Daddy's Little Helper

Claire is helping daddy with the deer and Christmas lights.

Everytime she sees the lights on, she says "whoa" like it is the first time she has seen them. Then she says Dada since he is the one who put them up.

Thanksgiving

Little Indian Princess

Claire and cousin Caitlin

Claire and Addie in the the early stages of text messaging.

It has been a busy November and early December. Thanksgiving has come and gone; now we are counting the final days until Christmas.

Playing in the leaves

Thanksgiving break has finally arrived! I have the whole week off this year, which is very nice. I am looking forward to spending some time with Claire and David this week. I am adding several new pictures to the blog, since I have not done so recently. I do believe that the first few are what fall is all about. Having fun and enjoying time together...with family and friends. We realize how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family and great group of friends. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Daddy's little helper.

Jenn's birthday

Birthdays are much more fun with a 20 month old around to keep you laughing.

Claire loves balloons!

Moments with Claire

Daddy and Claire went to visit the horses. They were a little rowdy, but Claire enjoyed the morning with Daddy. She tells the story like this: "Dada...neigh...snack".

Look at me ride my own horse, better known as "neigh".

Saturday morning are the best in PJs!

It would not be complete without Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Tigger & Pooh.

Thinking about trying a lemon...

Claire found her favorite sandals from the summer--they are so small on her feet! She insisted on wearing them. I think they look great with the PJs!

Waiting with friends to go to Granna's on a Monday morning.

(Pooh, Rah, Baby, Meow & Night-night)

It's a ... for the Dodds

In early November, J-Rae decided to let the family know if she was having a boy or a girl. If you look at the icing in the middle of the cake, it is blue. Logan and Addie will have a baby brother! J-Rae made the announcement by giving the results of her ultra sound to the bakery. The bakery put the blue icing in the middle of the cake. We all found out at the same time. I think Logan was so excited to find out about a baby brother and Addie is just happy she is still the princess.

Halloween

Claire was a UT cheerleader for Halloween this year. She finally got the hang of the pom-poms and saying touchdown. It is just too bad that UT's season this year is not one of the best. But we still think we have the cutest cheerleader.

Instead of saying "trick-or-treat", Claire said "boo".

Go Titans!

It may be Monday Night football and "Code Blue" for Nashville --Titans fans were encouraged to wear Titan blue today-- but here is our favorite fan. She is ready for action!

Pumpkin Carving

We got back from the river today and decided to carve a pumpkin. Claire did not like the goop inside the pumpkin at all.

The artists at work...

Smile!

Fall at the River

We went to Grammy and Papa Skip's on Saturday for their Fall Celebration. Uncle Luke, Aunt Piper and Maddie were there too. The girls had a fun looking for acorns every chance they got. The weather was a crisp and clear fall day. Perfect for the activities planned: Papa Skip judged a chili contest, the girls went on a skunk hunt and kept warm by the bonfire. Claire did not make it on the hayride or get to hear the band that played, she was just too tired after all the excitement of the day. We all had a great time!

Claire and Cousin Maddie getting ready for "trunk-or-treat". I have to say that Claire loved putting rocks into her pumpkin instead of candy. I am happy to keep it that way as long as we can.

When are we leaving?

Our little UT cheerleader!

Go Vols!

I think I found a skunk!

This is scary!

I love going to Grammy and Papa Skip's house.

Daddy and Uncle Luke carefully calculated how many candy corns were in the jar. Unfortunately, their guesses were not right.

Fall Break

After waiting for what seemed like a long time, fall break finally got here. Then, as most breaks do, it ended too quickly. I truly loved all the time I got to spend with Claire. She amazes me everyday with something new. I look at her and realize how blessed I am. Over break we stayed here and relaxed. We did some shopping and got some things done around the house. On Sunday we had a last minute visit from Uncle Greg. He and Aunt Christy live in San Diego, so we don't get to see them very often. The Navy has a new helicopter and he was flying it back across the country. They had a stop in Nashville so we went to see Uncle Greg and the new helicopter. Here are some pictures from our visit with Uncle Greg. It was great to see him.

Claire and Uncle Greg and our new friend "Navy Bear".

What a way to make an entrance! Claire loved watching the helicopter land. She laughed and waved as it got closer and the wind from the blades got stronger.

Back to school, Granna's and work tomorrow...

Claire's New House

Welcome to my new house!

Claire is ready to have some friends and cousins over to play.

My own kitchen where I can make "bock-bock" (chicken) and stars.