The Williams Family

Baby Lila

2009-12-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Lila Grace Gannaway born on September 18, 2009. She looks just like her daddy! Claire and Carson love her so much. She is a wonderful little blessing to our family.

Carson's 1st Haircut

2009-12-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

Carson got his first "professional" haircut. He sat still the entire time and did great. He looks like a little boy now.

CALM & Halloween 2009

2009-12-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-12-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

We went to Murray Family Farms with some friends to their pumpkin patch. The kids had a lot of fun finding their pumpkins, riding on the hay ride, playing in the corn and chasing the chicken. We came home with 3 pumpkins and wonderful memories.

Disneyland 2009

2009-12-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

We went to the Disneyland Hotel with Josh for his school conference. We ate lunch at Goofey's Kitchen and met a lot of the characters. Claire loved seeing them, but Carson wasn't so sure about them. We had fun at the swimming pool and Claire loved the kiddie slide. We went to Downtown Disney for dinner and ate at ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe. The next weekend we spent the day at Disneyland for my birthday. We all had a great time. The kids got to meet Mickey Mouse and see many other characters in the parade. We had a wondeful time celebrating my birthday!

Carson 10 months

2009-12-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

Carson is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. He is so much fun! He loves playing with Claire and smiles all the time!

Cruising in the mustang

2009-09-26T22:10:00.001-07:00

Carson loves to ride in the car with Claire. He also loves to play the radio. One night we let Claire take Carson for a ride down the street. They had so much fun!

Fun with Friends

2009-09-26T22:02:00.001-07:00

Peyton and Reagan came over on Labor Day to play with Claire and Carson. The two little ones watched while Claire and Peyton had a blast driving the car. Claire is still learning to drive the car, but loved that Peyton was here to drive her around. They have so much fun together.

Carson 9 months

2009-09-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

At Carson's 9 month doctor's appointment his stats were:
19 lbs. 13 1/2 oz. (25%)
28 inches (59%)

He has his two bottom teeth and the top two front teeth are currently coming in. He has been doing the army crawl for the past three months, but is now actually crawling on his hands and knees. The boy is all over the place! He's pulling up on everything and is now walking behind chairs and his push toy. He's growing so fast. What a sweet little boy he is!

Claire and Peyton.....Best Friends

2009-09-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Claire and Peyton are the best of friends. They have so much fun playing together. She is very fond of her friend "Peyt," as she calls him.

Birthday Morning

2009-08-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we woke Claire up by singing "Happy Birthday" to her. She wore her birthday tiara and blew out the candles on her eggo for breakfast. We asked her how old she was and she said "two" while holding up three fingers. She knows how old she is but we need to keep practicing holding up two fingers!

Before church, I got a cute picture of Claire and Carson. He's almost as big as she is!

Claire's stats at 2 years old: height 33 1/2 inches (50%)
weight 26 pounds (25%)

My Gym Birthday Party

2009-08-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Claire celebrated her birthday with some of her friends at My Gym on Sunday. Bre and Lauren, her teachers, entertained the kids with songs, puppets, games, bubbles and the zip line. The birthday girl made a big entrance on her throne with a boa and balloons. She paraded around the circle giving her friends high fives! They sang "Happy Birthday" to her while swinging in front of everyone. It was a great party and all the kids loved it. Thanks to Bre and Lauren for making it so special!

Claire's 2nd Birthday

2009-08-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Claire's birthday on Saturday at our house. Family and friends came over to eat cake and ice cream with the birthday girl. She received many wonderful gifts which she loved!

Cute boy in his overalls

2009-08-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

I took these cute pictures of Carson in our front yard. I just love baby boys in their overalls. He loves to smile for the camera!

Claire's first day of school

2009-08-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today was Claire's first day of school. I decided to put her in a school program once a week for social interaction. I thought she would get to play with friends and learn some things too. The school is right behind our house so we walked this morning. She was so excited to put on her backpack and go. She had a great day and I know she can't wait to go back next week!

Carson's new tub

2009-08-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Carson has finally graduated to the duck bathtub. He loves splashing and playing with his bath toys. The other night I put both of them in the tub, thinking Claire would just sit in the front of the tub with Carson in his tub. The first thing she did was get in the duck tub with him. Luckily they are still little because they both fit! It was too funny!

Happy 8 months Carson

2009-08-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Carson is 8 months old. He is growing up way too fast! He is sitting really well and scooting all over the place. He has started to pull up on things and I find him getting into everything. Claire likes to help him get up the step in the kitchen and he loves following her everywhere. They really enjoy each others company a lot!!

Children's Museum in San Louis Obispo

2009-08-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the Children's Museum in San Louis Obispo. It was a great museum and they both enjoyed it. Claire was all serious that day, taking it all in. They had an area for children ages 4 and under and Carson loved playing with the train. We look forward to going back next year.

Avila Beach

2009-08-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Went spent two long weekends at Avila beach with the Williams side of the family. It was a lot of fun and great weather. Claire had a blast playing in the pool and hot tub and enjoyed going to the beach. We went to the Farmer's Market in San Louis and Avila and really enjoyed the great food and fresh fruit. Claire had fun playing in the bounce houses and dancing to the music. Carson was along for the ride and enjoyed watching everyone. It was a great trip and we look forward to going again next year.

Carson's new toy

2009-08-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Carson loves his new exersaucer! He really enjoys playing in it and I love knowing that he is in one place. He is scooting all over the house so this is great at keeping him out of trouble!

