Grocery Cart

We had a pretty low-key weekend. My work week was super hectic, so I was happy to relax a bit at home. Saturday night Lucian and I went out on a double date. We had a fabulous dinner with friends and a few drinks after listening to a great band. It was a much needed adult night out and some much needed Claire and Auntie M time.

I was trying different names for Auntie before she came over; Auntie M, Mary Ann, MA to see what Claire would repeat. She went for Mimi. This is what I called my sister before I could say Mary Ann. We'll see if it sticks.


Claire is expressing some interest in the potty, so we bought her one. She just sits on it clothed and mimics wiping, but that is half that battle as I understand it. I'll keep you posted on any further developments.
We broke out the crayons and markers during a crabby breakfast session on Sunday. Lucian's idea and it worked to improve her mood.

Her beautiful art

And messy hands

We went shopping at a discount store Sunday hoping to find carpet tiles for our basement. They had ones we liked, but unfortunately not enough. Here's Claire and Lucian checking out a sauna.

Claire found a good resting spot under a desk

I took Claire grocery shopping Sunday evening after dinner, which can sometimes be a challenge. I noticed one of these car carts parked out front on our way in and thought we'd try it out. Oh my gosh, Claire loved riding in it. She was kicking her feet happily and talking to everyone in the store. We will definitely try this again.

Here's a little video I shot of her saying hi to everyone. She really did this the entire time.

Claire Goes to the Salon

I have trimmed Claire's hair a couple of times now and it has never gone all that well. She will hardly sit still, so I am always nervous I will take out a big chunk and have to even it out. I think she would look cute with just about any hair cut, but for now we think the length is amazing for am 18-month old.

Spencer had a hair cut scheduled last Sat., so I called to see if Claire could be squeezed in as well. Karrie has been doing my hair for years and is a friend, so she jumped at the chance. Claire sat on my lap and stood in the chair with me. And I brought a few gummy bears to bribe her with, thank goodness.







She was a bit of a wiggle worm, but stayed in the chair, with some coaxing. She got a nice healthy trim and it was a positive experience for her.

Claire's 18-month check-up was last week. She is doing great. Here are her stats:
Weight: 29bs. 9oz. (75%)
Length: 34" (95%)
Head circumference: 49.5cm (95%)

Going "shopping" with her sock monkey, and no clothes, of course

Playing video games with dad

Water Park Fun

Lucian and I brought Claire to an indoor water park on Saturday morning. The downtown Hilton has public passes available to purchase and we have been dying to get Claire in a full size pool.

We chose to go at 9am when the pool opened, hoping the crowds would be minimal. It was a little pricey, but seeing her face and hearing her laugh going down the slides made it all worthwhile. She absolutely loved the water and giggled all the way down the slides. It seemed her favorite was an adult size slide Lucian and I went down numerous times with her on our lap. We will definitely go back and we're even thinking of a weekend getaway to an indoor water park in Wisconsin Dells soon.

I only used my phone to take photos, so they are not that great. But I think you'll get the idea.

We tested out the little froggy slide before hitting the big ones.

She was ready for more.

We managed to swim for around an hour and a half before Claire became too tired to deal with it all. The water was a little cool and she was turning blue, so we got out and wrapped her in a towel. That is when the melt down began. She pretty much cried until we got in the car and then she fell asleep.

I love this shot of her melt down in the fancy hotel hallway.

We had our friends over this evening for dinner and a play date. We watched some hilarious videos on the iPad. (We also watched Justin Bieber:)

We read books
And the girls took turns pretend changing each other's diapers. It's fun that they are actually starting to play with each other.

Science, Swimsuits & Curls

Spencer and his friend Joe participated in the high school science fair again this year. Their project focused on engineering a way to capture and use energy from lightning. The boys put in a lot of hard work and hours. Unfortunately at the judging on Sat., one judge pointed out a few flaws in their execution. They are planning to rework some of the project in time for the state competition.

Claire and I at the public viewing

I ended up exchanging Claire's new swimsuit (featured in my last post). The strap was too tight on her neck. She seems to like this one, which is technically a 2-piece. And it has a monkey on it, which is good since she loves her sock monkey. We are planning to take her somewhere to swim on Saturday.
As I mentioned Claire loves her sock monkey. She carries him around, puts him 'night-night' in her crib and frequently tries to put a diaper on him. Last night she even wanted him to wear the pajamas I was trying to put on her (which we did).

Dancing in her dancing skirt with sock monkey

Diapering sock monkey

While shopping (at Target again) over the weekend, we picked up some sponge rollers for Claire. I put them in her hair while she watched her favorite Justin Bieber video and voila! A few hours later she had beautiful curls.

She got 2 balloons while shopping at Target

Silly faces

We weren't going anywhere Sunday, so shortly after I took out the rollers she went down for nap and the curls were flattened. Kind of a fun lazy day activity. I don't know many almost 18-mo. olds that have the hair for this project.

Just a cute photo

Vacuuming up the cous cous she spilled