Claire Bear - 7 Months

Yet another month has passed and our little Claire Bear is now 7 months old. Not much has changed since last month; she's just as adorable as ever! Lately she has been:

• Sleeping 12-13 hours straight at night
• Making screeching noises anytime she can
• Folding her hands in her lap; it's so cute
• Chewing on her toes when she doesn't have socks on
• Showing glimpses of being a shy little girl; she'll try not to smile and then turn her head away...yesterday she even buried her head into me for the first time
• Crossing 2 of her fingers on her left hand just for fun
• Smiling with her cute teeth showing; she has 2 of them
• Wearing her too tight 3-6 month clothes and her too big 6-12 month clothes
• Being the best 7 month old baby around!

Each month I take the bear pictures it gets harder and harder. Claire used to sit there so still with a cute little smile on her face. Not today. :) First, I had to take the bows off of the bear's ears because she kept pulling at them, then she wanted to grab the bears nose, and after that she got the bear in her lap and was trying to chew the tag. It takes about 20 pictures before I even get a slight smirk. Oh well; you can still see how much she's grown which is the whole reason I do these pictures. Here are some outtakes and then her "official" bear pictures:

7 month official bear picture 4 months

2 months

Insanity - Am I Insane?

Three weeks ago I jumped on the new years resolution bandwagon to lose weight. After 6 months of hoping the remaining baby weight would fall off by itself (and it didn't), I realized I'm going to have to actually work to get by body back. Yuck! :) I started the Insanity workout program a few weeks ago and I am finally seeing results. Thank goodness! I wish I would have started it a lot earlier. The problem is that prior to giving birth to Claire, I was at the lowest weight I've ever been. This makes getting back to my pre-baby weight very difficult. I've heard people say "it takes 9 months to put it on so give it 9 months to get it off". Since I started the program, I've been losing a 1/2 pound every 5-7 days. Yay for me! I hope I can get the rest of it off by March 30th (9 months after Claire was born). I know I can get back to my old self eventually, but it is slightly depressing to know that I didn't get it off sooner. I guess I was hoping for a miracle and the weight would just disappear. Wishful thinking.

I know a few Moms that got the weight off after 6 months and even weigh less than they did to begin with. Depressing! So I want to hear from the rest of you Moms out there. How long did it take you to lose your baby weight?

Better Late Than Never

Claire will be turning 7 months old on Sunday and I finally took her "6 month" pictures. Normally, I am on the ball with this stuff, but I got hung up on her outfit. Silly, I know. Since it is January, I wanted an outfit that would reflect winter. All of her 3-6 month clothes are too tight and all of her 6-12 month clothes are too big; so I went searching all over Fashion Place mall for the perfect outfit, but everything was spring...bright green, yellow, pink. Ugh! I finally found this cute outfit from Janie & Jack (that store is totally overpriced) and took the pictures today with my Mom. She is a wonderful assistant despite the increasing difficulty of getting Claire to crack the perfect smile when I need her too. These are my favorite two shots:

"Don't Forget About Me"

Khloe has taken a little bit of a backseat since Claire was born, but we've tried really hard to still give her tons of attention and play time. Throughout the past 6 months, she's become the best "lighting tester" in town. :) I know she's grateful that my photography skills are constantly improving 'cause after a while, she gets really tired of staring at the camera flash. Love you Khloers! Thanks for sitting there so patiently.

Proper Etiquette

Lately, Claire has been practicing how to sit appropriately. I promise you, I did not teach her how to do this. Sometimes Erik and I look over and she has her arms folded in her lap. It's so precious! I hope this means she is going to be our little angel. :) Just like her shirt says, "Claire Bear" is "unBEARably cute"!

Missing Daddy

Claire was really sad yesterday when Daddy had to go into work, even though it was a federal holiday. She asked me if she could send him a fax to tell him how much she loved him. Isn't she cute?! :)

New Book

I just finished making the cutest book for Claire. It's called "The Happiest Dog Ever!". Of course, it features her favorite dog, Khloe. It's amazing to see how much Claire already loves her four-legged sister. As soon as she hears Khloe's collar shake from a far, Claire looks around to see where she is. I can't wait until Claire is old enough to read it. For now, I'm sure she will enjoy the pictures.

Take a look at the book here:
http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/pets/the-happiest-dog-ever-5118749

Claire Bear - 6 Months

Our little girl has passed the 6 month mark and I cannot believe it! She's not my little newborn anymore. This last month and a half has been a little rough because she has been teething and switched from three naps to two, but nevertheless, she has been such a joy. Lately she has been:

• Sitting up a lot - she doesn't really like to lie down and play with her toys anymore
• Balancing while standing up - she barely needs any support
• Taking a binky for the first time ever - but only when she's happy. If she's upset, she won't even open her mouth if you try to put the binky in.
• Sprouting 2 teeth - I can't believe she got them so early!

