Claire's 1st Halloween {at home}

Although Claire has already had her official 1st Halloween last year at Duke, this is her first real Halloween at home.  It's been a fun-filled holiday so far and we plan to trick or treat to a few places this evening if she is up to it. 

Claire was an M&M last year for Halloween.  She wore a handmade costume made by one of her NICU nurses, Gina.  She was too cute!  Here is a comparison of last year on Halloween vs. this year on Halloween with the same costume:

10-31-2010

10-31-2011

I will be sure to post pictures tomorrow of our trick or treating tonight!

I still haven't downloaded the pictures of Claire making the plate at Accidental Artist, but here is the final product.  I thought it turned out cute and Trent really liked it!  The tractor is made from Claire's footprint and the baby chicks are made from her thumb prints. 

Claire spent the weekend visiting lots of family while Trent and I were busy at the Pollocksville Big Game Hunt.  Claire got to spend time with Grandma Neat Neat, Aunt Brandy and Uncle Phillip, and even spent the night with Granny and Big Daddy!  Big Daddy found Claire the cutest Elmo hat over the weekend.  She looks like such a big girl wearing it! 

Claire trying to take off her Elmo hat

Our family at the Big Game Hunt

Grandma Neat Neat brought Claire out so Trent and I could see her before she went to spend the night with Granny and Big Daddy. 

It was a cold, but good weekend.  Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Love,

The Scott Family

Claire's 1st year video

I finally figured out how to compress this video to post it up here!  Yay!  It's not as good watching it this small versus the regular size, but it will do.  It has music that goes with it so make sure to turn your volume up.  My sister Amanda worked very hard on putting this together for Claire's first birthday party.  I really love this video and I know it will mean a lot to Claire when she gets older.  Be prepared - it's kind of long.  But Claire had a pretty eventful year and we wanted to try to include as much as possible! 

**One of the slides says she came home on January 12, 2011, but it was really January 13, 2011**

Trunk or Treat

Last night, my parents' church had Trunk or Treat.  We took Claire and had a lot of fun!  Claire really enjoyed people watching and looking at all of the decorations.  Here are a bunch of pictures from the festivities!!

having some hot dogs with Connor and Anna

Yummy cookie!

having fun!

our little pumpkin

Grandma Neat Neat loves Claire!

In front of Granny's decorated trunk

Connor (Bob the Builder) and Anna (monkey) trick or treating

one crazy crew!

Christian and Claire

Granny loves Claire!

I know this is not the best picture, but you can see the funniest expression on Claire's face.  She loved that big orange spider hanging from Granny's car.

You can see the spider better here

Jack and Claire

Anna, Jack, and Claire

The Gilgo family won a golden pumpkin for the best decorations!

We had a great time!  Halloween is such a fun holiday!

On another note, we are asking for prayers for two of Claire's friends.  Claire Elizabeth is in a hospital in Tennessee seeing a new neurologist to try to get her seizures and infantile spasms under control.  So far, it seems to be working!  You can read more about Claire Elizabeth here:  http://prayersforclaire.blogspot.com/  Please keep Claire, her family, and the doctors in your prayers!!

Another of Claire's friends that you haven't heard about is Baby Parker.  Parker hasn't been born yet (he's due Dec. 16th) but has been battling all kinds of things in his mommy's belly.  Parker (I believe) has been diagnosed with IUGR - Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction where he doesn't grow like the doctors think he should.  So basically he is going to be a small baby.  His parents have been told the worst but their faith told them better.  So they have continued to pray and Parker continues to grow!  Parker's mom goes to the doctor every week to make sure Parker is growing and breathing and that the blood flow to him looks good and that his placenta is still working.  Parker is another Jones County baby so we know just how tough these little ones are!  We know Parker will be a fighter (he's already proven that even before being born) just like Claire.  Another one of God's miracle babies.  Please keep Parker and his family in your prayers. 

Love,
The Scott Family

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Daddy's birthday!  I am so excited that I am home this year for his birthday.  I worked really hard on a present for him this weekend and I can't wait to give it to him.  I think he will really like it!  My Daddy is the best!  We love to spend time snuggling together, talking back and forth, and playing tickle.  We love watching the news and the weather together in the morning and in the evenings.  My Daddy is my hero and I love him with all of my heart! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST DADDY IN THE WORLD! 

xoxoxo,
Claire

Question: What is a baby ox called?

Trent's Answer:  Claire

It's kind of one of those "you had to be there moments" but it was really funny!  Claire is getting stronger by the day.  We already know how strong of a spirit she has, but physically she is developing.  She can pretty much pull herself up onto her feet most of the time by herself.  She can hold on with just one hand to whatever she's pulled up to and stand there balanced.  She even tries to stand up by herself without holding onto anything.  It's fun to watch!  I commented on how strong she was getting and that Claire was like a baby ox. Then my mind wandered off and I started trying to think of what a baby ox was really called instead of "baby ox" so I asked Trent.  And that's when he quickly said "Claire!".  It was funny!  Ok, onto the next subject...

We had another great weekend!  Saturday we took Claire to Accidental Artist in New Bern to paint something for Trent's birthday present.  We decided on a plate and we did her footprint in green and a few yellow thumbprints.  I transformed it into a John Deere tractor and some baby chicks.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!  We also made a few Christmas ornaments with her hand prints.  Claire and Granny sat outside on the bench and people-watched while I finished painting. 

We have a few pictures but they are on Granny's camera.  I will post them when I get a picture of the finished plate!

