To Grandma's House We Go...

We took a much needed family trip to Florence and Columbia, SC Labor Day weekend. Our goal was to visit with family and pick up some furniture. With my grandmother moving to an apartment, she was getting rid of a hutch. And since my house didn't quite have the best place to store Patrick's Grandmother's china, I asked for it!

We trekked to Florence and picked up some furniture and visited with Grandma Da. Clayton drew a picture to give to Da upon our arrival:

{He's such the little artist}

Grandma Da gave some pink pillows to Maecie (who LOVES pink) and she had a lovely time playing with them:

Then we headed to Grammie and Grandpa's house in Columbia. Patrick and I were able to sneak off to see a movie, just the two of us! So hard to go on a date these days... We (Patrick) helped Grandpa around the house the next day and the kids and I helped Grammie rearrange furniture, pull out all of the toys, and "work out" on their exercise equipment!

 The kids love visiting their grandparents and I'm glad they have such awesome ones {all 7 of them!!}

Memorable Mom Moments

I think there is probably a "kodak moment" or a "kids say the darndest things" moment every day in my house. With an almost 5 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, and a newborn, things are anything but dull!!

This morning, between bites of waffle, Maecie and I have the following exchange:
Maecie: Hey, Mom! Old McDonald had a farm.
Me: Oh yeah? Did he say E-I-E-I-O?
Maecie: Yeah, with a moo moo here and a moo moo there.

It was so very matter-of-fact that I felt like we totally had a conversation!

Later, while riding in the car, Clayton and I have our own chat:
Clayton: Mom, I'm afraid of the dark.
Me: Well, since it's still light out (1pm), we don't have to worry about that yet.
Clayton: But I'm scared of the light in my room too.
Me: That could be a problem if you don't like the light or the dark.
Clayton: Yeah, I need a Dream Light (as seen on TV!). Then I won't be scared.
Me: *chuckle* Oh really?!
Clayton: And some Stompeez too!

Gotta love commercials that hit their target audience! And how "grown" of him to come up with reasons as to why he needs these products. His intelligence both suprises and intimidates me...we are in for a scary teenage stage!

And of course, Lucie just wants to be held and fed and put to bed! She doesn't demand much at all right now. But I can tell we are going to have some of our own precious moments soon.

How did I get so lucky to have such great kids?!

Cousins

Just had to share a picture of these two cousins, Lucie and Huntsman.  They were born two days apart. Can you guess which is older??

Huntsman Watkins, left, Lucie Beare, right

A close-up of their cute tootsies!!

Summertime!

It's Summer around here, and to celebrate, we headed to the splash pad to play in the water!

Clayton showing off his skills!

Maecie, the biggest water lover of all!!

Lucie in her swimwear, even though she didn't get wet!

Two Months with Lucie

May 22nd marked 2 months for Miss Lucie. And her newness has not worn off yet!

At 2 months, Lucie....

*Weighs 10 pounds (the little peanut!)

*Is 22 inches long

*Smiles at you, especially with a full belly and freshly woken up from a nap

*Likes to sit in her chair and kick her feet

*Has her Dad and little brother wrapped around her finger (Clayton still want to show her off to EVERYONE we meet, EVERYWHERE we go!

*Loves to sit in Maecie's lap (or at least Maecie like for her to!)

*Sleeps 5-7 hours straight at night, and then falls right back to sleep after eating (and mommy thanks her for that, making life bearable!)

*Is such a joy to our family!

6 Weeks and Growing!

I think there must be something about the 6th week. In the first 5 weeks, Lucie ate, slept, and loaded up some diapers. There weren't many times that she was put down unless she was sleeping. However, during this 6th week, she has been awake more and I'm loving it!

She is now able to lay on the floor and kick her feet without crying. Her features change almost daily and I have to take pictures when I can.

Clayton and Maecie are still in love with her. Clayton, especially, likes to make sure every person we encounter (stranger or not) takes a look at Lucie. "Hey! Would you like to see my baby sister? She is sooo cute! You have to be soft when you touch her though. She is still little.", he says!

He loves laying next to her and talking to her!

Look at that sweet face!!

Gotta show off those adorable toes!!

Yep, we are definitely in love with this little one!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!! From the cutest Beare's around!

Two is So Sweet!

Maecie Jane turned 2 years old on April 1st! She has brought so much joy to our family and we couldn't imagine life without her!

At the age of 2, Maecie.....

*Loves shoes and chocolate (mama's girl!)

*Loves ketchup with her eggs (a daddy thing!)

*Likes to play dress up, wear bracelets and necklaces

*Likes to swing and play in the sandbox

*Enjoys following her big brother around and copying his every move (sometimes kinda scary!)

*Favorite TV shows are Dora or Diego and Bubble Guppies

*Likes to color ... sometimes on herself and on the walls

*Likes to play with playdough

Maecie has the sweetest smile, the most hair I've ever seen on a 2 yr old, and has all of the men in her life wrapped around her finger!