Friday Night Fun

2009-07-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

We had some friends over last night to cookout and swim. We are all in a small group together and haven't seen each other much this summer. We had a great time hanging out and swimming with everyone.

Claire 22 months and Carson 7 months

2009-07-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

We have been busy this summer. Claire loves going to My Gym every week and loves to show us her dance and songs that she has learned. We have been to the waterpark twice with some of our friends. She and her friend Peyton have a great time together. Claire is talking more and more each day. She loves balloons, airplanes, balls, her babies and playing outside. She will be starting school at the first of August. She will go every Wednesday and every other Thursday. I'm anxious to see how many new things she will be learning. The school is right behind our house, so it will be great to just walk her to school each morning.

Carson is doing great since his surgery. He had another post-op appointment this past week and she said his nose was looking really good. We'll follow up in 6 months and then yearly. He is eating baby food and loves it! He gets so excited when I put on his bib. He knows what is coming. He has started scooting all over the house. He loves to follow us wherever we go. He is sitting with some support and is getting his first two teeth. It's hard to believe how fast he is growing. I did just give him his 2nd haircut this week. The boy has a lot of hair!

Loves his toys
Just chillin'

Shopping at Grammy and Pop's house
Loves carrying her purse
Loves Grammy's hats
So cool riding in the car....she says "I'm cool!"
Saw this jeep at Toys R Us and had to get in
Watching Sesame Street together....so sweet

The Waterpark

2009-07-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

We had a playdate at the waterpark last week. It was our second time to go and Claire loved it. She and her friend Peyton had a blast. With it being so hot here, we will probably go a lot this summer.

Grammy and Aunt Judy's Visit

2009-07-18T08:23:00.001-07:00

Mom and Aunt Judy came out to visit while Josh was out of town. It was Aunt Judy's first visit to Bakersfield so we took her to Buck Owens Crystal Palace. She is a big Elvis fan so she had to have her picture taken with the King! We had a wonderful week visiting and showing Aunt Judy some of the sites of Bakersfield.

Mom and Aunt Judy with Geogre Strait at the Crystal Palace
Claire and Elvis Presley
Aunt Judy and the King
The famous Bakersfield sign

4th of July

2009-07-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

We went to Corrie and Corey's house for the 4th of July. We had a great time swimming, eating great food and visiting with everyone. When it got dark, Josh, Josh Conley and Corey put on a firworks show for all of us.

Swimming with friends

2009-06-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today we went swimming and had lunch with my oldest and dearest Mississippi friends and their children. Claire, Rimes and Sam are around the same age and Elliot is a year older. They swam, played and ate popsicles. They are so cute playing together. We always look forward to our visits home so we can all get together and let the kids play. Thanks Allison for having all of us over. We had a wonderful time!

Father's Day

2009-06-24T15:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my dad and Josh! Two wonderful fathers who give so much to their families. We love you!

Orange Beach 2009

2009-06-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the beach last week. My cousin went with us and Claire loved having Madison around and so did I. We played on the beach everyday and visited the pool a lot. Claire is becoming quite the little fish. Carson enjoyed the pool as well. Claire made a new friend from Lafayette, La. They played together each day and were quite smitten with each other. The weather was beautiful,but very hot. Thank goodness we had the tent. We enjoyed a lot of fried seafood and time with our family.

One week post-op

2009-06-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

It's been one week since Carson's surgery and he is doing very well. We went to his post-op appointment yesterday and he got a good report. She said that he is very unique because she has never seen a case like his. His upper jaw bone has a small indention in the bone. In most clefts, the bone does not meet. She thinks that a cleft started to form, but then it ended up fusing together. When this happened his upper lip and nose were the only areas that were affected. He does have a small scar that makes her believe that it corrected itself. As he grows, we will just keep an eye on his lip and nose and hopefully he will not need any more surgeries to correct it.

I really believe that all the prayers everyone said for him, paid off. God blessed us with a healthy baby boy and corrected any anomalies he was going to have. God is so good and definitely heard all of our prayers!

Our sweet children....can't believe they are both smiling for the picture!

Just a scab inside his nose,but looking good!

Loves his toys and play mat

2009-06-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Carson started baby food this week. His first vegetable was carrots. He was not too sure of it at first, but is starting to like them more each day. He loves sitting in the high chair. He thinks he is such a big boy!

Carson's surgery

2009-06-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

Carson's surgery went well yesterday. He was a big hit with all the nurses. They kept coming by to talk to him and kept checking on him after surgery. He is such a flirt!

Dr. Lewin repaired his "mini" cleft lip. She did everything through the oral cavity under his lip. So, his lip is very swollen. He has been a little fussy, but the pain medication has made him sleepy and comfortable. He's doing better with his feedings, but I think it hurts to suck since his lip is so swollen.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers. They were much appreciated for our little guy!

Here are some pictures before surgery and when he was in recovery.

Carson 6 months

2009-05-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Carson had his 6 month check up today. He got a great report and is right where he should be developmentally. He weighs 16 lbs 14 3/4 oz. and is in the 25-50% percentile. He is measuring 26 3/4 inches and is in the 50-75% percentile

Please remember to say a prayer for him Monday morning. He is scheduled to have his surgery at Cedars Sinai Hospital at 7a.m. I know that the Lord will wrap his arms around him during the surgery and that everything will go smoothly. But, he is my baby so I'm still a little nervous!

Claire and Carson

2009-05-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

Claire loves to color so I bought her some beginner crayons the other day. She was working hard on her picture the other night when I got this picture.

