Not Feeling So Hot

toddling up to her mushroom pool... not filled with water
her favorite activity is riding on Daddy's shoulders

having fun with Gram on a lazy Sunday afternoon

These past couple of days have been a little hectic at the McLendon house. I went to Lafayette for a deposition on Monday, so Daddy has been holding down the fort. Yesterday I got a call from Creme that Claudia had a fever of 102 and was feeling pretty puny. I came home immediately, but luckily Gram was able to take care of her until I got back. Last night she slept for 15 hours! Poor thing was exhausted. Gram also kept her today and has been doing her best to keep the little lady happy and comfortable. We talked to a nurse with the pediatrician and she said its probably another cold virus. So we are just monitoring her to make sure she doesn't get worse. She seems to be doing better, but her little eyes are swollen and oozing all kinds of gross stuff. Hopefully she will be feeling better tomorrow! Here are some happy pictures from Sunday afternoon at Gram and Grandpas... before the yuckies set in.

Trip to the Park

Little Miss looking very serious
still serious in the swing

Claudia & Audrey

Here are some pics from the park last week. Jessie and Audrey met us and the girls had fun swinging in the big girl swings and digging around in the gravel. We had quite a time keeping them from eating the rocks. All they wanted to do was shovel it in their tiny little mouths. We went down the slide and ran around in the grass. I'm looking forward to the girls getting a little bigger and being able to play on more stuff ... like the monkey bars (always my favorite) & the slides. For now, they just like to swing and eat rocks!

First Swim Lesson

gettin suited up for the swim lesson...

her cute swimsuit was birthday present

from Aunt Debbie & Uncle Matthew
Daddy & Claudia strollin' up to the lesson

Mommy & CC

getting acquainted with the water before the lesson

the minnow division swim lesson

Today was Claudia's first swim lesson at the YMCA. We missed the first two classes due to the ear infection, so we were pretty excited to finally get into the pool. Claudia and Jaanya are in the "minnow" division together and they both had a lot of fun. Although it was really sunny and warm, the water had a little chill to it. About fifteen minutes in, Claudia's lips turned purple and started quivering. I had to take her out to thaw for a while before we resumed the class. From there on, she pretty much stayed in a little ball and kept very close to me. Hopefully next week the water will be a little warmer so my little minnow wont get so cold. We can't wait!

12 Month Checkup

Yesterday was Claudia's 12 month checkup with Dr. Ho. Luckily the ear infection is gone! Her growth stats are pretty consistent with what they've been... 25 - 30th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for weight and 90 - 95th percentile for head size. Her super brain continues to grow! I laugh at how much the doctor visits have changed. At her first appointments all she could do was just lay there and the short term memory allowed her to forget about the shots right after she got them. Now, we can hardly contain her, running around the waiting room, pulling the paper off the table...and the shots are very different. For a good half hour after she gets them, she looks at us with this face, as to convey "why did you let that happen to me?" It's horrible. Luckily, we have another 3 months before the next one and hopefully less shots!

CC and her LSU Squeakers

C-bop

every tiger needs a bedazzled LSU tee, right?!

check out her moves

this is her pop 'n lock move... most impressive

Here are some funny pics from this morning. While Mommy & Daddy were getting ready for work, CC was break dancing in the bathroom. Today CC wore her LSU "squeakers" that Aunt Debbie and Uncle Matthew got her for Christmas. They are little LSU mary janes that have a built in squeaking device in the heals. When she toddles around they go "squeak squeak." She loved to hear herself squeak so she was walking around & dancing nonstop. She wouldn't even let me pick her up when she got home today because she wanted to squeak. So funny!

Consider the Bluebonnets

my sweetie

happy girl

can I pick just one?

my own bluebonnet!

sweet baby in the Texas bluebonnets

the McLendon family

sweet Audrey and Claudia
the McGraw family
Claudia and Audrey giving kisses

Today the McGraws and the McLendons got together to take some bluebonnet pictures. We considered going to Brenham, Texas, which is famous for bluebonnets and Bluebell ice cream, but considering we have two 12 month old babies who don't really love car rides, we opted to go to Memorial Park. We found a great patch of bluebonnets and also spotted some other beautiful wildflowers in a little preserve area within the park. The girls had fun playing with each other and we had fun posing them in the bluebonnets. Maybe next year we will make it out to Brenham!

Jaanya's First Birthday

Jaanya sharing some birthday cake with her daddy, Raj

Claudia tasting the pink icing... mmm

babies, babies everywhere

Claudia getting her hand painted by Bubbles the clown

Yesterday we attended Jaanya Chowdhary's first birthday party. Claudia has developed a taste for birthday cake lately, so she was very excited about the party. There was a (cool, not scary) clown named Bubbles who sang songs, did magic, made balloon animals and painted faces. Claudia had a flower painted on her hand and was pretty excited about all the festivities. She had fun playing with all the other babies and wishing Jaanya a very happy first birthday. The girls were born two days apart and when they were born the Chowdhary's were living next door. It was pretty convenient! Although the Chowdhary's have moved, they are still only about ten minutes away, so Jaanya and Claudia still get to have playtime. We had so much fun at Jaanya's first birthday. I can't believe they are both one now!