• Growing steadily - she now weighs 14.5 lbs (20th %) and is in the 10th % for height. She's a petite little thing that's for sure.
• Eating solids regularly - she doesn't like carrots and loves sweet potatoes
• Getting attached to Mamma - she usually screams if I leave the room
• Sitting in a high chair at restaurants - she doesn't like laying in her carseat anymore
• Reaching for things if they catch her eye - especially Mamma's jewelry
• Snacking on little puffs - she absolutely LOVES them
• Playing with her feet - she likes to move her toes around and pull at her socks
• Learning sign language - she hasn't copied me yet, but I've been teaching her diligently

It seems like as soon as I get the hang of this parenting thing, Claire throws me a curve ball. I still haven't figured out exactly when she wants her second nap and I've gone from about 6 hours a day by myself down to about 2 1/2 - 3 hours. It's been quite a shock to adjust my schedule and managing my time has become even more important.

Claire's 6 month visit with Dr. V went well and he said she is a very strong baby and will probably end up around my height and weight. Dr. V also said I need to start teaching her how to crawl. That should be fun seeing as she hates being on her stomach. Time has been going by so fast; I'm going to have to start baby proofing soon. Yikes! Our little "Claire Bear" is getting so big!

6 Months

3 Months

1 Month

New Years Celebrations

The Zermatt Resort in Midway was where we spent our New Years celebrations this (well, I guess it is actually 'last') year. The resort is absolutely beautiful! It's like a little sliver of what the Swiss Alps are probably like. Just gorgeous! Claire enjoyed hanging out in our room reading books prior to going out to dinner that evening.
As soon as we got back to our room, it was time for Claire to go to bed. For convenience sake, I wanted to put the Pack 'n Play in the bathroom but it was too big. My solution? A "bed" in the bathtub. I don't think she cared. :)
While the two babies were sleeping (Claire and Soren), the rest of us (Erik's parents, sister and brother-in-law) watched TV and played domino's in a nearby room. I checked the baby monitor at least five times to make sure it was working correctly, checked on her every so often and triple checked that our room door was locked behind me every time. I was so nervous something was going to happen to her. As the clock stroke midnight, we rang in the new year with sparkling cider, cheesecake, and kisses from our spouses. It's hard to believe another year as passed; time goes by so quickly.

As soon as we said "happy New Year" I ran back to our room to put my mind at ease and make sure Claire was okay. She was sound asleep. Sigh!

Claire got me up at 7:45am the next morning. I wish I could have slept in, but you're never off the clock as a Mom. However, it was a nice change of pace to look out our window and see this:

and once I got Claire out of the bathtub I saw this:

That afternoon we checked out of the hotel and drove to Soldier Hollow to go sledding. Erik and I decided not to go down the hill because it was ridiculously overpriced, plus we had Claire. So it was a perfect opportunity for a family picture. :)

The experience didn't get off to a good start for my nephew, Soren. He is only two years old and the workers made him go all the way up the rope tow by himself! He finally made it to the top of the hill and then screamed and cried the entire way down. Poor thing.

While we were waiting, Erik and I played around with Claire. Our little Eskimo in her baby inter tube was so cute!

Claire was such a good sport while Erik and I amused ourselves by pushing her down the hill multiple times. Take a look:

I hope you all enjoyed your New Years celebrations and I'm sure we will all fulfill our resolutions for 2011 if we really dedicate ourselves. Well, we can probably make it to March. Good luck everyone!

Christmas with our 1st Child...It's About Time Right?!

Erik and I have spent 7 "married" Christmases together and it has finally come time to spend it with our first child. Can you believe it?! :) I woke up Christmas morning so excited (yet slightly stressed) for what the day would bring. I was concerned that Christmas wouldn't be very fun with a 6 month old baby that was going to miss nap after nap. To my surprise, Claire did very well.

Our first destination was Erik's aunt and uncle's house for breakfast. As usual, it was delicious. Claire got a little fussy as the morning went on as she still hadn't had a nap, but all the commotion from her cousins kept her pretty entertained.

The next stop was Erik's parents house. Claire and her cousin Soren took quick naps while the adults opened presents. It was a little strange...we had kids, but it was like they didn't exist for the moment. A total flashback to earlier Christmases. :) As usual, everyone was so generous and I loved getting to see other people unwrap their presents I picked out for them. Once Claire woke up she opened a few of her gifts from Santa. I think her favorite was her teething giraffe named "Sophie" (according to the box).