Each night we read a story before bedtime. Now that Carson is almost sitting, he has joined in on the fun at bedtime. Claire was showing him all the pictures of the cat in this book. She's so sweet to him!

Weekend Fun

2009-05-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to the Kern County Fireman's Barbeque. It was so hot, but we had a great time. They had so many fun things for the kids. Claire loved the bounce house, petting zoo, and riding the pony and train. Carson just hung out and slept!

Claire and Carson

2009-05-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Carson is loving his "Bumper Jumper" these days. Claire likes helping him with it too. He's getting good at jumping in it and just laughs when he does it. Here are a few pictures of our two angels!

Mother's Day

2009-05-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. We went to church and Claire made me a picture of her hands, which was so precious. Later in the afternoon, we had an early dinner at Corrie's house. The weather was so nice and Claire enjoyed swimming with all the guys. I'm so blessed to be the mother of two wonderful children. Each day is a new and exciting adventure with each of them. I love you Claire and Carson!

Swimming

2009-05-18T17:45:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Claire started swimming lessons. She is a "water bug" and loves it. She is learning to blow bubbles, kick her "kickers" and splash her "splashers." She loves the water and is not afraid. She is doing great and we are so proud.

She went swimming last Sunday at Aunt Corrie and Uncle Corey's house. The water was cold and her lips were blue, but she had so much fun!

Baby Dedication at Church

2009-05-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

Carson was dedicated at church last Sunday. He did great during the service. Here are a few pictures.

Bubbles

2009-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

I got Claire a bubble blower last week and she loves it. Every day we go outside, this is what we do. She loves chasing the bubbles and would rather do it herself!

Carson 5 months old

2009-05-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Isn't he the cutest baby!
Sitting in the bumbo
First cereal
Sweet boy
Happy boy

I can't believe that Carson is 5 months old. It just seems like yesterday when he was born. He is the sweetest and happiest baby. God has truly blessed our family with this little guy. He is really noticing Claire and watches her a lot. She thinks it's great and shows off for him. She really likes her little brother!

He rolled over for the first time 2 weeks ago. He loves to hang out on his tummy and has really good head control. He is starting to reach for objects and found his feet the other day. He smiles all the time and laughs when you tickle him. I gave him rice cereal last week and he seemed to like it. He stills wakes up around 4:45 in the morning, but after a quick snack, will sleep until 7 or later.

Claire is talking a lot more. Her new words are bubbles, airplane, no, mine, hooray, happy day and Dabi, aka Kali. She's always concerned about Kali when we leave the house. They have become friends but still annoy each other at times. She loves playing outside and really likes her new bubble blower. She still won't sit still for a picture or smile, but I guess that is just this age!

Enjoy the pictures!

Our trip to Mississippi

2009-04-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

We went to Mississippi during Josh's spring break. We flew out of LAX and Claire spotted her first Hollywood Celebrity....Michael Clarke Duncan. He played in the Green Mile and is currently on Two and a Half Men. He was so nice to let Claire have her picture made with him...and she even smiled for the camera!

We had a lot of fun while we were home, despite me getting the stomach bug! We had all the family over on Sunday and then again on Tuesday night. We shopped, went to the zoo, had an Easter Egg Hunt and had a great time visiting with all of our friends. We even went to dinner at Cock of the walk.

Claire had a great time playing outside in Grammy and Pop's backyard. She had two toy cars to ride on and she put a lot of miles on them. She kept her grandparents on the go. Carson did great, as usual. He met a lot of new people and had a great first trip to the South!

While we were home, we had their pictures made. Claire did not want to sit and we got a few of her. Carson was all smiles and did great. They turned out really good and I can't wait to get them.

Overall, our trip was wonderful. The kids did well on the plane even though the flight home was delayed 3 hours because of the weather. We look forward to going back in June!

Fun with Friends

2009-04-24T15:50:00.001-07:00

While we were home, we got together with my friends. One night we went to Mandy and Marc's house for dinner and visiting. Katie and Matt brought Luke, who is a year older than Claire. They had so much fun playing together. He is such a cute, sweet little boy. Claire loved playing with Mr. Marc as well. He let her jump on the ottoman and she had a blast. We got together again when Suzanne came in town. We met for drinks and appetizers at Melissa's new house. We always have so much fun with everyone when we are home. Looking forward to seeing them again this summer!

The Zoo

2009-04-24T15:37:00.001-07:00

Mom, Lynda, Josh and I took Claire and Carson to the Jackson Zoo. The weather was so nice. A perfect day for the zoo. Claire saw a lot of animals that we read about in her books. She saw a bear, tigers, elephants, monkeys, hippos, flamingos and many more. To end our day, we took a ride on the train. We all had a great time!

Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Sunday

2009-04-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

We had an Easter Egg Hunt at mom's house with my friends and their children. Claire, Rimes, Sam and Elliot had a great time hunting eggs and eating the candy in the eggs. They are all so cute and sweet. It was fun having everyone together.

We attempted to take pictures on Sunday, but it was hard. Claire wants nothing to do with the camera. These are the best that we could get.

Carson 4 months and Claire 19 months

2009-04-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Carson is already 4 months old. At his doctor's appointment he weighed 15 lbs. 1 oz. and was 25 inches long. He's a growing boy and doing great. We found out a few months back that Carson was born with a partial cleft lip. We knew that his nose was crooked when he was born, but didn't think too much about it at first. As he was getting bigger, we noticed that it wasn't straightening out and his upper lip did not meet exactly in the middle. The pediatrician noticed it and refered him to see a specialist. We met with Dr. Lewin, who confirmed that he does have a partial cleft lip. She said when everything was fusing together, this didn't fuse all the way. So, Carson will have surgery on June 1. It will be outpatient and should be an easy surgery. Please say some prayers for our little man. As you know, his mother will be very nervous!

