2011 Holidays

Ok, so I'm a little behind. I realized that I had barely blogged about any holidays this year. So, today we're playing catch up.

Valentine's Day

Coloring a valentine for her boyfriend at church

She received a princess valentine from her grandpa and step-grandma and she LOVED it

St. Patty's Day

Starting off the day with a nap (and green socks)

Sporting a cool hat

Bangers and mash for dinner

Ending the day with green jammies and an apple

Mother's Day

We received corsages at church

It didn't stay on well, so I put it in a vase instead

We played Apples to Apples after dinner and these were my first 3 cards - way to make me feel great on Mother's Day :)

Lame, little, worthless, revealing, ridiculous... but necessary at the same time (I suppose this may be how mothers feel sometimes)

They made me choose between these to describe "innocent": meatloaf, hostages, charging rhinos, bowling balls and choir boys

Anyway, I'm eternally grateful for this beautiful daughter of God for whom I have been entrusted with caring. I'm grateful for the amazing opportunity I have to be a mom. I love you so much, Claire!

It's a baby!

It's


a


BOY!!!



Now, what am I gonna do with all the pink stuff I have??

Ultrasound

...is scheduled for Monday at 9am!!!

(Yay for Medi-Cal cards coming sooner than expected!)

Update

I know you're so anxious to hear an update about a potential ultrasound (I can picture you sitting at your computer and how you're so very disappointed every time you look at this page and discover there's no new info about the baby. Right.) So, after weeks and weeks and weeks of incompetency on the part of Medi-Cal (i.e. asking for paperwork that they originally said wasn't needed, additional paperwork that they never mentioned in the first place, paperwork that was already turned in and apparently lost, etc.), I was so fed up that I finally went to the office for the umpteenth time and told them I couldn't wait any longer. They promised me a phone call the next day, which of course didn't happen, BUT... at least it got the ball rolling and (drum roll, please)...... we got a letter of approval today. FINALLY! We've been denied so many times so this is just a huge relief. The downside? It will take another 2 weeks for our insurance cards to come in the mail. **exaggerated sigh** At least we have Medi-Cal now; we just can't do anything with it until we have our cards. So, as soon as we get the cards, we can schedule an ultrasound. We're moving forward, just very slowly.

Website

We have a new website for our business. Check it out and spread the word!

Belle Claire Strings

Anniversary Trip

On Saturday, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We left Claire with my mom and drove to Lake Cuyamaca on Friday to spend the night at the family cabin. It was the first night without Claire so it was a little weird, but very relaxing. I needed that time to rejuvenate and put work aside for a couple days. We went to Julian Friday night to have dinner and also on Saturday on our way home. We had to walk around a bit and visit the cute shops and of course get a pie. We got rhubarb strawberry crumb, which was heavenly! Claire did really well during her first sleepover with Grandma. It was a wonderful weekend and went too fast. We might just have to do it again.

The mugs at the restaurant are boots!


What happens when a store isn't open? It's.....
Most places were closed on Friday night. It was weird. But, that just gave us an excuse to go back Saturday.


Beautiful Lake Cuyamaca (it was so blue, the picture doesn't do it justice)


Exactly 20 weeks pregnant (How cool is it that the halfway point fell on our anniversary?)


Julian:
Someday I want to go for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage


Or maybe a pony-drawn carriage

Happy Easter!

Easter this year was so fun! Not that last year wasn't, but it's much more fun with a 20-month old than a 7-month old. She participated in egg-coloring and egg hunts (and had a blast.) It was quite the fun-filled weekend. The pictures tell it all.

Saturday morning egg hunt:

She found one egg all by herself!

And then decided she was done

Until some loving people brought her some more

What's inside?

Yummy jelly beans!

Too much fun wore her out

Saturday evening egg-coloring:

All ready to go

Coloring with crayons (I wasn't about to let her near the dye. Maybe next year.)

Isn't it pretty? Good job, Claire!

Sticker time

Another beautiful creation

My creation (Pretty good likeness, huh?)

Some of the finished products

"I'm all done, Mommy." (The great thing about this shot is she completely posed herself, stuffed animals and all)

Easter morning:

Easter basket full of goodies

New flip flops

Stickers from Grandma

Modeling her new bracelet while enjoying eggs for breakfast

Egg hunt!

She was SO proud of herself when she would find an egg

We found all 5 eggs!

I distracted her with Shrek while I braided her hair (which lasted about an hour)

Beautiful girl

I wish she had looked like this when we got to church, but by the time we arrived, the braid was half out (I even used gel and hair spray.) At least I got pictures.

Photo shoot:

I hope everyone had a happy Easter!