Barrett's Visit

Claire's friend, Barrett came to our house for a visit the other day. She also tried to hold his hand (like she did with James'). Seriously, melts my heart that she is so sweet. :)


On a different note...we put Claire in her high chair (minus the tray) the other day. Someone from our church gave us the chair and all I had to do was order a new seat belt. (What a blessing that they were so generous!!) After I put it together we sat her in it to see what it would be like (she's still a little bit away from starting solids). She seemed to like it fine. My baby is growing up so fast!

Our Growing Girl

As you can see, we spread out 2 blankets for her to "scoot" around the floor on. But, where does she end up? On the hard floor. Crazy baby!


She LOVES the gloworm that her Nana brought to her from Texas!


Just this week, she's REALLY started to reach out to grab things. I thought this was so, so sweet...she reached out to touch her daddy.

"I want to grab the cat's tail!"

Just chilling.

"I love my feet!"

Hi Butlers!

Sarah, James and Julia came for a visit! James' Daddy and Claire's Daddy grew up together here in Coats and now Claire and James will grow up together. :)


Claire was making the moves on James...she tried to hold his hand! We're gonna have to watch this girl!


Sarah and James, Claire and I. Claire and James are 10 weeks apart!

Poor Girl

This child's hair is W-I-L-D when she wakes up sometimes. I was cracking up when I went to get her this morning.

Baby Milestones

This week Claire has discovered her feet and has rolled over from her back to her front. Bradley and I were fortunate enough to see her roll over. (She's been rolling over from front to back for about a month now). She's also really been responding to us playing with her. She loves to be raised up above our heads and to be swung around in our arms. She also laughs and laughs when you get on the floor with her, get in her face and tickle her. (I guess lots of people would laugh if you do that to them, but this is a first for her). :)

Sometimes when she's on her tummy she moves her legs and arms like she's swimming.

Just chilling with her daddy.

"Look, Mommy...I've got feet!"

Reading a Book

Our Lives Lately

We have had quite a busy few weeks! Bradley and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in June! We were so happy to celebrate such a milestone with our precious baby girl. Bradley took Claire and I to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. It was Claire's first trip to the beach and honestly, it was difficult for us to tell if she liked it or not. At least she didn't cry. She just seemed to take it all in. After her time at the beach though, it was her naptime and she went right to sleep! She was worn out!!

Also, my parents came into town for a week. Nana and Grandpa had a BLAST with Claire! She actually started laughing a few days before they came into town so they were really able to see her personality come alive! We were so thankful for their visit and just had a wonderful time. Claire loved to sit on the front porch with Nana while she watched her Grandpa water the yard or pull weeds out of her mommy's flower garden. (By the way...THANKS, Daddy for helping me out with my flower beds and the yard!). While my parents were here we also celebrated the 4th of July. We went to a friend's house where our church had a huge celebration. We were able to hang out with lots of friends and family. There was even a great fireworks show. Bradley and I thought for sure that the fireworks would wake up Claire, but she slept right on through them! It was really fun to look at the toddlers playing in the grass on the fourth and imagine what it will be like next year for us. Next year, Claire will be walking and talking during that time. She's already grown so much. I think I say this in each of my posts, but I just adore my baby girl. She's such a joy in my life. One of my favorite things to do is to watch her play with her daddy. Such a sweet, heart-warming time. Enjoy the pics below!


Chilling out under an umbrella with her daddy at the beach.


Her first time in the ocean. She wasn't so sure about it. :)


Daddy got his time in the water with Claire too.

Such a chunky thing! I just love this sun-hat!

After her time at the beach and a little bit in the pool, Claire was tired and cold. So we wrapped her up in a towel, took her upstairs for a bath and she went right to sleep. She was pooped!

Claire is scooting around on the floor more and more. I've gotten to the point where I'll just let her go where she wants. This day she made her way under the coffee table and out the other side. And as a bonus, I was able to capture her laughing.