Claire is doing great. She's 19 months old and is very active. She loves to play outside, go to the softball games with her grandparents, loves to ride in her car, loves reading books and taking care of her babies. Her new favorite word is "NO" and she shakes her head when saying it. If you tell her no, she throws herself on the ground and cries! Oh what fun it is at our house. I just pray this stage will pass soon!

Sweet Baby Boy

2009-03-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Carson is such a sweet baby. He is sleeping well and getting bigger every day. He loves to suck his fingers...it's so cute! He is holding his head up really well when he is on his tummy and he loves the Bumbo. Claire is really sweet to him and loves her brudder, as she calls him.

A Day at the Doctor and Pictures!

2009-02-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

Today Claire had her 18 month checkup. While he was examining her he tells me that she has a double ear infection! Who would have thought....she is not feeling bad at all. Thank goodness we found that out today. I'm tired of going to the doctor every week.

Here stats are: Weigth 21 pounds 25th percentile
Height 31 1/2 inches 50th percentile

She's a little peanut!

Josh and I took them to have their 3 month and 18 month pictures today. It was quite an experience. Claire did not want to have her picture made at all. And the ones that she would sit still for, she barely smiled. This stage that she is in is wearing me out! Carson did great...simply because he just laid there. Such an easy baby. He loves to smile but would not smile for the camera. I think we got one smile out of him. It was an adventure. Here are a few pictures.

A collage I had made that I took a picture of

Sloppy Joe's

2009-02-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

I made Sloppy Joe's the other night and wondered if Claire would like them. By looking at the pictures, you can see that she did! She had it all over her face.

Chuck E. Cheese

2009-02-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

Helping Daddy drive the car
Not so sure about this ride
Loving Chuck E. Cheese
Looking for the basketballs
Not so sure about the car moving
Last Saturday we went to our cousin Aden's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Claire had a blast playing and riding all the fun rides.

A Crazy but Fun Week

2009-02-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

It's been crazy at our house for the last week. Claire and Carson have both been sick, which means not much sleep for mama! Claire was the sickest one...terrible cough, runny nose, high fever and pink eye. Carson just has a bad cough, but is eating well and still sweet as can be. We've really been lucky because Claire has never really been sick. She's had the occasional runny nose and cough but nothing that keeps her from playing and eating well. She was sick for 4 days and was pitiful. Now she is feeling much better and back to herself.

Mom and Dad were here visiting during all of this. Thank goodness they were here so I could have some extra help during the day. We didn't do too much since everyone was sick. We did do some shopping and took Claire to My Gym. She showed Grammy all the things that she can do in her class.

Carson is 11 weeks old. He has found his hands and loves to suck on his fingers. He may end up being a thumb sucker. He also loves to rub his hair on the side of his head. It must be feel good rubbing between his fingers because he does it all the time. He's smiling so much and talks "baby talk" all the time to us. It's so cute and sweet. I tried putting him in his bumbo and he loved it. He can't really sit up straight in it but we tried. He'll be ready for it in a few weeks.

Here are a few pictures from our week.
So Sick...she was just pitiful

Loving the bumbo

2 month checkup

2009-02-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

Carson had his 2 month checkup on Wednesday. He is doing so great. Growing so fast. Here are his stats:
12 pds. 5 oz.- 50-75th percentile
24 inches- 75-90th percentile

He is sleeping really well at night. Only waking up once to eat. He is such a sweet boy!

Friday Night Basketball

2009-02-05T18:40:00.001-08:00

Last Friday night we went to the North High Basketball game. We watched the game from the corner of the gym so all the kids could play. Claire had so much fun playing with the kids and the basketballs. She loves balls and her daddy is so proud that she loves "basketball!"

Strolling

2009-01-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I purchased our 4th stroller yesterday...a double stroller! The weather is so nice here today, sunny and 70 degrees, so we took it for a spin. It was a great workout for me. I was pushing close to 40 pounds!

Update

2009-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

So, what happens when you have 2 babies 15 months apart..... your body gets really out of whack and you have to go to physical therapy! My back and abdominal area has been hurting since Carson was born. Somedays it was so bad that I could barely pick up Claire. I went to see an orthopedic surgeon last week. I had an xray done and everything looked good. He thought it was my SI joints that were bothering me, so he refered me to PT. So, now I'm going to PT twice a week. She saw me the other day and said that my pubic bone was separated, my pelvis was tilted and my sacrum was rotated! Man, my body is all messed up! But I'm feeling much better after 2 days of therapy. No more babies for me!

My Little Man

2009-01-28T14:27:00.001-08:00

Carson looked so cute for church on Sunday. He's so cute in his kahki pants and button down. What a handsome little fellow!

Bathtime

2009-01-28T14:23:00.001-08:00

Carson loves his bath. I captured some cute pics of him. He's such a big boy. And I love that he has curls. I just hope they will stay.

Claire 17 months

2009-01-24T20:52:00.000-08:00

Claire is doing so many things these days. She is eating with a fork and spoon really well. It does get all over her face, but she is getting most of it in her mouth. She is getting 3 more teeth so she now has 11, which makes eating table food much easier. She loves to play outside, loves her baby dolls and is great at throwing and catching a ball. She also loves Sonic grilled cheese and my cherry limeaid. The other day I found her in her room playing in her dresser. She had taken all of her diapers out and climbed in and sat down. Her new word is truck. If you ask her what noise a truck makes she says, "Vroom, vroom!" Too cute!

