Farewell Sweet Summer

High: A perfect day at the zoo :)
Low: It's the last day of summer :(

Seeing as it is the last day of summer vacation I feel compelled to write a poem:

Farewell Sweet Summer.
It's really a bummer,
That it has to be done,
Though its been fun.
There was sun, cold, and rain,
Which was really a pain.
There was the beach, park, and the fair
We went from diapers to underwear.
There was staying up late,
There were lots of play dates.
There were lessons in swim,
There was running to the zoo on a whim.
There is too much to write
For I must say goodnight.
Tomorrow is the first day of school.
Although a snowday would be cool.

On this last day of summer vacation (although it felt like the middle of fall) we decided to throw dinner in the crockpot and spend the day at the zoo. It was perfect zoo weather. Sunny and cool....my favorite!

Look at that sky! It was a perfect fall day :)

Today Claire rode the Merry-Go-Round on her own horse, Ruby.




Claire was practicing her modeling at the fountain.



Today Claire made her first wish at a fountain. Although, I am not sure that she fully understood. I told her "you have to make a wish and then throw the penny in." And she threw in her penny and yelled "I MAKE A WISH AND THROW THE PENNY IN!" Hey, at least her wish came true ;)




Yes, we are dressed alike like big dorks! I totally did not do that on purpose. But, I must say...we looked pretty hot!



Claire is starting to get sick of being in her stroller she was only in there for about 1/2 of our trip. The other half she wants to push it.



Mark and Claire takin a break.




We finished up our trip to the zoo with our annual Choo-Choo Train ride.

Stay tuned because while I may not blog everyday, I still plan on blogging. Also, there may be a new look to the blog...you will have to check in to find out!!!!

Sunday, August 30th, 2009 Big Girl Bed

High: Claire got her big girl bed today :)

Low: I drove Mark crazy with decorating today :(

Out of nowhere we decided that today was the day to make Claire's bed into a toddler bed. This is how I like to make these decisions, quick and painless. Otherwise, I get all sad that she is getting so big and I make all kinds of excuses of why we should wait. But today went smooth. Well, if you don't include my making poor Mark do all kinds of things (but hey you would think he would just roll with it by now right?!).

Claire loved helping her Daddy.



Doesn't look very safe, does it?



CLAIRE LOVED IT!!!





Claire's favorite thing to do in her new bed is read her books.

After Claire's first nap in her big girl bed (she slept like an angel for her first time in her new bed) we went to the grocery store to get our back to school food for lunches and dinners. Today, Claire realized that she could "ride the cart" a new way.



After the grocery store, Claire and Mark couldn't wait to snack on their new cereal.



Goofballs.



Right before bed my girlfriends came over to watch our favorite show. Before the show started they helped me make some MAJOR decisions regarding Claire's bedroom. They also helped to get Claire all wild before bed! Here is Aunt Jenn swinging Claire around in her silky.



Claire loved it!



Quick question, any idea what THAT is?!?!?!

Movies

High: I saw an excellent movie tonight :)
Low: I wasn't home to put Claire to bed :(

Today was a nice, relaxing day. The day was spent playing and relaxing. I also saw an excellent movie tonight! Normally I don't write about this kind of stuff, but I cannot help myself. Anyone who really knows me, knows that I think Quentin Tarantino is an absolute genius! I think he is a brilliant writer and his films are outstanding. His use of dark humor, outrageous storylines, incredible music, and his choice of actors make each of his films a work of art! Tonight I saw the Inglorious Basterds, and I must say it was one of his best! Every time I see one of his films I always think the same thing, "there is NO WAY he can continue to make each film a success." And every time I am wrong! I truly think he is a genius and seeing this movie just reaffirms my thought that if I could hang out with anyone in the world it would be him (and Ellen Degeneres..and Barack Obama). If you get a chance I highly recommend that you see this movie!

That being said.... Claire spent most of her day reading Rolling Stone and hanging out with Peter.

He is so patient with her :)



BFFs



Then Grandma and Grandpa stopped over for a nice dinner and a quick game of CandyLand (and no Claire had NO IDEA how to play)!

Friday, August 28th, 2009 Pedicure With Nana

High: Dinner at Nana and Papa's :)
Low: Daddy worked a lot today and we missed him :(

Today was a very nice day, we just stayed home and played.

We played a little golf on the front lawn.



Which Claire quickly turned into playing "crutches".

Tonight at Nana and Papa's for dinner it was straight up girl time.



It started with Nana and Claire doing each other's hair.



Then it was time for Claire to get her toes done.



Nana went all out and had all of the supplies.



Claire sat very patiently while her toes were drying.



The final product.

Thursday, August 27th, 2009 Cuttin The Lawn

High: A nice dinner with friends :)
Low: Claire had school and I really missed her :(

We thought about playing hookie and keeping Claire home with us, but then we decided that really wouldn't help next week when she goes back full time:( So, after we picked Claire up Mark had to cut the lawn and there was no way that Claire wasn't going to get in on that action. She has always had this weird love of cutting the grass.

I warned her not to do it! I tried to explain that once you know how to turn the lawnmower on then you will, at some point, have to cut the grass!!!

Later that evening, I met some friends from work for dinner. It was really nice to see them, especially right before we all go back to work!



T-Bone and Amanda looking hot!



Carrie and Me being silly!



Jacqie, Me, and Tony (who will be missed!).

Girlfriends....

High: We went to Explore and More with Claire's friend Poppy :) AND Claire's friend Giada came over :)
Low: The weather was yucky :(

Today was a busy day! This morning we met Claire's friend Poppy for a playdate at Explore and More and then we had lunch at McDonalds. The girls had a nice time playing at the museum but I think they had even more fun being silly at McDonalds.

Claire had fun when Poppy and Ms Amanda gave her a ride on the giant windmill.





Poppy and Claire had fun drawing some pictures on the tiles.





Poppy loves the sand table and I can see why!





Claire and Poppy made some sweet music together (well that was before Ms Amanda scared the bejesus out of them with a lizard ;)




Ok, let's talk about this for a minute. Here is my tiny little angel, climbing the wall!!! I swear she flew up that wall like a spider!!!



The girls had fun at the museum, but I swear they LOVED McDonalds! They loved being silly! And Poppy and I got a chance to bond (truth is I tried to buy her love with apples...I THINK IT WORKED :)


I found these pictures from last year. Here is Claire at Explore and More last June:



And here she is today:




Here is Claire last June at the shape sorter:



And here she is today:



I SWEAR I COULD CRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



On our way home I had to stop at school because I had to grab some stuff and Claire had some business to take care of.


After our playdate (and a two hour nap), my cousin Leah came over to say goodbye to Claire before she went back to school. THEN Claire's friend Giada came over! I am telling you, it was a great day with our friends!


After dinner Giada was waaaay too quiet so we peeked into the bathroom and saw this:



Ok innocent enough, well...besides that look at Giada's face. So, we looked a little closer and saw this:



Excellent! So Jessica (god love her) reached in there and cleaned it all up. We explained to Giada not to do that and we felt as though everything was fine. Until.......



Giada tried to put more puzzle pieces in Pete's food! Check out Pete!



Then we finished the evening off by looking at baby pictures. I cannot believe how big Poppy, Claire, and Giada have all gotten in the last year!!!!!!!!!!