1 year

claudia is walking! she can do about 15 feet by herself but mostly likes me to walk with her. she gets very excited when jack is running around the house–trying to run while holding my hand. very soon, she will be running after him all by herself. these days claudia's favorite fruit is blueberries with strawberries coming in second. she utilizes her 2 bottom teeth and her new top tooth very well. she is a determined little girl who can be feisty and loving. she laughs and smiles a lot!

babble & speech

jack is a great brother. he keeps claudia entertained and also is encouraging her to use her voice. often at dinner jack talks with her (loudly) and she reacts. lately, he's been getting her to say da da. she can say ma ma too. and today i think she said "all done" after she ate a cheese stick. exciting stuff!

claudia is also able to stand alone for a wee bit and has now taken 2 steps on her own. she loves the attention it brings her.

4 years

jack is a four year old boy. tonight he will sleep in his big boy bed! it's getting harder to remember a time without my sunshine. he has been wonderful to watch this past year. he is so smart and passionate and creative. a great big brother. i love you jack!

mother's day weekend 2011

yes, it is a whole weekend. claudia said dada & jack needed to have a big talk with daddy.

9 months

my beautiful kids love to make funny faces and at 9 months, they look a lot alike

easter 2011

jack makes the funniest faces. claudia was perfect and i love how i am in the frame!

spring!

i am so happy today is the first day of spring. it was a long winter!

a couple days ago we went to grand rapids to see the butterflies! it's great to be in the tropical greenhouse while it's still cold. early that morning jack didn't want to see butterflies. he wanted to stay home and play blocks. i was a little worried that we would have a rough ride there. after chocolate milk in the car, jack was ready to see some butterflies. when we got there, jack watched a butterfly emerge from it's chrysalis. he really showed a lot of interest in what was happening. jack and claudia both really liked looking at all the plants and seeing the morph butterfly. it's a big, beautiful blue butterfly, the size of my palm.

claudia can climb stairs. she babbles a lot and is doing quite well with food. currently her game is to crawl really fast to the dog bowls and dip her hand in the water (if we don't get there in time). she likes to giggle with jack and be tickled by daddy. she has great empathy and cries when jack does too!

jack has an idea

jack's lastest thing is to come up with alternatives to a lot of things we ask of him. most of the time, his ideas are reasonable and i find it so exciting and clever that he comes up with new solutions. at times, i have to counter his argument with a solution that will work best for the both of us. like when he woke up at 430 this morning for breakfast. we agreed to have a little milk instead!

yesterday jack had to stay home because he had a fever. that left me and claudia to do grocery shopping. jack didn't like the idea that we were leaving. he told me that he loves claudia and he didn't want her to go. he really is a good big brother. he also fed her avocado yesterday, in which she really liked!

she's eating!

claudia has figured out that food isn't all that bad. she ate a good portion of her peas. while discovering her own knees can help her get around she is more interested in consuming calories.

Food Mash

santa 2010

jack said he'd see santa when there was snow. so, today was the day we went to the henry ford. jack was able to tell santa about the crantookey. we'll see on christmas morning what one is! oh, and claudia wants a blue car, according to jack

Dear Santa Claus by Jack Robichaud, age 3

Happy Presents!
Platypus, Thanksgiving, Lighthouses
a Blue Car & Purple Truck
a spoon table
a picket
crantookey
light switch
a cannon with a monster
a dinosaur
a head
a bouncy head
picture of claudia
dog
pink piggy
$5
TV
a cup
nose
crayons
mask
cake
garbage bags

captain jack

halloween 2010

10.10.10–7 years of marriage, 3 month old and 3 year old

i often wonder what my kids will look like when they are older. with jack, the moment he was born i knew just what he'd look like at 3. he still looks a lot like what he did when he was a baby. so, i think i have a pretty good idea of what he will look like at 20. i also know that he will still have a kind heart and a silliness about him like patrick and i. claudia, for me, is more difficult to read. i can't see who she looks like now which makes it difficult to see how she might look at 20. however, i am patient when it comes to my children aging. this time i get to spend with them is going to mean something completely different to them than it does to me.

tonight when jack and i finished our two stories, with gave hugs and kisses. as i left the room jack blew me a kiss and said "see you in the morning" and then "i love you momma". how can the night be better?

anniversaries are so much better with two kids.

must be halloween time

baby on lawn

claudia can roll from her back to her side!

riding!

2 months

claudia is growing big! she already has gained almost 4" in length and is 13.5 pounds. she can pull her legs up in the air and is fascinated by jack's antics. her smile and coos are infectious.