Still Claire's Birthday

Who can resist this cute four-year old face??
Apparently I can because this year I opted not to throw a big birthday party for her.
I just couldn't justify a big party for a four-year old. Especially since winter birthday parties have to be something inside which involves either a LOT of creativity
or a LOT of money, and I just wasn't feeling either one. So when the
Jordan World Circus came to town three days before her birthday
I thought it was a PERFECT way to celebrate. My sisters and I took all the cousins,
plus Claire's best friend, Ali, to the circus.
I think the kids had a good time, although they were all dying to ride the elephant and the ponies and of course buy every treat and light up gimmick that walked by.

Much to our dismay...there were no clowns, but several things seemed to catch their attention, like the Triple Motorcycle Wheel of Death & the Jump Rope Trapeze Man. (I will admit, it was pretty intense...my sisters and I kept gasping and

screaming for him to PLEASE stop!)

Poor Bode thought it was pretty loud, but overall was a good sport. I truly tried to take some decent pictures of the acts to document the event, and I'm not sure if it was the poor lighting or honestly, the lack of interest on my part, but I got nothing.

After the circus was over, I found Paige imitating some of the circus acts. The other girls all quickly joined her. Even my sister Michelle gave it a go...but I have been threatened to keep those pictures to myself (BLACKMAIL, YOU KNOW).

Let's hope this doesn't lead to a career in pole dancing.

At last the circus was over, and before we knew it, we were being asked to leave so they could start the second show. We met dady at Chick-fil-A for dinner before dropping Ali off at home and calling it one heck of a day!

DISCLAIMER: Not for the weak stomach!

Hooray!! Paige has been officially released from all medical treatment on these feet! Dr. Santora says the surgery was a complete success and he doesn't need to see her again until October for follow-up. He recommended that we put her into "anything" physical to get her movin' those tootsies...so she has started jazz and tumbling with thoughts of playing Herriman Baseball this Spring. She is required to have nightly Vitamin E and Aloe lotion massage with Mederma (scar-reducing cream...we'll see if it's more than a gimmick). They are also in the process of making her some silicone inserts to apply pressure to her scars in hopes of making them less bulky. (similar to what burn-victims wear), but we are still waiting for them to be made. We are so glad to have her feeling better, however we already miss the handicapped parking.

My GiRlS

I tell you...it is a good thing they are cute. It is their saving grace sometimes. Just wanted to jot down some random thoughts about these little ladies before I forget and think, "What was it that I was laughing so hard about?"

Paige...has been trying so hard to turn her walk into a run. My sister saw her running the other day while our kids were playing and asked me if she needed therapy. It is a little "Pheobe-esque", but I am just glad she is trying. It's also good for a laugh. Yesterday, I was pleasantly awakened to the sound of clinking dishes coming down the hall. I sat up to find Paige carrying a cookie sheet complete with knife, fork, plate of toast and glass of milk with a curly straw. Unfortunately, she tripped over the bedspread at the end of the bed and the milk went flying! How could I be mad at that?? She ran to her room crying, and while I am swearing on the inside, mopping milk out of the carpet, I was calling to her, "Thank you...I'm not mad! You're not in trouble!" She came back in and took the glass back out for a refill. When she came back, they wanted to watch me eat their creation. The toast looked rather "shiny" so I thought I was in for a big bite of butter...but no. They had covered it in maple syrup and called it "French Toast". After my first bite, the giggling duo ran back out to the kitchen, only to come back a few moments later with a plate of their own. Paige told me, "We thought we would join you." She really has been a good helper with Bode, so when she asked tonight if we could go to Chili's for dinner, it was hard to say no. On the way there she informed us that she would like to stop at Iceberg on the way home for dessert, saying that dad "talked her into it". We ended up having dessert at Chili's since both girls ate their entire meals (a rarity!) SO YUMMY...we got the white chocolate raspberry molten lava cake. It came to us covered in white chocolate shavings to which Paige replied, "Hmmm...fingernails!"

