Merry Christmas!

Where is Ming Ming, Lenni, and Tuck?? Claire has celery!
Happy Girl!
Opening more gifts!
Christmas!!! Opening presents!!
In her new chair that Santa brought her!
Christmas run down the hallway!
Santa was here!
Christmas Eve, oooo Puzzles
Christmas Eve at the Kell's
Joe and Claire
Annie and Claire

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!! Claire had a Great 3rd Christmas!! I should back up to December 23rd, that is when we had a mini Christmas with Uncle Joe and Annie (his girlfriend). Her mom made Claire a Pillow case and Pillow she loves! She walks around with and will lay down on it! It was nice to be spend time with both them!! Saturday was a crazy day! She got all kinds of goodies from Santa, A Dora couch that flips out like a bed, and a Tag Jr, which she loves! Books, and clothes, and coloring books! Mega Blocks and many other toys! She was a very happy and overwhelmed girl on Saturday Morning! We had a nice time opening gifts with Ju Ju, Fredpa, MiMi, and pa J. Later that day we had Dinner at Juju's and Fredpa's house and it was very nice to spend time together. JuJu and Fredpa got a Slide for their house for Chloe and Claire and Claire had a blast playing with it!!! She wore herself out and slept almost 12 hours which is not common for Little Miss Claire. We also got to skype with Aunt D, Bub, and Chloe. We found out we will be hopefully celebrating Christmas in Severville, TN next year with my mom's side of the family! This Christmas was a lot of fun and I'm sure it will just keep getting more fun as each year passes by! We are so blessed and thankful for our Family and Friends!!!

Nana and Papaw Christmas!

Claire was lucky to have her second Christmas with Nana and Papaw a week before Christmas! She was a very lucky girl,she received an Art Easel and Pillow pet!! She loves them both, and clothes of course!! And some other things of course!! It was so nice to visit with them, and we are exctied to see them again for Aunt Sarah's Wedding Jan. 8th!!! It will be here before we know it!! Mommy and Daddy got some goodies too!!! I took some pictures but of course Claire wouldn't look at the camera!!! This girl is so hard to get a good picture!! Although we did take her to get some pictures taken at a professional place in Mansfield because they had a deal for 10 bucks, and I was really impressed. I think I know where we will be going for her 2 year old pictures! Ugh That's scary she is going to be 2 in a little over 2 months! We are planning on doing another party, Dora Themed possibly! Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself!! We have some exciting times coming up, weddings and birthdays and trips to Florida!!

Santa!

Fredpa and I took Claire to the mall today to try and get our picture with Santa. Claire was not a fan of him at all, she cried (as you can see in the picture above!). She was very upset and buried her head in Fredpa's shoulder after we left, she must not like strangers, which is a good thing! I'm gonna try to go get some pictures taken at a professional place tomorrow so we can have some happy pictures of Claire in her very pretty dress! I love my baby girl and hope I haven't scarred her for life!! I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season!!

SNOW!

As many of you know Ohio got pounded with snow this weekend. I bought Claire a snow suit and took her out for a few minutes yesterday, and I had to bring her in screaming and crying. She was picking up the snow and throwing it. She didn't make snow angels or anything but I thought maybe next time! I am going to have to get her a little sled for Grandma Crystals and Fredpa's! They have a nice hill in their back yard, we have a little one but not much of one. I was afraid she was really going to hate snow because she hasn't walked in it yet, but yesterday she had no problem!! Good thing I got her a snow suit on Black Friday!! Now I just hope that this snow stops for a bit and it gets a little warmer, but who am I kidding we live in Ohio!

Christmas with Grammy and Grandpa J!

