Birthday Pictures!

Claire and I have been having a blast this week after Christmas just the two of us. We have had tea parties, cleaned the house to our hearts content and played, played, played. Bill is now officially on vacation until the first of the year.

It's been so much fun for me to be with her these last couple of weeks. I've finally got a little organized and settled in the house. Amidst all of the busy-ness, I have taken few pictures of our move, of Claire's 2nd birthday, of our Gatlinburg family trip and of Christmas; however, I have a great sister-in-law who has been my "historian" and has been capturing pictures for me when I that's been far from my mind.

So, here's some long over-due pictures...

"Happy Birthday to You." Claire patiently waiting to blow out the candles.

I just had to post this one. I am definitely a cake-making amateur, but I was so proud of my attempt at a BarnYard themed cake. I probably spent more money than I would have paid the best cake-maker in Nashville to make one and definitely spent too much time...but she only turns 2 once!

The family portrait on her birthday!

This wasn't on her birthday, but she has one of her "birthday outfits" on and I just think she's too cute not to show off!

Have a great New Year and we'll be back next week!!!

"Bloom where your're planted..."

Has always been a favorite quote of mine. I'm not sure if it's my personality or if it's just a generational thing, but I am absolutely horrible about staying in touch. I bloom where I'm planted, I invest my life and energy into the people closest to me and often make the horrible mistake and regret of neglecting those from my past. I don't have a horrible past, so I don't think it is some deep-rooted emotional issue that I'm trying to run from. I'm not sure what causes it, but I don't like it.

I know there are pros and cons about the internet and social networks. My sister and I have these discussions often. But I am personally thankful for them and the outlet they offer me to stay in touch with childhood, high school, college, camp and current friends.

All of that is a preface to say, I want to teach Claire to set her roots deep wherever she goes. Last night, my mom called me and the father in one of our dear family friends passed away. Jen, his daughter, and I grew up together. As I drove home after her telling me, I thought about this family being one of my earliest memories of planting my roots. Memories of the adults playing cards or just coming to hang out and the kids playing Atari or just messing around. On those late summer nights growing up, I was usually somewhere in between their house and our house. Jen and I had a tradition, up until she married and began her family of calling each other on Christmas morning to tell each other what we had gotten. Softball games, football games, snow ball fights, church, girl scouts, school from K-12, weddings...and now a funeral.

I want Claire to have those bittersweet, deep-rooted memories of families she grew up with. I want her to fly, but I also want her to be well-rooted. So, today, I challenge you to set your roots deep and don't neglect those things of your past!

A Preview of Your Christmas Card!

Several weeks ago, we asked my good friend, Rich Kalonick, to come out to Fairview to take some pictures of us and our good friends, The Coleman's. I have not had professional pictures taken of Claire since her 1 year old pictures and she was now turning two.

I am a planner by nature and by trade, but Picture Day will not go down in my Hall of Fame of expertly planned events. We planned the pictures for the Sunday afternoon after the Saturday that we moved into the house and the Friday of Halloween...aka...Claire's busiest and most tiring weekend of her life! This did not dawn on me until after....we went to church and rushed home for Claire's nap, woke her up after an hour (that's plenty on any normal day), threw her into the car (still rubbing her eyes) with only a diaper on (didn't want to wrinkle the outfits), threw her a couple pieces of Halloween candy to tie her over until we had a late lunch (do not criticize me!), patted down her hair that got mashed during the nap and rushed to the Morrison's, the backdrop for the pictures.

As you can imagine and probably would have warned me if you had been there, it all back-fired on me. See for yourself!



Claire throwing a tantrum, Bill seemingly giving me a look like "what were you thinking"!

The full-fledged trantrum and the two referee's to restrain a two-year old.

Me, trying to smile in the midst of it all and be ready for the snap of the camera, in the extreme case that Claire suddenly sat down and complied!

You'll have to wait for your Christmas card to see if the day turned around!

"Funny's" on Claire

By this point of not updating our blog in several weeks, I am not sure if anyone will ever check in again. Our home computer is still on the outs (we just haven't taken it to be looked at) so I have no way of updating except at work and I try not to do that. However, this is the week of Thanksgiving and all of my co-workers are on vacation, so I thought little harm would come from updating our family blog.

Claire is doing so many funny things. I am sure I have already forgotten many of them. It seems as though we are rolling in the floor every night over something new and hilarious she has done.

Several stories come from her musical preference these days. When she was born, one of my co-workers gave me a set of books from B&H that are "My First Steps of Prayer", My First Steps of Faith", etc. There are four books in the series and each book has a cd with them. They have been sitting on the book shelf for 2 years now and we have yet to get them down. But I noticed that her new school uses those books in their curriculum, so I got one down and we started listening to the cd's in the car. They are catchy little tunes that you may remember from childhood, so they didn't get on my nerves. However, one morning on the way to work I was just needing some non-thinking country music. As we pulled out of the drive-way to Alan Jackson, Claire yelled, "No, don't like...no, don't like." I went through my list of things that she may not like...the temperature, the volume, the sun in her eyes, etc. Then she said, "No, don't like! JESUS!!!!!" (She wanted her "Jesus" cd on). So, now, when she wants to listen to her cd, she just yells "JESUS!"

Then, a few days later, we were on our way home. The car was silent. No music. We were both just being quiet. And I hear her singing, "Jesus, no, no...Jesus, no, no" She sang this about a dozen times and I asked her what she was singing. I went through my list of Jesus songs and sang, "Jesus loves me this I know" and she smiled and sang, "Jesus, no, no". We learned a new verse this weekend coming home from Gatlinburg. Now she sings, "Jesus, no, no. Bible says so."

She had a big birthday party about 2 weeks ago with all of her family and now we are gearing up for the holidays. More consistent updates will hopefully come soon.

Our New "Home Sweet Home"

I don't even know if this is legal, but this is the best picture I have of our new home. The landscaper just sent me a photo of what our house will look like with landscaping. The house is the real deal (including the saw horse and trashcan on the front porch) and the landscaping and grass is fake (just an idea of what he can do with the house).

Moving weekend is THIS weekend. Still lots to be done in the next four days, but my "contractor" keeps telling me to trust him.

I'll update you from 7260 Knottingham Drive next week!!!!

I am Home!!!

I am home from my week-long New England adventure. I am home from three months of traveling pretty much non-stop. I am home and have nowhere to fly until February. I am home!!!!

The week and event in New England were phenomenal! We celebrated 10 years of Living Proof Live in all 50 states and 100 events. I had a wonderful time with our event team as well as the rest of the LPL team members. But we were exhausted when we got home on Saturday.

My wonderful husband, despite being a single parent all week long while I was gone and while finishing the new house, let me go to bed early on Saturday night. My heart felt so bad to ask him to be on Daddy Duty for one more moment, but my eyes wouldn't stay open.

