Cold Turkey

Mati Claire is pacifier free! I had absolutely no intention of taking it away any time soon. Not even this year. But I noticed that she was starting to go without it more than usual on Sunday. She even went to bed without it on Monday. So I decided to take it away...for good. Her naps have been the hardest to deal with. She screams for awhile and eventually falls asleep. Then wants it when she wakes up too. But she's been over 48 hours without it. Can someone please tell me why I feel so guilty. She gives me the look and I feel like I took her best friend away from her. I feel so bad. Has anyone else ever felt guilty over this?

Mati Claire went to the zoo for the first time today! She liked the birds and the giraffes. She wouldn't pet the baby pigs or goats. She just wants to play in the mud and grass WITH the pigs. Weird.

Speaking of animals...I can't take any more rodents. Between the mice, the monster spiders, and the unrelenting frogs, I just might have a heart attack. These aren't your "out in the country" frogs. These things are so loud especially when they echo througout the house from the windows. Luckily (trying not to jinx myself) we have not come across any more turtles or snakes.

Congratulations Melanie and Bill! Can't wait to meet baby Ben!

Also to Andy and Andrea! We're waiting for more pictures of the twins!

VACATION!

Finally...a vacation! Matt and I are BOTH off this week and we have absolutely NO plans! It's wonderful! I had mentioned going to the beach for the first time since we have had Mati Claire. Matt's response was "with her???" :)

Mati Claire is so funny. Maybe it's just her age but she's hilarious. She laughs at everything and laughs even when she wakes up in the morning. She is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. She dances everytime she hears music and spins in circles until she gets dizzy. She even cracked us up during her 1 year photo session Friday. She was striking all the model poses and laughing the whole time. Cindi said she was a textbook on modeling. I'm not bragging, she's just hilarious. I'm sure Cindi says that to every child. MC is really talking alot lately. Not sure what she says, but definitely having l.o...n......g....talks with herself.

We threw James and Laura a Luau Wedding Shower last night. It was alot of fun. I think they got more advice on marriage and children than they probably expected. And it was a great night because it was all adults!

Here's a few pictures from today. I was reading a friend's blog and her little girl wears her Sunday best (minus the wrinkles) for the entire day. It makes sense...spending a ton of money on nice dresses...to only wear them for a hour or two. The first one is dedicated to all those who have to get up and go to work on Monday...the rest of us are on vacation!

Bad Hair Day

This is actually normal for us...all day! She was so funny when she woke up from her nap today that I had to take a picture. Matt asked if I placed an electric outlet near her crib or something. She literally sleeps on her head...It's ridiculous! I'm sorry, Mati Claire, you inherited Mommy's hair.

Happy Birthday, Kerigan! She turns 4 on Monday.

Matt and I got a night out together Friday. The new Batman movie is awesome! I'm looking forward to almost 2 weeks off work after Tuesday. Yeah! MC's learned to wave bye-bye and how to throw a ball back and forth. It's great! Bye-Bye!

Nieces...the 3 K's

K, K, and K! Here's a few pics of my nieces: Kerigan, Kennedy, and Kendall! These were taken from the birthday party and I thought they were so cute I had to post them. Jeanelle did a great job! Kennedy had her speech test today, so far they say she is fine...just stubborn. Imagine that! Kerigan's birthday is this weekend, and I'm so mad that I have to work. She's having a real "tea party."

Mati Claire had her 1 year old vaccines last week and seems to be doing okay so far. I still have to wait out the rest of the week to see if she breaks out in a rash. She also wants to eat everything that we eat. A big step from last week. Now she chokes on everything and ends up throwing up (Fritos, Teddy Grahams) but at least she's TRYING.

I thought things were settling down around here, but then work crews started back. Graham is getting some work done on the house. The dealership said they have to keep my car overnight because they "broke something." Then I took our dog to the vet to get her teeth cleaned today. I thought pool water would be good for her, but they said it's not. Her ears are red and starting to get infected. We took a trip to Bay Springs Sunday to visit Matt's extended family. It was so great to visit with all the cousins. It's amazing how fast they grow! I thought Matt's grandfather was doing well. He is having more tests run this week. So I don't see things settling down this week.

We had fun at the park this morning. It's good to see all the kids playing together. And I enjoy knowing that I'm not the only mother out there! :)

1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Mati Claire! MC turned 1 today. She has really enjoyed having her cousins here all week. We finally got around to turning her car seat around! Yeah! It's hard to believe 1 year ago today I was having the worst and best day of my life! Her entrance into this world was not what I was hoping for or expecting. So bad that I'm considering never having another one! ;) Having a 4 year old, 2 year old, and 1 year old in the house at the same time is also REALLY good birth control!

Her party Saturday was great! Her cake turned out to be awesome. MC seemed to greet every person that walked in the door. She was in the best mood and enjoyed every second of it. And I thought she did really well opening her gifts. Thank you to everyone who came and for the gifts!

Happy 4th of July

4th of July! Everyone here is just hanging out at the pool...getting sunburned. My family is here so Mati Claire has loved having her cousins to play with. We did have one major accomplishment this week: sippie cups! MC swapped over to a sippie cup in 1 day! I think breastfeeding aided in the transition because I don't think she was ever attached to bottles to begin with. Of course, MC will do anything for GiGi! She has passed me over several times this week for Gigi. MC finally got another tooth (her top fronts). I know some of you really don't care about sippie cups and teeth...but that is a big deal around here!

Hope to see everyone tomorrow morning for the big birthday party!