A Day at the Park

2009-01-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

This week my sister Lynda has been her visiting while Josh has been out of town. We have had a lot of fun. She has been a big help with Claire and Carson, which has really helped me out a lot. I don't think I could have made it all by myself this week. The weather has been so nice this week...sunny and in the 70's. We took Claire and Carson to the park on Monday and had so much fun.

My Gym

2009-01-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I enrolled Claire in a class at My Gym. It's a kid fitness program that she goes to twice a week. She loves it and so do I. The parents participate with the kids for most of the class and then they have time at the end to interact with the other children without the parents. They have everything from slides, swings, trampolines, pool of balls and more. It's a great program and she is really enjoying it. It's so cute to see the excitement in her eyes when she is there playing with the other children and all the toys.

Carson 7 weeks

2009-01-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

Carson is doing great. Growing so fast. He weighed almost 11 pounds last week...the boy loves to eat. He is smiling so much and is cooing. He's such a sweet boy! What a joy he is to have in our lives!

Carson 1 month old

2009-01-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

The past month has gone by so quickly, especially with the holidays. Mom and dad left last week and Josh had last week off, but today is my first day to have both children by myself! So far, things are going well. Claire has been so good and Carson is an angel as always. Claire is a big helper these days and is busy with all her new toys. I took Carson to the doctor today for his one month checkup and he is quite healthy. He weighs 10 pounds and is 22 inches. He's a growing boy and doing great!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with all of our family. We attended our Christmas Eve service at church and then had dinner at Aunt Carla's house. Santa Claus made a quick stop by her house to see Claire and Carson. Claire sat right on his lap and received some really great gifts. She was quite surprised and loved every minute of it. Christmas morning was a lot of fun too. She was a little overwhelmed with all of her gifts, but she tried out all of them. Santa brought her an Elmo, rocking chair, baby doll stroller and some books. She has had so much fun playing with all of her new toys. We are trying to get use to all of the toys that talk and sing!

What a wonderful holiday.... the best gift we received was our sweet Carson. He is doing great and is such a joy to have in our family. Claire is doing really well with him. She still loves to kiss and hug him. The Lord has truly blessed our family with two sweet children.

It was great having my parents here to celebrate the holiday with us. We've had a lot of fun and they have been a huge help to us. Thanks mom and dad for all the cooking, cleaning and helping out that you have done. That was a wonderful gift to us! We love you!

Sweet Big Sister and Precious Baby Boy

2008-12-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some sweet pictures of my two angels. I finally got Claire to pose for a split second so I could try and get a picture of the two of them. I got a few good ones. Carson is still doing great. I got some sweet pictures of him sleeping yesterday. He looks so much like Claire when she was this age. Happy Holidays!

Our first week with Carson

2008-12-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

Carson is an angel. All he does is sleep and eat. He only cries when you change his diaper or he is hungry. Most of the time he is so quiet you would never know he is here. What a blessing! He got circumsized today which was not fun. But he did really well. He is sleeping well at night and I'm getting some rest too! Mom, a.k.a. Grammy, got here on Tuesday. So, we are having a great time with her and she is a big help. Enjoy the pictures!

The Night It All Began.....

2008-12-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, I decided to go to Target to do some shopping and walking. I knew if I walked a lot it might help me to go into labor. So I walked a lot and my back did hurt but then nothing. When Josh got home from school, we took Claire to see Santa and Mrs. Claus at a Christmas open house. On the way, my back started hurting, lasting about 30 seconds. Then about 5 minutes later, the same thing. I told Josh this may be contractions but I'll keep timing them. Claire got to see Santa, which she loved and had her picture made. We stopped to get something to eat on the way home and I wasn't feeling well. So we got it to go. By now the contractions are coming every 5 minutes so I called the birthing center. They said to come on in. In a rush, we threw all our stuff in the car and headed to the hospital. When I got there, I was already at 5 cm so the fun began. I had to have some antibiotics for 4 hours so she didn't break my water until 1 am. Carson Patrick Williams arrived at 4 am weighing 7 lbs 5 oz, 20 inches long with a head full of black hair. He looks so much like his big sister. And he is perfectly healthly! The Lord has truly blessed our family once again! Enjoy the pictures!

Claire 15 months

2008-12-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Claire is so active these days. She is running everywhere and falls quite a bit. She hasn't quite gotten the coordination down very well. She has a few bruises on her but she keeps going. She loves to climb on everything and through the dining room chairs. She loves to sit in the chair and read her books. And she loves to eat! She has learned some sign language and is always wanting "more" food and loves to mooch off of our plates. She's just like her mom and dad! Her hair is getting long enough to put in pig tails and she looks like such a big girl.She is growing up so fast. What a joy she is to have around.

I went to the doctor today....3 cm dilated!!!! If I don't go into labor by Saturday he is going to induce me. So, Carson will be here between now and Saturday. Our family of 3 is getting ready to be a family of 4. We are so excited!

Our Little Indian

2008-12-01T21:22:00.001-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving despite all the sadness that has occured in our family. Josh's grandmother passed away the Sunday before and her funeral was on Wednesday. It was very unexpected so it has been a long week at our house. We celebrated her life on Wednesday and again on Thursday. We appreciate everyone's kind words and prayers through this difficult time.