Sunday was the first phase of our brand-new life. No traveling for Mommy for atleast 3 months. And then, October 31 begins the second phase of our new life in the new house!!! We just need some carpet, touch ups on the interior paint, one final coat of stain on the hardwood and a good cleaning and the moving will begin!!!

You are more than welcome to come visit us at the new house anytime. I would beware of our current house...it is a disaster as I am working on packing!

I'll post updated pictures one day soon!

Losing My Sanity

If you are an active reader, you must feel like we are on a roller coaster. One day is a great day and then we are in the pits of despair with tantrums and exhaustion. That is not my normal behavior. I am usually even-tempered...I even pride myself on my consistency.

The last two nights have not been in the "good" category. As Milli Vanilli once said, "Blame it on the rain!" That's where it all started. Let me set the stage!

First, we are in the final, final stages of the new house. Bill the Builder is digging utilities (side note: I promise that what he does is very impressive. I've been walking a broken marriage road with a dear friend which has spurred me to put more focus on my marriage and on my husband but it's hard when we are living separate lives right now with me traveling and him building the house. So I was just looking for some things to make him feel good during this last, grueling stage of the house. I told him Sunday when we were at the new house that he dug very impressive ditches. Such simple words, but his chest puffed out and a huge smile came across his face as he said, "Really!?!").

Okay, back to the story. Bill is digging utilities and it wasn't supposed to RAIN until Wednesday. But it started raining Tuesday night. So Bill and his good friends were over at the house until around 9:00 laying pipes and back-filling ditches (are you impressed with my construction lingo yet!). So, Claire and I had the evening alone.

At 6:30p, I was preparing her for bath-time and she decided she didn't want to take a bath so she head-butted me!!! She missed my head and hit my brand-new glasses and the lens popped out. I rarely get mad, but I was mad. I put her in the bathtub with some duck friends and headed to the living room to cool off. I called Bill and told him he probably needed to come home for the sake of his first born. He just couldn't with the rain coming in. I understood, but I was afraid of my own anger so I needed to get away from her! After giving her a bath, she went to bed at 7:00 pm because I was still mad (her usual bedtime is 8:00-8:30).

Next day, we all woke up fresh and ready for another day. After picking her up yesterday afternoon, we headed to the new house since the painters had painted the two main rooms. As Bill and I walked around the house, Claire found a pencil and proceeded to "doodle" on the freshly painted walls... two different walls. And then, as she came to get us to show us her artwork, she ran her hand down the hallway of wet paint. Not only are their smudges in the new paint, she had paint on her hands and in her hair. The child is going to be the death of me. You will be glad to know that I didn't get mad, the painters were coming anyway to touch up!!!

Claire and I headed home so Bill could get to work. As soon as we entered the house, Dr. Jeckyl took over and she threw one fit after another for 2 hours. At one moment, (this is when the guys that happen to read the blog - Mark - need to forgive me or leave), she got in her diaper bag and found my personal cosmetic case and started unwrapping and playing with my tampons and maxi pads (she loves band-aids...she must have thought they were just a bigger version).

At this point, I'm not willing to choose this one as a battle. She sat in her bedroom floor and played contently with her new "toys" taking them apart and putting them back together and I sat in the hallway hitting her big bouncy ball against the wall with her miniature Louisville slugger! (Do you ever remember hitting or bouncing a tennis ball against a wall when you were young...same effect).

I know you may think I'm going crazy and if anyone had a hidden camera I'm sure they would have called the doctors, but it was a big stress reliever. I was exerting some negative energy with no danger to anyone or anything and she was content!

3 weeks and counting until saner days arrive!

Turning the Corner

Whew! This has been some season. I am not sure how to categorize the season. Busy, stressful, joyful, blessed, exhausting, refreshing, hard, prayerful, trusting, lonely...oh, there are so many words. But I think we have come out on the other side.

First, Claire's tantrums ended as quickly as they started. I have not put her in time-out in probably a week to ten days. (I'll have to get Becca's report on if the tantrums have ended during the day). Either she is getting more words to tell me what she wants or how she feels, our consistency and patience have paid off, or God is just being gracious to us! It's most likely the latter!

Second, our house sold. I'm a pretty laid-back person naturally, but I was about to get wound-tight with the economy and housing market like it is currently and us wrapping up the construction of our new home. My mind would only take me to the worst-case scenarios. But, like always, God is sufficient in his timing alone. And what perfect timing it is. We will sell our house and move straight into the new house the first of November (October 25 if Bill continues to burn the midnight oil).

Third, and associated with #2. We are moving into the new house. I couldn't even get excited about the new house until the current one sold. But now I can say it, "I LOVE our new house." Come visit us sometime!

Fourth, with each passing weekend, I get closer and closer to no more traveling this year. Next Sunday, I leave for my last trip. And although it is long (a week long event), the joy of knowing I have no where to fly to in four months gets me through the long trip.

So, what do the next few months bring for the Cato's? First, we look forward to sleeping past 5:30-6:00 am on Saturdays. I am going shopping for Claire (I just haven't had the time, energy or desire to shop lately with our schedules and she has NO fall clothes...poor thing). Bill says he wants to go hunting and I am happier than I ever been to let him. I think I'll finally try to learn to sew. And then before long (hopefully it's a year or two), Bill will get stir-crazy and we will go hunting for the next lot to build on!

Our Sonic Adventure

Before I begin, let me offer my best attempt at a disclaimer for the following entry. I tried my best to be a healthy mom. My sister set the bar high when Kaity Beth was born almost 12 years ago. At Kaity's first birthday, Angela made her a cake with no sugar. I thought it was admirable and I tried to follow the example for my first born. When Claire moved to solids, I pureed the vegetables and the fruits. It was easy and cheap, so I sacrificed the time. However, Claire much preferred the Gerber purees over her Momma's home-made ones. And for months, stacks of my purees sat in the freezer as she gobbled down Gerber. I didn't take offense, I just stopped puree-ing.

Fast forward to the season after purees. Bill and I have followed the laid-back approach to her eating. She naturally gravitated to things that were good to her. She loves any fruit, she eats most vegetables, the only meat she will eat is pork chops (I have no idea why), and drinks and eats so much dairy that I am surprised she's not moo-ing. We let her have treats every now and then...not over-indulgent with sweets, but she does partake in them with us. She's within her range on weight and her clothes fit. She's active and I think she's healthy.

Okay, so after the disclaimer and history...our favorite stop in the afternoons is Sonic. Not every afternoon, maybe once every two weeks we stop for a slush. I have been traveling the past two weeks, so I know it has been atleast 3-4 weeks since we have been there (and even when I was traveling, I know Bill didn't take her because he told me that he had planned to one afternoon and she threw such a fit in the truck that she lost her Sonic privileges!).

