Keeping Cool

This past week has been hot, hot, hot...not only have temps been off the charts, but the humidity levels have been awful. I'm usually not all that bothered by the heat, but being 34 weeks pregnant has changed that. I have been more than thankful for air conditioning this week, that is for sure. Today's weather was hot again, with temps near 90 degrees...luckily the humidity levels dropped off quite a bit, so it wasn't too unbearable. In order to stay cool, Claire and I spent the day outside in the water and inside in the air conditioning.

We started our day off with a walk and then headed to the Oak Hill Splash Pad in St. Louis Park. We arrived around 10am and the place was packed. It was our first time there and Claire had a blast, especially playing in the little fountains.

After we had our fill of water fun, we headed home for lunch and much needed naps...a 3 hour nap for Claire and a 2 hour nap for me. The rest of the afternoon was filled with snack time and then some more water fun in our backyard. Definitely a fun-filled day!

Weekend at the Lake

We spent the weekend at my sister and brother-in-law's cabin in Hackensack, MN. It was our 4th annual trip up there, and it was by far the best weather we have ever had. We enjoyed the sunshine and spent most of the weekend outdoors. The kids played in the sand and water, we enjoyed several boat rides, and spent both evenings around the campfire. It is amazing how much Claire has changed in 3 months...in Florida she wouldn't touch the sand and REFUSED to wear her life jacket. This weekend she practically lived in the sand and wearing her life jacket wasn't such a big deal. I am sure it helped that she was following her cousins' lead the entire weekend. Either way, we were happy to see her enjoy herself so much. We got home in the late afternoon on Sunday and still had plenty of time to celebrate Father's Day. Unfortunately the rain followed us home so our planned walk to a local restaurant for dinner was canceled and we had to drive instead. We had a great meal and celebrated what a great dad Art is. Claire is lucky to have a dad that knows just how to make her laugh and smile.

Birthday Celebration

We helped celebrate my niece Ella's 5th birthday this past weekend. It is hard to believe that 5 years have already passed and that she will be headed off to kindergarten next year. The weather was beautiful, and there was lots of pizza, cupcakes, and laughter to go around. Claire had a blast following her cousins around...she can't quite keep up, but I am sure it won't be long!

Smooth Transition

Claire made the transition to her toddler bed this weekend. She proved us wrong again and made a very smooth transition. I put her down for a nap on Friday afternoon and she was like "yeah, whatever mom...no big deal." So far she has survived 3 naps and 2 overnights in her new bed. She did have one minor mishap when she fell out of her bed after a couple hours of napping on Friday...opps. Luckily her bed is so close to the floor! The most amazing part of it all is that she hasn't gotten out of her bed once. When she wakes up in the morning, she patiently waits for us to come in just like she did when she was in a crib. We are hoping that it continues. She is such a BIG girl and we are so proud!! Here are some pictures of her new room.

18 Months Old

We are now officially parents of a one and a half year old! From here on out she will be closer to two than one...I guess she really isn't a baby anymore. Good thing, since baby #2 will be here in 8 short weeks! I went back and looked at what she was doing 3 months ago and it is crazy how much she has changed in such a short time.
At 18 months, Claire:

• is talking up a storm. It is amazing how many words she has learned and how many things she repeats every day. She has started to string together 2-3 words at a time. Some of our favorites so far are one more (as in one more story before bedtime), more milk (the girl would drink a gallon a day if we let her), I poopie (which is true about 50% of the time), and all dirty (when taking off her shoes). She has also become quite good at using the words no and mine...these are definitely not on the favorites list.
• continues to love music. We finished up our Saturday morning class last weekend, but she continues to have class during the week at school. Earlier this week she kept saying apple nana over and over and we couldn't figure out why, especially since she has decided that bananas are no longer for her. It finally occurred to us that she was trying to sing the song 'I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas'. Crazy girl. Itsy Bitsy Spider is also a favorite, especially with the actions.
• loves to be outside. She could spend hours at the park or outside in our backyard. She loves the sand as long as she has her tennis shoes on. If she is in her sandals and there is any risk her feet might get dirty, forget it.
• enjoys going on bike rides in the bike trailer with Dad.
• still only has 7 teeth. We are starting to wonder if she will ever have a full set. She has been sticking her fingers in her mouth and chomping down on her spoon a lot, so maybe she is getting more...it is hard to tell.
• would eat blueberries all day long if we let her. She is seriously obsessed. The minute we go downstairs for breakfast she starts asking for booberries.
• enjoys her fair share of Sesame Street, usually in the morning with Daddy. Elmo is definitely her favorite.
• has started to show her 'girly' side, which I have to admit that I love. She loves watching me put on make-up and truly enjoys her wide selection of shoes (I have a bit of an obsession).

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Claire!

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Sprinkler Fun

Temperatures hit the 80 degree mark on Sunday afternoon. Claire and Art cooled off after a long walk by running through the sprinkler. I have a feeling Claire will be spending much of the summer in her bathing suit!