Our Halloween Festivities

I feel like I've done a complete 180. In previous years, I hated Halloween. You've all heard me gripe about not liking scary movies, haunted houses, and the dark, many times before. This year, Halloween was so much fun! Claire was old enough to really enjoy all of the activities and I know in years to come it will only get better. We had the occasional temper tantrum (the joys of approaching 2), but overall, we all had a blast. Our first stop was to the Peterson Family Farm where we walked around the pumpkin patch, corn maze, and took a hay ride, which was very bumpy and not too much fun for Claire. Below is proof of Claire enjoying herself and also the beginnings of a tantrum. I think she must have understood me when I told her we were not buying any pumpkins to take home that day. :) 

Halloween morning we went to a trunk or treat party at Whitmore Library. Claire loved it! She got to dance around in circles, listen to stories, pick out lots of candy, and hang out with her adorable neighbor friends. I couldn't believe how well she did! Our little duckling would walk to each station, take a handful of suckers and put it in her bucket. Then she would look at me with an expression on her face like "am I really allowed to take all of this?" Hilarious!

Once Erik came home from work, we went out for some trick or treating. She got a little scared at the first house because a giant dog ran her over, but after a few seconds of crying, she never looked back. We went to about 10 houses and Claire loved every minute of it!

Then we hurried home and had apple cider, hot chocolate, and lots of dessert with some of our extended family. Claire and her little "slime" cousin, Emma, had a great night! And so did I!

Happy Halloween!

Another One Come and Gone

Last week I got to experience another birthday, however, October 20th has pretty much lost all of its excitement. Birthdays as an adult are definitely not as thrilling as they were as a child. My responsibilities are pulling at my shirt (literally) and can't be pushed aside. Despite many friends and family wishing me a "happy birthday", the day goes on just as usual.

This year my birthday brought tons of errands to run, a garbage disposal needing to be fixed (which I did all by myself - yay!), a child to be fed, taught, and entertained, a few unexpected hours at the office because an employee didn't show up, and a quick trip to Costco to buy myself flowers because I was having a bad day. Erik did take me out to dinner a couple of times over the weekend so I didn't have to make dinner (a huge relief) and gave me a beautiful present....but birthdays just aren't the same.

My day got a little better when I realized at about 2pm that I hadn't turned 29 and only had one year left in my twenties....I was actually only 28! Hooray! When the time comes that I do turn 30 I think the saddest part will not be that I am no longer in my twenties, but that I am that much closer to 40. Scary!

On Saturday, we had a birthday activity of walking around Silver Lake. It was a beautiful day and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time together with the people I love.

After my birthday had come and gone, I realized that even though my birthday had a lot less celebration this year, I still needed at least ONE picture with my daughter to document the day and that I did in fact have a birthday. After a few attempts, we finally captured a good one!

Thank heavens because 5 seconds later it turned into this:

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. It may not have been that great of a day, but I am so happy to have been blessed with another birthday. Love you all!

So "Beary" Cute

As promised in the last post, here is Claire's updated "bear" picture at 15 months old. I am amazed by her growth these past three months. She's growing up so fast! To view the series of bear photos, go here.

Note to Self

It is inevitable to forget the little things Claire has started doing these past few months so I have to create digital evidence for future scrapbooking purposes. Here it goes...since Claire has turned one (currently she is 15 1/2 months), she has learned how to:

• 
• sign 'please', 'thank you', and book
• interact more with her cousins and neighbor friends
• locate her bellybutton
• hold her hand up to her ear as if she's talking on the phone
• blow her nose
• spot airplanes from a thousand miles away
• crawl with one hand open and the other in a fist (back when she crawled)
• walk/run everywhere
• close cabinet doors when requested to do so
• fold her arms
• play educational games on the iPad
• walk to the bathroom when you tell her we need to wipe her snots and run away from you when you tell her you need to change her stinkies
• fake cry - I don't know how she learned to do this 'cause it's not like she learned it from me
• gained two of her lower molars
• do the "downward dog" yoga pose - she did this for a while, but hasn't done it lately
• dance by bouncing her legs and swaying her head back and forth - the first time she did this was over labor day weekend when she was listening to Lenny Kravitz play 'American Woman' on the Today Show
• make a surprise face by opening her eyes and mouth real big - this is so adorable and one of my favorites
• eat anything in front of her - I've even given her brussel sprouts and I have photographic evidence to show her she liked them when she is older
• open and close her mouth like a fish
• say "sssss" for a snake sound, "mmmm" for a cow, and "baa" for a sheep
• stick her tongue out for a lizard, pat her chest for a gorilla, and snap her arms together for an alligator
• open and close doors - she refuses to be in a room with a door slightly open
• pet Khloe softly and throw her ball (about a foot away)
• let Mommy style her hair - her hair is finally long enough for pigtails
• play peekaboo with anyone that will join her
• drink from a sippy cup - she is officially no longer taking bottles
• throw temper tantrums
• climb onto the couch and get in your face until you give her some of what you are eating
• move from two naps a day to one, although most days there are zero naps; it's been rough and we are desperately trying to figure it out
• complete her first daily chore of sweeping the kitchen :)
• ride her bike while sitting on the seat
• give big hugs to stuffed bears, dolls, and sometimes a human

