Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Claire's 2nd Birthday and a Trip to Vancouver!

It's hard to believe, but Claire just celebrated her 2nd birthday on Sept. 14th! It definitely doesn't feel like it was 2 years ago that she came into our lives - what an awesome ride it's been so far for all of us! She's such a little ham, and makes us laugh every day. This is a really fun age, and it's been especially exciting to see how she's becoming her own person & learning new things all the time!

Claire and I headed up to Vancouver on September 4th to get some extra visiting time in, and then Zach drove up on Friday, Sept 13th. The plane trip from Boise to Seattle, and then finally to Bellingham where my Mom picked us up, was pretty uneventful. Claire even got her own seat on the flight from Seattle to Bellingham, which she was pretty excited about! Mainly she was just happy eating a bunch of snacks, reading books and playing with stickers...which is pretty much the perfect day in Claire's world!

We spent the majority of our time in Vancouver hanging out with family, which was perfect. Both my sister Megan, and my brother Dave recently moved, and we were able to get the grand tours of their new places. Megan, Ben & my niece & nephew, Emily & Matthew now live about 10 minutes from my Mom, and have a fantastic back yard for the kids to run around in! Dave moved to a cabin at Cultus Lake, about 1 1/2 hours from Vancouver - he's in a beautiful spot that's a very short walk to the water's edge - so peaceful!

Claire also got to spend lots of time playing with (and harassing) my Mom's dogs, Cassie & Sydney, and loved taking them for walks & playing on the playground by my Mom's house. She had a wonderful time playing with her cousins, Emily & Matt - Emily was an excellent big cousin/babysitter, and Matt & Claire had a great time horsing around!

Claire's birthday party was on Saturday, Sept. 14th, and we had a great party at my Mom's, complete with lots of family including my Auntie Cathy, who made the drive all the way from Miami, Manitoba to deliver the family heirloom cradle to us & a wardrobe to my Mom. It was so nice to see everyone, and especially great that AC could be there!

The birthday dinner menu consisted of Claire's favourite - noodles - with meatballs, sauce and veggies. She scarfed her dinner and when cake time rolled around, she inhaled a big piece of cake, too! My Mom & I made a Mickey Mouse birthday cake, and some cupcakes. Claire loved blowing out the candles, multiple times!

When it was time to open presents, it was like Christmas all over again - for Claire, Matt & Emily! Claire was very lucky in the present department, and in addition to the awesome tricycle that she got from her Grandma & Grandpa Vickery in Florida, she got a whole bunch of amazing presents from the Vancouver side of the family, too! Thank you very much to everyone who was able to celebrate with us in Vancouver, and to the Vickery/Dow side of the family who sent presents separately - it is all very much appreciated & Claire is one lucky 2 year old!

All in all, it was a fabulous birthday weekend, and a wonderful visit with the Vancouver side of the family! We drove home on Sunday night with a car packed FULL of presents, a cradle, suitcases and three people...oh, and possibly a bunch of stuff from the Trader Joe's in Bellingham - we have to stock up when we can...I'm so excited that we'll be getting a Trader Joe's in Boise next year. It's about time!

The next big event we have to look forward to is coming up this week - Zach's Mom & Dad are flying up from Florida on Wednesday to visit for a week! We can't wait to see them! Zach's also running a marathon while they're here, so send him your Good Luck vibes for next weekend!

Oh, and everything seems to be moving right along with Baby Vickery #2 - I had an ultrasound last month & the baby's right on track, size-wise! Keep it up, Baby Vickery!

Here are some pictures & videos from the past month or so - Enjoy!!

Love,
Katie, Zach & Claire

Claire is 2 Pictures!
Claire Eats Cake Video
Claire Opens Presents Part 1 Video
Claire Opens Presents Part 2 Video
Claire Bathtime for Baby Video
Claire on the Rings Video