Wordless Wednesday

Barnyard Boo

Last weekend we had a rainy family outing at Thanksgiving Pointe's "Barnyard Boo".

First on my list was face painting. Claire got a black cat painted on her cheek.

Within seconds, paint got all over her sweater and we decided to wash it off and try again. For round 2, she got "Boo" written on her forehead. The only way we could keep her remotely still was to have my finger in her mouth. Whatever works. :)

Next was a walk by the cows, cookie decorating and then off to the ponies. She was so cute riding the pony around in a circle.

I know she's only 4 months old, but I still think she had fun. :) Ohhhh, how I love the holidays. Actually, I hate Halloween (I don't like scary movies, haunted houses, the dark...so the two of us don't really mesh well). Face painting, pony rides, my little munchin in a costume and lots of candy I can handle.

My Birthday Treat

Because I get to look at this adorable face on my birthday, I don't need anything else. She's the best present I could ask for. Although...a new pair of shoes couldn't hurt. :)

Results

Thanks everyone for voting on your favorite picture. With yours and Erik's input, numbers 3 and 4 won. After hours and hours of editing (I did my best to remove the shadows under Claire's chin) here are the final images -

I also took a couple of cute photos of Claire's blessing dress.

I've been inspired by various images that I've seen recently and have been feeling more creative than usual. It seems like I've been on Photoshop day and night. I love having a "subject" with me 24-7. I wish I wasn't such a perfectionist though; I have to take a billion pictures before I get that perfect one. Enjoy!

Which One?

Claire turned 3 months a couple of weeks ago and I finally got around to taking some new pictures of her. I can't decide which one is my favorite. So tell me, which one is your fave?

BFF

My best friend from high school, Chelsea, came to visit me and see little Claire this past weekend. It was so much fun having her here and it was just like old times. We've lost touch a little bit since I moved to Utah, but whenever we talk or see each other, it's like I never left. While Chelsea and her husband, Travis, were here, we went horseback riding near Park City. It was a beautiful ride, although really cold (around 50 degrees). I was hoping to see a moose, elk, or even just a deer, but we saw nothing.

The next day we had brunch at the Blue Plate Diner (a really cute restaurant in SLC). We ate outside and had great conversation. However, we all got sick of saying "she's a shorkie...half shitzu and half yorkie". SO many people ask us about Khloe. It's amazing how much attention that dog gets when we are in public.

Later we did a short hike up to Secret Lake, although we never made it to the lake. :) We took the wrong trail and ended up walking in a big circle. I felt bad that they didn't get to see the lake, but they insisted it was a beautiful hike/drive and that they enjoyed it anyway.

It was a blast having Chelsea and Travis here and I was sad to have them leave so soon. Two days was not enough. We've already made plans to go back to Seattle next summer to go sailing. I can't wait!

Claire Bear Update

Our little Claire Bear turned 3 months old last Thursday. I can't believe how fast she is growing. It's so much fun to look back at her "bear" pictures each month and see how much she's changed.

3 Months

2 Months

1 MonthNewborn

This is what Claire has been up to lately:

1. grabs/holds onto toys and books

2. smiles on cue pretty frequently

3. laughs (although not much this past week)

4. caught a virus and has been extremely congested

(the dr. suctioned out her nose - the tubes went up her nose and down her throat - ouch)

5. coos more often

6. loves to blow bubbles and is starting to drool

7. a couple of nights last week she slept 11 hours

Claire is such a happy baby and we are so blessed to have her in our family. I love her so much and cannot believe how fast our little girl is growing up. I wish I could stop time and live like this forever!

Baby Blessing

Last Sunday Erik blessed our baby girl. It was such a special day for our family.

Everything went well; there was no pooping or spitting up on her dress and thankfully no crying during the prayer.

Claire is so fortunate to have Erik as her father. He gave a beautiful blessing and I will always remember how strongly I felt the Spirit.

It's amazing how becoming a mother turns you into an emotional wreck. Crying has become almost a daily occurance - the sight of Claire sleeping in her crib, the sound of her laugh, and the look Erik gives her when he sees her smile make me melt. Life is so sacred. Erik not only blessed Claire that day, he blessed our entire family.

