Happy 3rd Birthday Claire!

Claire turned 3! What a smart, independent, outgoing, extroverted fun girl she is growing up to be. I can only begin to imagine what her future holds. 

We had her party a park rather than at home this year, since we are in the little rental house. It was fine doing this way, however I realized we need to pack up and haul in quite a bit of stuff. The girls had a good time playing on the play equipment while the adults visited and clean up was a breeze. So all in all it worked well.  

I did't take as many pictures as I wanted showing the decorations and everything set up,  but here are a few from the day. 

The Happy Birthday banner I made. It didn't turn out quite like I pictured.

Grandma and Claire opening her doctor's kit and coat.

Claire and Papa Dean

Grammy and Grandpa Dan goofing around.

My attempt at an "action" shot

Her loot! Good thing we keep her party small.

Emma "helping" Claire open her present

Claire couldn't wait to put on her new ballerina outfit and tiara.

Claire with all her grandparents!

First of many attempts to get a family photo

Claire and Corky have the same expression. It cracks me up!

Claire is giving the cheese.

Here's a keeper!

Thanks everyone for coming. It was a fun time and great to see everyone. We love you all and are so grateful to have you in Claire's life.

Claire and 20 questions.... I want to do this each year with our children, where I ask them 20 questions and see how the answers change from year to year.

1. What is your favorite color? ……………....…...  
Pink

2. What is your favorite toy? ………………..…..  
Princess Belle Doll

3. What is your favorite fruit? ……………….….  
Oranges

4. What is your favorite tv show? ……………....  
Mickey Mouse Club House

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  ....... 
Popcorn

6. What is your favorite outfit? ………………...... 
Silver Christmas Dress

7. What is your favorite game? …………….......... 
Duck, Duck, Goose

8. What is your favorite snack? ……………….... 
Granola Bar

9. What is your favorite animal? ……………..…  
Giraffe

10. What is your favorite song?.…….................… 
Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

11. What is your favorite book? ….................…… 
Dr. Dan, The Bandage Man

12. Who is your best friend? ………………....…...  
Abigail, Emma and Olivia

13. What is your favorite cereal? ……………...…. 
Mini-Wheats

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? ................. 
Playing on the Play Structure

15. What is your favorite drink? ……………...........….. 
Chocolate Milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? …………................… 
Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? … 
Princess Blanket

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? ....... 
Daddy’s Pancakes

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? …… 
Chicken, rice and salad with croutons

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? ……… 
Princess

P.S. If you took pictures of the party could you please email them to me. THANKS!!

Wordless Wednesday

First day of Preschool

Claire first day of preschool was yesterday. She did AMAZING and was so excited! We enrolled her in Crosshill Christian School in the their Preschool for 3's. She goes two days a week, for three hours each day. It was important to us to have her in a faith based environment. The class size is small (perfect), just nine students and her teacher is awesome. 

Back in February, when preschools have their open houses, I wasn't sure if Claire was even ready for preschool, nor what type of "school" would be best fit for her. There are so many philosophies regarding children's education (especially in Portland), that it was a bit overwhelming. Plus, I wasn't sure what area we were going to be living. We narrowed down to the Keizer area and had a referral to Crosshill. Also, I had several teacher friends who we saw on a weekly basis tell me that Claire was more than ready for school and would really enjoy all that school had to offer.  

Thankfully everything fell into place!

Eating a big yummy breakfast

1st Day of Preschool
09/06/2012
Mrs. Davis

Take 2

Third times the charm

Her backpack is HUGE!

Hanging on the hook by her name

Her desk (the four year olds have class on MWF so they share)

Ready to start her day

I just hope and pray that her enthusiasm for school last another twenty years. 

Family pictures

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago. I decided to try someone different this time, as it has been frustrating coordinating schedules with our previous photographer. I am not sure that was such a good idea. You can decided for yourself. All I know is that its a good thing Claire is cute.

Our appointment was for 11 o'clock in the morning and it was already 85 degrees. I feel sorry for the people she had scheduled at 3 pm. It was supposed to be 100 degrees that day. If you look at Claire's cheeks you tell that she was getting hot. She was being a stinker too; not wanting to smile, just giving a little grin.

Enjoy!

Claire -vs- tailgate

Last week, on the second day of our move Claire ran full speed into the corner of Dave's tailgate. I saw it happen and it still gives me the shivers to think about it. 

We were loading up the odd and ends from the garage and garden tools; the house was completely empty and we had nothing to clean or bandage it with. Thankfully our neighbors were home and were generous to help us out. A little peroxide, a little neosporin, one butterfly band-aid, one regular band-aid and a dosage of Tylenol and all was well. 

I don't have any pictures of the wound itself, so I will spare you the honor. Claire has done a great job keeping the band-aid on, letting me clean and change the band-aid periodically. It is healing nicely and hopefully wont scar too bad. In hindsight it probably needed a stitch or two. Our first bloody experience is in the books and I am looking forward to repeating it any time soon. 

UPDATE:  Here's a picture of Claire's forehead from yesterday. It looks great!

Best laugh ever?

I say YES!

Disclaimer..... I am completely bias and I know it.

4th times a charm?

We put in an offer on another house. This one is a short sale too. I know, I know, we have been burned three times by bank owned and short sale properties but we are trying to get the most house for the money and they offer the most bang for our limited buck.

Anyway, here are the pictures:

Photo Gallery		MLS#: 653620

I like this one the best out of all of them, even though it is not as "move in ready" as the last one. There is blue everywhere; blue paint, blue carpet, blue floor tile, blue countertops, blue back splashes and weird setup for a family room. However, it is in a nicer neighborhood with better schools. The yard is nicely done with a garden shed, it has lots of storage, a pull thru garage to the backyard, plus it has an additional 400 sq ft bonus room.

In the mean time we are renting a little house in north Keizer. It was challenging find a place that would do a month to month lease and allow our two large dogs. We will be moving in two weeks and then promptly leaving for four days of camping. Dave thinks I am CRAZY and I probably am, but whatever, you do what you have to do. This camping trip has been planned for six months and I'll have plenty of time to unpack when we get back.

Your prayers and good thoughts are appreciated.

http://www.johnlscott.com/PropertyDetail.aspx?GroupID=272100899&ListingID=301361218&CMID=-1&Sort=0&RTR=50&LI=3&t=1