Mary Claire you are ONE YEAR OLD!

Wow! Has the time flown by!

You finally broke 15 lbs. You are 27.5 inches tall. You can still wear 6 month clothing but most of your Christmas clothing is 12 month so we roll up the sleeves. ;-)

You started crawling on November 9th.

You know share a room with Madisyn.

You got your first birthday card and it was from Mammie and Granddaddy.

You thoroughly enjoyed your birthday supper of all your favorite foods - chicken, bread, green beans and mac & cheese. Don't forget the brownie! You have a think for chocolate already!

You've been a little cranky, I think teeth are on their way.

Thanks to Daddy, Unc and Nana, you were in your first parade. Witcher Auctions "bid" everyone a Merry Christmas!

You enjoyed three Thanksgiving meals last month.

You celebrated your birthday with a Tea Party.

Sissy even bought you a tea set to commemorate the event.

Mary Claire you are

Eleven months old!

You haven't grown much physically the last month but your personality has!

You got to help Mammie celebrate her birthday today!

You have been to the ocean and didn't really care for the water but apparently sand tastes pretty good.

You only cry in the van if Madisyn isn't there. Otherwise you never fuss. I think when you can't see anyone, you think you are all alone.

You "crawl" backwards but don't have the forward motion down yet, it's coming soon!

You are such a joy and are so easy going.

You "babble" a lot and I love it when you and Henry have little conversations.

You still love that thumb!

Mary Claire you are TEN months old!

that means a year is approaching WAY too quickly!

You are still the runt and haven't broken 15 lbs yet. I think you might be a petite girl.

You can still fit in 3-6 month clothes but your fall wardrobe is 6-9 and 12 month. Looks like we'll be rolling some sleeves up. ;-)

You have been found in a sitting up position a few times but we aren't sure that you didn't have help getting there.


You visited the Pumpkin Patch for the first time on your 10 month birthday. Despite the way this picture turned out, you had a good time.

You have decided that the car seat is evil. You frequently arch your back and begin to scream when I put you in it.

You have also become a handful in church. There is just too much to see to take a nap. No nap means a cranky little girl. I've spent quite a few Sunday services standing in the back or in the nursery.



You love to play with your brother's trains. Someone always has a couple and they are the perfect size for your little hand.

You eat most everything and LOVE chicken. You also prefer to feed yourself.

Using the sippy cup still tends to leave you wet, but you're getting the hang of it.

You nurse about 4 times a day for about an hour total.


You are "Mommy's Sweet Little Pumpkin"!

Mary Claire you are NINE months old!

and you never quite moving!

Your arms are constantly flapping.

You don't have any teeth yet but your tongue seems to be feeling for some all the time!

You sleep about 12 hours at night.


You are our little peanut.

You still wear 3-6 month clothes (as long as they aren't one piece or pants).

You wear a size 2 shoe.

You haven't grown a lot physically in the last month but your personality sure has.


You are always smiling.

You get up on all fours and rock but crawling hasn't happened yet.

You had your first sleepover with Ellison. Granddaddy spent a few nights in the hospital so you and I went to Aunt Robin's house.

You are such a delight!

Catching up

I've had internet issues that I believe to finally be resolved. I hope to catch the blog up so be sure you scroll back to May. ;-)

Mary Claire you are EIGHT months old!

You weigh 14 lbs 14.5 oz.

You are 26.5 inches long.

You wear a size 2 shoe.

You wear size 3-6 month clothes.

You have discovered baby food (and don't really care for it).

You love to mouth bread. You don't really eat much of it with no teeth but you lick it all over. LOL

You sleep 12-14 hours a night.

We love to watch you flip and flop on the video monitor. You are never in the same position.

You love to suck your thumb and don't like the pacifier at all.

You've discovered hanging out in the pool. You sit in the floatie and your feet move like a duck.

You also like to hang out in the Jumperoo.

Your hair is coming in quite thick and a few light hairbows can go in without a band.

You are doted on by all your brothers (and sister!). They can't stand for you to whimper.

You are almost ALWAYS smiling!

Mary Claire you are SEVEN months old!

You weigh 14 lbs. 2 oz.

You are 26"

You are still wearing 3-6 months clothes and small diapers.


I decided to do some pictures without a hair bow because I doubt most people would recognize you! LOL

You celebrated your first 4th of July with a smocked flag dress. Mommy hopes you can wear it with capris next year.

You are still drooling but have 0 teeth to show for all the effort.

You are so happy that you often giggle just smiling at people.

