Family Time

One hot August evening in Houston, some of the family got together at Aunt Carol's house for dinner. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Aunt Debbie and David

Aunt Carol playing with her grandkids, Ellie and Joshua

Claire played with them some, too!

My mom with Claire and Uncle Jack

Claire put these rings on her arms like bracelets.

She also shared with Ellie, who also knows how to wear bracelets!

And here's little Ellie!

We had a fun time with so many family members!

Their Own Thing

Back in August, when we were in Houston, I started taking some pictures of Claire in this cowboy hat. (I know I've already posted this first one, but I love it so much that I'm posting it again!)


So here we have Cowgirl Claire.

Oh wait, where is she?

There she is!

This picture makes me think of a sombrero instead of a cowboy hat!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ryan was the perfect poser. Every time I looked at him, he just flashed a big grin! I couldn't help but take pictures of him! (I had to work way harder than that to get Claire to smile!) What a good boy, Ryan!!!



It didn't take long for Kyle to realize that someone was wanting some pictures of cute little kids. He voluntarily got himself dressed and ready for some pictures. First - the boots!

He posed for me (thanks, Kyle!) and then decided he wasn't fully dressed for these pictures.

He got his hat back from Cowgirl Claire, and he donned the tickle glove!!! (Cue laughter here!) After checking how this picture turned out,

he decided to change his stance.

So there you have it - cousins each doing their own thing - some putting clothes/accessories on, some happily smiling (quite easily!) without clothes. To each his own.

Help! Help! Who can help?

Grandma and Grandpa came to Baton Rouge for a few days (a few weeks ago) before they went on a cruise. Claire loved it when Grandma read her One Duck Stuck.



Help! Help! Who can help? Surely someone will help that duck get unstuck!

Claire loved hanging on and laying on Grandpa!

We're glad Grandma and Grandpa were able to stop by!

Confetti Eggs!

Laura and Matt had some confetti eggs, so one evening they took Claire out to make a big mess! I wasn't there because earlier that day I happened to run into my good friend (and bridesmaid in our wedding) Cassandra at the music building. We met that night for ice cream. So Claire, Aunt Laura and Uncle Matt had some fun together. Laura said that Claire eventually figured out that she had to find the soft spot on the egg, and then she could crack it open.

It looks like Little Jack Horner, only with Claire and an egg instead!

She knew what was about to happen....

Here it comes!

Yay!


Laura told me that Claire kept pointing out all the trash. At least she could still smile even with trash on her!


Claire and Aunt Laura

Uncle Matt and Claire - She certainly does swing her arms when she walks!

My Little Red Raider!!!

Claire has a little Red Raider cheer leading outfit that almost fits her, so I brought it with us when we went to Lubbock. - It was the perfect opportunity to let her break it in!

I had to hold her like this so she would stay with me. - She wanted to go see the water behind us!

She finally got to the water!


Guns up!!

She's so much happier here than she was at the Texas Tech Seal!


Will Rogers on Soapsuds - Claire loved seeing the horse! She said, "Neigh!"

My little Red Raider! (I say my little Red Raider because Jordan thoroughly disapproves. I'm sure he'd want everyone to know that he disapproves, too. But I completely approve of it! - I did go to school at Texas Tech, after all, and I'm proud of it!!) :-)


Claire found the dog!

This was the best part of being on the Tech campus with Claire. It didn't go well at all. (Picture this: She had a fever that morning, which must mean that she was developing her two ear infections that she got. She was tired enough that day that she asked to take not one, but two naps! She had never before asked to take a nap. And she hasn't taken two naps in one day for months! It was hot. And this was our last picture-taking stop). But despite all of those obstacles, the historical aspect of this last stop was the best part. Here are the best pictures we got of Claire with the 3 bricks honoring her family members.



Great Granddaddy Hervey: H. C. Hervey, BA 1929, MA 1930 (He received one of the first two Master's degrees from Texas Tech University).
Great Grandmother Hervey: Lois Gable Hervey, BA 1930 (For a long time, at least until the 1960's, she was the youngest graduate of Texas Tech University; she was 19 when she graduated. And Claire's middle name is Lois, after this Great Grandmother Lois).
Granddad: Richard Lee Hervey, BS 1973

And there is more history, (just without bricks):
Mom: Julia Hervey Cooper, BM 2004
Uncle Stephen: Stephen Scott Cooper II, BSN 2006
Aunt Laura: Laura Hervey Tovar, BBA 2011
Uncle Matt: Mathew Stephen Tovar, BS 2011

I loved sharing that heritage with Claire! But the moment didn't last long. We had to get this girl home!

Wreck 'em Tech!

18 Months

Claire is 18 months old today! I can't believe she's a year and a half! Pretty soon, I'll stop counting months and just count years (and half years). Wow!

Claire's 18 Month Stats:
Height: about 33 inches
Weight: 27 pounds


Yesterday my friend Jane watched Claire for me for a little bit, and she took some pictures of Claire, too. She's a great photographer. - Check out her work at her blog! I'm so excited and happy to have these pictures of Claire! Thanks, Jane!

Claire loves to play outside. With the weather turning slightly cooler, we've been able to spend a little bit more time outside. And I'm looking forward to when it cools off some more!


Claire is a happy little girl. She loves to be wherever I am when we're at home together. She loves music and enjoys when we sing songs. She does some of the hand motions to some of the songs. She loves to read books. Every morning, usually before I even get her out of the crib, she says, "boo, boo," and points to the books on her shelf.

Claire is very interested in the world around her. She loves seeing and hearing animals. Just this past week, she saw a cat at a friend's house, and she got very excited about it! She also heard a bird singing this week and said, "bir." She'll say "doe" (for "dog") or "ff, ff," (for "ruff, ruff") when she hears a dog bark through the walls of our home. When she sees the moon, she points to it and says, "moo." I love seeing the connections that she makes as she discovers the beauty and delight in the world. - It's better in person than it is in books!

Her latest thing is putting her chin on her chest and looking up with her eyes. She can hardly see us, but she knows she's being funny. Sometimes it's quite amusing because she does it in response to something we say. For instance, I might say, "Will you give me a kiss?" And then she'll look at me that way. But the thing is, she knows she's being funny. It's hilarious!

She's a great helper. She cleans up her toys very well, and she's getting more independent about it. I don't have to tell her every single step to help clean up. She knows the books go on her shelf, the Lego's go in the toy chest, and the popper goes against the wall by the tv.

She folds her arms for prayer time. (I'll have to get a picture of that! It's so cute!) Claire is a fun, happy, sweet little girl. She loves her da da so much, and I know she loves me, too. What a blessing she is!

Here's my favorite picture of Claire yesterday. Seeing her sweet face makes me smile and makes me so happy!

As a side note, today was Claire's first day of nursery in church, (HOORAY!!!!!) and she was fantastic!!! I'm so glad! My main concern was that we'd have to say bye to her twice - once when we dropped her off, and once after I was finished with singing time in nursery. She didn't really mind, though. She sat in my lap during singing time, (once she realized I was even in the room, which was after we started singing the first song!) And when it was time for me to leave, I said, "Bye bye, I'll see you later." She kind of fussed for a split second, and then she played with the other kids. Yay! I'm so happy! I love it that she can go to nursery now. She seemed to have a great time in there today!