Pre-Easter Fun!

Easter weekend at the Buessing household started with a day off work for me for Good Friday.  I wanted to take advantage of the day to spend with Clare Bear, so I took her and my niece Aubrey to an Easter egg hunt in Wamego.  They had so much fun!  The hunt was at the local retirement community and set up by the Mom's Club that I am a part of.  It was not only fun for the kids and the parents, but I could tell that the residents really enjoyed taking part too.  

The girls got more than a dozen eggs a piece which translated to tons of candy.  So when we got home, it was time to sort it all out to see what we got and what we could/couldn't eat.  Clare enjoyed just shaking the eggs and taking them apart and putting them back together...those are two of the things she really likes to do with just about anything right now. 

So once we checked out all the eggs, it was on for more egg fun.  The girls thought it would be a really good idea to take all of the eggs from the table and throw them on the floor, which led to another hunt inside the house to make sure we got all of the eggs and the candy picked up and put away.  All and all it was a great time!

After the egg hunt, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent several hours at the park.  I swear Clare could go down the slide 100 times in a row and not get bored.  She is an outside kind of gal.  She and Aubrey were loving the time to play.  Since they are so close in age, they play so well together and are great friends.  It just warms my heart and puts a smile on my face to see these little sweeties having so much fun!  Check out the bottom pic...it looks like the girls are really solving the problems of the world in a deep conversation!  :)

Spring Fun!

Well, since we have been having summer like temperatures in March, we have been taking advantage of some outside play.  Last weekend we went to the lake cabin for some rest and relaxation...and to catch up with my cousin Ted who was in town from Boston. Even though you can see Clare has her life jacket we definitely have not been in the lake.  We just like to be safe when she is on the dock.  Check out how much Clare was enjoying the day. 

First, Clare loved fishing with daddy.  They even caught a fish and she thought it was pretty neat to touch it. 

She also loved throwing a bobber into the water that has filled the paddleboat in the last week's rain.  The water wasn't exactly the cleanest...but she was having so much fun.  You can see the puddles underneath her in the second picture of just how much water she splashed all over.  I have a feeling this summer this sweet girl is going to be a little fish!

Clare also is really into putting anything on her head right now...toys, pots and pans, even shorts from the shelf when we go shopping.  Last weekend, she was really into her grandpa's hat.  It was so cute, I couldn't pass up a few photo opps.

What We're Loving...

Hello friends!  Yes, we are still alive and kickin...just super busy with our crazy lives.  I've decided to quit saying sorry for the lack of blogging at the beginning of each delayed post, because clearly my posts aren't getting any more frequent.  This just may be the new norm.  Oh well, on to the important things.

To catch you up on the last few months, I'll tell you what Clare's really into right now.  She's now 17 months old (wow, that's hard to believe!)

Climbing into or on anything she can find.  When we were getting our KC house rented, she thought she should explore the inside of all of the kitchen cabinets.  And this duck stool helps her get up to things she can't reach on her own. 

She loves playing with her baby doll (especially trying to feed her with her own sippy cup) and playing with her tea set.  She likes to take the baby all over the place - even in the car.  She would take her tea set with her everywhere if she could, but it isn't exactly practical!

With all of the nice weather, Clare has been loving playing outside. And she loves to play with her cousins now that we live so close together.  I don't have a picture of it, but this past weekend Clare was riding on a hot wheels with Payton.  They rode down the hill fast and she was just squealing with delight!  She loves playing with her big cousins!  Check out her dunking ability...I think that she has a bright basketball career in her future! 

(thank goodness for bloomers under her skirt...she was clearly not worried about being ladylike on the slide!)



Lastly (and probably her favorite), Clare is LOVING helping around the house.  She is so big and it just makes me smile.  She always wants to help put away the silverware from the dishwasher. 

She loves to vacuum with her little vacuum when we are vacuuming (this was one of those warm days in the last few weeks which is why she is running around in her diaper). 

And she loves helping with laundry.  She helps put the clothes in the washer, take them out of the dryer, and even tries to put them in her drawer.  They clearly need a bit of rearranging...but so great that she loves to help already! 

And here's what I am loving...these pigtails and those big baby blues.  I know that I am partial, but who wouldn't love this little cutie?  Tony and I are amazed at how quick our baby girl is growing up.  She is so much fun and her personality keeps getting bigger.  Each time we think we have a "favorite stage" in Clare's life, the next one is even more fun! 

