First day of (pre) school

Claire had her first day of preschool today. It was actually mostly just for registration and to let the parents and children meet the teacher, but she was really excited. She's been asking to go to school since she found out about it two weeks ago. They played indoors, did a craft, then played outside. She was already asking to go back as we got into the car for the trip home. She'll go to school once a week until we move - I'm already trying to get her registered in a preschool in Oklahoma since she's so excited about it.

Maddie's well-baby appointment

Maddie had her one-year well-baby appointment last Tuesday. She tipped the scales at 17lbs 4oz and was 29in tall. If she doesn't watch it her little cousin Keira will soon be bigger than her!

Go Bears!

Root for Victory!
We think Claire is playing "Bear Down Chicago Bears" and Maddie is leading the cheer!

Press the pink "Play" button to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play the tune from the glory days in 1986...

Four Teeth

I can't really think of anything clever to say.

Count 'em, there's four!

Grandparents

My parents left for home on Tuesday, much to the girls' dismay. It was really nice to have them here and I think Claire and Maddie had a great time. If Grandma and Papa thought they were going to have a relaxing vacation here they were sure mistaken! Claire enjoyed having more people around to talk to (I tend to wear out too quickly for her) and craft time with Grandma is always fun. Maddie really took to her papa (of course she loves them both but she is really attached to her papa). I think she may have preferred him to me by the end of their trip!

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so just click the picture or here to go to the show!)

In order to help with the post-grandparent-visit blues, we webcammed with their Grammy and Grampy Tuesday evening.

Happy 60th Birthday USAF!

It's a couple of days early, but we celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the USAF last night at the AF Ball. We figured it would be a nice chance to get dressed up and we had built in babysitters with the grandfolks in town! Be sure to raise your glass on the 18th and say "Happy Birthday Air Force!"

Happy 1st Birthday Maddie!

Our little Madeline turned one year old yesterday. I can't believe how quickly this year went by. She's growing up so fast! My parents were in town to help celebrate, so we invited a few of her friends over and had a little party. The kids had lots of fun and Maddie definitely knew what to do with her cake (or at least, the frosting).

Also, we wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Lori and her husband Tom. Their little boy, Matthew, very narrowly missed sharing a birthday with Maddie. He was born last night at midnight! We can't wait to see pictures!

Elk and bears and wolves - Oh my!

My Uncle Rick called with a great idea a few days ago: he wanted to see if we'd like to go to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. I had just been talking to some friends about wanting to go there, and it seemed like a great outing to take with my parents while they're here. So we loaded up the family truckster and set out for the park. Boy did Claire, Nathan and Maddie have a great time! Claire and her cousin Nathan ran around the whole park, racing ahead on the path and then running back to us. They got quite the workout. We had a great time seeing lots of neat animals that are native to the Pacific Northwest, in their natural environments. We'll definitely think about going back there again before we move.


Maddie rocks out

Last night Maddie was getting ready for bed when Phil started playing some fun tunes on the computer. Not about to miss the fun, Maddie came out of her room to dance. We especially liked the crawl/head shake dance. Don't know if you can hear it or not, but at the end she points to the screen and says, "Do", which I'm pretty sure is her version of "you".

Anybody want to buy a house?

It's official. Our house is on the market. I am slaving away, trying to keep this place clean. OK, we actually paid some nice ladies to come clean it yesterday, but I do have to maintain it! Hopefully someone will come by and see it soon before all of the clean wears off.

Bailey has been unimpressed by this whole process. Our agent actually asked us if he was "always like that", pointing at him as he lay on the floor like a log. He's actually been a little more playful than usual, thanks to Claire taking an interest in his toys and (more importantly) giving him treats. I suppose he is a seasoned mover by now. He's had 6 homes since I adopted him, but this is the longest he's lived anywhere. He'll probably miss his backyard.

Poor Claire was sick this afternoon. She spent the day on the couch, snuggled in an afghan, watching her shows, and defending her special blankie from Maddie. Hope she feels better tomorrow.

First steps!

Maddie took her first steps today. She did about 6 Frankenstein-esque steps in a row before plopping down on her mama. She's getting to be such a big girl! I suppose she'll soon be running around with her big sister. It's really hard to believe.

Phil and I spent our 6th anniversary here at home, enjoying our last weekend of being able to be slobs (the house goes on the market this Wednesday). Claire helped out with a few last-minute projects around the house. She really enjoyed using her tools like Daddy!