Saturday night Trent and I went to a Halloween party.  We were supposed to dress up but we didn't (we were the only ones who didn't!).  Oh well.  We went dressed as Claire's Momma and Daddy I guess.  We had a lot of fun listening to 80's and 90's music!  I felt like I was at a middle school dance!  I didn't take any pictures but I think Nikki took one of me and Trent.  Here are our "costumes"!  ;)

Yesterday, Claire and I went to Ava's 1st birthday party!  The theme was ladybugs and it was so much fun!  Claire had a blast!  She played with Izzie and the other kids, ate real cheese doodles, pineapple, and ice cream, and she slept the whole way up and back!  Ava looked too cute in her red tutu and she devoured her smash cake.  It's still strange to think that Claire is 2 weeks older than Ava when all last year we planned that Ava would be 2 1/2 months older than Claire. 

We were all worn out last night!  Claire hasn't been sleeping much through the night lately so we are exhausted.  It's amazing how much I need my sleep.  She granted us with a whole night sleep last night after some begging and praying!  Thank you Claire and God!  Claire dressed up today in some Halloween fashion with her new black cat outfit from Granny and her "candy corn" hair bow from Uncle Phillip and Aunt Brandy.  She is ready for some trick or treating!

playing at Ava's party

Happy birthday Ava!

Izzie giving Claire a balloon

Ava and her cake

cake aftermath and cute ladybug decorations

ready for Halloween!

Love,
The Scott Family

Getting ready for trick or treat!

Claire received a cute pajama outfit for her birthday from her friends William and Christopher.  As soon as I opened it, I knew exactly who it was from.  William and Christopher's mom LOVES Halloween!  She actually bought the little Halloween outfit Claire wore this weekend at our farm visits (if you look closely at her leggings, there are orange hearts and black bats!!). 

So I decided since Halloween is coming up I would dress her in the Halloween pajamas the other night.  They were just too cute!!!  I love how there's a little pink bow over her heart.  And the treat for me was when I took Claire to her room to put her to sleep, I realized that the bones glowed in the dark!  I couldn't stop laughing! 

Claire also has a new "trick" - she can whistle.  Yes, she actually whistles.  It is so cute and funny.  She does it a lot when she's crawling really fast and concentrating.  She can't do it on command or anything, but she is a good whistler!  A Claire "treat" is that her hair is getting so thick and curly.  It's really curly in the back of her head, almost a totally different texture than the top of her head.  It's so sweet and it's starting to curl out behind her ears.  My hair was a little curly/wavy when I was little so maybe it will be like that???  Anyways, it's beautiful!

Love,
The Scott Family

A fun-filled Saturday!

This past Saturday was so much fun!  So much, in fact, I paid for it with a bad back on Sunday!  But other than that, it was perfect. 

Saturday morning, Claire and I drove to Hubert to have her 1 year portraits done.  I was so nervous because I wasn't sure how she would do.  But she did fabulous!  We actually had lots of time left over and had run out of ideas!  But Laura (Laura Yates Photography) had lots of great ideas to fill the extra time.  I just cannot wait to see them!!!!

We then met up with Beth, Izzie, Becky, and Ava in Cove City at A Day at the Farm.  I think this is the very first actual time we have all 6 been together for something fun (other than Claire's birthday party).  It was kind of surreal to me as for so many years we had talked and planned that we would get together with our kids for play dates all the time so they could grow up together.  It's kind of been impossible for us this year though with all of Claire's things going on.  So after I got home and saw Beth's pictures on Facebook, I was in tears just thinking how much I had wanted a day like that to happen.  And it finally did!  Trent and I were talking about it that night and we simultaneously said that it was neat because it was the first "normal" family day we have had maybe in forever.  And it felt good!

Anyways, at A Day at the Farm, we got to see lots of farm animals, a hay bale maze, pumpkin patch, ride on a hay ride and eat ice cream.  It was so much fun!  I am sure we all looked like the psycho moms with our big Canon cameras and all 3 of us taking about a million pictures!  ;)  The girls loved all of it.  And we did too!

watching the horse

Ava and Claire didn't want to feed the goat.

Izzie fed the goat! 

Hay ride!!!  Claire's first!  (Claire, Ava, and Izzie)

In the pumpkin patch!

I love this picture!!!!  (Claire, Izzie, and Ava)

I can't believe one of us actually got a picture when they were all 3 looking!  Way to go Beth!

Ava said she had had enough.  She was going on to other things....

Not the best lighting, but a cute picture!

A special moment for us - Becky and Ava, Beth and Izzie, Me and Claire

"I'm loving this Mom!!!"

Vanilla ice cream to top off the day

We then rode back to our farm and parked under an old shade tree at the shop and watched Trent on the tractor.  Claire really enjoyed it and so did I.  I took a few shots of her hanging around our farm. 

sitting in Daddy's tractor tire

pure beauty

under the shade tree

watching Daddy work

chewing my fingers - those eye teeth still haven't come in! 

Our Saturday was great!  I am so glad we got to do everything and the weather was perfect.  I hope we can have a lot more of these types of days very soon! 

Claire had her 1 year check up at the pediatrician today and did well.  She is in the 61st percentile for head circumference, 29th percentile for weight, and 9th percentile for length (so a big head, ok on weight, and short).  This is based on an actual 1 year old growth chart and not an adjusted age (Claire's adjusted age is around 9 1/2 to 10 months).  She got her 1 year immunizations and flu shot today.  :(  She scored great again on the developmental tests like she did at Duke last week.  They scored her speech as "borderline" but definitely were not concerned about it at all.  We opted for no speech therapy.  I really don't think she needs it.  Claire also got fluoride on her teeth for the first time today!  She sort of liked it!  We are hoping she will qualify for the Synagis shots again this winter but we won't know until November.

Love,
The Scott Family