  Gotta love this girl! Updated "bear" picture coming soon.

*Additional note to self: physically she is in the 40% for height, 33% for weight, and 14% for head circumference

Autumn = A LOT of Football

Even though Erik absolutely dreads the end of summer, the fall season also brings his favorite past time into view; football. Erik could watch football 24/7, but thankfully it is consolidated into Sundays, Mondays, sometimes Thursdays, and Saturdays.  I know, that is still A LOT!

This year, Erik is playing in two fantasy football leagues, and that is down from last year, thankfully. The annual draft party was held at our house and it was filled with excitement, anticipation, upsets when someone didn't get the player they wanted, and lots of joking around. It's so funny to sit on the sidelines and watch them make fun of one anothers team. It is a good thing girls don't play because we wouldn't be able to handle all of the criticism. Boys seem to love it though. :)

Erik's favorite new "thing" this year is the NFL RedZone channel. We added the package to our Comcast subscription and he is literally in love! It is on every Sunday afternoon and they cut back and forth to all of the best plays in each game and there are no commercials. Heaven for football lovers!

Erik (and therefore me, Claire and Khloe) are die hard Utah football fans and it is even more exciting this year with Utah joining the Pac-12. We've had a couple of losses already, but we will always stand by 'our' team. The last week of August, the University of Utah held "Fan Fest". We made it a family event and even snuck little Khloe onto the field in the stroller. :) It was an extremely hot day and the rubber pellets mixed into the green turf made it feel like it was 120 degrees. Ugh!

Erik and I both took part in the field goal kick challenge. He did very well; he made three or four shots and kept moving further and further back the field. I, on the other hand, did one kick and it bounced 20 yards down the field. I think Erik thought I would have done well since I played soccer, but I was terrible. I never realized how hard a football was compared to a soccer ball.

Even though Claire missed her morning nap because I ran a 5K, we went on a quick hike, and then went to the U event, we all had a blast and it was a great way to kick off the upcoming football season.

Our family definitely "bleeds red". :) Thanks Farmor for the adorable cheerleader outfit. Claire couldn't be cuter! And of course......GO UTES!

Don't Blink!

...I did; and as of today, summer is now officially over. Ever since Labor Day weekend when all of the swimming pools closed, I have been in denial that summer has ended and now the calendar is proof. Summer is such a fun time of year. So many excursions to go on and play dates to be had with our neighbors. I'm not ready to be held captive inside my house with a one year old and a small dog both of whom are in heaven running around outside. Here is a little look back at some of the things we did this summer that I haven't gotten around to sharing:

Erik and I spent a wonderful weekend at the Zermatt resort in Midway. It literally was a piece of heaven. We spent two amazing days and one night at the hotel away from Claire (which was surprisingly easy). It brought back old times of me laying by the pool all afternoon and Erik golfing at the Homestead Golf Course nearby. It was such a nice break from "normal life" and the perfect way to re energize ourselves before the week to come.

I created a play date group with our neighbors/friends from church and we had many fun outings together. One of our last ones was an afternoon in the front yard playing in the blow up pool, chasing balls, and eating popsicles. Claire was the lifeguard on duty that day (j/k) and thought the boys (our next door neighbors, Liam and Owen) were pretty amusing. She even strut her stuff on the sidewalk for all to see. HA!

I think Claire had the most fun when we would go to the park and watch the ducks. I don't know why, but she LOVES ducks! Her favorite animals are ducks, roosters (weird) and dogs. She can pick them out anywhere! On this particular outing, we went to Sugar House Park, one of my favorites. We enjoyed a kids meal from Wendy's and then watched the ducks "quack" away. Claire even got partly in the poop infested water (kind of disgusting, but she had fun) and was furious when it was time to leave. Yet another fun day at the park. 