Claire...really just cracks me up. The other day, Paige was taking pictures non-stop with her camera. She told Claire to "pose" so she could take a cute picture of her. Without skipping a beat, Claire turned around and MOONED the camera! I couldn't help but laugh. It was almost like when your kids swear and you want to discipline them, but if you open your mouth you will laugh out loud! I have no idea where she got that! Last night, I came home from work to find Claire's cute little face pop out the door when I opened the garage. When I got inside, I found her standing there with her nightgown around her neck, trying to find the armholes. Apparently she had fallen asleep in her dance clothes and daddy had just put her in her bed. Well, this is the girl that LOVES jammies, and even though it was 5 in the morning, she had to change. She told me she had woken up because she was cold, tried to change her clothes and got stuck but couldn't get Steve to wake up to help her. So she took her blanket, woobie, and two Webkins out to the living room couch to wait for me. One last thing...quite a while ago, Paige started a nasty habit of sucking on her hair. Paige has since been threatened with her life to knock it off, but unfortunately, Claire has recently picked up on it. It makes hair-brushing a nightmare! I have been putting her in ponies (which she hates because it pulls her hair), but then she started refusing that too! This week, I put an end to it once and for all. I marched the little "hair-sucker" right into Cookie Cutters and told the girl to cut it short enough so that it could not reach her mouth. It was one expensive haircut, but problem solved.

BigMac and 3-3

My dad has always had a funny way of numbering his children. Instead of being called Brooke, most of my life I have been known as #3. Now that all his "numbers" have multiplied, he has extended his system. Bode is #3-3, the third child of his third child. Seems easier to me to remember names.

I don't know what it is, but seeing my dad building relationships with these grandbabies just makes me melt! I think it is especially different with Bode because he is a boy. My dad always wanted a son, so now that all his girls have one, I think he is living vicariously through us. I just think of all the things Grandpa BigMac can teach him...geocaching, electricity, woodworking, bug riding, etc.

A Fourth Birthday

My dad and stepmom, Terry, are so great to have McClure family dinner on the second Sunday of every month. It is always so fun to get together, especially since the kids all play downstairs while we eat...so it is peaceful for a moment. This month happened to land right on Claire's 4th birthday, so we had her party there. For a month she told me she wanted a white kitty Webkins with a pink bow (the one with the crazy hair!) I searched and searched, and short of ordering it online, I finally found it! Or at least I thought I had found it. Shortly after her opening it, everyone informed me that it was a dog!! Sure, enough...the tag read "Yorkie". She says she will still keep it, and it should come as no surprise that she named her Ali.

She also received this Little Pony Rollerskate Party, a Magic Wet Cabbage Patch boy baby, Water Wow, a Barbie and outfit from her cousins Kendyl, Jake and Addy, Princess Yahtzee from her cousins Keaton and Karlie, and a darling jacket from Grandma and Grandpa BigMac. Claire LOVED having all the attention on her!

As I lay in bed with Claire the night before I told her I didn't want her to turn four. She immediately started to cry, "Then I won't have a birthday!" I tried to tell her I would still let her have the party, I just wanted my favorite three-year-old girl to stay three. She promised to still be my snuggle-buddy even after she turned four, so I decided it was okay to let her.

Claire agreed that we could take cupcakes with pink frosting for her birthday treat. She helped me with the sprinkles and seemed thrilled with them until the way home when she started to cry that she didn't get to pick out the rainbow balloon cake from Costco! Maybe next year...or maybe Daddy can pick that for his birthday (hint, hint!) She did tell me that when she blew out the candle on her cupcake, she wished for a white kitty Webkins for Valentines Day. Maybe by then I can get it right!