We had our first christmas (of the year) this past weekend with Grammy and Grandpa J's house! All of Mitch's brothers were able to get together with all the kids, it was complete chaos but I loved every minute of it! Unfortunately I deleted all the photo's from the kids opening their presents on our camera! I was so mad, but it happens. The kids had a blast playing together and opening presents. The boys (Landon and Brayden) got into the gifts under the tree, but that is expected! Claire still hasn't gotten the idea of presents, either that or there was just too much going on for her to focus, so maybe by Christmas morning she will get it?? The kids were playing in a cardboard box and having a blast!~ Why do we buy actual toys??? During that time of play they knocked over the christmas tree! Claire was upset and kept saying " Oh No" which is a popular phrase for our munchkin. Everything was fine but the kids' reactions were so funny! It was very nice to see everyone, it doesn 't happen very often! We love when everyone can get together! Now on to our second christmas of the year this coming weekend!

Baking Cookies

Claire got a taste of what it is like to make cut out cookies yesterday with Grandma Crystal. She had a snow day so Claire and I got to spend some time with Grandma Crystal and

Fredpa. Claire was not a fan of the flower but she had a great time rolling out the dough!! We will have to make some more cookies, she had a blast!! Last Thursday our attempt with santa was a bust, so we are hoping to try again this week, we will see. I hope everyone is enjoying the season, although in Ohio right now it's snowy and COLD! We can't wait for Claire's 2nd Christmas this weekend with Grandpa Richey and Nana! It has been a long time since we have seen them, probably too long! I can't believe how fast December is flying by!!

21 Months!

Holy cow I'm actually doing a blog on the right day and Claire is 21 months today!!!! I can't believe it! She is such a little diva, and before we know it she will be two! This has been a busy week for us, Mitch and I have finals, I'm finishing up my clinicals, and the Pletcher Christmas this weekend!!!! So much excitement!! I can't wait to be done with classes.....ahhh it will be nice to spend some time with my Claire Bear. She is still getting over a cold/cough, so am I and Mitch hopefully it will end soon. I think because of this she has been getting up at 3, 4, and 5 am......it's been rough for both Mitch and I. I am hoping she will soon get into her old pattern. Potty training will begin again next week! She has been showing interest in her potty and telling me when she's going I just wanted to wait until I could give her my complete attention, so we will see how it goes...to be done with diapers would be a blessing. She is talking us in circles, she already will take my phone and say "Call Choooey" or Pa or Jewjew(grandma Crystal), or Mimi (grammy Tracy)...you get the picture and we will call them for her and she will talk and talk. That is definitely something she loves to do! Her vocabulary amazes me, and she is starting to mock so when we watch football games mommy and daddy have to watch what they say!! Uncle Joe has been back on break and Claire is so funny with him, "Come on Joe" is one of her catch phrases. We have been working on Santa and baby Jesus but haven't gotten anywhere yet. I am planning on taking her Thursday to get her picture taken with Santa. Fingers crossed she doesn't loose it!!! We got our first big snow this weekend and Claire doesn't really know what to think of it, we will have to throw the snow suit on and let her loose! I can't believe how fast time has been flying by, but she is amazing! My mom asked me the other day how I felt about everyone getting pregnant again and I couldn't be happier!! I know it does make you think about having another one, but we aren't there yet as a family. But we are excited about all the new cousins and friends to be here shortly!!! (ok mid winter and early summer!) Christmas is going to be a ball next year with all the kids!! I will try to post the Santa pix as early as I can!!! Happy 21 Months Baby Claire!!!! Sorry no picture for today but there will be some later this week!

Thanksgiving!

Claire Bear

Chloe got a purse!

In The Pool!

Claire Bear!

Chloe...which toy should I pick????

We had a great thanksgiving this year! Claire and Chloe really played with each other, it was amazing how much they've changed in 3 weeks! We went to D.C. for Thanksgiving, Jamma and Popop got a Time Share in Alexandria and we had Aunt Connie and Uncle Ed over along with Brad, Danielle, and Chloe, and Mom and Dad. Danielle and I did a lot of Black friday shopping, we went out at 9:30 pm on Thanksgiving and got home 5:30 am on Friday and then went shopping again....on Friday and of course on Saturday too! The girls played in a jacuzzi tub that was in the time share, they called it a "pool". They really enjoyed each other, and it's always sad when we have to leave. Alhthough we were there from Wednesday until Sunday it was a great stay! Brad and Mitch even got to go out and get a few drinks. Now Thanksgiving is over.....we can move on to Christmas!