This summer has been particularly exciting because Claire's personality has started to shine and she now has "favorites" and really enjoys certain things. Two of which are blueberries and babies. Claire could eat blueberries all day long. I was probably at the grocery store once a week buying more and more blueberries. It's kind of funny to watch her shovel them into her mouth as fast as she can. One of her other favorites are babies and this summer brought her a new baby cousin, Vivian. She is totally enamored with babies and gets very concerned when they cry. It's adorable. I hope this means she'll be a great big sister someday.

One of my favorite summer activities are family hikes. EASY family hikes. :) Hikes that I can enjoy the scenery and not have to watch my step or get out of breath. 4th of July morning we joined Erik's family and my parents and hiked around Silver Lake. It was beautiful and very convenient pushing Claire in the stroller instead of schlepping her on one of our backs. She even fell asleep towards the end.

We took another family hike in mid-August somewhere up Millcreek Canyon. It was extremely short because we had other places to be, but Claire and Khloe LOVED the ride. Erik and I, on the other hand, got a little exhausted. It may have been short, but the incline and the extra weight we were carrying was definitely more than we were used to. Hey..."backpacking" isn't exactly our forte. :)

  

This summer we started Claire in swim lessons which were a blast! I was amazed how much she improved from week one to week ten. Her instructor said she did a wonderful job and Claire really began to love the water. She loved swimming under water and jumping in from the sideline. It was such a pleasure to watch.

One of the luxuries of living where we do, is that we get to see Erik's family so frequently. Claire loves spending time with her "Farfar", especially when he lets her play in the stream. Having playtime with her cousin, Emma, is one of her favorites as well. If Claire is ever cranky and I mention "cousin Emma", she usually calms down immediately. Emma has grown tremendously these last few months and is finally big enough to interact with Claire. I am so excited to see them play together in the years to come. 

One of the worst parts about this summer was how much Erik had to work. He only made it to the pool with us once or twice this year and hopefully he'll be able to enjoy more outings with us next year. It was such a special treat when he was able to join us at Murray Pool. Erik took her down the slide a few times, which didn't provide much of a reaction, but was still enjoyable of course. Maybe we have a little dare devil on our hands and it wasn't fast enough for her. She did enjoy jumping into Erik over and over and over again. :) Actually, she kind of just walked into the pool. So funny!

I'm going to try my hardest to accept the fact that the calendar now says Autumn, but in my heart, summer isn't really over. We still have five or six activities unchecked on my "summer to do" list that I've got to pack into our schedules within the next couple of weeks before it gets too cold. Wish me luck! 

Making Memories

last week of june

entire johansen family minus one brother-in-law (until the last day)

parent's house filled with constant laughter and commotion

claire thoroughly enjoyed all of the excitement and noise

notable moments...

tons of people available to push claire on the swings (finally a break!)

a good arm wrestle with my nephew (i can't remember who one, but I hope it was me since he's 7)

my mom baking cookies with all of her grandkids; it was a little chaotic to say the least

running around outside playing games and basking in the sun

claire helping her "mormor" and a few cousins water the plants

getting to spend claire's 1st birthday with all of her cousins (thanks for all the gifts...she sure was spoiled)

15 of us spending the afternoon at hogle zoo

claire getting so excited to see all of the animals

(well, the big ones that she could actually see)

having my trusty babysitter (niece, lindsay) willing to take claire anytime I asked

going to the draper pool on a somewhat sunny/rainy afternoon

watching my niece swim a few laps (she is an award winning swimmer!)



ending the week with an "adults only" family picture that turned out awesome

thank goodness, because we spent hours and hours picking out our outfits

seeing my family only a few times a year is difficult,

but we definitely make up for lost time when we are finally together

love you all!

Claire's 1st Birthday Party - (it's about time I post this)

In my mind, this post has seemed like such a big project that I have stalled writing it for almost 2 months now. Better late than never I guess. It seems like so long ago, yet it took place at the beginning of the summer, on June 25th. Being the first kids birthday party to take place in our house, I wanted to go all out. I was well aware that Claire wouldn't remember anything and that it was purely for my enjoyment. Sorry Erik, she only has a first birthday once. :)

I started planning the event months in advance (obsessive, I know). The theme for our little "Claire Bear" was of course, bears! By the time the day rolled around, I had a lot accomplished, yet there was still a million things to do. I'm glad I planned for so long because little did I know there was going to be a huge fiasco to deal with. Just days before her party, I remember telling my Mom that I wanted it to go really smoothly and for me to be calm and collected. The last thing I wanted was to be the crazy hostess running around bossing people and completely stressed out. I'm not really sure how I came across to most of the attendees, but for the first hour, I was acting a little crazy. Little did everyone know that we had a major disaster that morning.