Hope you have a great week! :)

Highlights...

Since it has been so long since my last post (sorry about that, by the way) I think it would be about impossible to include everything fun or cool things that we did.  So instead, I think I will just hit the highlights since Clare's first birthday party. 

I'll start by giving you an update on what's new with Clare.  Over the last couple of months, Clare has become this energetic, stubborn, hilarious, determined, curious, silly little girl.  She is into EVERYTHING and climbing on even more.  Any toy she can use as a makeshift step stool she does.  Her drum that she used to enjoy playing has now become both a seat and a step.  She has also developed quite a little attitude.  She squeals and throws a big fit if you tell her no and she has been known to have a tantrum or two if you take something from her.  But that is small in comparison to the cute and silly things that she does - like wearing one of her favorite toys on her head as a hat or hopping up to the table to nibble on every one of the peanut clusters I made or finding any box or anything like that to get into and take a seat.  Check it out...

And now for some of the fun things we've done since the last post...

First, there was a trip to the pumpkin patch with Mema, Papa, Sara, Nate, and the kids

Then we had a wonderful Halloween.  Sara thought of this super cute idea to have the kids dress up as the crew from the Wizard of Oz.  Clare was the cute little lion, and they all looked adorable.  We had a lot of fun trick or treating with Sara, Nate and the kids as well as Desirae, Tony, and their kids.  It's one of the biggest benefits of the move we made to Wamego - more opportunities to do things like that with family. 

A week or so later, Clare got to go to her first tailgate.  We went to tailgate at a K-State game with some of our friends Kyle, Eric, and Justin.  A note to all my fellow KU fans...I still love the crimson and blue, but there are times I just have to partake in some of the wildcat fun.  :) 

Next, was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  This is one of my favorite memories in the last few months.  It was one of the first chances that we've had to spend a lot of time with my grandma since my grandpa passed away this summer.  She was in good spirits and really wanted to go out and eat and do something which is a big deal with her.  I think she really enjoyed the time she got to spend with her two great granddaughters too.  It was just very heartwarming. 

And let's not forget Clare's first meetings with Santa.  We went to see him at the Rossville Festival of Trees with Nana and in Axtell with Mema, and the outcome was the same both times...an unhappy and frightened little girl! I guess there's always next year for a cute Santa photo.  And until then you can check out a happy little girl in front of the Christmas tree. 

Hope you've enjoyed catching up.  It's hard to believe how fast these past few months have gone, but we've sure been having a lot of fun!

Clare's First Birthday - Part Two

Warning...this post is a bit long and has SO many photos. 

So, we had Clare's first birthday party on Saturday, October 15th at our place in Wamego.  It was an amazing day.  Clare had so much family attend.  She probably doesn't realize it yet, but we are so fortunate to have an amazing family on both sides.  The day was not only about celebrating Clare's first year, but also about celebrating each other's company. 

The house was filled with adorable decorations.  My dear friend made the cutest things for the party.  She helped make it a really special celebration - thanks, Jenny! 

We started off the party hanging out and having appetizers.  Then we began the presents.  Clare got so many amazing things and it took us quite a while to open them all.  She thought it was pretty fun to pull the tissue paper out of bags and rip the wrapping paper off of boxes. 

And of course, what would a first birthday party be without cake and ice cream.  I am proud to say I made Clare's birthday cake, and even frosted it myself (With help of course!).  And Clare loved it.  She tried to actually grab the hot flame of the candle so Tony had to quickly blow it out for her.  LOL!  Clare didn't dig in right away like I thought she might.  She actually was quite dainty with the cake.  However, once she got used to the frosting she started to get a bit more messy with it.  

  

Like I mentioned before, we are so lucky to have such great family as a part of our lives.  Here are the pics of Clare with each of her very special family members...

Great-Grandma Buessing

Great-Grandpa and Grandma Rochel

MeMa and PaPa

Nana

Grandpa and Tammy

Aunt Sara, Uncle Nate, Payton, Casey, and Aubrey

Roger, Deb, Morgan, Nate, and cutie pie Cooper

What a fun day - one we will always remember.  Happy birthday, baby girl!  We love you!