Chloe's 2!

The Girl's at Aunt Connies!

Annie and Claire

Ooo a present for me??!!

Chloe and Claire!

Chloe's Cake!

Chloe turned 2 on November 7th! Claire and I went with Fredpa and Grandma Crystal to D.C. for the event! Chloe had her party at Uno's Pizza and everyone had a great time! We also got to see Uncle Joe and his girlfriend Annie! We missed Mitch, but had a good time. The girls had fun playing with each other, it's always hard to leave, but this time we knew we would be back in 3 weeks for Thankgsgiving!! The girls had a wonderful time at Aunt Connie and Uncle Ed's playing with balloons!!! It was a great trip and I can't believe Chloe is 2 already, before we know it Claire will be too!

18 Months!

Claire turned 18 months on the 6th, Labor day! We can't believe she is 1 1/2 years old! Friday we went to her 18 month Doctor's visit, she weight 28 pounds and is 34 inches tall! Weight is in the 90th percentile and off the charts for height! How did we get this tall baby!! She also got 4 shots!! And took it like a trooper! She is becoming quite a character, she is starting to get more daring and dangerous! We are enjoying the fall like weather, by taking more walks, especially to Grammy Tracy's and to Grandma Crystal's School. And hopefully the park this week! Since this is the last week of free time for me because school starts the 20th!! Claire has develoed a fondness for a bunny that Cousin Carol got her for her birthday. She sleeps with it and gus it at night it's so cute! She has been fighting a cold so she has been sleeping better at night!! I get to sleep in a little bit!! Hopefully she will get over this soon! Claire and I went to OU with Grandma Crystal and Fredpa today to visit Uncle Joe. He has a new appartment to start off the new year! His roomates had hamsters and Claire absolutely loved them! But I'm not the biggest fan so that will not be a new addition to our house anytime soon. We have thought about getting a pet for Claire but have decided she can share Grandma Crystal and Fredpa's Cat and Grammy and Grandpa J's dog.

Labor Day Weekend!

We were on the road again this Labor Day weekend, we went to Uniontown, Pa for Cousin Jamies baby shower! Claire got to hang out with Chloe and all of my dad's sisters and brother along with their most of their kids! It was a fun weekend for everyone! Jamie is due in October and we can't wait to meet the BOY!!! Allen James will be the first boy cousin on that side in a long time, her sister has twin girls and then we had claire and chloe, and another girl Scarlett too, so a boy in the mix will be fun! We stayed at Aunt Tessies and she had a lot of the twins toys because they are in the process of moving, and Claire and Chloe were in paradise!! They didn't have to share!!! Everyone played well together and had a great trip! We will have to try to plan a trip back in October! The weather felt like fall this weekend too!! Maybe we are making the transition??? One can hope! When we left today Chloe was upset and Claire has asked about her since we left, we won't see her until November for Birthday!! So it will be a hard few months without our Chloe fix! I will put up more pictures tomorrow our camera battery died, but we had such a great weekend I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day!

Potty Training!

So the time has come for us to start potty training!! I finially ordered her potty and got her first pack of Easy Up Training pants and mini m&m's as her reward. She has been telling us lately when she pees and since we have a 2 1/2 month window before we go back to Cleveland and we are under the impression that we may be having surgery again shortly after that apointment. So we figured we would try to start this process in the window. I figure if it doesn't work we will try later but hopefully she will take on to it quickly. I guess only time will tell, wish her luck!!

Family Visits!

The Splash Pad!!!

Happy girl!!

In the car at Nana and Grandpa Richey's!!!

Feeding Ducks with Jamma and Popop!

In a pool for the first at Rachel and Emma's!