She was also very surprised to receive a picture book filled with pictures of Mom, Dad, Khloe and other family members. Santa remembered what she asked for. :)

We got a big reaction our of Claire when she opened up her sign language flashcards (J/K) as well as her "Claire's ABC" book we made for her. Although I think she looks more interested in the wrapping paper.

After Erik's parents house we made a pit stop at his grandparents and then finally made it home. My parents came over shortly after and gave Claire her very first piano. How perfect! For the first time it actually crossed my mind that I will be teaching her how to play the piano one day. I can't wait! She's already years ahead for her age...she can play twinkle twinkle little star...with the push of one, automatic button. :)

My parents also gave her a cute book about snow. Notice how Claire is just like her Daddy in this picture....tongue out in all. Compare it to this picture from Christmas 1982 when Erik was 2 years old. So cute!
Christmas was so much fun this year! Holidays are the BEST with children. Oh, and don't think for a second that we forgot about little Khloers. She got lots of bones, tennis balls and love!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Christmas is always an exciting time of year with decorations to put up, my goal to find everyone the perfect gift, parties and of course, celebrations with family. It all began on Christmas Eve with the extended Olafsson family (my parents also joined us) dinner. The meal was delicious and it was so fun to see some of Erik's cousins and to spend the evening together.

This year was even more fun thanks to our new bundle of joy, Claire. As the newest member of the family, she got to play baby Jesus in the nativity. It had been a very long, napless evening for her so of course, there was some crying involved. The best part was when Claire's cousin Emily, who was playing Mary, placed Claire in the manger upside down. We all couldn't stop laughing, it was so cute.

Dinner came to an end with an annual Norwegian tradition. An almond is placed in a bowl of pudding and everyone takes one scoop in hopes of getting the almond in their bowl. Whoever gets it, wins a chocolate Santa. There were two bowls this year and Emily and her brother Benjamin both got the almonds. It was so cute to see how excited they were.

Once we finally made it home, Claire opened her first present, which was a pair of red pajamas. Even though it was such a long day, she was all smiles. I must have taken at least ten pictures and she had a big smile in every one of them. I was so excited to start some of the Christmas traditions that I took part in as a child with Claire. I wanted to put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer just for fun, but I thought I'd wait until she had a little idea as to what was going on. Maybe next year. :) With her brand new pajamas on, it was finally time for bed. We all needed to rest up for the big day ahead of us.

Merry Christmas!

On behalf of our entire family, Claire wants to wish you a very merry Christmas!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The last couple of years, I've created a "Christmas Activities" list so that Erik is well aware of the things I want to do during the month of December. That way, nothing is a surprise and he can't say, "you didn't tell me we were going to do that?" :)

On my list this year was to decorate the christmas tree, get Claire's picture taken with Santa, bake cookies, go to Temple Square, wrap presents, go see the "extreme christmas light display" in murray, donate to Outreach International, go to the Ward Christmas party, play in the snow, and watch Christmas movies. Usually, we don't fit everything in, which was how it ended up being this year. We did go to temple square with friends...

...I baked my favorite Hershey kiss cookies...

...Claire got her picture taken with Santa...


...we decorated the tree, wrapped presents, went to the Ward Christmas party, donated to Outreach International (a FANTASTIC organization that doesn't "give handouts, or believe in short-term fixes...'they' believe in long-term investments that bring about sustainable solutions and long-lasting change for the better"), and tomorrow we'll probably watch Christmas Vacation (a Christmas Eve "must do"). We tried to go see the "extreme christmas light display" in murray but each time we got there, the line of cars was about a mile long. I had to settle for watching it on YouTube, but hopefully I'll see the real thing next year.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Spending time together as a family and giving to others...what could be better?!

Wordless Wednesday

Yes, No, Maybe So

A few weeks ago we started Claire on solid foods. I was so excited to see how she would react, yet also a little hesitant because feeding time was about to become a lot more time consuming. Nursing and rice cereal? When was I going to have time to eat? :) As expected, she was skeptical as the spoon started coming towards her mouth.

It would be a little strange to have your Mom get real excited about some strange foreign substance entering your mouth. This was the first time I felt like she was embarrassed by how I was acting. :)

Claire took a few bites and it seemed to be going fairly smooth; or as smooth as the first time can go I guess. Ever since then, it's been quite a battle. Sometimes she'll eat willingly and sometimes she will eat a few bites and then I practically have to pry her lips open. On other days, her mouth is completely sealed shut. I've even tried mixing her cereal with squash. I guess maybe she's not quite ready so we'll keep trying until she is. I just wish she'd make up her mind already! :)