Another Birthday

Claire

We had a good Claire's birthday week even though she barely noticed when I tried to treat her special for her birthday and made her a yummy breakfast and brownies. It was like any normal day where we went to the gym, played outside in the back yard, and went to the park after her nap. Chris went on the hiking trip so it was just us girls and we had a routine with breakfast and going to the gym in the morning, eating lunch then nap time afterward. I noticed when she wakes up cranky she just needs to get outside so we would get ready to go to the park if it was enough in the evening or just let her play outside until a little later. She learned how to climb the latter that I was nervous for her to start climbing at the park and go down the big slide without any help which makes it easier for me to stay with Shay at the bench. We've also met a lot of new friends going to the park, her favorite being a dog names Chewy that the dad was nice enough to let her walk, with help.

Shay

She is getting so big! She now can roll over both from the front to back and back to front although her hand still gets stuck going onto her tummy and she gets mad. Claire helps me tickle her and play with her so we can hear her cute giggles and make her smile. She isn't as fascinated with herself as Claire used to be but is interested in the phone when I have it on camera enough that it entertains her. She likes playing with her toys and watching us make faces at her cause apparently we are funny looking and silly. She definitely doesn't like being left alone or ignored cause she isn't afraid to let me know when I've left her in another room for too long.

Hiking

Chris is already back! It was supposed to be a few days longer but as they were coming out, they decided to kill themselves and hike the 24 miles out of the mountains and get home late Saturday night. Someone really likes his purple bed so he got home at 3am just to be able to sleep in it...and with me so I'm not complaining. He is used to it from his shifts at the hospital and I'm glad he could come to church with me cause I started getting sick and wasn't sure if I was going to make it. We had a fun Sunday evening talking about his adventures and all the fun they had hiking to the many many different lakes they went to. I saw videos and pictures of the places he went to try and experience it from here and can't wait till I finally get to go.

Birthday Fun

Claire

Yes I put my daughters before my birthday information because they are more important to me than myself which isn't hard to see when I feed them and take care of them before my own needs. Claire has been having fun with her sister this week and likes playing some interesting games which make me wish I could read her cute little mind. She had a horrible incident which I will go into better detail later, but is a champ and fought through the pain and is our happy girl again. She got a new birthday toy from her other set of cousins and has been loving learning new words from the book that makes fun sounds and sings.

Shay

Our sweet little girl is such a spoiled girl! We tried to introduce a bottle to her this past week with ZERO success but a lot less sleep because of it. We wanted her to be able to eat while we went on our week long hike and she stayed with her aunt and uncle, but now that she had so much trouble I'll be staying with my girls. She normally sleeps pretty good stretches but when presented with a bottle instead of breastfeeding she looses her mind and yells at us until we cave. It is so hard to get her to see reason...I'm a bit sad about not getting to go hiking but I'll be glad to stay with my girls especially with Shay still being so dependent and young. Also she seems like she will be crawling soon because her tummy time consists of pushing up all the time! I wouldn't want to miss that. She is also very facinated with her sister and loves to watch her and play together.

The Birthday Fun

Chris woke up early and took Shay out of the room so I could sleep in, then I was woken up with breakfast in bed of my favorite, French toast! My birthday presents included a picnic blanket, a light weight sleeping pad, a set of jewelry, and a travel organizer. We also had our neighbor offer to watch the girls for a short while so we could go eat and see the new Lion King movie as a lunch date. Our night included cuddling with my girls while watching a movie, fulfilling my craving for thin crust pizza and a wonderful massage. A wonderful birthday to turn 28 but I'll be honest that I don't feel like I'm in my late 20s but I look back on the last few years and I am satisfied with my accomplishments. I've ran a half-marathon, had a baby, loved my daughters more than life, grown and developed with my husband, and been happy. I got to learn how to make a craft this week too and even though I don't know where to display one in my house, I do plan on giving this one I made as a gift, and hopefully having one eventually.

The Horrible Incident 

As much fun as I had on my birthday, there was the sad event that Claire went through of falling into a medal gate when we were getting ready to leave the gym. I always ask for Claire's help finding Shay when I pick them up from the Kidcare and this unfortunate time she lost her balance while running as fast as she could and hit her head. There was a pretty bad cut that started to bleed immediately and luckily for me, Chris kept his cool and applied pressure to the bleeding while the first aid kit was brought over and when we got home he was able to use his medical calmness and skills to glue her skin back together. I was a mess of tears but I did my best to help hold her arms and comfort her through the painful parts and she barely notices it unless we touch it.

Wind Rivers

This is the hiking trip we've been planning for a month and that Chris gets to go on this week...and I'm trying to stay positive and let him enjoy it since I won't be there. Luckily he knows how to cheer me up and tells me he won't enjoy it as much since I'm not going but is very happy his girls will all be together and safe. I made him promise to learn the paths to take and get good pictures for me so I can experience it when he gets home. Our new plan is to 100% go next year even if it just has to be the two of us because we bought a women's hiking backpack, a lightweight tent, a water purifier, and was gifted a sleeping pad all for this trip that I won't even use now. Still trying not to be bitter about not getting to go...hope you can't tell!

Early Birthday

Fun times

We had a lot of fun this past week with going to water parks during the week and traveling to Idaho for the weekend! Claire has a birthday coming up in two weeks and we decided to celebrate early since Chris works next weekend and we will be camping the weekend after that so such is life. My parents came down from Montana and we went to Idaho for Chris's drill, camping prep and family time. We had a family day with the national guard before coming home that Claire enjoyed with the bouncy house before we drove home.

Claire

She has so much attitude and loves to say no when she is grumpy, but there is no reason for her to be so upset cause she gets everything. When we went shopping for the cloths that she got for her birthday from Nana and Grandpa Cox she got a stuffed doll too just for being so cute and not letting go of it during check out. She has some very cute outfits to grow into now and a Lion King book from her cousins to learn how to not destroy. She also got more side walk chalk for her collection, a piano that lays out on the floor, and a very soft stuffed bunny that she loves to cuddle with. We were given money to take her to Thanksgiving Point for a good experience by the Bell grandparents and we plan to do that after we get home from our camping trip.

Shay

She has enjoyed the attention she got from friends and family this weekend as we visited because she was held and played with a lot. She even had time playing with Claire's new piano by doing tummy time on it and listening to the sounds while wiggling around. She took a nap in the grass when Claire was playing in the water with our friends but when she woke up we got her feet wet and she hung out with us in the water. I like the last few times we have gone to the park because she falls asleep on the walk there and sleeps so I can watch when her sister plays then is pretty good when she wakes up.