Happy Halloween

~ from our garden to yours ~

Pre - Halloween Festivities

Part 1

 

Claire and I spent an afternoon exploring Thanksgiving Pointe's Barnyard Boo last weekend. She enjoyed every second of it; as did I. The weather was perfect, it wasn't very crowded and she was all smiles.

 

To begin, Claire got a black cat painted on her face. She sat very still and was very excited to see herself in the mirror afterwards. I was glad we only had to wait a couple of minutes in line and the painter was extremely fast.

 

Then it was off to the animals. Claire ran around to every cage and wanted to pet each and every animal inside. Most of the animals were right by the fence so we was able to reach through and give them hugs; a highlight of the day for Claire.

 

Next was a pony ride. This was her favorite activity of the day. Remember this post? (Click here) Well, Claire did a complete 180. This time she was happy, excited, and thrilled to be on little Clancy (the smallest horse which she picked out to ride). To my surprise, I was able to stand by the side and take pictures while she went around in circles. She didn't even need my hand and has been telling me over and over that she rode the pony all by her self. So cute!

 

 

Up next was a "dragon ride" (wagon ride) as Claire calls it. Of course, she loved it and wanted to go again but they wouldn't let us. :( After we got off she ran up to the front and gave the big white horse a pat on his leg as if to say "thanks horsey, good job!". It made me a little nervous having her get so close to such a big animal, but I held it in and let her do her thing. I don't want her to be a scaredy cat.

 

 
By this time, we needed a snack so I bought some fresh donuts which we devoured. I remembered these from a few years past and had to get them again. They were delicious! 

 
Claire and I had so much fun that afternoon at the "Halloween Farm" (where I told her we were). I love getting to spend one on one time with her and hope that we can continue to do things like this after her baby brother arrives.

 

For the record, Erik took advantage of the warm weather and went golfing while we were on this excursion. He almost got a hole in one! Maybe next time Honey.



Our Budding Artist

Claire has grown to love all things "artsy". A few months ago I realized she was at the age that she would enjoy doing artistic activities so we bought her a few supplies.

The best thing I ever did was buy a roll of white butcher paper and crayons. Almost every morning, we lay out a long piece of paper to cover the coffee table and it stays there all day. Anytime she wants, she can go over to the table and color. She has spent a lot of time perfecting her skills and we've seen a huge improvement in the coloring pages we get after church on Sunday from when she's in Nursery. At first, there would be two scribbles on the page and now it's almost entirely covered with crayon.

Erik and I have gradually expanded to showing her how to draw shapes. She also frequently asks that we write our names and various numbers. Most recently, she has enjoyed making circles. It's so funny to watch her as she concentrates drawing circle after circle. She loves it.

Along with coloring, she also really likes to paint with her Crayola Color Wonder Paints. These paints are awesome, because they go on the paper clear and then the color develops shortly after (btw it only works on specific paper). Her favorite thing to do is have me paint her hands and feet so we can make hand/feet prints. Afterwards, she always tapes her artwork on the wall. I've tried to take a couple of pictures but she's never cooperated so I've yet to get a blog worthy photo to share. But here are some pics of her circles:

*Note 1: Erik has recently started drawing animals for Claire on her paper and they are incredible! He only draws these when I'm not around and he won't tell me how he does it. I can't figure out what he would be tracing from ('cause I know it's not his own artistry skills) but someday I must find out his secret. :)

 

*Note 2: Claire appears to be left handed.

One Last Year

saturday was my 29th birthday



spent the morning at my nephew's birthday party

 

had some much needed alone time reading magazines at barnes & noble

 

watched in awe as erik swept/mopped the floors

and did tons of dishes

 

was surprised with an official date night

(paid babysitter, movie, and even popcorn and drinks included - so much fun; thanks honey!)

 

besides erik gifting me with most of my responsibilities fulfilled for the day, the best part was hearing claire say "happy birthday mommy"

 

can't believe I have one year left in my 20's

 

makes me feel like after 10/20/2013 I will officially

be a GROWN ADULT - yikes!

