OSC Dinner

So some of you know that I have been the President of the VP-45 OSC for a couple (yes, 2) years now. But I also know some of you have no idea what OSC means. It is the Officer's Spouses Club for Clay's current squadron.
Well, Clay is coming home very soon (yay!) so I finally stepped down as President. We will be transferring to a new Jacksonville squadron in October.
Anyway, the ladies of the OSC surprised me with a nice farewell dinner at Cantina Laredo! It was awesome. We had so much fun drinking margaritas & catching up. Then they surprised me again with a gift card to Ponte Vedra Spa! How nice is that. I almost cried. It really feels good when you know you are appreciated. I never expected all of that, it really made my night.
The picture is of me & my dessert that came with a sparkler. The waiter thought it was my birthday and said "Happy Birthday!" to me at least 3 times. I am pretty sure he was wondering why everyone at the table laughed those 3 times.
I had lots of fun as the President ... but now it's time to move on. Wonder what I'll get involved with next?

BOO!

In Ocala, Claire & I started a new 'thing'. When she would come around the corner into the bathroom I would yell "boo!". She loved it, and started saying it too. Well, it is more of a "ba" but you get the idea.
So yesterday I was coming out of our bathroom at home and I had no idea she was standing there. When I walked out the door she yelled "boo!" and I literally jumped into the air. I immediately started cracking up. Little did I know my 20 month old could scare the heck out of me!

Tea Time

Today Claire and I met our friends Amy, her daughters Abby & Ally, Tracy, and her daughter Hallie for some tea. We had fun!

First Baseball Game

Last night I took Claire to her first baseball game! We met some of the spouses from our OSC at the Jacksonville Suns game. It had rained prior to it starting, but it cleared up just in time for the game! And it actually cooled it off a bit!
Claire had lots of fun. She liked when the outfielders ran to catch the ball (that is what we were closest too). She also liked clapping and yelling "yay!" whenever something good happened!
It was a late night but definitely worth it. We had a great time.

Play Group

Well, Claire & I finally joined a play group! I have been a member of the Intracoastal Mom's Club for a couple months now - and was assigned a small play group of other kids Claire's age. So we do club activities throughout the month, and then meet in our play group once a week. I have really enjoyed it so far! Claire was not very happy with other kids around at first, but between the Mom's Club & Little Gym classes she is adjusting really well.
Claire still doesn't really "play" with other kids but she does now let them stand next to her! Now that is progress.
I am glad we are keeping busy and that Claire can make some new friends in the process. I haven't taken any pictures yet but I will next time!

Pictures from Ocala

We had a nice time in Ocala and spent most of the time outside by the pool.  Neither one of us were ready to leave this afternoon!  We can't wait to visit again soon, hopefully with Clay :)

Ocala

Well, Claire and I decided to take a little break from the homestead.  We are in Ocala for the weekend visiting Grandma.  So far that has involved lots of pool time and yummy food.  That is my kind of break!  Tonight we had dinner with Carolyn's friend Mayfair.  It was a nice night and Claire was a good girl.  She showed off by singing Twinkle-Twinkle-Little-Star.
Oh, and grandma has two cats!  I think Ashley has been secretly trying to convert Claire into a cat-lover while she watched her last month.  Every 5 minutes she yells out "HI KITTY-CATS!"  It is cute.
We left Zoey at home - out of the kennel to roam free and enjoy the house to herself.  I have a feeling she is sprawled out on the couch and loving every minute of it.
Pictures soon.

Observations about Claire

First, I must say for those that haven't heard, Congratulations to Clay!  We found out today that he has been picked up for Lieutenant Commander Select!  We have been waiting for this news & we were happy to finally hear it.  You all know how hard he works and that he definitely deserved it.

Okay... back to the official reason of the post.  As Claire has really started developing a personality these last few months, I have noticed something.  Besides a bit of a stubborn streak that she definitely gets from me, her personality is SO similiar to Clay!

Examples:

1. She cracks herself up.  Claire literally lays in her crib at night before going to sleep laughing at herself.  I seriously think she is telling herself jokes.  All I hear is "babble babble babble babble ...pause... HAHAHAHA!"  It is so funny.  I can only imagine what she is saying to herself to make her laugh.
2. She talks to EVERYONE.  She definitely has her shy moments, but for the most part she tries to talk to everyone she sees.  And she very much expects them to talk back.  She gets a very funny look on her face if they don't respond.
3. She never stops moving.  I know some of it is age, but seriously the girl can't sit still.  She is always busy busy busy.  The only thing she will stop for are books (just like her Daddy) or to sleep (okay that's from me).

Yes, the above pic is an example of our little ham.  And yes, she put the hat on like that and walked around for quite awhile with it tilted just like that.  She's got style.

So basically, I just have to say that I'm very happy all of the things I love about Clay have been passed down to our little girl!

Clay's Deployment

I finally got the pictures Clay has taken so far all organized and uploaded for everyone to see! There are some really neat ones, just click on the link below...

CLAY'S DEPLOYMENT 2011 

 Enjoy!

Lately...

Well, quite a bit has happened since my last post in April! Clay is on deployment - first in Djibouti, Africa and now in Sigonella, Sicily. The latter is much better. He is very busy though, so time is going by quickly for him.
With our independent little 20 month old time is going by quickly for me too! Claire is developing quite a personality, so we have lots of fun playing and learning new things everyday.
We miss Clay so very much, but are fortunate that we get to talk to him on video calls every other day or so. It is Claire's new favorite thing to do ... she yells "HI DA-DA" from whatever room she is in when she hears that distinct skype ring.
As I said, Claire really is learning new things everyday. My goal is to update this frequently with what we are up to!