sHoTs

Poor Bode. Yesterday was his four month check-up, which means...you got it, SHOTS!! The girls were all kinds of upset that I would let the doctor do such a horrible thing to our baby. No matter how hard I tried to explain it, they just didn't get it. These are the kinds of appointments you make months in advance and I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled it for 11:00. I must have been on Maternity leave, not remembering how tired I am while I am working. So, bright and early, I hauled the whole brood to the doctor's office. Actually, Paige was at a sleep-over at her Aunt Valerie's (a reward for walking) and opted out of seeing Bode in "so much pain". The whole way to the appointment, Claire asked if we could go to McDonald's and Bode still didn't have a clue what he was in for. Surprisingly, we got there early and I noticed when I signed my billing sheet that there was a different doctor name on it. I asked about it and the girl at the front desk told me that was who I was seeing today. I was LIVID! I made the appointment months ago, how could they have screwed this up?? A little background...I LOVE our pediatrician. He was referred to us by my OB when we found out through Paige's ultrasound about her club feet. We met with Dr. Lash even before she was born. He was born with a cleft palate, so we knew he would be perfect at understanding anomalies. When Paige was born, his associate, Dr. Buchanan, was the first to come in. He took one look at her and said, "Oh, club feet. I had those!" So we loved them from the start. We see him at the Millcreek parade every year, and although he doesn't know me by name, he knows me as Paige and Claire's mom. I finally understand why my mom loved my Dr. Lloyd growing up so much! SOOO...my tired-induced anger was soothed when she explained that Dr. Lash was sick and had asked an associate to take his well-babies as to not infect them. HOW SWEET IS THAT?? It turned out great. Dr. Packer was wonderful, and she agreed that Bode was so handsome, so what's not to like about her?? He was very brave and only cried for one second while he got his shots. Claire stood right by his face, stroking his cheek, saying, "It's OK, Bodacious. You can get a sticker."

And at four months, here's how Bode stacks up:

13 lbs. 3 oz. (35th percentile)

25 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

And 42nd percentile in head size

(are you sure he's ours?)

FOUR

Four years ago, we welcomed our second little girl into the world. Linda Claire Vincent was born on February 8, 2005 at 5:30pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. She has been such a blessing and a perfect addition to our family. Happy birthday, Boo...we love you!

Can't Stop Laughing

Just wanted to document that Bode started laughing this week! It is the sweetest sound! It all started last Friday afternoon as I was bent over his chest trying to smell his breath (I'm sorry, it is just the cutest smell ever!) I think my hair brushed his cheek, making him smile, so I tickled him a little bit under his chin and his smiles burst into giggles! We are so blessed to have such a happy boy, although Daddy swears that in the middle of the night while Mommy is at work, he looks more like this:

Since I see this side of him so rarely, I still think it's cute.

We love you, Monkey!

Who does that?

Wednesdays are my favorite. My friend Manda and I trade off taking our little girls to dance. She usually picks Claire up on the way and I take Ali home. Lately we have been heading to Chick-fil-A for kids night. (One free kids meal for every combo meal you buy!) Sadly, my kids hate the food there (which really means I eat my meal plus two kids meals! :(, but you get to trade your toy in for an ice cream cone and the playland is clean.

I had threatened Paige with her life to leave her socks on. I don't know what it is about nasty playlands that make my kids want to take their socks off and bring home some E. Coli, but they do, every time! But this time I meant business. With her feet still healing, I absolutely did not want her socks off. Being the obedient child that she is, of course she took them right off. Whatever, I vowed to boil her when we got home anyway. So as we were getting ready for the bath that night, Paige started to tell me about a little boy in the play land. This little boy expressed an interest in the large scars on Paige's feet, to which she answered very matter-of-factly, "I had club feet". The boy's dad was in there with him and told Paige that his son was "born special" too. He proceeded to lift the boys shirt and show Paige (and the two little girls) the boy's chest. Paige explained it to me by pointing on herself that he had "one of these and not one over here". I didn't quite get it, so she finally yelled, "He only has one NIBBLE!" Of course, after I peed my pants laughing, I thought, "What kind of dad shows people that???" I mean here is this little boy, trying to make friends with the ladies, and here comes his dad..."Look guys, he only has one nipple!" I can just imagine the little girls laughing and the boy hanging his poor little head saying, "Thanks a lot, dad!"