You wear a size 2 shoe {and may have more than necessary. ;-) }


You still suck your right thumb but you do it very daintly. Your hand is rarely in a fist and the back of your hand touches your cheek.

You like to wad up your satin/minkee blanket and touch it to your face.

You love to play with your toes!

You have sat in restaurant high chairs several times. Your sitting with no support is still a little wobbly.

Mary Claire you are SIX months old!

I can't believe half a year has passed!

You weigh 13 lbs 12 oz.


You are 25 1/4".


Your head is 43 cm.





Your are in infant prefolds with small Thirsties covers. The Bumkis weren't working so well because of the vent in the back.



You wear size 3-6 month clothes.


You made your first road trip to Mansfield, MO to the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. You were great! No fussing or anything.



You can almost sit up when propped. You get a little carried away and topple over.



You visited the steam engine when it came through Bald Knob. Granddaddy and Raegen met us there.


You seem to be working on a tooth as you drool. A. LOT.

You frequently have your tongue out of your mouth.


You are an absolute joy and delight!

Walter Henry you are 2 YEARS old!

You weigh 23 lbs 5 oz.

You are 32 1/4"

Your head is 48 cm.



You love to dip anything!

You wear size 6 shoes.

You wear size 18 month jeans and 24 month/ 2T shirts.


You love trains.

You love trains more than tractors.

Yes, I'm sure you are really a Witcher. ;-)

You don't talk very much but prefer to be quiet.




You suck on your middle fingers on your right hand.

You hate wearing shoes and take them off as quickly as possible.

You wear a medium Thiristies diaper cover.

You smile all the time.



You think Madisyn is a pretty good Mommy substitute.

You went to the ER shortly after your 2nd birthday and received four stitches after falling off the lawn mower trailer.

You are a cuddle bug when you get just the smallest bit tired.

You may be the smallest Witcher boy but your sense of adventure is just big as Ty's.

You have grown and changed so much and we're incredibly blessed to have you in our lives!

Zoo-tastic Fun

With lovely weather come the itching to get out of the house. Since Mary Claire had never been to the zoo, a trip on a cool spring day seemed like a perfect plan.

I'm afraid you'll have to be subjected to several whole group shots through out this post. I couldn't resist. Henry is old enough to actually care that he's at the zoo. We've been going since Madisyn was 2 so it's interesting to me to see how the kids and the zoo have changed over the years.

We were watching a monkey family here. The boys were trying to get the littlest one's attention. I'm not sure what they would have done if monkey baby had actually gotten close.

Another attempt at a group shot but attention was averted elsewhere. What could be so distracting that you can't take a picture?

Well, for the Witcher boys - a backhoe. I'm sure the Memphis Zoological Society would be interested in knowing that the most fascinating cat around had a bucket!

We even managed to go in the lodge and no one got wet! It's a small miracle I'm sure. ;-)

If you look closely, you can see the see lion swimming between Ty and Griffin's heads. On a warm day the Polar Bear and Sea Lion pools are a cool place to be.

Since our last visit (November 2010), the playground equipment has been upgraded. It's not as little kid friendly as I would prefer but it's very nice.

We stopped for one last picture before we left. I'm pretty sure Ty is begging for an ice cream cone or slush for the ride home. ;-)

Park Day

Mary Claire recently had her first visit to the park! We finally had a pretty day after a lot of rain so the kids and I loaded up and headed to town for some fun. The slide gets a little more crowded each time we go. ;-)

Henry had a blast! This visit was really the first time he could get around well enough to enjoy all the park had to offer. He especially liked the little kids area because he could go up and down the steps on the playground equipment all by himself.

My "big" kids had just as much fun as their little brothers. They are fairly equal in size so the teeter-totter was great fun for them both.

Of course, everyone wants to pose with Mary Claire on her first visit! She wasn't as fond of the slide as the other kids were.

Hair today, Gone tomorrow

On March 17, Madisyn and I made a trip to Jonesboro.

We had been discussing for sometime, that losing some length on her hair might aid in the care of it. Madisyn was/is very attached to her hair and this would be her first real haircut.

She wasn't so sure when she saw the pony tail the stylist removed. To tell the truth, neither was Mommy. She ended up having about 3-4 inches more cut than we intended.

I think the stylists had a bit of a misunderstanding and thought the cut-off point I indicated was for the first big cut when I wanted it to be the final finished cut.

There weren't many smiles afterwards but now that the shock has worn off - the new length has been great!