So, on our way home from Becca's, no intention or desire to stop at Sonic, I heard the sweetest voice in the backseat saying, "Syush, Syush."

"Claire, would you like a slush"

"Yea", in Claire's affirmative whisper.

"Do you want a grape slush"

"Noooooo!", in Claire's whiny, sing-songy voice.

"Do you want an apple juice slush."

"Yea!", again in her whispery affirmative voice.

I laughed out loud as I pulled the vehicle in Sonic and she laughed with joy. She has me wrapped around her finger!

So mommy ordered a kids' sized apple juice slush and a regular sized banana split shake (for herself). When the little carhop came, you would have thought she was Claire's favorite person. She clapped, she squeeled!

So, Claire took a few sips of her slush and noticed I was drinking something. She sat her slush in the cupholder and grunted for mine. I handed it back to her and as she tasted the banana shake, she giggled and "Mmmm"ed to her hearts delight....and handed me her slush!

The banana shake was now hers and I was stuck with the apple juice slush. She did share MY shake with me.

In a Month!

I cannot believe that I have not posted in almost a month. It has been a crazy, stressful month. I have been traveling way too much with work, we are 5 weeks away from being done with the new house, we have stressed over selling the current house in this economic mess and sold it this weekend (!!!!), our computer has gotten sick and still won't work, Claire has become so much more relaxed about life and only throws a hissy fit every once in a while and we are all still alive. Exhausted, but alive.

The result of all of this chaos...I have only shaved my legs twice in the past month (and that second time was only for a wedding I went to yesterday), my roots are atleast an inch long, I have not plugged up an iron in atleast 4 weeks (that is the most amazing one), I can count the times I cooked on one hand and can count the times we have eaten Pizza Hut or Mexican on two hands!!!

But life is gradually slowing down. We are thrilled about the house selling. Continue to pray until the closing date. It is still scary until all documents are signed. We have finally moved to the ecstatic side of emotions about the new house, finally able to see that it will be ours without the stress of paying for two homes.

Come visit us in about 6 weeks, unless you are a master mover and then you can come visit us in 5!

Mommy's a Princess....Today!

The day didn't start particularly well. Last night continued to follow the same pattern of earlier in the day and Claire was in trouble more times than she wasn't. I thought we put her and the attitude to bed last night, but her memory is sharp and she began immediately this morning taking it out on me, her comfort zone!!!

I woke up this morning with every intention of pulling myself together. You can atleast look like you have it all together even if you don't. So, though on the inside I was falling apart, I polished the outside, putting on jewelry (I rarely wear jewelry), straightening my hair (a rare luxury) and ironing my clothes (an extinct practice of mine).

As soon as I woke her up, she was screaming at me. Changing her diaper...screaming at me. Getting into the car...screaming at me. We have a routine when we are about 2 minutes from Becca. As the sun rises in the east (at 6:30 in the morning...maybe that is why she is so mad at me!), we tell Mr. Sun good morning and then look for the birds on the wire. And then we are close enough to Becca's to start anticipating Sophie and Jonah. This routine always changes her disposition...for the good!

Which immediately reminded me...children need routine. I have been traveling non-stop throughout August and Bill has been building the house. While Bill and I feel like our world is topsy-turvy, I cannot imagine what Claire feels like. She needs routine. She needs me. She needs stability. And several wise and great friends had the courage to reiterate that to me today. How I am thankful for truth.

So when I picked Claire up from Becca's this afternoon, I had every intention of making the evening all about her (within reason). So, we ran around and played in the grass with Sophie and Jonah. When it was time to leave, I put Claire in the front-passenger side to just get her in the vehicle until I could get her bags loaded on the other side. As soon as I closed the last door, I heard "click". She locked herself in the vehicle! I immediately called Bill to come help us, but he was atleast 10 minutes away. So I stood outside the car trying to coax her to push the button again. And she did, it was just the lock button...again and again. Dave, Becca's husband, came out to give re-enforcement. He stood there and kept saying, "Claire, push the button." She just looked at him as he continued to coax her. She finally said, "Pwees, pwees." So Dave said, "Claire, push the button, PLEASE" and she did! Still the wrong button, but we laughed at her. At least she's learning some manners in the midst of these tantrums.

So Bill arrived and we went to Sonic for a banana split. Then we went home and played, played, played. We got all of her basket of toys down and just dumped them out (it has been MONTHS since she has played with many of these toys since the house is for sale and I felt the need to limit toys that she played with to eliminate mess...maybe that's another reason she's mad at me!)

Now, to the point of this long story. When she was eating dinner, because it was an evening all about her, I let her drink out of her non-sippy cup Princess cup. It's just a regular cup that her Aunt Patty and Cousin Payton gave her for Christmas and it has all the Disney princesses on it. I was eating my supper and heard her saying, "Mommy, mommy, mommy." I looked up and she was spinning the cup around and pointing to each of the princesses.

"Mommy's a princess?" I asked. And she looked up at me with that sweet, loving smile and pointed once again to the prettiest princess and said, "Mommy!"

Thank you, Lord, for seeing us through today.

What do you do with a 22 month old who...

thinks the world revolves around her, throws herself to the ground and thrashes around when she realizes for a split second it doesn't, figures out that "I sorry" gets you out of time out long enough to throw herself back on the floor and into another tantrum.

What do you do with a mommy who blames it all on her choice to go back to work, but thinks she would be completely bald if she ever decided to come home and hands her child off to Daddy as soon as he walks in the door even though Mommy's only been home for 15 minutes?

What do you do when the same child that made you want to pull your head bald turns and gives you a big, wet open-mouth kiss for no particular reason, who struts around in her Mommy's size 10 dress shoes that she kicked off at the door and turns around and says, "Mommy" in the most endearing voice?

This is more therapy for me than really wanting answers. I don't think there really is answers. It's just life. And as I was putting her in time-out for the 2 time in 15 minutes and said that prayer, "Lord, get me through this phase and I know it's downhill from here", I really know that this is the sweetest and the easiest time of our lives.

So, tonight, I will lay her down in her crib and pray for her that God will turn her heart toward Him and I will pray for myself that He will give me the wisdom and the patience not to break her little spirit and let him mold her into the little personality He designed.

As my mom said this weekend, "You wouldn't give anything for her, but you wouldn't pay a nickel for another one like her!" - here we go back to time-out because she hit her Daddy this time!

Back to the Beach!

I finally got pics off of Dad's camera from the beach. Here are some of my favorites!!!

Newark, Delaware

Hello from Delaware! I'm on the home stretch now. One more night in a hotel room and I will be in my comfy bed next to Bill tomorrow night!!!!

Today was our longest drive yet. It was only 4.5 hours but we were on I-95S which took us straight through NYC, over the George Washington Bridge and you can just imagine the traffic! It was horrible.