So we have been a busy little family in the month of August! First Claire and I went to D.C. with my parents to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday! and Mitch was lucky enough to be able to drive out and Friday and come home Sunday! And Joe caught a bus from New York so everyone was there for the special day!! Claire and Chloe got a long great!!! Claire got in an actual pool for the first time this summer, it was a great weekend!! Chloe would grab Claire's hand and they would walk around together and chase each other it was priceless!! They are so sweet with each other and I hope they will have a special bond :o) It's always sad when we leave but we will be seeing them soon in Uniontown when we go for Cousin Jamie's baby shower this coming weekend! After we left D.C. on the 16th we came home and left the 17th for our journey down south! O wait how could I forget while we were in D.C. my best friend Andrea (Claire's godmother) got engaged in Las Vegas! It was surprise and we couldn't be happier for her and Tim!! They will be getting married in Naples in April so we are very excited for the wedding!! Ok so we left the 17th for Cincy we stayed with Matt and Desi and on the 18th started our trip to Asheville, NC to visit Jamma and Pop for a day! We had a great time there, we hope to make some more trips down that way. The next day we went up to Knoxville, for the Bristol race/ Grandpa Richey's 50th birthday celebration! Matt, Desi, and Landon also made it down and we got to see Collin and Katie and Sarah and Emily. The kids were so good with one another we took them to get professional pictures and we got the best picture that was possible. We also took the kids to a splash pad in downtown where they had a blast! Claire was hysterical, she would watch all the kids and laugh! Such a happy baby that we have!! Hopefully Nana and Grandpa Richey enjoyed all of the craziness of the kids! Nana has a car at their house that Claire fell in LOVE with the kids would fight over it but they did a pretty good job of taking turns. I guess we will be getting Claire a car for her birthday! We came home the following Monday and Grammy Tracy and Grandpa J moved to a house 3 streets over from us, so we got to visit them when we got back. It is nice having them within walking distance! We have been laying low since getting back from our trips and we will be taking another one before we know it! Also Mitch's brother Bryan is coming home from Boot camp for the National Guard! We are so proud of him and can't wait to see him! Heidi and Him will be getting married in October so we have a wedding to look forward too!!! I'm sorry it took me so long to post it's just been nice relaxing the

17 Months

She is FREE!!! Claire got her casts off on Thursday and it was a great day! Her fingers look amazing from where we started is great! She has been using them and discovering her new digits! We were under the impression we might be done for awhile but we got back in 3 months and are guessing we may start the lengthening process again after that. We are hoping that it starts sooner than last time because it would be nice to have the summers for swimming and getting wet but we will take whatever we are allowed from Dr. Seitz. Claire got her first bath on Friday in almost 5 months! She loved it and played and then we went to a friends house to swim and she was in heaven to be outside and do what she wanted! There is a video of her on the way home from Cleveland on Thursday, she was checking everything out and it was so sweet! We love our baby and our so proud of her! And I can't believe she is 17 months old already! Before we know it she will be 2 years old!! I'm sorry I didn't put too many pictures up but I will try to work on it tomorrow. She is getting so tall and is such a big girl. She crawled up into the recliner at my parents and was watching TV today! She hasn't been able to crawl up into furniture with the casts but now nothing is holding her back!

Surgery Success!

Claire, Brayden, and Chloe playing at Grammy's

Claire smiles for the camera!

Chloe getting in her Tinkerbell Chair!

Claire and Daddy taking a snooze after we got back from the hospital.