 

**************

 

only took one picture on my special day:

my 24 week (6 month) baby bump photo

 

this last year in my 20's is going to be very eventful - the most important

occurrence being the birth of our son; I can't wait

 

strange to have entered the six month territory, yet I also feel like it's taking

forever and I should be delivering this little guy any day now

 

thankfully, I have much more energy than I did when I was pregnant with Claire

 

slight nausea in the early months, back aches at night, a little heart burn,

and a meager amount of exhaustion have been the only issues so far

 

although, I do feel like it's only downhill from here on out: getting bigger and feeling more

and more like a stuffed sausage will not be fun during the holidays

 

and I am definitely not looking forward to the unintentional insulting comments that take place

from here on out when people look at you and say "oh honey, you look so uncomfortable and

tired...when are you due?" seriously - why do people say such nonsense?!

 

in all honesty though, it really has been an almost perfect pregnancy to this point

 

hope it continues that way!

"puNkin patch"

Saturday evening

"Punkin Patch" (according to Claire) at Petersen Family Farm

Love this place 'cause it's FREE

Claire enjoyed a ride from Daddy while looking at all of the "punkins"

She didn't love being coerced into a photo-op with Mommy

At least she put on a pretend smile :)

 

 

Claire sat on top of a giant pumpkin

and enjoyed a pretend wheel barrow ride

(gotta get the shot right?)

Her favorite were the goats and miniature ponies

They were just her size

 

 

Then it was off to the hay pile

She climbed to the very top and didn't mind getting hay all over herself

Guess it wasn't too itchy

Then she spent quite a bit of time jumping from haystack to haystack

Claire LOVES to jump off of things

 

 

My favorite picture of the day

I was surprised to see that Claire thought the white "punkins" looked normal

even though they looked different from the orange ones but

that the orange "punkins" covered in ugly bumps were just that...ugly

 

 

 

Of course we had to do the corn maze

She had so much fun playing peek-a-boo between

the corn stalks and running through the dirt to find Mommy

 

 

I found the smallest "punkin" I could for baby Olafsson

We didn't buy it, but I had to take a photo :)

As we left, I tried to take a short cut through the fence

Erik thought it was pretty funny watching a pregnant girl trying

to squeeze herself through the slats

For the record, I made it through

 

 

Another fun year at the "punkin patch"

So happy I got some cute pics to show for it

Times Are A Changin'

Approximately three months ago, Claire turned two years old. Already she has changed dramatically so I feel the need to do a "Claire Bear Update" a little early than usual. The biggest change we have seen is in her vocabulary. She is very talkative and tries to put sentences together, which end up being a mish mash of random words and statements. You really have to concentrate to pick out everything she says. I've spent the last week or so gathering a list of some of our favorites:

are you? (where are you) --- I sink (I think) --- macanee (macaroni)

that's mine (a favorite of hers) --- caubly (probably) --- time it is? (what time is it)

ipstick (lipstick) --- hi pad (iPad)

stop doing this (another statement we hear a lot of)

pastick (chapstick) --- gonna do a day? (what are we going to do today)

sleep well, good dreams (she says this before bed) --- boo

so cute mom --- all by self (all by myself)

open up the sky (open the sunroof in the car) --- how do it? (how do you do this)

fray (hairspray) --- owe (ouch)

des (yes) --- hold onto your paws (upon making a turn in the car)

so proud a you mom (she did something good and knows I am proud of her, or she of me)

Claire is so much fun to be around (when she has had a good night sleep). However, the temper tantrums are in full force and have been quite the frustration of mine lately. One of the hardest things we are trying to overcome is her hitting. A lot of the time it is when we are trying to get in the car and I really can't do much about it. We try to be diligent about time outs and I guess in those circumstances I should take it a little further and deal with it right then and there (instead of yelling at her). My patience has definitely been tried a lot more these past couple of months as I've been trying to get a handle on this little girl. The majority of the time she is so funny and amusing, but the days filled with crying, fighting, and hitting, seem to take over it all. I hope we can get through the terrible twos with minimal damage (for all of us).