I must tell a funny on my husband. We will both admit that we are not the most tech-saavy couple that most of you know. We just know the basics. However, both of us have an Ipod. And being the sweet husband that he is, when Bill charges his ipod, he charges mine too. However, he hasn't figured out how to switch the "ownership" and he always clears my playlists off my ipod and replaces them with his.

So, today, during our long drive, I got my ipod out to pass the time. As I scrolled down the songs, I didn't recognize many of them...atleast 2 dozen of them. They were such sweet titles such as "Come Back Darling", "I'm Head over Heels in Love", "Crying My Heart Out Over You", "You are My Flower", "I Still Miss Someone".

Aaah. Bill must have downloaded me some new songs to listen to. (Do you remember the days when you made or received a personalized cassette tape...that's how I felt).

So, I started playing them one by one.

Imagine my great surprise (and disgust) when I realized they were all his beloved Flatt and Scruggs bluegrass downloads that accidentally got on my ipod!!!!

After screaming, I laughed hysterically as I continued on down to "Shuckin' the Corn", "Polka on a Banjo", and "The Ballad of Jed Clampet".

My sweet husband!

Luckily, I am traveling with Eugene who enjoys R&B on the radio as much as I do.

Next time you hear from me, I'll be home with my sweet Bill and sweet Claire!

Hartford, CT

I skipped an update on Durham, NH. First, it took me a couple of frustrating hours to get on line. Second, the town reminded me of Boone, NC and most know how I feel about Boone). Third, there just wasn't enough excitement generated to blog about.

Tonight we are in Hartford, CT. I had the Leader's Luncheon in NH (it was great...please don't let my viewpoint of the town reflect on the ladies and the event) and we drove to Hartford.

After an evening in a Holiday Inn Express, I am in a Hilton tonight! Yeah! Please know that I'm not a diva, not a diva at all. It's just that since I'm away from home and on the road often, I want to sleep well and have a few luxuries of home. Nice bed linens, check. Easy internet service, check. Full service restaurant instead of a cereal bar, check! I'm sounding like a diva...I'm not!!!!

I've got to run. Eating Italian with Darlene and Chuck and Eugene tonight.

More to come on Connecticut and Delaware either tonight or tomorrow.

Burlington, VT

Hello from Burlington, VT! We made it. It was so hard to leave the house this afternoon. I got home around 6:00 pm last night and was at the airport by 2:30 pm today. Just the fact that I left in the middle of the day made it hard. I was counting down hours all morning long. Typically, I fly out of Nashville first thing in the morning, so there is very little counting down.

Our Louisville event was wonderful. This was the weekend of our big simulcast event that we prepare all year for. We simulcasted the live Louisville event to 714 churches across the nation and 5 countries and to approximately 70,000 women. So far, we have heard that everything went great!

Please pray for the "home front" this week. Bill and Claire will be fine, but we have been blessed to have 2 "visits" on Saturday by realtors and 1 visit tomorrow. One of the Saturday appointments looks really promising. I am really excited, but I had to leave everything in the capable hands of Bill. He will do perfectly fine taking care of Claire, keeping the house in tip-top shape for "visitors" in addition to working on the new house at night, but I am just a control freak! However, when I called him at 10:00 CST to say I was in Burlington, he was getting ready to vacuum the house. He is so good. He is a jack of so many trades and who ever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks. He's been a great student of how I do things!!!!

Update from Durham, New Hampshire tomorrow!

The Travel Adventures

For a week, I am going to depart from stories of Claire and give you a glimpse into my travel journal! Today is the first day of my many travel adventures throughout August, September and October. I haven't had to travel much at all this summer, so we have been gearing up for a travel-heavy fall.

First, last night (Wednesday), we met Aunt Ang and Drew at exit 126 off of I-40. This is half-way between Paris, TN and Fairview, TN. When I travel for a weekend event, Angela takes Claire for Wednesday night - Thursday and my mom and dad take her through Saturday. When we arrived at the truck stop and Aunt Ang pulled up, Claire grabbed her blanket and her moo-ee (movie/DVD player) and headed to her van. So much for the bitter-sweet goodbyes!

Today, I headed out to Louisville, KY for an event. I will return home on Saturday night and fly out for New England on Sunday afternoon. But let's not rush ahead. We've had a fun-filled day in Louisville today.

As most people know, I am a Kentucky girl, born and bred! However, Louisville was never one of our destination cities. We went to Louisville most every November when I was in middle and high school to watch our Mayfield Cardinal football team compete in the state championship. I remember going to Louisville when I was a little younger to watch my sister play in softball tournaments, but I have never experienced much of Louisville.

Today, I became a tourist in my home state. First, we ate lunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Rich, one of our long-standing event team members is one of those people that you love to have on a trip. He is always up on the trendy things from music (he called it early that Knarls Barclay's "Crazy" would be the summer hit of 2006), technology, cool photography and especially restaurants. He watches Food Network and saw that Bobby Flay spotlighted this Louisville hang-out. Well, if you ever want to experience eclectic, Lynn's Paradise Cafe is the place for you. But it is also the place for delicious breakfast, wonderful KY Hot Browns, sweet potatoe fries with cinnamon and my choice today, Fried Green Tomatoe BLT (and I hate tomatoes).

After Lynn's, we did go to the event venue and do a little bit of work. After set up, our friend and event "director of security" arranged for us to have a private tour of Churchill Downs - the home of the Kentucky Derby. I was excited but not at all prepared for the type of tour we received. Our connection for the tour was Churchill Downs Director of Security, Charles. He showed us the typical highlights, a little Q/A with the head of the media area and then a trip down to the original Churchill Downs area. At this point, we were on the ground level and a stones throw from the track and the winner's circle. Our new friend Charles said, "Let's sneak out across the track and get you all a picture in the winner's circle." Besides the excitement of doing something wrong (but we were with the head of security) and the excitement of being in the Churchill Downs Winner Circle where ONLY the KY Derby winner is allowed - this KY girl was about to pee on herself!!! (Just kidding - if you know me well, you know that I am a pro at holding it).

But it was a fun-filled day of basking in my KY heritage. Next stop - back to Lynn's Paradise Cafe for breakfast (I know, when you find something you like, why mess with it!)

I miss you Claire! Sleep tight and I can't wait to see your new haircut!!!!

We're on a First Name Basis Now!

Last week was our church's VBS. We have VBS in the evening. So, the Cato House was running crazy. I would rush home from work, pick Claire up at Becca's, run by the new house to see Bill and the progress for just a second, run home, give Claire a bath and feed her supper in 30 minutes and out the door to VBS. Claire and I would get home around 8:30 and Bill would be close behind coming home from the house. By the end of the week, all three of us were exhausted.