I made Claire an Indian headband for her to wear on Thanksgiving. She wore it for a few minutes and that was all she could stand. She looked cute for the brief time she wore it. We watched the Macy's Day Parade that morning and then had a nice lunch with all the family. We are truly blessed!

Claire's new favorite thing

2008-11-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

Claire's new favorite thing to do is to get into the pantry. She gets all the cans out and tries to stack them. Then she gets any boxes of food and puts it on top of Kali's bowl. She will do this forever! These days I just let her do it. She is getting better at helping me put it all back in the pantry, but some days there is food everywhere. I caught her in action yesterday, so I snapped some pictures.

Claire's new interests

2008-11-19T16:11:00.001-08:00

It's funny how Claire picks up on so many things that I do. She watches me get ready in the morning and has found an interest in these. She loves to brush her teeth. She now has 2 toothbrushes that she uses and tries to brush the few teeth she has. She puts the toothbrush under the water and then starts brushing. She also loves to brush her hair. She gets my brush and puts it up to her head and tries brushing her hair. Sometimes she does a really good job and other times she has the brush turned the wrong way. What's so funny is that she'll stand in front of the mirror and while she's brushing her hair. Her new favorite thing is to get into my makeup...only a little girl! She sits with me while I put my makeup on and watches me. Now she can get the brushes and blush or eyeshadow and will try and put it on her face. It's usually all over, but it's so cute when she does it. Needless to say, it takes me a little longer to get ready in the morning now!

I sat her on the vanity the other night and let her brush her teeth and hair and then handed her some makeup brushes. She's got it down pat!

Girls Night Out

2008-11-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night was Girls Night Out. We went to eat dinner at Ruben's, a Mexican restaurant, and then we went to the Carrie Underwood concert. The concert was so much fun. She put on a really great concert. It was a fun night out with just the girls.

Day at the Park

2008-11-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Josh had the day off so we had a family day. We went to eat lunch at Rosemary's Creamery and then we went to the park. Claire loves the park, especially the swings. She would swing all day if we let her. She also loved playing in all the leaves that had fallen on the ground. (too bad the wind was blowing her hair in her face, but the pics are still cute.) When it was time to leave, she kept running back towards the swings. She did not want to go. At least we know she loves the outdoors.
I had a doctors appointment today. Everything is looking good. I'm measuring 37 weeks and his head is down. Now it's time to just wait....patiently! I do have my bag packed, his clothes are washed and we finally got his side of the room ready. Now all we need is Carson!

Learning to catch a ball!

2008-11-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

Claire loves her pink and white basketball and nerf ball. She can throw it pretty well, but she has now learned to catch it. She puts her hands out in front and waits for you to throw it to her. She gets really excited when she catches it!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:06:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to Trunk or Treat at our church. Claire went as a ladybug....the cutest ladybug ever! When I got her dressed she was all smiles and ready to go. When we got there, she was running everywhere. I tried to get some good pictures of her, but I couldn't get her to stay in one place for too long. She had so much fun tonight. There were so many kids dressed in the cutest costumes. There were games, blow up jumping houses, slides and a train. She played a few games and got some candy to put in her pumpkin. What a fun night for our little ladybug!

Pumpkins, Haircut and Baby Update

2008-10-29T21:05:00.001-07:00

Since Claire will not keep a bow in her hair, she had another haircut on Monday. Just a little trim of the bangs to keep her hair out of her face. Hopefully oneday, I can get her to keep a cute bow in her hair. Because we all know, little girls are suppose to wear bows!It's been so hot here in Bakersfield lately. It will be nice one day in the 70's and then the temps go back up to mid to high 80's. This is no fun when you are 8 months pregnant! Today it was in the 80's but this morning it was nice. So I had to dress Claire in her Halloween outfit at least one more time. She loves the pumpkins at our front door, so I got a few cute pics of her. With her haircut, she looks like a little girl and not a baby. She is growing up so fast!I had a doctor's appointment today and things are looking good. I'm 34 weeks, but today I measured 36 weeks! My belly is huge! I'm hoping he will be here in 4 weeks instead of 6. I am not feeling so great these days. I decided today that I needed to get my bag packed and wash some of his clothes. I'm still waiting on his furniture to come in so I can get the room organized, so I need him to wait a little bit longer. But I'm so ready!

Playdate with Cade

2008-10-29T20:56:00.001-07:00

I had to work this afternoon, so my friend Jenny said she would watch Claire for me. She has a little boy named Cade who is 5 months older than Claire. So they had a playdate. They said she was really good and obviously she had a blast. They have a great swing set and a lot of fun toys. She had a ball playing with the sidewalk chalk too. When I came to pick her up, she wasn't even excited to see me. I think she would have stayed with them if I let her. Thanks Jenny, Colby and Cade for a fun day!

14 months old!

2008-10-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Eating a biscuit all by herself
It's hard to believe that Claire is already 14 months old. It's even harder to believe that in about 4-6 weeks, I will have 2 babies! Oh my! Claire is growing so fast. She is so funny these days, minus some of the temper tantrums that she has from time to time. Her new words are "mon" for come on. She always hears us telling Kali or her to come on and so now when she sees Kali she is always saying "mon" and patting her leg. Her other new word is "hot." Everytime she gets close to the gas logs or stove, she puts her hand out and says "ot." A few other cute things she is doing these days is learning to brush her hair and dancing. I was getting dressed the other day and looked over at her and she was sitting in front of the mirror brushing her hair with my brushes. It was so cute! Her favorite tv commericial is the Sara Lee one with the High School Musical actors. Everytime it comes on, she stops what she is doing and stands right in front of the tv and starts dancing. Now if I can just get her to understand what NO means, we will be good!