Maecie on the swing with her crocs on the wrong feet ... cause she is "Miss Independent" and demands to do things all on her own!

She loves her new baby sister, Lucie ... likes to check on her and give her kisses!

This girl loves her Dora and to accessorize!

When 4 Becomes 5!

We already had a plan ... my C-Section was scheduled for 7:30am on Thursday, March 22nd. Clayton and Maecie would spend the night with their grandparents and come to the hospital around lunch time Thursday. My parents would be up at the hospital as soon as we were settled into our room. All was set.

Wednesday ended up being an extremely busy day. Patrick left for work at 8 am on a hotter-than-normal Spring day. While the kids and I attempted to clean the house, clean out the car, purchase last minute items, all while still playing and spending "quality" time together. Ok, let's face it, I was trying to do all of those things, but with children who know something is coming, they were more into acting up and jumping off furniture. So after taking the kids to their grandparents, I headed home to finish the last minute items.

Being 39 weeks pregnant, I was used to being uncomfortable. And after a day of cleaning, I expected to feel slightly tired and maybe a few of the braxton hicks contractions that I have had for weeks. I began to relax and have a bowl of ice cream while I waited for Patrick to come home. I was just about to give in and go to sleep when my water breaks!

I called Patrick, who was just about 5 minutes down the road. Then called the doctor's office who said to come in, but don't eat or drink anything. We get to the hospital, get all of the papers signed, and an IV set up, only to find out that the doctors want to postpone the surgery since I had eaten ice cream at 9pm. Darn that cookies and cream!

So we try to get some rest, and 3 or so hours later, I am prepped for surgery.

Lucie Lane Beare Born at 5:53am, 8lbs, 20inches long

Lucie's siblings are beyond excited for their baby sister. Clayton tells everyone he sees, strangers, friends, and teachers, about his baby sister. He wants them all to meet her!

So glad our family of 4 has now become 5!

First Family Photos!!

Making Room for Baby #3!

Having a baby, for us, means going through some type of construction. When I was pregnant with Clayton, Patrick switched our oil heat to a gas/heat pump combination. He also took out a huge closet in the main bathroom to install a laundry closet. This way I didn't have to go out to our breezeway to do laundry.

When I was pregnant with Maecie, we enclosed the breezeway and what we called the "man room" off to the side of it, to extend our living room and create a new master bedroom suite. This was a large project, but has been one of my favorite renovations.

This time, we played closet switcheroo. Clayton and Maecie would be switching rooms so the girls could share the larger room. The closet in the small room is going to be used in our kitchen renovation (which we hope to complete by the end of the year),so we needed to close it off. The closet from the larger room backed up to the small room and was walled off and moved to the smaller room. And the shower/bathroom in the large room needed to change to a half bath/closet. It's all complicated to explain, but was a necessity. It also gave us a chance to update that end of the house. I have to say that I am extremely pleased with the results.

Here are pictures of their rooms:

Clayton's Room, complete with loft bed and sports theme.

The Girl's Room, complete with play kitchen, and dress up areas!

I really love the way they have turned out. Just love that my husband is hand enough to make all of this work for such a limited budget! I'm blessed to have such a great family!

Our Dad Rocks!!

Just in time for the baby to come, Patrick built the kids a playset for outside. He was able to use his parent's old playset and "Beare-ize" it. (Because nothing is ever as good if you don't make modifications!) Now I can really send them outside to play, and with the warmer weather, they have spent hours out there!

Before the roof...

After the roof!

Maecie LOVES the swing!

Clayton loves the glider!

Mommy loves Daddy for having them a perfect place to play!!

Funny Food Habits

Are your kids picky eaters? Do you sometimes feel like chicken nuggets and french fries are all they will eat?

Well, I can honestly say, I don't have that problem with my children. I can make a platter of fruits and veggies and they will graze all day. They will fight over the last strawberry. And beg for cucumbers. But they do have some interesting food habits.

Clayton likes a sandwich with his crust cut off. Not an uncommon request for kids. However, the funny thing is that he likes the ends of the bread. Today he even requested that I make his sandwich with the ends. "That way you don't have to cut off the crust, because there isn't any.", claims the cute, logical 4 year old.

Both kids love ketchup. Again, not an uncommon thing. Yet, eating just ketchup is something they would both do if I let them. I have to monitor their ketchup intake or else it will become ketchup with a little bit of hot dog, versus a hot dog with ketchup.

Maecie loves peanut butter. She gets that from me since her Dad doesn't go near the stuff unless it's wrapped in chocolate. And even then he can say no. (Crazy man!) Maecie's interesting claim is that her peanut butter is not to be eaten with bread. No peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for her. Her peanut butter is not to be eaten on a cracker. Instead, peanut butter is to be eaten on a spoon. Just plain peanut butter on a spoon. Little Miss Independent will go to the kitchen, open the utensil drawer, get a spoon, and bring it to me saying, "A peanut butter!" When they are that cute, you can't deny such a request. And she will proceed to walk around, licking her spoon of peanut butter.

