Waiting...

Being my first day on maternity leave, I thought I'd find some time to update this thing. It's only

been a year and 3 months! And people really think I have time to do Facebook- ha!

We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest member to our family. As most of you know, Claire is absolutely determined to have a little sister. I'm sure she'll need a few sessions of therapy if it turns out to be a boy, but either way she will be a great big sister. She has told me that she will be able to feed the baby all by herself and recently has been asking me how I will get the baby out. I told her Mommy would have to push the baby out and she said she would help- she started pushing on my belly. Oh, if it were only going to be that easy!

Claire is also very proud of the fact that she is now 3 years old. We celebrated by going to Disneyland on her big day. Little did B and I know that she would have been perfectly satisfied with staying in a hotel room and going on a bus ride. She did end up having a blast, as did we. Most of the rides were very cool and she thought seeing the different characters was a lot of fun. There was a little hesitancy at first with Mickey, but she slowly got over it by the end of the day. She also got to have a 'rainbow sparkle cake' and a couple of her friends over on Friday, which led her to think that she should continue to have parties on a much more regular basis!

As I said earlier, we are now in waiting mode for the baby. I had my last day of work on Friday and am trying to get a little bit of relaxation in before his/her arrival. We will be sure to keep all of you posted if there is any appearance by the little one. Hopefully you'll be hearing from one of us sooner rather than later!

Rugby and Cabo

I've obviously been slow in updating the blog, so I'm trying to do my best to catch up! February just flew right by us, but it was heaps of fun.

The Masseys paid a return visit to San Diego to join all of us for the IRB Rugby 7's. Shaun and Nicole also came out the same weekend, so there was plenty going on for Valentine's Day. On Friday, we spent the day at SeaWorld with Shaun, Nicole, Bobbie, Casey and the kids. It was quite a crew! Everyone held up well for the most part. We got to squeeze in the Shamu show and even did a few rides- I think Shaun had more fun than Claire on the rides. Later that night, we had two of our aides watch all of the kids for an adult night out. We had a blast and have to say special thanks to Bobbie for putting up with the drunken fools and being the DD for a bunch of thirtysomethings! The kids were well behaved and the babysitters survived. We got to spend a day at the rugby tournament and let the kids run around. They all seemed to enjoy it and were definitely worn out. It was an awesome weekend and unfortunately went by way too fast.

Before we knew it, we were flying to Cabo for the Schwab family trip. Claire's dreams came true

when she saw the pools and ocean all within a stone's throw! Cabo was definitely a little different this time around with a kid, but nonetheless still a great time. Our days consisted of getting up, ordering breakfast and getting Claire down to the pool as fast as possible. We'd then grab a bite, take a nap and go back down to the pool. She became quite well known by the end of the trip and had several of the guests and staff watching over her. She also got right into the swing of things with demanding a drink like Mommy had- obviously without alcohol! The guys caught some phenomenal fish and the weather was perfect. Besides the dance club music, everyone had a good mix of fun and relaxation.

The rest of the month was spent recovering and getting back into the swing of things. It was great to have all of the excitement, but coming home and having some quiet time is always priceless. Claire continues to be more independent each day, from picking out her own clothes and dressing herself to taking herself to the potty. Brandon and I are getting better and better at letting her think she's "making a decision" to avoid an argument. I can only imagine what the teenage years will hold for us. If anyone has any recommendations for dealing with a tenacious 21 month old, we'll gladly take them! Until then, I pray my patience continues to grow stronger and we can still laugh a lot.