However, we had a few comic reliefs in the midst of a crazy week. On Thursday night, last night of VBS, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and Claire was just trying to keep up with me as she trailed on my heels. I heard her a few times yell, "Daddy"! Daddy wasn't home so I just ignored her. Then I noticed her yelling "Beal, Beal, Beal." I whirled around and noticed she was standing at the back door where Daddy (Bill) usually comes home through. She looked at me and said it again, "Beal". I DIED laughing and that just spurred her on more. Oh, her Daddy wouldn't find it funny, but at the moment, I was rolling.

Fast forward. Friday night, we take a family trip to Lowe's to pick out hard-wood stain color and countertop (side note...we are in a quandary about whether to use solid surface or laminate...I just can't justify the cost of granite and who in the world decided that granite in a house would receive such a return on investment...feel free to vote on what "surface" we should go with). Back to Lowe's. We had 10 minutes to check out with our light bulbs and Miracle Grow, (because as noted in an earlier blog, I did, indeed let the flowers die. I'm hoping to revive them with Miracle Grow. I'm blaming the two weeks that I didn't water the flowers on one week of VBS!). I generously decided that both Bill and I could buy a magazine of our choice (because I'm the family Chief Financial Officer and he's the Chief Operations Officer). I hurried to the lawn and garden magazines (!!!) and he was looking at wood-working. I heard him yelling my name, but I didn't have time to pay him any attention...I only had 10 minutes to find the resource to revive my flowers. And then I heard his boisterous laugh. I whirled around and heard Claire yelling at the top of her lungs, "Aumy, Aumy, Aumy!" Oh no, back at you Mommy. Claire was on a first name basis with me too!!! I did laugh, but didn't find it as funny as her calling her Daddy "Beal"!

Growing Up!

It's been amazing (and fun and sad) to watch Claire grow up so much over this summer. The beginning of the summer, I was still having to help her with the shape sorter and now she can do it all by herself and with little thought. She's talking so much and can actually tell me that she wants milk or a nanny (banana). Vocabulary has cut down on her frustration level! She's already liking to play dress up and get her clothes out of the laundry and put pants on her head or put both legs in one leg hole! It's not perfect, but she's gaining that independence.

Wednesday night when we were getting her ready for bed, I realized that a minor diaper rash had exploded to a very sensitive diaper rash. I have yet to find a diaper rash cream that is perfect for her skin. A&D and Boudreaux's are okay, but I have found if I just let her run around for about 30 minutes without a diaper...poof, diaper rash is gone!

So, rather than going to bed, she got to run around with complete "freedom" Wednesday night. Then she preceded to get in her drawer and get a sun hat from last summer that is just a tad too small. And then she wanted to play with Noah's Ark. So, here is what we had:

Independence, here we come!

Floats, Floaties and Swim Sweaters

I just HATE it that I don't have pictures to document my next story.

Growing up, I feel like I lived in the water. I spent most summer days (only the days I did not have a softball game because Dad thought I didn't play as well after I had been to the pool all day!) at Oak Hills Swim and Racquet Club in Mayfield! Mom would drop us off on her way back to work from lunch and we would usually stay until 4:30-5 pm. That equals about 5-6 hours in the sun and water most every summer day of my life (and after I ironed my 10 pieces of clothes and unloaded the dishwasher). When I turned 15, I took my lifeguard test and by 16, I was a full-fledged lifeguard. This was just a few years before they enforced the red one-piece lifeguard dress code, so we were still able to wear two-pieces to lifeguard in (what in the world were the managers thinking!). So, basically, I got paid for 6 hours of sun-bathing and catching up with my friends at the pool.

I am way off subject here! That story is only to say, I want Claire to enjoy, love and embrace water. So, off to Target I head to the outdoor/water toys aisle. Who knew there were so many options. Basically there is Speedo, SwimWay and Aquatics and each of these brands has stages from water awareness to water confidence.

Well, I knew that Claire was "water aware" and even thought she was "water confident" from her 20 months of splishing and splashing the tub. But I started at Stage 1 just in case the pool was different, but just in case the water awareness gear was too elementary for her, I also purchased the water confidence stage. And not only did I buy SwimWay brand, I had to get the cute gear from Aquatics. So, our luggage included (1) turtle float, (1) spring-action float with a canopy over it, (1) swim sweater, (1) speedo flotation suit and (1) set of arm swimmies. We were ready for anything.

Fast forward to the first day in Florida. Not only did I have a head-ache from blowing up all the floats, the swim sweater actually required an air compressor like you would inflate a tire. (You've got to be kidding me). So, Bill headed down to the corner gas station and came back with Claire's inner tube!

Our time (or our money) were not spent in vain. Claire was successfully water aware and water confident. We nick-named her "Little Water Bug" and mommy even wanted to get her a spray-painted t-shirt with "Claire -Water Bug - Cato" (yes I grew up in the 80's and loved wearing my spray painted shirt tucked in my jams with my Dexter/Eastland shoes). But I refrained from purchasing such a frivolous item!!! Nonetheless, she squeeled with delight in the water and was completely at home. Perhaps I have a little lifeguard on my hands!!!

Oh, and the biggest surprise...she TANS! (You need to understand that the only physical traits I prayed for when I was expecting her were (1) that she would have blue eyes, (2) that her ears would lay flat to her head unlike her Mom's and (3) that she would have my coloring and skin tones because Bill is fair. So far, I'm batting 100!

A Vacation Teaser

This is just a teaser. When I finally sat down to upload the pictures, I realized what a poor job we did of taking pics with our camera. My dad and brother-in-law also had cameras and I guess I thought I was taking more pictures than I really was because they were taking some. Hopefully, I'll get some from them (hint, hint Dad and Rod)!

Here is a cute picture of Claire on the merry-go round at the amusement park. She's going to be my thrill seeker! Everyone continues to ask me in jest if there is anything of me on Claire since she is a spitting image of her Daddy. I always say her sweet disposition, but that doesn't work when she's rotten to the core. But I found my similiarity! She likes rides. Her daddy hates them.

My second date with Bill was at the Wilson County Fair here in Nashville. I LOVE rides, so we hopped from one ride to the next on that date. I was having a blast, but noticed Bill wasn't talking much. I just knew there wasn't going to be a third date, but I thought, "I'm going to enjoy all of these rides on his dime!" So I continued to the next ride.

It wasn't until after we were married (I got that third date!) that I realized that Bill hates rides and gets motion sickness!!!

All to say, I am so thankful that I have a child that will enjoy Disney with me one day. She jumped from one ride to the next at the little amusement park in Destin and squeeled at each one!!! (And yes, that is Bill behind her. The merry-go round is just his speed!)

I'm Alive

I have constantly been harping my friends and family to check out the blog. To continue blogging, I need the positive affirmation that people are actually reading my hard work (thank you Amy Griffin for being my most consistent commenter!).

We are alive and well. Father's Day was our last entry. But we have been busy preparing for vacation, then going on vacation and now recuperating from vacation! I have funny, some hilarious, stories to tell you about our time at the beach, so hopefully that will be tonight's activities since Wipe-Out is the only thing I know that's on tv tonight and I care nothing about that show.