My Baby is One Year Old!

Claudia celebrating her birthday
smiling because she's about to go on a wagon ride

chasing after Winston

taunting Winston a little bit with the ribbon

playing around with Winston and the ribbon

stating to lose her balance with all the fun ...
don't worry, the soggy & inflated diaper totally broke her fall

This one goes out to Claudia... for her first birthday.

I still can't believe you are one year old. This week has been great, celebrating your first birthday with lots of loved ones. Bless your heart, you have been pretty sick this week too... a sinus infection, an ear infection and teething have exhausted you. The upside is that because you have had fever and have generally felt pretty puny, you've had to stay home with me and with Gram, which has meant lots of hugs and kisses. With this being your first birthday, I feel inclined to reflect on how this past year has been. In one word ... amazing!

You've changed life for the better. You are the constant ray of sunshine in our lives... making us smile, laugh, grow, reflect and appreciate every moment. Although you only have a few words in your vocabulary (Dada, Mama, caaa - which means "cat", i.e., Winston, & baby), you speak to us with your beautiful toothy smile, your chirpy little laugh, your sweet little kisses and your sticky handed hugs. Claudia, we love you more than anything and we know that you love us too! Happy birthday, sweet baby girl.

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Birthday Party at Creme

Claudia chowing down on cupcake

Claudia and Miss Jessica posing for a pic

Claudia's friend Juliette, making the most adorable face

Claudia and Miss Cindy ... Claudia LOVES her some Miss Cindy

me trying to get Claudia to eat her cupcake

the circle of babies

Yesterday there was a party at Creme for Claudia's birthday. They put all the highchairs in a big circle, everyone gets a balloon and cupcake, and then all the babies smoosh cupcake all over their cute little faces. Its pretty funny to watch. Claudia also got some presents from her little boyfriends Alberto and Jacob and her best friend Juliette, so she was pretty excited. After the party, she came home and we celebrated some more. All in all, Claudia had a great time! Poor CC has been feeling pretty yucky since Sunday, as she is experiencing her first ear infection. She's also developed a pretty nasty cough. We went to see Dr. Ho and he prescribed some antibiotics, so hopefully she will be feeling better soon. In spite of this, she has been her loving and happy self and has really enjoyed her first birthday. We love you Claudia!!

Birthday Pancake

the girl loves to point!

To celebrate Claudia's birthday, Daddy made her a pancake shaped like a "1" before leaving to go to work today. Very thoughtful, Daddy. She enjoyed it!

Claudia's First Birthday Party

Claudia in her party hat

Liz and Max

Audrey blowing kisses

CC's birthday cake

the McLendons with their sweets & sweetie

blowing out the candles

dipping her little fingers into the icing of her smash cake
CC clapping her iced up hands
"after" pic of smash cake

peek-a-boo, its Jaanya & Audrey

all the little ladies

Maxie playing in Claudia's swimming pool - a present from
Uncle Matthew, Aunt Debbie, Staci & Mandi...
it was filled with all sorts of fun swimming supplies!
Claudia giving a kiss to her stick Mike the Tiger from Grandaddy & Mama Kate
When you pinch his ear, he plays the fight song!
CC and her glow worm from Tracy & Luis
unwrapping her "Learning Purse" from the Oggs

Yesterday was Claudia's first birthday party! She didn't quite know what to think and we didn't quite know what to expect... so it was an eventful day at the McLendon house! The party started around 2 pm and lots of friends and family came over. We were so excited to have Grandaddy and Mama Kate come for the party, as they drove all the way from Mer Rouge, Louisiana yesterday (almost 8 hours!) and Aunt T and the Ogg family came in from Baton Rouge! They definitely put a smile on CC's little face! Claudia was experiencing some major teething & allergy pains, but that did not get her down. As soon as she saw all her buddies (Audrey, Jaanya & Max), she was ready to party.

She had fun poking around in her smash cake, which was a little miniature birthday cake just for her, but she did not like having all the icing stuck to her fingers. She liked the way it tasted, though! The little lady got a ton of presents, most of which we did not open, so I think we will save them for days when she is being extra sweet. The coolest toys were definitely the bubble machine and the LSU stick-tiger (just like a stick pony, only with Mike the Tiger and it plays the fight song). The stick tiger was a big hit. The babies enjoyed playing in the backyard chasing (well, wobbling around with) the bubbles.

Claudia's first birthday was a great day and she had so much visiting with all her friends and family!

Also, big thanks to Don for taking all the pictures... they are awesome!