Happy 2nd Birthday Clare!!

I am sure every year, every parent says it is so hard to believe their child is such and such age. But I'm also sure every year it is just as astonishing! I cannot believe Clare is TWO!!

We had an extremely fun filled weekend celebrating her birthday! Friday night we headed to Red Robin and had dinner as a family. Of course they brought over a huge sundae and sang to her. LD and I both were ready for her to start crying because her face was so serious, but she just took it all in...and loved her special dessert!

Saturday we went with our friends Min, Kimmy and Ayden to Lazy 5 Ranch to celebrate. Ayden is just two months younger than Clare and it is such a blessing for her to have a friend who is doing the exact same things she is! It was SO hot out, but everyone had a blast. As soon as we got onto the wagon a big elk stuck his head under Clare's feet and licked her arm and that was the end of feeding the animals for Clare. She loved the wagon ride and pointing to the animals, but she did not like when they were all up close to her. For our out of state fam and friends, Lazy 5 Ranch is this huge ranch where you can take a wagon ride or ride a car through where the animals live. You actually get to feet bison, elk, giraffes, ostrich, water baffalo...I can't even remember what else, right out of your hand. It's crazy! We were 2 feet from some beautiful zebras but you aren't supposed to feed them because they bite and I was a little freaked out about them myself! After that big adventure and some serious naps Clare opened all of her presents and she had a bunch that had come in the mail from our wonderful family and friends. We are so blessed that our friends and family want to celebrate our daughter even though we live far away and cannot celebrate with them! LD and I got Clare a kitchen and the rest of the day was spent playing with toys, and more toys, and more toys!

We are now less than 4 weeks from bringing home another baby girl!! My mom will be here Oct. 14th and they will induce me by my due date (Oct 23rd) since Clare was so big and so late :) I feel like we are ready and I have no doubt our big two year old will make an amazing big sister!!

Happy Birthday Clare!! We love you!!

She continues to amaze!!

I have posted pictures every time we have had them taken by Christine at Dimples and Curls Photography and she just always always amazes me!! We talked about doing a maternity shoot and I was so unsure about it, but she made me feel so comfortable and incorporated so many family shots, and sweet shots of Clare and I. These pictures will always be such a sweet memory of this special time in our life! Thank you so much Christine for using your gifts to bless others!

Awful, horrible, no good, very bad....WEEK!

Gross, I know. just in case you wanted to know what hand, foot and mouth disease looked like!

Beware this blog post may not be uplifting!!!

I am usually a very positive person. I'm the one who if you ask how I am I say "great" and I usually feel like its very accurate. Not this week... Thankfully I didn't see anyone to ask me how I was doing, but if you are curious, I was not good!

On Tuesday I found a spot on Clare's tongue and knew it was hand, foot and mouth disease...again! I don't know how we have gotten it two times, but it is gross. The first time Clare had it was not bad, didn't last long, and we powered through. This time, this no good sickness took us by STORM! Clare developed blisters on her hands, her feet and all over her mouth (cheeks, tongue, roof of her mouth). Also from having it once already we knew there is no medication...just some motrin and tylenol.

Clare would scream "teeth hurt" over and over during the day, all day. She is an avid thumb sucker at night and not being able to suck her thumb meant she couldn't sleep. So she would scream for an hour, sleep for an hour and then wake up screaming again. The first night I rocked her for 3 hours, and the second night she slept with me while LD slept on the couch since he had to work the next day. She also did not eat one bite of food from Tuesday-Sunday. During the day we didn't leave the house and she screamed all day long. I normally have a very easy happy baby and she turned into a child I hope and pray I never see again. It was not pretty!

After 5, yes 5 days of this craziness her mouth started to heal. At this point we were both running ragged and by time LD walked in the door from work I was usually already in tears (and I am not a crier!!)

Last night Clare actually slept through the night and is sleeping peacefully now during her nap. Right now she is not sucking her thumb and if this sickness cured her of thumb sucking I may have to erase this post and call it all a blessing, but time will tell!

Here are some things I learned this week (in hindsight of course):

- No matter how blessed you are, and I am mighty blessed, you still have days that bring you to your knees

-When your kids get sick living 12 hours away from your mom is not a wise idea

-An almost 2 year old girl who has no sleep or food for 5 days should not be seen in public

-With God as my strength all things are possible, even when they seem incredibly overwhelming.

Today I am so thankful for my daughters sweet disposition, her joyful heart and her love for people. I know that as we bring another sweet little girl into our home in the next 2 months we will have difficult days...but God will see us through. I have no idea how I would make it through difficult times if it wasn't for His love and promises!

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

My sweet Bella-boo

Look...someone's been sleeping in my bed!!!

The only furniture she's allowed to sleep on....

Searching for bunnies

Caught in the act!!!

Best friends :)

Anyone who knew me pre-Clare knows thats my sweet cocker spaniel Bella was my first baby. She was incredibly spoiled and treated like a human in many ways. I feel like she deserves a little love shout out on the blog for being such a great dog!!

Bella is the most maintenance free dog anyone could ever have. She has a little doggie door in the dining room and goes in and out whenever she needs to. We feed her twice a day and other than that requires not much attention. Bella is so so sweet with Clare and very protective of her when we are out walking.

I recently decided that Bella was no longer allowed to sleep on our bed during the day. She's never been allowed in bed with us at night, but would curl up on top of the covers during the day. Well all of a sudden I started finding her UNDER the covers of my made bed. Yes, she would seriously pull the covers back with her paws and crawl under. It was comical, ridiculous...and gross. So poor Bella is no longer allowed on our new couch or in our bedroom. So here is a pic of her new favorite place to sleep, even though she doesn't fit very well.

Thanks for being such a sweet dog Bella...even as you continue to get demoted as we add more children to our home!