Summer 2009

What a whirlwind this summer has been!!! I can't believe we didn't post once over the summer months! Well, let me just fill you in the best I can on what all we've been up to over the past several months. Starting with May, we found out we are expecting another baby. We were a little surprised by the news, but so very grateful! The months of June and July completely flew by with spending most of our days playing in the backyard, wading in the pool up at Colonial, playdates with friends, and frequent trips to play with our one and only cousin Mallie.

The month of August came and went all too quickly. We took a trip to Red River at the end of the month and enjoyed some quality time just the 3 of us. We took Claire up to the top of the ski mountain where we enjoyed a hike amongst the Aspens and a picnic lunch. During our picnic lunch, Matt surprised us with a sealed envelope that revealed the gender of our baby. Claire pulled out the sonogram and we were completely shocked to see that we are expecting a baby BOY in January. Very very exciting!!! No name yet, but we will hopefully be deciding on one soon.

On a different note, we also learned of some sad news that day while we were in Red River. My brother called at the cabin early in the morning on August 31st to tell us that my grandfather had a heart attack and passed away. It was a bittersweet time while we were there as I had many childhood memories of my grandfather up in Red River. We literally spent every single summer up there while I was growing up. We will all miss him very much, but are so thankful for all of the wonderful memories we have with him. He was such an instrumental part in my upbringing and I'm so glad that Claire was able to know him. We spent a weekend out at his house back in June where I feel like Claire was able to really bond with him. They rode around the pasture on his tractor and he also pulled her around in a wagon that he had built. What a great legacy he left all of us with!!

Now that we are already into the middle of September, we are enjoying some cooler temperatures and are anxiously awaiting Fall. Now that Football season is here, I am getting lots of home projects out of the way. One of which is dragging out all of the Fall decorations. That always puts me in the spirit of embracing a new season! We are also in the process of setting up little brother's nursery and moving the office upstairs. We didn't realize just how much stuff we had accumulated in that office!!!

Miss Claire is also in the process of transitioning into her big girl room. Same room just new furniture and sleeping arrangement :) We ordered her a daybed that will be delivered next week. I also found her an armoire and some new bedding. I really hope this is not a mistake in moving her out of her crib at 19 months. eeks!! I've had mixed reviews, but she is a very solid sleeper so I'm hoping she will make the transition smoothly. I purchased the extra long and tall rail guard to go along her bed so hopefully the daybed will just feel like a roomier crib to her. I am really having mixed emotions about this and not exactly ready to see her crib leave her room. It's just so hard trying to figure out whether it will be easier now or later. I think either way the transition is going to be the hardest on me!!

Another exciting thing going on for claire right now is her new school. She attends twice a week for 3 hours at a time. She's in a class of 7 with 2 teachers that are absolutely wonderful. She's already talking about several of the kids in her class so I can tell she really enjoys getting to go. Last week when I went to pick her up, she was the last one to leave the class as she was still wanting to stay and clean the kitchen. It was really cute! Well, I guess this posting has gotten a little lengthy so I must put it to an end. My goal is to get back into the swing of posting at least once a month. That's all for now....