Proudly Introducing...

Clare Anne Cook

Born June 27 at 1:49 p.m.
7 lbs. 1 oz., 20 inches

We made it home this afternoon and are so thankful to be here!

Clare is super sweet, and Lila makes a wonderful big sister.

4 Years and Baby News

Josh and I celebrated 4 years of marriage today ... he worked and I was completely worthless. My mom was in town helping with a few last minute things and basically being there to help with Lila while I took care of a few last minute appointments (got my hair done and a pedicure ... whew ;). She stayed so Josh and I could have a date night tonight for our anniversary. We had a very nice dinner -- all was perfect.
Josh was super husband this year for our anniversary and surprised me with a new wedding band. See ... I lost mine back in October. It's a long story and I was devastated. I still had my engagement ring, and I found a plain band to go with it, but it wasn't the same. He fixed that for me -- it's gorgeous and I was thrilled to death. To say he did well would be an understatement!
It's been a quick and FULL four years of marriage, but I've loved it all. I could get all mushy, but let's just say I love my husband very much -- he's a wonderful daddy and a great partner to me. Here's to many more years!

And our baby news is that if Clare hasn't made her appearance by Monday, we are set to be induced. So little Clarebear will be here no later than June 27. We are beyond excited!! I can not wait to get my hands on this sweet baby! This was me this past Monday at 38 weeks.

We'll see if this little stinker is ready to be a big sister -- I have a feeling she'll knock it out of the park! She's a mess and a half .. for sure!

Daddy Day

Happy Father's Day!!
We couldn't be more blessed to have such a terrific husband and daddy around. Thanks for all your hard work, care, and not to mention, corny jokes, tickle-spot tickles, and hugs and kisses.
We love you MUCH!

And to our Papa and Pop -- we hope you have a Happy Father's Day too!!
Lila adores you both, and we think you're pretty special too! We love you!

Didn't ya know...

that all princesses prance around like this??

I personally like the look ;)

Build-A-Bear

We took Lila to Montgomery today for a big-sister-to-be day. We thought that she would enjoy going to the Build-a-Bear Workshop at the mall there. We wanted her to do one more little fun thing with it being just the three of us. It wasn't much - but it was enough and we had the best time. She picked out her bear, then went through the little process of 'blessing' it's heart so to speak. She helped stuff the bear and then gave the bear a bath, and ta-da....

meet Lila's new buddy, Tinker Bear.

The bear building wouldn't be complete without a birth certificate, which we worked on diligently. ;-)

Then, Lila went through the process again to make Clare a bear. Clare's bear is named Minny Bear, and Lila talked about how she was going to bring Clare's bear to her at the hospital and show it to her. So sweet..

She toted those boxes through the mall...she was quite proud, and was worn out by her bear-building experience ... she's loving on this bear (for today at least!)

Old Friends

Emory came over for a little bit Thursday evening for a little playtime...the girls were SO excited to see each other! They giggled and talked and hugged and kissed ... it was precious. Lila was so glad to see a friendly face. She had missed Emory a lot!

Then, on Friday, we headed to the Splash Park Friday -- it was a little chaotic, but they were still excited to play together.

Even though they did a lot of standing around and watching ;).

Clare Anne's Room

My mama has been in town all week to help me clean, wash, and organize for Clare's arrival. I had been feeling a bit on the unprepared side, and I still have one or two more things I probably should do ... but I haven't figured out what they are yet. :) The car seat is washed and ready, swing is ready and batteried up, bottles are out and her room finally looks and feels finished. We used the same furniture and bedding that we used with Lila, but the room has a totally different feel to it. It's very girly and pink, but I think it's super sweet. Josh painted the walls several months ago when we were getting ready to do Lila's big-girl room, and while the furniture has been in the room for a bit, it finally looks like Clare's room.

My mom made the valence ... love seeing it hanging in the room!

I wrote about this bassinet when Lila was born. My mom bought it as a present to my aunt on the birth of my cousin, Andy, in 1966. It has been used by tons of folks, including most of my cousins, my sister and me, and Lila. You can see all of the names of those who have used it in the bottom picture. Can't wait to add Clare's name and birthday to the list!!

Now we just wait on Miss Clare!! I'm down to weekly appointments and have progressed a bit ... we're just playing the waiting game now!

Showcase Home

Josh's Uncle Byron (aka Uncle Bear to Lila) is the architect behind this year's Showcase Home in the Tour of Homes around here. The Tour of Homes is this weekend, so Byron was in town for it. We headed over to see the house earlier today and it was gorgeous. Everyone involved in it did a fantastic job. We enjoyed being able to share in it with Byron!

And on a potty-training note, this little cutie is totally rocking the big-girl panties. We were out for several hours today and had no accidents. Don't think I wasn't prepared though --- had two extra dresses and three pairs of panties plus a potty in the back of my car (which was used). It's been a long week and I'm definitely tired of saying "Do you need to potty?" 800 times a day, but Lila has done really well and hasn't had more than an accident or two per day since Wednesday. I'm super proud of her. :)