Smoky Mountains or bust

We got back yesterday afternoon from a great long weekend with great friends just outside of Pigeon Forge, TN. We drove up Friday afternoon (when the rain started) and arrived Friday night to meet our friends the Covingtons and Hamblins. Maggie was SO excited and had a blast. We went to the aquarium in Gatlinburg Saturday (in the rain) and enjoyed watching the kids look at all the fish. Sunday morning we went to the Old Mill Restaurant (still raining) and ate a ton of pancakes, biscuits, muffins, etc...

Afterwards, Maggie tagged along with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Amanda and met up with Toby, Eron, Todd and Ellen at an indoor mini golf place (raining, still). Andy and I took Claire back to the cabin because she just couldn't go anymore...much rest was needed. Our weekend came to an end yesterday as we traveled back to Atlanta (yes, the rain continued) and we are all back at work and school today.

We really enjoyed spending time with our friends and can't wait to see them all again soon!

Hello, my name is Claire and I have ear tubes.

Claire celebrated her 8th month by getting ear tubes. We had to be at the hospital super early and Claire actually fell asleep before they came to take her back for the surgery. They brought her back pretty quickly and she was fussy, as expected. After she calmed down and kept her juice down, we got to go home. She has recovered great and we will go back in 3-4 weeks for a check up.

Claire has also realized that rolling over is just as fun in bed as it is on the floor. We have been having a little trouble getting her to take naps because all she does is just roll over. She can sleep on her stomach at night but hasn't mastered it during naptime yet. She is starting to rock a little while she is on all fours so we'll see how long it takes before she is truly mobile.

Here is the happy girl a few days before surgery.

Friends from back home and SNOW

Posting has been scarce lately because we've all been sick. Well, everyone but Maggie. Anyway, between the sickness, we did have a visit from Leslie and James, and their girls Grace and Molly. Leslie and I were friends at the age our girls are now, so it was fun to get them together. It was their first time to meet Claire.

In other news . . . SNOW. It was raining hard this morning on the way to church. While we were inside, this gave way to snow. Not a lot of accumulation because the ground was warm, but the snow was coming down for over 6 hours. I can't remember the last time that happened.






Not much else is happening around with us. Claire has ear tubes surgery on March 11, so say a prayer for her.

Have a good week. Happy Birthday Cathy!

~Andy

Weekend Visitors

We had a nice visit with Gran and Art. Even though I thought it was impossible, Claire continued to get more sick over the weekend. She was pretty fussy Saturday and Sunday morning she started throwing up and couldn't keep any food down. Today is the first day she's been better. It's been a long week and it's only Tuesday.

Maggie had a great time playing with Gran and Art and showing them her new swingset, which she played on all weekend.

Here are some pictures. Happy Birthday Gran!

7 months

Claire turned 7 months old last Sunday. It's crazy how fast it's going by. She got her second tooth on the bottom over the weekend. I've uploaded some cute pictures of the girls and Andy down below.

Claire has had a rough week. I took her to the pediatrician Tuesday to get her flu booster and to have her ears re-checked from her ear infection two weeks ago. Claire ended up leaving the doctor with no flu shot and two shots for the ear infection that won't go away. She had to get four more shots over the week. She is trying to do her best to be happy. So, as expected, Miss Claire will be getting ear tubes shortly. I am waiting on the ENT's office to call me to schedule it.

I'm sure we will have a lot of new pictures to share next week. The girls have a brand new swingset waiting on them at the house and Gran will be visiting this weekend.

Ballerina Maggie

Last Thursday was parent observation day for Maggie's ballet class at school. Claire got to tag along since she had pink eye and another ear infection (she's doing much better now). Anyway, Maggie was a perfect little ballerina. She loves her ballet class and we really enjoyed getting to see her.

Birthday Boy

Andy celebrated his birthday yesterday! We did a birthday dinner for him Monday night and our friend, Casey, came to celebrate with us. Here are some pictures from the festivities.

Oh, Claire decided to finally roll over Sunday!!!!!!! She's starting to sit up for longer periods of time too. She's growing up too fast.

7 years and 6 months

We celebrated some birthdays in our house last week. Jack Pete turned 7 on January 6th and Claire turned 6 months on the 7th. Jack Pete doesn't act any older.

Claire is doing great. She had her check-up with her pediatrician Friday and had to get 5 vaccinations. Needless to say, she was a little cranky the rest of the day! Anyway, she is 18 lbs (75%) and 27 inches (90%) and looks great. She still isn't rolling over but is sitting up so her doctor didn't think it was anything to think twice about. She started solid foods a while back and has just started eating the stage two baby foods. She loves bananas, peaches, okay...well anything but carrots. She's sleeping great and babbling up a storm. She is starting to really play with toys and the ExerSaucer has made its way up from the basement for her use.

Pictures from the birthdays are below.

Katie