Best Hubby Ever :)

I normally keep this blog simply about Clare for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I know that is all people are really interested in :) But today I can't let the moment pass without praise to my husband for his great secret keeping skills and grand planning expertise (also, I want to make sure this event is documented!) Are you in suspense?

Last Saturday my mom had planned to come to visit for a week when some friends of hers were planning a trip to visit some of their relatives in the Carolinas. So she hitched a ride with them and was excited about a long trip. Sunday was Valentines Day and I have told LD since we were first married to just get a card. No matter what holiday or event if I have a card waiting for me I will be happy. So Sunday morning...no card. I had cards and little gifts for everyone (including mom) and received not as much as a mumbled "happy valentines day" all day long. Needless to say by the evening I was a little bitter and happy to discuss it at great length.

Monday morning I woke up and LD told me to go get a suitcase and pack for 4 days...WHAT?!?! My serious type-A personality was so thrown off that I started spouting about needing to do laundry and the list of meetings and activities I had planned for the week. After about an hour of getting organized and packed (kind of) we headed off to an unknown destination. We ended up in Charleston, SC, which if you have not been there, it is beautiful. We don't do luxury often, so when we do, it is a huge treat. We stayed at French Quarter Inn, had breakfast in bed, wine and cheese in the afternoon, homemade cookies and milk before bed and Kilwin's chocolates on our pillows. Our days were spent roaming the beautiful historic city and walking town cobblestone roads to see the harbor...it was bliss!! We saw Avatar in Imax 3D, did some shopping and ate at wonderful restaurants. LD made it very clear that this was not a Valentines gift it was a belated 5 year anniversary gift so I should not expect something like this again next year...maybe in 5?? :)

Of course we really missed Clare, but it was great knowing she was in great care with "Grammie" and they had a wonderful time together. They visited the Nature Museum, did some shopping, went to a library class and the park. When we got home on Thursday Clare would yell "GAMMIE!" when she was ready to get up from a nap and they had definetely formed a great bond!

Life gets so busy and time spent with my husband is so extremely precious! I am so thankful for him and thankful for the way he makes me a priority in his life. I am incredibly grateful for the many many blessings God has poured over my life...two of the best, Clare and L.D.!

Busy Little Bee

I have been a really bad blogger the last few weeks and my goal is definetely to get better!! Clare is 16 1/2 months and is now a big girl about everything she does. I was just talking to a friend and saying I thought boys were the ones that were all over and into everything and Clare most definetely is all over and into everything. She is so fun and has the funniest little personality. She has started really testing us and we have no doubt she will be the traditional strong willed first child.

Last weekend was a monumental weekend for us as I met 6 high school girlfriends in Ft. Myers Florida for a few days and LD's mom came to have special time with Clare. It was my second overnight away from Clare, but this time was two nights so I didn't see her for two days. We both handled it like champs :) I had a very fun, relaxing, refreshing time with the girls and I know Grandma and Clare had a ball together! It was fun to come home and see her doing a few new things like babbling and pointing at things like she was telling full stories and she learned to say "miss you" which is really cute.

Clare's new favorite thing of the week is babies. We have had babies for a few months but she has shown no interest at all. This week she carries this little doll around with her everywhere, she even goes in the car with us. She sings to her baby, reads to her and shares her milk :) The funniest thing was when Clare wanted to take off the dolls ridiculous amount of hair. She kept pulling it and saying off. I kept telling her it was stuck on her head just like her own hair. So now Clare thinks hair is called "stuck" and walks around pulling her own hair saying "stuck."

The other funny thing Clare has learned is how much mommy loves purell. As soon as she gets out of her class at the Y she runs straight for the purell container or as soon as she gets into the car after her library class she holds out her hand and says please. I am definetely not hoping Clare will have my crazy behaviors, but I am not minding this desire to be germ free!!

This week my mom comes to visit for a week and I will do my best to blog and post pictures of our adventures together, as there are always adventures with Grammie!!