Pumpkins

2008-10-15T16:42:00.001-07:00

The other night our front porch light came on and I looked out the window to see what it was. I saw a bunch of kids running out of our yard to a truck. So I opened the door to see what was going on....I thought it was some high school kids trying to roll our yard. But when I opened the door I saw a lot of pumpkins. I was so excited to receive these. I had forgotten that last year they had delivered pumpkins to us, but this year we got 5! A man in our neighborhood has a pumpkin farm and delivers pumpkins every year to people in the neighborhood. So the next day, I took Claire's picture out on the front porch sitting with all the pumpkins.

Good News on Carson!

2008-10-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today and got a good report. The ultrasound showed that everything was clear. NO ECHOGENIC BOWEL! Thanks for all of your prayers. The Lord is Good!

The ultrasound also confirmed that he is measuring 33 weeks and 1 day, which is 8 days ahead of schedule. So he may be here around the first of December instead of the 10th, which is fine with me! He is also weighing 4 lbs. 9 oz. He is a BIG BOY! So we need to get everything ready because he may be here sooner than we expected.

Thanks again for all of your prayers!

Doing Laundry?

2008-10-11T16:55:00.001-07:00

This is what I found Claire doing today....putting her clean clothes in the hamper. She would take one piece of clothing at a time and put it in the basket. Then she would put the lid back on and do it again. Hopefully she will do laundry in the future.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-10-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my 34th birthday. I keep asking myself, "How did I get to be this old?" I don't feel my age, so I guess that is a good thing. It was a nice day.I relaxed a little and my sweet husband brought me lunch. We celebrated with a few friends tonight at BJ's. Thanks to everyone for the calls, emails and texts. It was a great birthday!

Spaghetti

2008-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

I gave Claire some spaghetti for dinner tonight. She loved it. As you can see in the pictures, she had it all over her face. I know she will love her Grandpa Pat's spaghetti!

Storytime

2008-10-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

We've gotten into a good bedtime routine each night. We always read a story to Claire before we put her in her bed. Josh was reading a story to her the other night and I tried to capture the moment. She looked up as I was taking the picture, but it was still a sweet picture of Claire and her daddy.

Claire loves the park

2008-10-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

We went to the park again last weekend. Claire loves being outside. Her favorite thing to do at the park is swing, but unfortunately, it was broken. She still had a great time though.

Happy Anniversary

2008-10-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today is our 2 year anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 2 years.....what a wonderful 2 years it has been. We have been blessed in so many ways. Our greatest blessing has been Claire and now we will be blessed very soon with Carson. I have a wonderful husband who loves me so very much. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. Thank you Josh for always being there for me and our family. You are a blessing in my life and I thank God for you each day. Happy Anniversary. I look forward to many more wonderful years with you. I love you!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Josh, mom and I took Claire to the pumpkin patch at the Murray Family Farms. On the weekends they have October Fest with lots of fun activities for the kids. We had a great time. We went on a hayride and all got to pick a pumpkin for ourselves. Claire had her face painted like a cat, which was so cute. We walked her through the ant farm maze and she had the best time playing in a pool of corn. It was a great day! I have a lot of precious pictures of Claire in her cute Halloween dress with all the pumpkins. Enjoy!

Miss Independent!

2008-10-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Claire is so independent these days. She doesn't want any help doing anything. And if you do, she throws quite a fit. I hope these days will soon end! She has watched us eat using a fork and spoon so she thinks she can feed herself too. She now has her own fork and spoon and she does pretty well with them. Enjoy the pictures.

Fun times with Grammy

2008-10-06T11:15:00.001-07:00

Fun at the park
Hold on tight!
On the seesaw with Grammy
Fun at the pumpkin patch
Having lunch at Big Popy's Deli

It's been a while

2008-10-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted anything. We've been busy at our house. Mom came to visit two weeks ago and we have been doing a lot around our house. She helped me transform Claire's room into Claire and Carson's room. We're just waiting on his furniture and it should be complete. She was a big help with Claire since I'm getting bigger and am very tired some days. We also had a lot of fun while she was here. I had a baby shower last weekend so it was great that she was here for it. We went to the park, went on strolls, played a lot and went to the pumpkin patch. I'll post all our great pictures. Today is her birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM aka GRAMMY! Have a wonderful birthday. We miss you already!

I've been feeling really good these days...just tired. Now that it has FINALLY cooled off, I feel so much better. Not as tired and I have a lot more energy. I go to the doctor next Wednesday and they will do another ultrasound. Please pray that everything will look good....hopefully no echogenic bowel.

Here is a picture of me at 30 weeks. I'm getting bigger but the days are getting closer. Carson will be here before we know it!

The Fair

2008-09-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we took Claire to the fair. The weather has finally cooled down so it was a nice afternoon. We ate some really good "fair food" which hit the spot with this pregnant mom. Then we took Claire to see all the animals. She saw cows, pigs, sheep, goats and some beautiful Clydesdale horses. She had a great time. She is getting so independent. She wanted to walk everywhere by herself. It was great family fun at the Kern County Fair!