So, hold tight! I'll be back tonight with some great pics and hopefully funny tales!!!

Happy Father's Day

For those of you that read our blog and have never met Bill, I married a cowboy at heart. I say "at heart" because it's been a long time since he's been a real cowboy! But he was, once upon a time, a cowboy...ropin' and wrestlin' steers, bare-bronc ridin' cowboy!!! That's one thing that first caught my attention about him (and of course his heart that is as big as the Montana skies). Although he's many years removed from rodeo-ing, it is both of our desire to introduce Claire to it. I know nothing about being an equestrian, but that's why it intrigues me. I've been on a horse once before today!

Today, we celebrated Father's Day at our dear friends, The Morrison's. Rick and "Su-Su" were an intregal part of Bill's life before I entered the picture. Once I entered the picture, I realized you don't find many people better than them. True and honest to the core...and a barrel of fun, too! Rick and Susan have two horses - Burt and Rudy. After we ate lunch today, we went outside to play with the horses.

What a blast we had! Claire and I were definitely over-dressed. Her in her red smocked bubble suit with her church sandals and me in my Ann Taylor top, city shorts and high-heels. We would definitely stick out like a sore thumb in the game "Which of These Doesn't Belong." But we did our best to play the role and guess who was the first to jump on the horse? You got it...ME!

Bill took Claire into the house to change her diaper before her big riding debut and when Susan asked me if I wanted to ride, I took the opportunity to impress my husband! I kicked off the heels and into the saddle I went. I thought I did pretty good job hoisting myself over. I asked for a ladder or a step stool, but they convinced me I could get up there without it and I did! Susan led me into the riding pen and gave me a beginner's lesson in leading a horse. And off I went. And again, I thought I did pretty well for only the second time on a horse. We walked in circles, we changed directions and we even got up to a trot!

As Bill and Claire made their way out to the pen, I could hear Claire cackling! Would she get on with one of us or would she be scared?

I let Bill take a turn and he was able to get Claire up there with him. She wanted to be held...no sitting in the saddle for her!

In the video below, if you listen carefully, you can hear the occasional nervous cackle by her. I'm still not sure if she enjoyed her ride, but both of us are just beginning this sport.

After Bill and Claire finished their turn, Molly, Rick and Susan's daughter that REALLY rides horses took her turn. Claire kicked off her shoes and wanted to run around in the sand in the riding pen. I did get the bubble suit stripped off of her before she started rubbing sand all over her and tossing it over her head. We had a really fun day and I'm sure we will do it again. By the time we were leaving, our girl was pooped out!

Wanted: Green Thumb

My grandmother has a green thumb. Granny Dorie would prefer to be outside, in her garden than inside..any day! Me, I absolutely prefer to be cleaning my baseboards and scrubbing tile and hardwood on my hands and knees in the air-conditioning rather than pulling weeds, dead-heading flowers and fertilizing in the heat. However, in my imagination and dreams, I would love to have the beautiful flowers that Southern Living makes look so easy.

I do fairly well with the easier classifications of flowers (however, I did just kill 3 wave petunias after only one month...what could be easier to care for than a wave petunia).

When we moved into our house after getting married, Bill went a little over-board with western cedar. As most know, Bill built the house while I planned the wedding. He did an absolutely wonderful job and since our house is the smallest in the neighborhood, he decided to give it some "curb appeal." So, we have beautiful western cedar window boxes, beautiful western cedar planters on the front porch and western cedar shutters that completely set our house apart (oh, and don't forget the western cedar arbor in the backyard that he built me for our first anniversary).

So fast-forward to each spring of our married life. Each spring I get my April copy of Southern Living and get my inspiration for the window boxes and planters. Every year is different and I spend hours at the local nursery picking out the perfect combination with the idea that, by chance, the editors of Southern Living are going to drive by Fairview and put me on the cover of the May issue!!!

Each year, I am so excited about my flowers. I have all the right tools. All the right potting soils. Fertilizers, check! I go to planting these beautiful combinations of beautiful flowers. One year my theme was pink and yellow. The next was purple and white. This year, it is red, white and yellow.

With the visions of being a May (or even June) cover story for SL, I go to work. I transfer and plant. Fertilize. Water. Dead-head. Water some more. For about two weeks. And then it gets hotter. And I get tired of watering. And the excitement of being a cover story diminishes. And the dead-heading starts to seem that every flower is dead. So by late July, everything is brown and I head to the backyard to dump my flowers and potting soil and hope for a better year next year.

However, this year "was" going to be different! I am embarrassed to say how much I spent at the nursery this spring. I won't ever tell, but just know that I justified it by saying that our return would be in when the heavenly rays shone from heaven on our flowers and buyers flocked to our house to pay more than the asking price! (Remember, our house is on the market and we are moving on to the next house with all the western cedar of this house, plus front porch posts...will someone let me know if western cedar is out of style!)

I chose some harder classifications of flowers this year because I wanted the eyes to be drawn to the house. I never have done well with geraniums. For me, simply, they are high-maintenance. My mom has said, "Don't get their leaves wet because they will turn yellow," "Don't over water them, wait until the soil is a little dry and then give them a big drink of water...this is when they bloom." I think that is a needy flower and what about the poor flowers next to them that have to wait 2 days to get a drink of water...maybe that's why my petunias have already croaked! And to know that I spent so much on these high maintenance flowers. The pressure is on to keep these flowers alive until the house sells.

So, in conclusion, I need a green thumb. I have to help these flowers survive past July. As I sit in my comfy "computer chair" looking out the window at my dead petunias and happy geraniums, I wonder if anyone will ever look beyond all the western cedar of the new house and notice if I go to silk flowers next spring!!!

I'm going to dead-head and fertilize!

P.S. As you can see from the video below, Claire did not inherit the green thumb either. She is not helping my mission of healthy and happy flowers!

Swimming with the Coleman's

I had our Saturday all planned out. Bill planned to work at the new house all day long, so I knew I needed to plan some activities for me and Claire. This was not going to be my typical Saturday of cleaning house (plus, after talking to the realtor, we decided to wait until July to list the house so that means that I don't have to keep the house in tip-top order for a whole month). Usually, if I'm cleaning house, I clean while she's napping and then Bill and I tag-team when she's awake.

Also, for my sanity, I just needed a plain ole fun day with her. We had a tough week last week with a few battle of the wills where, for once in my lifetime of being a mother, I was actually thankful that I worked outside the home. To further convince myself that I was on the correct path, I called Carrie, my friend with twins, to just make sure her insanity of staying at home with the twins and working from home was greater than my insanity of working outside the home. I never meant to gloat in her misery, but after the week with Claire, I was gloating in Carrie's affirmation that her plight was worse than mine!

