Claire's First - Swimmin' and Eatin'

We took the the girls swimming this past weekend over at some friends' pool.  Emily was so excited to show us everything she had learned in swimming lessons.  This just happened to be Claire's first time in any water other than her bathtub, which she loves (remember I didn't count the lake a few weeks ago because she stayed as dry as a bone)!  

She was verrrrry serious.  Didn't crack a smile for quite awhile...she just kept looking at the the water.  Ha!:) Sweet thing!  

Claire with her sisters!  They were SO excited to have Claire in the water with them!  Just for the record, Bert's hands were about 2 inches away from Claire during the taking of this picture.:)  

She warmed up and started giving me some smiles once I let her sit on the steps!  

We also fed Claire rice cereal for the first time this past weekend.  She actually did really well with it.  E and H just pushed the spoon and food out of their mouth the first couple times I tried to feed it to them, but Claire was actually eating it!  Go girl!  

Look at Emmy smiling at me in the picture below.  I love that little cutie!  

I thought this was a cute picture of Claire with rice cereal all over her face, just smiling up at her Daddy.  She loves him!  

I can't believe she'll be crawling soon...then walking and talking!  Yikes! So many fun firsts during this first year!  

Family Photo Session - May 2014

My friend Suni Cawthon from Toccoa took our family pictures again this past May!  She does such an amazing job!  

Very thankful for her doing such a great job of capturing their sweet personalities at their different ages!  Thankful to have these!  

Girls' New Car

Mimi and Papa bought the girls this fun gift.  They had this car on a crazy sale at Wal-mart and my mom couldn't pass it up.  They were ex-ci-ted!! 

Taking it out for their first spin!  

Hannah's foot can't quite reach the peddle yet, but no problem...she's having lots of fun being the passenger!  

This morning Emily said "Mommy, can I ride my car in the road today??"  I think she thinks now that she's getting this "keep your foot on the peddle/don't run into anything/I know how to use reverse"....that she's ready to hit the road.  Ummm...no.  No, driving anything on the road for a VERY long time!  

Baby Care

Hannah and Emily both love to dance, sing and talk to Claire.  One night I was getting dinner ready and Claire was getting a little fussy sitting in her exersaucer, so I asked the big girls if they would come sing to Claire.  They turned on the music on her excersaucer and Emily and Hannah had the best time dancing, Claire was smiling the whole time they were dancing around her, and I got to finish up dinner.  I'd call that a success. Emily was dancing just to the right of this picture, but they were moving so fast I couldn't get both of them in a picture at the same time.  Sweet sisters!  

A few days ago Hannah walked up to me and said "I got go feed my baby" then she walked off into the living room.  A few minutes later I walked in there and this is how I found her.  

I love this "Hannah smile" in the picture above that just lights up her whole face.  Sweet, sweet girl!  

Trip to Jackson

We headed down to Jackson to see Bert's parents the weekend of Father's Day!  

Claire was excited to be hanging out with Pawpaw! 

They have such a fun, huge, flat backyard to play in.  The girls always LOVE to run around outside when we're at Grandmama and Pawpaw's house! 

Grandmama and Emily

Claire:  "I'm really not in the mood for a picture, but thanks."  

Saturday morning Pawpaw got up and made "pigs in a blanket" (sausage wrapped in a pancake) for everyone. He used to make them for Bert and his siblings when they were growing up.  The girls were excited!!

Later that morning we went to Dauset Trails to see all the animals.   It's kind of like a zoo, but it's in a much more wooded area, they actually take wounded animals and nurse them back to health, and it's free to get in!   They have a bear, mountain lion, hawk, snakes, otters, a buffalo and soooo much more!  After we finished seeing all the animals we had a picnic lunch.  It was fun!   

Grandmama and Pawpaw bought the grandkids a sprinkler to play with when they are at their house.  It was perfect for a hot day! 

Hannah was having a little trouble getting warmed up, so Bert decided to run her around to get her a little wet.  

They love their grandbabies...so much!!  

On the way back to Greenville we stopped for dinner and for me to feed Claire.  When I finished feeding Claire, we got out of the van and Bert and the big girls were sitting on the curb beside the van eating dinner.  I sat down beside Emily.  It was a peaceful summer evening.  Not too hot.  We were just sitting together on a curb, in a fast food restaurant parking lot, but I literally thought my heart might just burst with thankfulness for my family.  I decided to take a picture just to help me remember the simplicity of the night and the joy that these four people brought me this night, and continue to bring me every day.  

It was a fun weekend in Action Jackson! :)  

Swimming Lessons

Emily's been taking a swimming lessons class (last week and this week) over at Otter Creek Waterpark, which is about 10 minutes from our house. 

Her good friend Shaelynn is taking the class with her!  Shaelynn is on the far right of the picture below.  Shaelynn's mom just so happens to be one of my good friends....so it's been fun to get time to chat with Dawnielle while we watch them swim.  

At the end of their class on the last day they let them slide down the slide and play in the splash pad for awhile.  

Emily and Shaelynn

She's had fun!