New house is Becoming a Home

My grandparents drove up to visit on Tuesday and spent the night with us too. It was great because they were able to watch Clara while Tom accompanied me to my doctor's appointment and was able to meet my new doctor. My OB's office has a lot of rules - one of which is there are absolutely no kids allowed in any of the exam rooms. There are signs posted all over about this. Kind of strange for an OB office in my opinion.

Anyways, on Wednesday morning my grandfather got busy! He offered to hang up some pictures around the house and so I found quite a few that needed to be put on the walls. Here are a few pictures from all his work. Thank you very much G&G!





Our new furniture finally came in yesterday and it looks great! Here are some pictures of our new pieces. We are still waiting on one chair and ottoman - hoping that comes next week.

Maybe Barney isn't THAT bad...

In the past few months I have come to see and understand the merit and benefit that Barney the Dinosaur possesses. Clara's a very busy little girl and Tom and I like to encourage this behavior. We want her to be active, learn and explore new things, and to keep her interest involved in things that don't involve starting at a big, flat screen for hours on end. For this reason we limit her to one or two tv shows a day. However, I am really loving this time of quiet and couch-time because it gives me a chance to cook some dinner, drink my morning coffee or take a fast shower. Anyways, from this Barney watching, comes a cute little song that Clara has picked up. Check her out below:

Somersault Sweety

Tom showed Clara how to do a somersault yesterday and Clara has been perfecting hers ever since! Check out her new move...

Family Visit from OK and TX Trent's

We love living closer to family!! Tom's parents and his sister and her family have been down this weekend for a visit. We have had a lot of fun swimming in the pool, going on Ranger rides, and just hanging out together.

Clara and Tom check for bugs in the pool filter

Katherine and Clara playing in the pool

This morning, the guys went out to Wilson's Creek Battlefield to explore around. It's not far from our house and Tom has been wanting to get up there for a while.


Last night we had a big shrimp boil with potatoes, corn, sausage, and shrimp. We covered the patio table with freezer paper and (after draining all the liquids) poured everything out on the table and just ate everything off the table. No plates or anything. It was pretty fun and different and everything tasted really good.

We celebrated Tom's birthday last night and he requested a tres leches cake. I have never made one before, but it turned out to be a very yummy cake. Tres Leches means three milks in Spanish. You bake a pretty basic cake then poke holes all in it. Then pour in a mixture of whole milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Then let it all soak in and top with homemade whipped cream. Let it sit in the fridge for a little bit then enjoy! Different, but good.

Clara's having a great time with everyone. She is a busy body trying to get anyone and everyone to play ball with her or chase around the house or color or anything else she can think of. Here are some cute pictures of her that Tom's Dad took this morning playing in the backyard.

Our latest family picture - Chelsea looks like a ferocious dog here but was really caught mid-yawn.

The front yard shortly after sunrise this morning.