Claire's 2nd Birthday

Last week we celebrated Claire's second birthday. It brings back so many wonderful memories. I remember holding her for the first time and thinking how perfect she was. I remember the name Kennedy we had picked out and how it didn't fit her at all. I remember Jeff coming up with the name Claire and me not being completely sure about it, but going with it just before we left the hospital. I remember how quickly Claire and her name won me over. She has brought us so much joy and we all love our little Clairebear! She has such a special relationship with her daddy, her brother, and her mommy. I started looking at pictures of her over the past two years and thought it would be fun to post some of my favorites.

When I look at the first picture of her the day we brought her home from the hospital and the picture below, I can't believe how much she has grown up and become a little girl. I love the age she is at, but it's always sad to realize how fast the time has gone and that you can't have those years back. Claire fills our house with excitement, laughter, and love. She looks up to her big brother and copies much of what he does. She has really started talking and will say just about everything. I am so grateful to have such an amazing, beautiful daughter and I look forward to many more memories and birthdays!

We took the kids to Carl's Jr. and the mall for her birthday. She loves to ride the train and says, "All aboard" whenever she sees it. She loves playing with her new dollhouse. She also got a big girl bed which she is still learning to like.

The Tobester

So I thought I would do an update on Toby. If any of you are thinking about buying a dog, I'm not sure yet if this will convince you to get one or not. I'll let you know at the end when I've put all my thoughts down. I have to start out by saying that I expected it to be much worse. I really thought I would hate having a dog. But he has grown on me and it would be weird now without him here all the time. He can be a lot of fun!

Now for the part where I will probably sound like a crazy person. Just go back and read the first paragraph if you start feeling sorry for Toby and remember that I really do like him! He gets the brunt of my frustrations not only with things he does that drive my crazy but my kids as well. The other day I totally lost it with him--I had had enough of cleaning up his pee. I grabbed him and put his face in his pee the whole time yelling "outside, outside, outside". He looked up at me with pee dripping off his face. When he looked at me with his sad puppy dog eyes I thought what is wrong with me? Oh my gosh---he's a dog--what do I expect from him? Well I expect him to not pee all over our floor, but I need to be realistic about it. I think I expect him to be able to learn things as fast as the kids. It took Jax a week to get potty trained--we've had Toby over a month and I feel like we are not getting any closer. Other things that drive me crazy-he's in a really nippy stage right now and his favorite thing to nip on is bare feet. He chews on everything. The only thing he's ruined so far is one of Jeff's PS3 controllers. There are mornings where he has woken up before the kids. I am fine losing sleep for my kids, but for a dog? Lastly, I can't sweep or fold laundry now without him latching on to the clothes or broom and holding on for dear life.

Now for the things that make me glad we have a dog. He is great with the kids and keeps them entertained. The kids will take him in their room and play with him for over an hour. Jaxon will now go outside by himself if Toby is out there. They aren't afraid of dogs anymore which I am happy for. Despite him waking me up once in a while he has been a great sleeper. We put him in his crate at 11:00 and he doesn't make a peep till 7-8. He has a fun personality and is really smart. It's fun to watch him chase his tail and do all the funny cute things that dogs do. He makes me feel a little safer when Jeff is working late. I can ignore him whenever I want--he seems to enjoy the laundry room and a little time away from us as well.

Even though I vented a lot more about the annoying things, I am glad we have Toby. I'm glad that he has made our kids so happy. We definitely can improve on some things, but once he is house-trained, not a puppy, and can go outside more in the summer, I may really enjoy having a dog. I'll give you an update when all that happens (cross your fingers for the house-training)!