This is long...lots of pictures!

We have been busy over here and have lots to report. I'll try to sum up the past month or so with this post.

We recently came back from spending a few days in Arkansas with family. Now that Tom's parents, my parents and my grandparents live about 1 mile from each other, we can easily shuttle kids, dogs, and each other back and forth to spend some quality time together.

Lots of hanging out and staying inside. It's been really cold here and we are SO ready for Spring.

Lots of art projects to do...

Even with the cold days, Clara had to get outside some.

Clara has been learning the 50 states and puts this puzzle together on her own with a little help from me or Tom.

She's also playing with her legos and having us read to her quite a bit. She is loving the Berenstein Bears, Curious George and the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer.

We are really going country over here. Recently, Tom and I had the crazy idea to buy some chickens. We bought a coop and are trying to get our little chick out of the coop so we can get some real ones in! We are going to get some laying hens soon and have fresh eggs.

William is a handsome little doll!! We love him so much and just are amazed by his sweet personality and how fast time has gone by with him. He will be 5 months old soon and you can just see him taking new things in every day and becoming so aware of everything around him. At his 4 month checkup, he was off the chart (~110%) for his height and in the 75% for his weight. He gets lots of compliments on his beautiful blue eyes.

I recently celebrated my 30th birthday (!!!!) here and received an awesome camera from Tom. I really love the sharpness of it's pictures and the speed that I can now snap pictures. My parents were also able to be here to celebrate with me which I don't think has happened since I was in high school. We had a lot of fun together plus they babysat for us so that Tom and I could go out for dinner. Good times :)

Tom and Clara made me a chocolate cherry cake that I love. Clara really enjoys helping in the kitchen, especially when there is batter to lick.

Here are my two sweet Valentines. Clara got a big heart balloon and she still plays with it today! When will that thing just deflate?!? Even after a patch job with some scotch tape it still hangs high.

William is now sleeping in his own room! He has new furniture and the room has a vintage airplane theme.


The past couple days have been so nice!! There was a hot air balloon flying over our house so we ran out and I got some cute pictures of Clara riding on Tom's shoulders in order to get the best look at the balloon. It was so funny because after the baloon went down we were walking back to the house. Clara says, "Mommy, let's go to Walmart. I want to get one of those balloons."

Clara continues to be a doting big sister...here's how I found William a few minutes after I asked Clara to give him a toy to play with.

Potty Training and the Dentist

We have been in potty training mode over here the past week or so. Clara really started to 'get it' and is making huge strides to lose the diapers, once and for all!!

Clara also had her first dentist appointment and she did great! She had an x-ray, her teeth cleaned and flossed and also had a floride treatment. Something that works well for us is to 'practice' or rehearse what will happen during a new situation. Tom or I started playing dentist and have Clara lay on the couch. We ask her name and how old she is, who the little baby is next to her (William), etc. Then we would pretend to clean her teeth and use the sucking device. Pretty soon, the roles would reverse and Clara would play the dentist and clean our teeth. She really loves this AND it prepares her well for the actual event and makes the whole thing a lot less scary. When the real deal actually happens, it's almost old hat to her. The hygenist commented she was one of the best 2 year olds she had seen! Unfortunately, I didn't even think of documenting this with pictures so hopefully I'll remember in 6 months at her next checkup.

William is about to roll over...he has not fully done it yet, but he is so close! He is now over 3 months old and just a sweet, sweet boy. He smiles easily and is ticklish under his arms and chin. It is just so darn stinkin' cute to hear him laugh.

Here are some of the latest pictures of the two and one of sweet Chelsea.

Some cute ones

Here are some cute pictures of the kiddos and Tom. Clara is hot and cold lately about having her picture taken - she's either hamming it up or pouting and turning her back on the camera. Hopefully that is a 2-year old thing and we'll get past this phase.

William is getting really big!! At his 2 month checkup he weighed 13lbs 5 ounces and was 25 inches long. That was the 90% for weight and 100% for height. He is still an awesome baby. So lovable and cuddly and also a great sleeper.

Clara is also doing well. She had a great Christmas and is enjoying all the books and games she received as well as the scooter and bike.

We recently got several inches of snow. Tom took Clara out on a sled and pulled her around and she also tried making snowballs and a snowman. The snow was too dry and powdery though and didn't giver her much to work with.

It's really cold here!! Last night I think it was around 4 degrees and we are supposed to get more snow late tonight and early in the morning. Fun times.