Ahhh, vacation. How I wish that we were still in a tropical place with turquoise blue waters and white, fine sand. Our trip to the Dominican Republic was absolutely wonderful! We were there for 5 nights and 6 days and really enjoyed ourselves. It was hard to leave Clare, of course. And we missed her like crazy. But we did have an amazing time! We went with Sara and Nate which made it that much more fun. The resort we stayed at had everything. We played swam in the ocean, laid by the pool, danced at the disco, went horseback riding, played sand volleyball, played ping pong, and of course enjoyed our fill of the all-inclusive food and drink. There were so many restaurants on site that one night we ate two dinners just to try to get them all and still never ate at one of them. One word to describe it all was FANTASTIC! It was the perfect way to celebrate turning 30 and a good stress-reliever for Tony and me with everything we have going on.
When we got back from vacation, we spent all the time we could with Clare before it was back to work. Unfortunately, this wasn't very long since I went back to school on that Monday and Tony started his new job then too. While we were gone Clare turned 5 months old, and she seemed even more grown up when we got back. While at Mema and Papa's. Clare started to play in her walker. She loves it and hasn't looked back since. She really enjoys it when one of her cousins pushes her around in it...like Aubrey loves to do!
When we came back from vacation it was also March Madness time, which is very popular in our house. And as you know, we are a house divided so Clare had to support both of the Kansas schools that were in the tournament...the Wildcats one day, and the Jayhawks the next. We thought she looked pretty darn cute in her two outfits!
Clare is at a great age right now where she is learning to do new things all of the time. She is rolling all over the place, and we are working on sitting up (not quite there yet). She is also very into playing with her feet and trying to put her toes in her mouth as well as making any noise possible she can with her mouth. Sometimes it is gurgling, sometimes more like puffing air, and often times she is squealing or giggling loudly. She just cracks me up so much of the time!
A couple of weeks ago we went to a baby shower for our cousin and dear friend Morgan. It was such a fun event! While there, Clare got to meet her cousin Reed for the first time. He is a little bit older than Clare and quite a bit bigger. Even still, they had a great time playing together. They won't get to see each other often because Reed lives in Chicago, but I know when they do they will make the most of it!
Recently, we have been doing quite a bit of work at our house. We've been doing some painting and some outside clean up to hopefully get it sold more quickly. Clare thought it was pretty fun stuff. She helped me paint the back door to the deck and then she had some good quality time with daddy while he enjoyed an ice cold beer after a long days work. Gotta love it!
One last thing and then it's bedtime around this house. Last weekend we went up to a First Communion in Nebraska for Tony's godson Jace. It was a great family affair - fun to see everyone. AND I actually got Tony to take a photo when we were all dressed up, so here is our most recent family photo of the three of us and a pic of Clare in the adorable dress that was borrowed from her adorable cousin Aubrey!
Well, that's it for tonight. I hope you enjoyed this super long post! Oh, and for those of you who are wondering about my 30 by 30 challenge...it didn't happen! Bummer - but I figure there are worse things in life. Have a great week and be safe!