(Our family with my parents)

(Our family with Erik's parents and Farmor)

(Our family with Erik's grandparents)

(Our family with Erik's siblings and their families)

(Sadly, my siblings couldn't make it as they live out of state. They were with us in our hearts.)

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who helped us out that day and a really BIG thank you to my mom. She spent hours making Claire's blessing dress without even having a pattern! It was absolutely beautiful! Thank you!

Fun at the Fair

Last week Erik's family joined us at the Salt Lake County Fair for a couple of hours. I always love going to the fair. I walk around aimlessly looking at animals, people watching, and wondering "who buys all of this junk?" I've never even made it on any of the rides...maybe one year. I guess I just like the change of pace. This year was even more fun because we had our little "Claire Bear". Activities like this are so much more entertaining with children. Great weather and a sugary funnel cake added to the fun night out with our family.

Not Used To This

Erik is out of town, Khloe is playing at her four-legged sister's house, Claire is at her two-legged aunt's house and I am all by myself at work. What am I to do? I don't have anyone begging for my attention! Oh wait....I have files up to my ears, am taking an endless amount of phone calls and in about 3 hours when classes start, I'll have 50 people asking me stupid questions. Yikes! Surprisingly, I'd rather be at home changing Claire's diaper and playing fetch with Khloe.

Cutie Pies

Ever since Claire was born, I've wanted to get a cute picture of her with Khloe. Until recently, I couldn't even get Khloe to sit anywhere near Claire. Today, my Mom and I had a quick 5 minute photo shoot and I finally got a shot of the two of them as well as an adorable shot of Claire by herself. My little girls are so cute!

Utes Come Out With A Bang

Thursday night Claire went to her first football game. Utah beat Pittsburgh 27-24 in overtime. Go Utes! It was so much fun spending the night out as a family, especially since the game was such a nail biter.

Claire was a trooper and slept almost the entire time thanks to her ear plugs and Baby Bjorn. Everyone stared at us as we walked up and down the stairs, but who could resist looking at this little princess.
Even Erik enjoyed the half time entertainment. She was way more interesting than the band.
My only regret? Claire had no Utah garb on. There was a little baby behind us that had a onsie which said "Ute Fan Since Birth". It was so cute. I haven't been able to find it anywhere online though. Hopefully I'll find something soon so she can be a true, dedicated Ute fan.

Claire Bear & Claire Bear

Our little Claire Bear turned 2 months old on Monday. She's growing up so fast. I adopted one of my sister's traditions and will be taking pictures of Claire with her "Claire Bear" each month to see how much she's grown. I got lucky with this last one - she smiled for the first shot!

2 Months

1 month

Newborn

So Proud - Update

Letting Claire cry herself to sleep is not going as well as it was initially. Yesterday afternoon she didn't cry at all. Yesterday evening she cried for 20 min., slept for 30 min., cried for 25 min. and then I got her up. Last night she literally cried nonstop for 1.5 hours (I went in about every 20 minutes and consoled her).

Erik was a softy last night and after listening to her scream bloody murder for 1.5 hours, he told me that she has probably had enough torture and to go rock her to sleep. She fell asleep in about 30 seconds.

Today's afternoon nap she cried for 20 minutes and is now asleep. This I can handle, but if I have another night like last night, I'm going to go insane! I really hope she gets the hang of this soon!

So Proud!

One of the things I've had on my list to do is to get Claire to sleep without rocking or other "sleep props" as Babywise puts it. Yesterday I decided I've put it off long enough and that I need to just buckle down and start letting her cry herself to sleep. I was dreading the 3-5 days they say it takes for a baby to change their sleeping habits and knew I would have to listen to hours of endless crying.

Today's afternoon nap was my first shot. I changed her diaper, bundled her up in her Swaddle Pod, sang the first verse to I Am A Child Of God, set her in her crib and went downstairs with baby monitor in hand, prepared for the worst.

5 minutes went by and no noise. Then another 5 minutes. I waited a total of 15 minutes and decided I better check on her. Maybe the monitor wasn't working I thought. I opened the door and was amazed when I saw this:


My little "Claire Bear" sound asleep. I literally started to cry - I was so proud of her! I only hope this isn't just a one time thing. We'll see in a few hours when she goes down for another nap.