Brothers & Sisters

I sure hope Clara & Emmett will love each other as much in the future as they do now. They're so adorable together. Emmett wasn't feeling good last night and couldn't sleep and I let Clara stay up late too. So we were sitting on the couch together and Emmett was sitting on my lap snuggling me. He climbed down and nestled into the space between me & Clara. Then laid his head on her shoulder. She kissed his head and then laid her head on top of his. They sat there for a minute. And we talked about how much they loved each other. And then Emmett sat up. Then he laid his head on her shoulder again and she laid her head on his. And then he laughed and sat up. And then they did the routine again. That happened a couple more times and then he stoop up and pet her hair a bunch of times. Then he climbed on her lap. He sat facing her and grabbed her hands and started singing Row Row Row your boat and leaning back and forth like he usually does with me. Then Clara decided she wanted to go look out the window and see if she could see her dad coming home from the store. Emmett followed her over there but couldn't quite get on the couch himself. So Clara sat down and grabbed his arms and hauled him up. She's such a good big sister. I'm sure lucky to have them.

more birthday fun

What a gorgeous day! We got some long overdue yardwork done (well, started). Then we had more Clara birthday festivities. Layne & Lorraine brought over a big sandbox and loaded it up with toys and sand. Clara had a great time digging her toes in. Poor Emmett has been sick the last few days. Jeff took him to the doc this morning just to make sure it wasn't another ear infection. It's not. But it's hand, foot & mouth disease. He was a trooper today though. The family met us at Carkeek Park for a picnic. The park was packed with people. Clara and Emmett were really excited to get to hang out with their big cousins, Quinn & Kallen. Clara got to open more presents and got some cool new books, a bubble "generator" and lots of super cute clothes. Thanks everybody!!! After cake, we headed down to the beach and went rock tipping. We found lots of tiny crabs, clams, snail-type things, anemones, and a weird worm with tentacle type things...I think it was a new species. :-) I love tipping the rocks over to see what is underneath, but I sure don't like to touch any of it. I admit, I even screamed at one point. Ick. It was a super fun afternoon. A special thanks goes to Emily for introducing me to my new favorite snack: apple slices with a dip of cashew butter, honey and golden raisins! Unfortunately, we still don't have pictures. We found out our camera wasn't just having a battery issue...it's something more. So if you took any pictures today, please send them to us!!

Almost 4

Clara celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday. When she woke up in the morning, I wished her a happy birthday and she asked if we could have cake. Then she wanted her family to come and play with her. Unfortunately, we weren't going to do either of those things at 6:30am. So...off she went to school. When we got there she waited patiently at the director's chair while the woman finished a phone conversation. As soon as the phone was hung up, Clara yelled, "It's my BIRTHDAY!" That got her a big hug and the chance to wear a Happy Birthday necklace. It had big beads and birthday cakes on it. It was supposed to flash too but the batteries were dead. Clara was thrilled. It hung down to her knees but she wore it _all_ day. She was so proud to walk up to everyone and show them her birthday necklace. Jeff and I left work early and surprised Clara while she was out playing on the playground. She showed her dad around the new play structure. We walked by a couple of her friends and she said "hey, henry, hey dylan! did you meet my mom & dad?" It was so adorable. She did it to her friends Mia & Julian too, to the point where she went and grabbed their hands and brought them up to us and said "hey, did you meet my mom & dad?!" So sweet. Emmett spotted us through the window in his room so we went and got him and went inside for a birthday treat. He was thrilled to hang out with the big kids and explore all their fun stuff. I took in mini-donuts with raspberry glaze and we popped a candle in Clara's and sang her happy birthday. She was pretty excited about being the center of attention. There was a little scare afterward when Jeff was reading stuff around the room and realized that one of the kids had a berry allergy. Luckily the exposure was minimal enough he didn't have a reaction. Clara was anxious to get out of there and get home to some presents. She wanted to know who was going to help her get the ribbons off of her gifts. I made her favorite dinner, mac & cheese, and we had some mini cupcakes. Then it was present time. She had a great time playing and opening her cards. At bedtime she wanted to sleep in our bed, so I let her. Happy Birthday, Clara! We'd have had pictures of all of this if the camera batteries hadn't died...