, Tom became a father to Clara. He has done a superb job and doesn't shy away from parenting. Tom has been a 'hands-on' Dad from the start. He gives baths, reads bedtime stories, changes diapers, wrestles and roughhouses and dotes all over Clara. When Tom comes home from work, Clara gets a huge grin on her face and is sooo happy to see her daddy. I put together this slideshow of father-daughter moments we have caught over the past year. There is sound so turn your volume up. Enjoy!

Vacation Bible School

Well, this week has been fun and chaotic. Clara and I have been up at church helping out with VBS. Clara's schedule has had to change which means she's only getting one nap (normally she has been getting two). Clara goes to the nursery and I am with the 4 year olds. They are really sweet and (for the most part) pretty well behaved. There is one girl who likes to throw tear-filled tantrums anytime she doesn't get her way...she's interesting ;) Yesterday, I was sitting on the floor with the kids and a little girl was in my lap. She told me, 'I don't feel good...I want to go home' in this really weak and puny voice. Next thing I know, she has barfed all over me and the boy next to me. Poor girl...she really didn't feel good! Yuck!

The theme for the week is 'Out of Egypt'. We are learning about Moses and his trek to lead the Israealites out of Egypt. The kids love it and actually soak up a lot more of the story than I would ever have thought. They sing songs and do crafts. There is also recess and snack time - always a big hit. Tomorrow is the last day of VBS and then it's back to normal at the Trent house.

Poor Dog, Mean Mommy

Poor dog doesn't have a very comfy spot to lay down...I'm feeling a little bad about this :)

About 15 minutes before this picture was made, I got mad at Chelsea for scratching on the furniture. She does this thing where she wants to 'fluff' pillows, blankets, carpet, whatever, to her liking before she is ok to lay down. This routine can sometimes go on for a several minutes. She was scratching in the chair here in our living room and I asked her nicely once or twice to stop it. She kept scratching so I went over and gave her a (soft) little spanking and said "Stop it!". Next thing I know, she has found a comfy spot on the floor and she knows I don't really care if the 'fluffs' this or not!

Going to visit 'The Greats'

Back on Memorial Day weekend, Tom, Clara and I went to visit my grandparents (and Clara's GREAT-Grandparents) in Arkansas. We had a wonderful time!! We love going to visit because we get to catch up with some of our very favorite people, Tommye and Leon. They are the youngest 70-somethings we know or have ever met. Tom likes to tell people about the time he saw my grandfather hurdle a bush once like it was no big deal. Also, for those of you that don't know, Clara was named after my Grandma's mom, my great-grandmother, Clara Parker.
Anyways, Clara has only been to visit in Arkansas one other time (when she was 3 months old) so it was all very new to her. She loved all the extra attention, the fabulous food, visiting the lake and river, and playing in all the non-baby proofed bookshelves and cabinets. So much fun!

Here are some pictures from our visit.




Clara enjoys Grandfather's Waffles! Yummmmmm :)



There is a new visitors center which overlooks both Bull Shoals Lake and the White River. It has some really nice exhibits...especially liked the history of making the Bull Shoals Dam. I spotted the CUTEST costume in the gift store and thought Clara had to have it. Here is Arkansas' youngest (and most adorable) park Ranger.



Loving on her little fawn...