kimmie and claire's visit

We were all excited for Kimmie and Claire to visit us, but Brooke definitely takes the cake for most excited!  For weeks before their visit, Brooke would tell me that she wanted to help put Claire to bed, and that she wanted Claire to sleep in her room.  I am happy to report that her enthusiasm for Claire didn't die down over the net 8 days :)  Kimmie was really patient and let both Brooke and Colby help with all sorts of Claire tasks, like bath time.  

 

Claire experienced the swings for the first time, and we felt pretty special to be there when she did :)  She is such a doll!

Every morning, Brooke would go straight to the guest room to see if she could see/hold Claire.  She was good about staying out if she didn't hear any noise, but I think it made her day to see Claire first thing in the morning. 

We didn't do a ton of activities while they were here, but did have several park outings and just enjoyed playing with Claire.  I was so grateful to have more time to talk with Kimberly since we are both so busy these days.  We really had lots of opportunities to just talk about everything, which was so nice.  Sisters are the best, and I just wish I lived closer to mine.  I also loved seeing her interact with my kids and for my kids to get to know her better as well.

Kimmie bought the kids matching pajamas, which meant that we had a little photo shoot one morning.

This is my favorite picture because it shows how much Brooke adores Claire.

I was happy to know that I didn't completely lose my baby skills, haha.  Kimberly had fallen asleep on the couch, and Claire was getting fussy, so I took her to the dining room so she could see her reflection in the mirror.  I then started singing to her, and before I knew it, she was OUT.  Love that sweet baby face.

When Sunday rolled around, you better believe we took Sunday pictures.  And we somehow all color coordinated, so the pictures were meant to be, haha.

The last two days of their stay were a little frustrating for Brooke because we told her that she couldn't touch Claire due to her cough and runny nose.  We didn't want Claire to get sick, especially since they were leaving for Hawaii a week after they left my house.  It was REALLY hard on Brooke, and she would make comments to me like, "It's just really hard not to touch her." Or,  "It's really not that fun when I can't play with Claire."  Kimmie felt bad, and finally caved the last morning.  She gave Brooke the task of getting Claire into her clothes, and Brooke was thrilled.

We love that sweet girl, and are so glad that Kimmie would come and visit us.  Family really is the best, and I want to make a better effort at calling her each week so that we can stay up-to-date on the ins and outs of our daily mom life :)