However, on Friday, the last day of the bad week with Claire, we went to the doctor for a follow up on her ear infection. The verdict: still infected! The darn child! Despite the occasional dig in her ear, she gives me few other clues that she still does not feel good. Unless, you can chalk our hard week up to her not feeling good. Now you can add guilt onto my list of reasons to make Saturday a fun day for Claire. So, the weekend plans became a redemption for our bad week and a peace offering for my lack of mercy in her not feeling good.

We took her to Jim-N-NIcks on Friday (it was really for our anniversary, but she loves those cheese biscuits and the balloon at the end of the meal) and then Saturday we went to the pool with Cutler and Caroline, Carrie's twins.

Here is Claire playing on the front porch as we waited for Caroline and Cutler to take their nap to go to the pool. Notice the pig-tails. Moms first venture at doing an "up-do". And notice the sunglasses...she wouldn't wear them last summer and won't take them off this summer.

Fast forward...to the pool! I met Carrie in the parking lot of the pool to help her get her 2 kids, 2 floats, a beach bag, a bag of snacks and drinks and a stroller (and this is just Carrie's stuff, my list was just as long) into the pool. I had 2 turtle floats under one arm, while holding Claire's hand and pulling a wagon with Cutler buried under a beach bag. Carrie had Caroline in a stroller and a couple other float options and her beach bag in her hands. We made it into the pool looking like a 3-Ring circus. We made it to a spot (no chairs available) and unloaded our goods and the kids and get into the water!

After playing in the shallow water for about 10 minutes, we got the kids all squared away in each of their floats and ventured to deeper waters. After 3-4 minutes of finally relaxing with all kids content in their float, the whistle blew. It was Swim Break Time. So here we go, rounding up all the kids and all the floats and getting out of the pool. (It's too much work to have fun!) We did find a chair at the break-time and only after 15-20 minutes at the pool, the kids were already ready for a snack!

After break-time, we got them all rounded up and back in the water! The kids loved it and were all 3 pooped out by the time we rounded up the 3-Ring Circus to leave. Carrie and I are going to try it again on Friday!!!

Swimming, First Crushes and Popcorn!

What do all of these have in common? They are all things that Claire has experienced in the past 2 weeks. Sorry for the lack of updates in the last few weeks. It has been a busy season of work, family and traveling and this blogging Momma hasn't had time to take many pictures, let along download them and write about them. So, beware before you start reading...this one is a long one!

On the Mommy front, I have traveled to and fro the month of May. From Boise, ID to Louisville, KY to Birmingham, AL (this one was not work) to San Antonio...the jet-setter is weary.

On the Daddy front, Bill has been busy taking care of Claire while I've traveled, working on the new house and doing "honey-do's" to the current house to get it on the market.

On the Claire front, well that one is a little more exciting.

First, on the "crush" front. I knew Claire was always a daddy's girl (since the day she was born) and realized as she got older that she just likes boys in general. One day we were at the new house and our friend and neighbor, Brian Welch, was driving by Claire. See below for her reaction to Brian:

Then, this week when Mr. Britt came to mow the lawn, Claire ran to the window and sat and watched him as he went back and forth:

I think she's had her first crush!

Bill and I decided to make a quick trip to Birmingham, AL over Memorial Day to visit Uncle Bobby, Aunt Patti, Payton and Landon. We just needed to get away from the house and the stresses associated with it. So we packed up early Saturday morning and headed south. Uncle Bobby and Aunt Patti have a pool; so while the boys headed to the SEC Baseball Championship, the girls headed to the pool! Claire had a blast in the pool - squeeling, splashing and smiling for an hour. Here's my favorite picture of her in the pool (notice her wearing sunglasses - she would have nothing to do with sunglasses last summer).

And finally, popcorn! When I was growing up, most Sunday nights, the Wiman family would eat real (not microwaved) popcorn after church. This past Sunday night, I had a walk down memory lane. It had been a busy Sunday morning and afternoon and we skipped church Sunday night. I wasn't up for cooking supper and as one of our dearest friends, Brad Coleman, says, "If you come to the Cato's at the end of the week, there's nothing in the pantry." (I have an art about grocery shopping where I have mastered only buying what is necessary for one week - experiencing neither famine nor feast- because I don't like to waste and I don't like a really cluttered refrigerator or pantry). All that to say, I had not gone grocery shopping yet and the pantry was the way I like it...empty! I had bought regular "cook on the oven" popcorn during the holidays to make caramel corn. So that is what the Cato's had for supper Sunday night. And Claire is joining in on the Wiman family tradition of liking popcorn on Sunday nights.

That has been our life the past couple weeks. We would love to hear from all of you too!

I Love Bath-time!

18 Month Check-up

No pictures this time...just facts and figures!

Monday, Claire and I went to see Dr. Betts for our 18 month check-up. My 'baby' is 34 inches long and 28lbs 10oz: 93% and 91% respectively! She has been growing like a weed lately and as my mom says, "The baby fat is gone!" (I'm still waiting on my 'baby fat' to be gone...I'm glad Claire shed hers after only 18 months!!)

We passed the vocabulary test. I had been told she needed 20 words by 18 months old, so I pushed her appointment back 2 weeks to give us some more practice time. I have been practicing what all the expert books say. Talk often and repeat the word in several ways. First, say the word. Second, put an adjective before the word. Last, put the word in a sentence. Here's our sample conversation going down the road. (Remember, Claire's mom is an introvert and is sparing with her words). "Claire, there's a flower. Do you see the pretty pink flower. A flower is something that Daddy never brings home!" (Just kidding, he actually had flowers for me when I got home from Boise this weekend!).

Well, I walked into the examining room and had all her words written on a piece of paper...ready to hand in my, I mean our assignment...22 words (or sounds) total. To my displeasure, here is how the conversation with the nurse went: "Does Claire eat a variety of fruits and vegetables...Yes, her favorite is... (she cut me off). Does Claire sleep in a crib in her own room..Yes, of course, since she was a day...cut off again. Does Claire sleep atleast 8 hours and have atleast one nap during the day...of course, she's a great slee.... Does Claire walk on her own...uh-hum (I'm catching on finally that she doesn't want to hear how exceptionally well my child walks and runs and dances... Does Claire stack blocks on top of each other...yes, thanks to grandma's practice. Does Claire speak 6-10 words...yes, of course she does, she can say 20 wo...." The nurse cut me off once again and kept moving through questions about Claire's bathroom routine and her emotionally stability. Wait, I couldn't let this one slide...don't you want to see and hear all 20 words that she can say. But, of course, she was not interested! So, we passed the test, I guess. Claire passed her test. Mommy...well, I think she still has much to learn about not pushing your child and the fact that even though you think your child is the best and the brightest, there are millions of other children out there in the world.