Loves to give hugs
Posing with the cows
Claire and Josh loving the fair
Walking everywhere

Fun at the park

2008-09-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Corrie, Jennifer (Granna) and I took Claire to the park. Josh was out of town so I was trying to keep Claire busy and have fun all at the same time. It's a little hard for me these days, since my belly is growing bigger, to chase around a one year old. So off to the park we went. Claire absolutely loved it. She was all smiles. She would have stayed all day, but it was a little hot. Thanks to Corrie and Granna for playing with her at the park. She had a wonderful time!

And great news....Claire slept all night in her bed. I didn't have to get up to pat her on the back! Yea!!!!

Bathtime!

2008-09-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

Claire loves bathtime. She is now taking a bath in the tub, not in her "duck" tub. She got some new bath toys for her birthday and loves playing with them. She's already showing some real potential with the basketball hoop!

Sleep is a WONDERFUL thing!

2008-09-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

The last 2 nights have gone really well. Tuesday night she woke up 3 times but all I had to do was pat her back for a few minutes and then she went back to sleep. This occured every 2 hours. But last night was so much better. I did the same routine and when I layed her down in her crib, she made a wimper and then was asleep. She only cried out twice last night. Once around 11 and then around 3:30. We patted her as usual and she settled back to sleep. So far this is working and we are so thrilled. Miracles do happen! Hopefully, she will keep it up! Thanks again for everyone's comments. I have taken everything you said and tried it!

Good News and the Crying It Out Method

2008-09-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

I don't have gestational diabetes. All my blood glucose values were within normal range! Yea!!!

Thanks to all of my friends, we are trying the crying it out method with Claire. Last night was horrible. She cried for 30 minutes then fell asleep, only to wake up 30 minutes later. She cried for an hour and then slept until 12:30a.m. All I had to do was pat her back and she went back to sleep. But at 2:30a.m. she woke up and cried for an hour. Finally at 3:30a.m. she fell asleep and stayed asleep until 7a.m. So we tried it again tonight. Same routine. This time she only cried for 5 minutes and was asleep. But when I walked in to her room to check on her, a very fowl odor hit me smack in the face. There was my sweet baby sound asleep in her own vomit. So, we had to change the sheet, her clothes and wipe her down since she smelled so bad! But she layed back down and only cried for about 5 minutes and was asleep. So as I type this, she is still asleep and I pray that it continues. I will give more updates later in the week!

Walking Everywhere!

2008-09-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

Claire is walking everywhere. She is getting really good at it. She can walk across the den and from the kitchen to her bedroom. She is getting a lot of exercise so is taking a better nap each day. Praise the Lord! These pictures were taken before we went to church this morning. She is really concentrating at looking where she is going.

26 Weeks

2008-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

I'm 26 weeks and doing well. Just getting bigger! I haven't heard anything from the doctor about my glucose test. Hopefully I don't have gestational diabetes, but I should know by Monday.

Desperate mom in need of help!

2008-09-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Claire is a terrible sleeper. From day one, she has not liked sleeping much at all. The only way I can get her to sleep is to rock her. Over the last few months, she has been waking up every few hours and not wanting to go back to sleep. So out of exhaustion and frustration, I just put her in the bed with us. I never said I would do this, but it worked. But now, I really need her to stay in her bed. I've read quite a few books and nothing seems to work with her. Last night I tried just laying her back down and patting her back. It worked for a little bit and then she would wake up. She gets so upset she makes herself throwup, which is not fun when you are tired as well. At midnight I gave up. I let her win! I'm so frustrated that she can't stay asleep and won't go back to sleep. Any suggestions on what to do! I've got to get her to stay in her crib before Carson gets here or I will be nuts!

Claire Walking!

2008-09-04T18:40:00.001-07:00

Here are a few picures I got of Claire walking. She's doing really well and is always so proud of herself.

Update on our family

2008-09-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last week I had to do 3rd trimester labs, one being the one hour glucose fast. This would determine if you had gestational diabetes. I hadn't heard from them so I thought this was good. Then I received a message from the nurse yesterday that my gluscose was elevated. So I had to go in today to do the 3 hour glucose test. No fun at all. I was stuck 4 times for blood draws and had to drink the 100 gram glucola, which is the worst thing. Then for 3 hours I had to sit there and have my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. All I could drink was water. Well, I survived and pray that my test will turn out fine. I checked my blood glucose yesterday at work and it was only 82, so I hoping the first test was a fluke!

Claire is doing great. Pretty much walking. She has no fear and is taking more steps everyday. At first it was only 4-6 steps, now it is 10 or more. She gets so excited when she walks. I've tried to get a picture of her, but it's a little hard with her walking towards me. I'll try to get one soon.

Josh is liking his new job. He has been really busy, but is learning a lot. He is starting his doctorate next week, so he will really be busy then. But it will be worth it in the long run. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments!

One Year Pictures

2008-09-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

We took Claire to have her 1 year pictures on Saturday. She did really well. Now that she is very active, it was a little harder to keep her still. They turned out cute, though. Here are a few of our little angel.

1 Year Check-up

2008-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Claire had her 1 year check-up today. She weighs 20 lbs. 6 oz. and is in the 25-50th percentile. Her height is 29 3/4 and is in the 50-75th percentile. Yeah! She's a little on the tall side, but probably not for long. She had two shots, but did very well. We can now put her on cow's milk which will be so much cheaper than formula!!

I had an appointment today with my doctor. He said everything was looking good. He felt really good about the test results being negative and that his brain venticles were measuring normal. So hopefully, the echogenic bowel is nothing. So please keep praying that everything will be okay.

Here are some pictures of Claire with her baby doll and playing in the kitchen
Getting ready for brother
So sweet!
Her favorite thing to do