Did you know that there are two parks in Sandy, within 1 mile of each other, both with the EXACT same name?!?! Yeah, I didn't either and I found out a little too late. We got to where I thought the party was being held, at Union Park just west of Hillcrest High School, and started to set up. When we arrived, there was another party under the pavilion and I was so irritated because I had reserved it months ago. Turns out I was in the wrong place, had to load everything back up, drive a mile down the road to the other Union Park and set up again. With the party about to start, guests arriving, curlers still in my hair and a brief meltdown seconds before, we managed to get everything set up pretty quickly. Thank goodness! Apparently the pavilion I had reserved was Union Park with Sandy City and the park I thought I reserved was Union Park with Salt Lake County. Ugh! My heart boils just thinking about the whole mix up. Of course it all worked out fine and the party went well once everything had settled. I couldn't have done it without the support of my family. Thank you too all of the family and friends that helped us gather extra tables, setup chairs and deliver food to the location. I owe you immensely! 

Now to the actual fun part of the day. Every year my two sisters and their families come to Utah for a week so we can all spend time together. Claire timed her birth perfectly last year and all of our families were able to be present. I think she just wanted to have all of her cousins at her future birthday parties. It worked out perfectly! Almost every member of our family was there to celebrate Claire's special day and that means so much to Erik and I. Claire didn't really "experience" much that afternoon, but I'm sure she enjoyed seeing all of you there. Hopefully there are many, stress-free birthday parties to come.

Here are a few...I mean a lot, of snapshots from her party: 

The Invitation

 


The birthday girl wearing her custom-made bear ears sewn by her mother, bear onsie, gold tutu and sandals. So adorable!


 

Decorations and Party Favors (bear coloring books)

 

Activities included honeycomb/honey-nut cheerio necklace making, bear paw tattoos, hula hoops, toss game, coloring, bear crossword puzzles, etc. There was even a special area for Khloe and five of her best friends in the "paw keeper".

 

 

Tons of friends and family came to celebrate with us!

 Food, Presents, and 5 Birthday Cakes!



 "Thank You" Card



Claire's birthday party was a huge success. We had so much fun and hope that those who came enjoyed themselves as well. See you next year at birthday party number two!

It Never Gets Old

Wheeler Farm that is. I think we've been there around 15 times this summer and it is still enjoyable every time we go. Us girls (Claire, Khloe, and I) love every minute of it.

Khloe whines when I make the turn through the entrance because she knows where she is. She jumps out of the car and can't wait to begin our walk through the park. Even though a leash is attached to her collar and fences separate her and the farm animals, it's as though she's entered animal heaven and finally gets to have another playdate with her friends. The geese, on the other hand, would prefer she stay at least 10 feet away.

What do I think is Claire's favorite part? She finds it especially interesting when roosters have escaped from their cages and are running around us frantically trying to dodge the random children chasing after them. Hmmm, maybe she should internalize that experience and think about how Khloe feels when she is running after her. :)

For me, knowing that Claire is enjoying herself while learning about animals, Khloe is having a blast running around outside sniffing poop (thank heavens she doesn't eat it), and I feel like a decent Mom who isn't holed up inside the house doing nothing are what I cherish most. Beats an afternoon sittin' on the couch!

A Moment I Will Never Forget

tuesday evening

sitting in Claire's room swaying back and forth on my glider

a warm summer breeze coming through the bedroom window

the sound of piano lullabies playing in the background

claire walking from one side of the room to the other

falling after every few steps and laughing

getting back up on her feet

taking a few more steps

and looking over at me with the most precious look on her face

smile so wide

eyes so joyful

i sat there as her life literally flashed before my eyes

i was sitting at her wedding reception as a video montage played

displaying a clip of her right at that moment

one by one tears ran down my cheek

her two little feet aren't so little anymore

if only that moment could last a lifetime

so many joyful experiences lie ahead of us

but i wanted those precious seconds to last forever