Our baby girl is growing up so fast, I can't believe it. There are many moments that I look at her long, beautiful hair and remember how fast little ones change and how I will never get today back. Claire's personality is so fun, her blue eyes so captivating, and her smile so contagious. I need to cherish ALL of the seconds I have with her and know that someday she won't need me like she does now (even though I wish she will). Love you little bear!

Evening Glow

 family drive up Emigration Canyon

the last "fall leaves" activity on my fall bucket list

very pretty drive

love this time of year

 

stopped to take a couple of snapshots

was out of the car for about three minutes

policeman drove by and saw khloe

gave us a verbal warning since we were in a watershed area

'no dog' rule is so ridiculous (like there isn't wildlife everywhere pooping in the bushes)

 

on a random note

so excited that claire can now smile on que

 

(claire wanted me to eat the rock she had in her hand)



"Puzzle States"

We purchased a puzzle of the United States for Claire a couple of months ago and she has been at it ever since. She makes us put the puzzle together before every nap AND bed time. And I mean every single one! It has become a punishment to have her puzzle taken away. It takes us about thirty minutes to get ready to go to sleep because she has to dump her entire puzzle out and put it back together. Of course, there is no hurrying involved. She likes to take her time and will sometimes get very upset if you offer unsolicited help.

Erik and I have been very surprised at how quickly she's learned the names and locations of most of the states. Her favorites seem to change every now and then too. First, it was Nevada, California, and Utah, because that is where members of our families live. Then it became Texas and Oklahoma (I have no idea why). After that it was Washington and Maine, because Erik and I lived there when we were younger. Lately, it is Alabama (ambama), Mississippi (sippy sippy), and sometimes Georgia comes into the mix.

Below is a cute video of Claire doing her puzzle before nap time. Notice at one point she says "i sink", which means "I think". This is a new-found phrase of hers.

Can't Get Enough

Last weekend, our family spent another morning enjoying the scenery outdoors. This time, our location was Mueller Park Trail in Bountiful.

Claire is obsessed with hikes. Every time we tell her we are going on one she gets very excited. I'm sure it is something we will continue to do throughout the rest of the fall season.

Throughout our hike we saw beautiful leaves, lots of dogs (and tons of dog poop), and a family dressed in coordinating mustard and grey colors getting their portraits taken. Erik gets annoyed when I take tons of pictures on our family outings, but I know this time he was grateful I hadn't made him get dressed up and sit in a pile of sticks like they were.

We didn't walk too far as it was fairly steep in some places and we had no idea what the trail led to. Instead, we casually walked along the trail and then played near a small stream. It's always nice to be outside and together as a family.

Shakin' It!

This morning I took Claire to one of her beloved toddler classes at Murray Library. She LOVES it! I've learned to never tell her where we are going more than thirty minutes prior, because if we can't make it, she will talk about it all day and get very upset.

Attending Wiggle Worms is something we have been doing for almost a year now. They sing songs, play with scarfs, count, read books, do bubbles, go under a parachute, and dance with shakers, all while being led by a wonderful instructor. Generally, there are around 50 kids in attendance and it can get very loud and chaotic. Somehow, the teacher manages to make it fun and exciting for everyone.

One of Claire's favorite parts in Wiggle Worms is when they dance with the shakers. I get such a kick out of watching her concentrate on moving them. The funniest part is when they sing "jump jump jump my jiggles out". Claire always has to hand me her shakers so she can jump at her highest ability. It's hilarious! See above for a little clip.

Fast forward to this afternoon. I put Claire down for her nap and she would not go to sleep. I was in the office getting some work done and started hearing her on the monitor singing the "shaker song" from this morning. She actually did a really good job with it. At one point, I even heard her say "good job Claire you did it" (wish I would have gotten that on video). Too cute!