Claire is on her way to the beach for the first time!

Just chilling with her daddy.

Our little family out to dinner celebrating our 5 year anniversary.

My friend, Melissa, sent us this mobile for Claire and she LOVES it! This is Claire's first time with it. I'm not sure what was up with her hair that day. Ha ha ha.

Claire LOVES hanging out on the front porch. She watches the leaves blow around, listens to the birds sing and loves the wind on her face. I'm so thankful that she enjoys being outside. Once she gets bigger, we'll be spending many a day playing outside.

We just can't resist torturing our cat, Papa. I think that Claire is finally too big to sit on Papa like this. Neither of them look to happy about us playing like this. But, boy, do Bradley and I have fun!! :)

On the 4th of July, we went to an outlet mall with my parents. It was Claire's first time to ride in her stroller and she loved it.

Claire is supposed to be napping, but there was so much activity around her that she couldn't settle down. We're hanging out on the lawn waiting for the band to start playing.

Claire enjoyed spending time with both sets of grandparents on her first 4th of July.

Claire and her Nana sitting on the porch. It was my parents last evening in Coats.

Claire and Nana.

Just recently I put Claire in her bouncy play seat. I put it together about a month ago but she was still too little to enjoy it. She's still pretty tiny, but I stuffed a towel behind her in the seat and she was able to play some. I think she'll be loving this activity center in a few weeks!

Happy Father's Day!!

Claire with her daddy on his FIRST Father's Day!


I love how they're smiling at each other. Claire gave her daddy JUST what he wanted for Father's Day...a Lowe's gift card. :)


Our little family on Father's Day. (You can even see Papa looking at us through the glass door behind us). Thank you, Lord, for our precious baby girl. We just love and adore her more than words can describe.

Happy Father's Day, Grandpa! I can't wait to see you again next week!

Happy Father's Day, Granddaddy! You are always so wonderful to cuddle up with.

Our Baby Girl

Claire continues to grow and grow. Last weekend I heard her fussing during her nap. It was about 20 mins early for her to be waking up (and this girl will sleep until it's time to wake up!) so I went to check on her and saw that she'd flipped herself over! We were thrilled! But, it hasn't happened again. I think it may have been an accident that happened in her sleep. I know that I shouldn't be to eager for her to grow up because very soon I will look back and be sad that my baby is all grown up! Another thing that she's been doing more and more of lately is jibber jabber. She talks ALL of the time. And she'll pause long enough for you to talk back and then she'll continue talking. It's almost like she's carrying on a baby conversation with us. It's been so cute. Well, here are some more pictures.



This crazy girl backs herself off of her playmat everytime she's on it now. Sometimes I'll look up and she'll be underneath the coffee table! She's so fast now too. It seems like I'm constantly pulling her back on the mat. I have laughed and laughed at her when she does this.


She is on her way to church for the first time. We put her in a precious little dress with a bow in her hair (I'm not much of one to dress her up everyday...onesies are my best friend). She did great at church and the nursery worker said that she just wanted to hold her because she was such a sweet natured baby. (Aww)


I try to give her some tummy time everyday. I've read that it's good for her to gain strength in her neck, arms and legs. She often seems a little stunned when I put her on her tummy so I will get in the floor with her. I cannot say it enough, I just love spending time with her.



In the mornings I've learned to not put clothes on her for a while after she's done eating. She's been spitting up more and more. One day I had to change her onesie 3 times in 30 minutes because she spit up so much! So, now I just leave her in her diaper for a while and then get her dressed. I thought she looked so funny in this picture. Look at that belly! Thank you, Lord, for a child that is gaining weight well! Her first month of life, she was not gaining weight well and we had to supplement with additional food along with nursing her. She just was not eating well at all. Well, this picture is proof that she is eating well now! (And by the way, we are no longer supplementing). Again, thank you, Lord for answered prayers.