They may eat their fruits and veggies, even a salad (or what Clayton refers to as "combo stuff") will grace their plates. But how they consume their favorites have a definite list of requirements. What are your children's funny food habits?

Perfectly Pleased with Playdough

Oh, the simple things that make the kids smile, not fight, and be creative .... for a few minutes anyway!

Smiling

Just a few of the things that have made me smile today:

I had just put breakfast on the table for the kids and was in the kitchen making my breakfast, when I hear this:
Clayton - Wait, Maecie! We have to say the blessing on the food first!
Maecie - okay
And then Clayton says a very sweet prayer over the food and for a good day. There are many times when saying a prayer can be a struggle. But when they actually want to do it on their own, without me even having to be in the room or prompt them, I can't help but smile!

Later, I offer Maecie a piece of banana. When she takes it, she says "Tank you, Mama!". This little girl is getting so big! And I love when they begin to put sentences together!

Even as a sit here and write this post, a smile crosses my face, because little Beare #3 is kicking away. She loves to let me know she is still there. And I'm excited to see her sweet face in less than 11 weeks!

I can't help but smile, because I am blessed with sweet and well-mannered (most of the time) kids!

Christmas with the Beare's

A little late posting (I guess pregnancy slows me down a bit)...but here our pictures from our Christmas adventures!

The kids with the ever-popular Santa at Bass Pro Shops!

The picture from our Christmas cards that almost did not happen since kids to do not always like to cooperate. But we made it and even sent them out before Christmas!

The kids making Christmas cookies ... this is a good example of how independent they have become and like to dress themselves. It's December and Clayton is sporting a too-small-for-him Halloween shirt. Maecie still has her tights on from church that day, while wearing two shirts, since (heaven help her) you can't assist in putting her clothes on!

The putting together of the Gingerbread House. And since Mom and Dad didn't read the instructions and let the icing set on the house for 15 minutes before adding the candy....

the house quickly sagged and eventually fell apart! But the kids had fun putting it together (and of course, eating a bunch of candy!)

As for Christmas morning, the kids actually slept in until about 7:30am! I guess I was a little more anxious to see their faces, as I was up at 6:30, constantly looking at the clock until I heard the first stirring of little noises and jumped out of bed!

The kids got to see what Santa brought first. They both received bikes and were quite excited! Santa was a little sneaky and put Clayton's bike behind the counter. So the first thing they saw was Maecie's tricycle. Clayton was excited for Maecie, but when I told him to turn around, he gasped, threw his hands up, and said "It's just what wanted!" Score one for Santa!!

Maecie decked out in her pink monkey pajamas, pink tricycle and pink helmet!Clayton in his guitar pajamas and Lightening McQueen bicycle!

Trying to get pictures by the tree in their nice Sunday outfits ... but we had to mix a little fun into it!

The best picture we could get of the whole family!

After opening presents from Mom and Dad ... which were all a total hit....Maecie loved her baby doll and accessories, Clayton loved his Transformers Rescue Bots ... we had to get ready for church! Then we spent the day with Grandma and Papa Beare and Beare cousins. We ate tons of food, opened more presents and played games. The day after, we went to Grammie and Grandpa Watkins' house for more presents and more food.

We enjoyed our Christmas together! Although Clayton didn't understand why Christmas was then over...since it didn't snow like in the movies. I just keep trying to reiterate that now we get to enjoy our toys and memories we made! But I'm afraid that won't really sink in for a few years.

Clayton's First School Program

Clayton was so excited about his school program today, that he had many comments and requests to share. Such as, "Will you make me a special sparkly shirt to wear?" and "Don't worry, Mom. I won't cry."

But it wasn't until the story started, that I realized he was to play Joseph in the story of Christmas. He was such a sweet performer; held "Mary's" hand and walked from one side of the staging area to another. Then sat down next to the laundry basket (aka...the baby manger) and smiled. It was perfect!

The kids then stood and sang Christmas songs..."Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Jingle Bells", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"! Too bad my videography skills weren't as good as they should have been and I missed the majority of the songs. I did manage to get the Christmas Story Play!! (I should get points for that! LOL)

Such wonderful memories for Moms, Dads, and the students themselves! Thanks for all the hardwork teachers!

A Girl and Her Shoes

I don't think that I have "taught" Maecie to love shoes; it's just something that has come natural to her. If she sees a pair of shoes, she has to try them on. If she likes them, have fun getting them off again!

No, she can't count to 10. She doesn't know what a cow says. But she can say "shoes" and "chocolate". Sounds like she's got it right to me!