Claire had her surgery yesterday in Cleveland and it was a success. She has two soft casts on her hands and they did a skin graft on her groin so that has been the biggest obstacle for us. She is running around today and being really good, we are so blessed! Aug 5th the casts come off and she will be free! We will throw a big party. We have been a busy so I havent been able to update the blog as much as I would have liked! We had a busy end of June and beginning of July. We watched Ralphy (grammy Tracy's dog) at the end of june because they went to Uncle Bryan's Graduation. Then we had Nana and Aunt Katie and Collin in town for a wedding so we got to spend some time with them too! Then we had July 4th! we sold the truck and got a new car! July 4th we went to a few parties and then to Grammys and Grandpa J's for fireworks. Claire fell asleep and missed out but there's always next year. July 5th we had Chloe and Aunt Danielle fly in from D.C. and we had a good time. Claire had some issues with jealousy and Chloe touching her. I don't know if it was her hands, teeth or both. Hopefully the next time we see them hopefully she will be ok with hugs and kisses! Besides that we had a great time and then my brother Brad came in Thursday they were all in town for a wedding. They left Sunday it was sad to see them go (as it always is). Then surgery/mom's birthday was here!! We have a few things scheduled for the rest of the month, but trying to keep it low key until the casts are off. As for things Claire is doing she is all over the place and into everything. She is still talking a million miles a minute. She LOVES being outside and we are planning some more trips to the zoo.

Below is a video if Claire doing Wiggle Go from Yo Gabba Gabba! She loves to dance! She has almost come back to her old self and is getting even more active with her casts on. She climbed onto the couch today all by herself! She couldn't do this before because she couldn't put a lot of pressure on her hands. We are proud of her! She is back to regular tylenol and doing great! Hopefully everyone is staying cool in the lovely summer heat!

July 12th!

We went to Claire's Doctor appointment last Thursday and they decided to wait until July 12th(mommy's birthday) to do surgery. Her right thumb isn't completely healed and Dr. Seitz just wanted to make sure everything was ready to go! She will then have soft casts on for 3 weeks, the tentative date to get them off is Aug. 5th. We had a low key weekend and hung around the house. Mommy and Daddy went to the funnybone at Easton because they won tickets With Andrea and Tim and it kicked their butts! They got home and asleep around 2am and were still trying to recover on Sunday. Now they know why they don't do those things anymore! Claire has been very very busy lately! She has puzzles she got for her birthday that she loves doing! She can even decide where the pieces go, she's pretty amazing. On Sunday Fredpa, Daddy, Grandpa J and Uncle Jerred went Golfing while Grandma Crystal, Grammy, Mommy, and Claire Bear went shopping! Claire was so good! This girl LOVES shopping, Mitch is really in for it! She picks out her clothes when we are shopping and in the mornings it's so cute! She is really getting into reading! She loves Dr. Seuss and Chicca Chicca Boom Boom! She is a runner and gives me a heartattack almost everytime she falls! We will be so happy for the day that these extenders come off!! We have a busy Week and Weekend coming up, We have been watching Grammy's dog Ralphie because they went to Missouri for Uncle Bryan's Graduation in the National Guard. And then Saturday night and Sunday we will get a short visit with Nana and Aunt Katie and Cousin Colin. It's been a while since we have seen Katie and Colin and Nana so we are excited! We also have someone possibly coming from Cleveland to look at the truck! Fingers crossed it works out! Other than that we are keeping busy but not too busy, marking down the days to the 12th and getting excited for the 4th of July.

Cleveland Zoo

Giraffes and Ostrich's!!!

Emma looks so surprised~!

Claire bear

Flamingo's!

We went to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo today with Rachel and Emma and had a great time! I had never been to this zoo before and was quite surprised! They had Giraffes!! Which Columbus doesn't have and a few more exhibits! We didn't do the dinosaur exhibit but had a lot of fun. Claire fell asleep while we were there but we still had fun. I think we may plan another trip back since we get a discount with our other membership, (it's not like we are never in Cleveland)! Claire fell asleep so we didn't do the Flutter exhibit which is a bunch of butterflies! So if we went back I'd like to possibly do that, you couldn't bring in the strollers so that's why we didn't go. Other than that very fun! Emma had tons of fun!!! Her and Claire are hilarious together, talking and playing and then mocking! Surprising we don't have any trips planned for the zoo as of yet but I'm sure we will end up somewhere next week.