So for anyone who cares, here are Claire's 20 words and sounds...Mommy, Daddy, puppy, baby, duck, cat, meow (ow-mi-ow), ruff-ruff, yum, ball, apple, more, hot, purple, Jonah (no-na), no, thank you, uh-oh, yum.

The Odds and Ends of the Cato House

The odds and ends of the Cato House consists of snipets of our life. As I was home with Claire today and thinking about that I needed to add an entry to the blog, I thought, "We aren't really an exciting family! What would family and friends like to hear." Well, perhaps that! We are just an every day-normal family, trying to get through each day with our sanity, loving each other and raising Claire in a balanced home that loves God. Oh, and one more disclaimer before we get going...When I first started taking pictures to update the blog, I made sure that the background of the pictures didn't show any skeletons in my closet (or pantry)...the skeleton of "I don't have it all together!" So, yes, you will see a pantry in disarray. You may see a bed unmade. You will see toys scattered haphazardly throughout the house. You may see dirty dishes. Welcome to our life! (I would like to blame any of these things you might see on Bill, but everyone knows that he is building the house and housekeeping is currently completely in my court). If you do happen to see the house in a polished state, that is only because we are about to put it onto the market and sellers may be dropping in!

Today, I was blessed with the opportunity to take an unexpected vacation day. Unfortunately, all of Becca's family was sick and with the price of gas, I just decided it was best for me to stay at home rather than driving across town to Annie's. It was not the ideal day to stay at home...middle of the week before an event in Boise, ID and in the middle of our budget season; however, God gifted me with the greatest gift. My email would not work!!!! The day was all Claire's! And we had a blast. My Plan B was God's Plan A. My trip this weekend is a tad longer than usual; therefore, I basked in the extra day I got to spend with Claire before the long trip. Here are some highlights of our day.


Here is Claire "dumpster diving." I'm not sure what she was looking for. But she got caught!!! After getting caught in the pantry, she immediately went to the refrigerator to get some grapes (by the way, did anyone know there was such a thing as a "grapple" - a hybrid of an apple and grape - my sister told me about it today). Poor Claire, she was hungry and she was digging through the trash! A mother should be ashamed. For some unknown reason, she hasn't eaten well since Thursday. I guess her appetite turned back on today!

(Talking of skeletons...the bottle in the corner is not a 'skeleton' for those that know me best!!! That is a bottle of Mona Vie...a fruit juice that is supposed to give me energy and help my joints even though I have no problems with my joints...but thought it would prevent any issues with my healing back).

"Sweet Baby Girl! It's bedtime!" Here is Claire in her pink fuzzy chair, passy and blankey. This is one of my favorite times with her. When she is ready for bed, I put her blanket over my shoulder and she immediately puts her head down on the blanket (a creature of habit). Lately, her added habit is to wrap her arms around our neck. When we say, "Ahhh", she mimics with her own "Ahhh"! I love these moments. However, she is a little teaser. Tonight, she snuggled up in her chair, but when I mentioned bed, she jumped up and headed to get her last fix of her toys!

Finally, for those that never will believe me when I say she knows how to throw a fit, here you go! The proofs in the pudding (is that the right cliche, Mom?). But she still looked really cute in her farm animal dress. Talking about farm animals, Claire has a new word...or would it be a sound. She can say "meow", however, she says "Ow-mi-Ow" in the sweetest high-pitch voice. I just wish my ears could capture the sound and hold onto it forever.

These are our odds and our ends! Enjoy! We will be back next week after Boise.

Claire's Weekly Update

"Blog research" shows that the more you update your blog, the more people will come back and visit you. If that is truly the case, I may have no more visitors! Sorry for my delays in posting anything. It is very hard to post during the week.

Although these pictures are random and not connected to each other, I thought they were cute of Claire. The first one in the brown...I just think her outfit is cute and that is the only justification I really need for posting this picture!!! However, there is also a story behind the picutre. You will see the "pig" in her hands. That is a pig slipper she has befriended. She cuddles it up to her neck and carries it around with her. I have tried to get her "connected" to other cuter things, but this week she has chosen the pig as her friend.

The next picture is after Mom's "Kentucky Derby Bunco Party." Everyone had to wear a hat to the Bunco party and this is mom's hat. She also has the silk sash around her neck that I wrapped around her rocking horse as a decoration for the KY Derby Party. I think she's ready for the Derby today!

The New Cato House

We can't turn back now! The house is rising from the ground! Here are some pictures of the progress of our new home. I didn't capture the lot undisturbed, the digging of the footing or the blocks...se we will start with the framing. It is really exciting now as we can walk through our actual rooms and envision our new home. This is what Bill has been working on every night and every weekend. The new house is only down the street from our current house, so Claire and I get the waggon out every night and take a stroll to look at the progress.

I also took a couple of pictures of Bill and Claire in the backyard waving to me in the "breakfast room" and a picture from our "living room" window of the beautiful view in the back. I can't wait to invite you all over to see the finished product!

Dancing with Mickey

I really believe that Claire is some type of musical prodigy...whether it's going to be playing music (she loves anything with a keyboard) or dancing to music (she was stomping her feet to her daddy's Bluegrass music before she could do much of anything else). Whenever music is on, she is either clapping, dancing or trying to sing. Claire and I are home today (Friday) having a fun Mommy/Claire day and I couldn't help but share with you Claire's jive moves!!!

Easter Egg Hunts Bring Out the Worst in Moms!

Although Claire is 17 months old, this Easter was our first, official Easter Egg hunt. Last year, she was still too little and had an ear infection on the frigid day of the hunt. So, our family geared up for the festivities this year. Dad got the Easter basket out of the attic, Mom pressed the outfit and off we went to the church. We were all excited, Claire dragging her basket which was twice the size of her behind her. One thing we neglected...practice! Claire had never experienced an Easter Egg Hunt and had no idea what awaited her. The race was on. The little ones took the field littered with Easter Eggs. Dad, Mom and Gran headed to the back of the field for a little privacy. We had to capture the perfect pictures. Well, not only did we not get the perfect picture, we didn't get any eggs either. Claire was too busy "people-watching" and Mom was too busy "body-checking" toddlers so they wouldn't get our eggs. One little boy did sneak in (see below) and get our eggs, Claire ended up with 6 total eggs (5 of them hunted by Mom) and the Easter Egg Bandit (the little boy) ended up with a basketful! All in all, Mom needs to check her competitive nature at the door of future Easter Egg Hunts!

Laughing Out Loud!

Many times, dinnertime with Claire is a chance for me to get things around the house done. She's safely strapped into the high chair and talking to her grilled cheese sandwich or looking out the window looking for "Ruff-Ruffs" and I scurry around trying to pick up messes before she strikes and destroys again. However, many times I just stop and dine with her and those always create great memories. Here is one such occasion where I stopped everything and sat down with her. What I captured was sheer joy. Hope you enjoy...we sure did!!!