Claire's New Playmate ~ Vivian

Last week we welcomed Claire's new cousin, Vivian, into the world. She is so adorable and we are so happy that Mommy and baby Vivian are doing well. I can't believe how fast they grow; Claire looks like a giant next to her cousin. :)

A few days ago, I got to spend all afternoon photographing little Vivian for her newborn photos and she was such a good girl. It was a little strange when Liv left for a couple of hours and I was taking care of a newborn baby and Claire. A look into the future I guess. Props to all you Mom's out there with more than one child. It really is a juggling act.

I am so glad Claire has cousins so close in age. They are going to have so much fun together. Claire, Vivian, and their other cousin Emma, are probably going to chase Soren (Claire's oldest and only boy cousin in Utah) around the house trying to paint his fingernails or put his hair in a pony tail. I can't wait!

Remembering Father's Day

We have had so much going on lately and I feel terrible for not posting anything about Erik's first Father's Day. I've waited a long time to celebrate this holiday with Erik and it was definitely worth it.

Erik is such an amazing father to Claire and I want him to know how much I appreciate all he does for her and our family. I guess for the 7 years we were married before Claire was born he was preparing himself to be the best Daddy around. Well, it worked!

It is so cute to watch him interact with his baby girl and I know she loves him so much. We love you Honey!

"A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart." ~ Unknown

Since When?

Since when did an afternoon at the pool turn into such an ordeal? It used to entail putting my swimsuit on, grabbing my beach bag and 10 minutes later I would be lounging peacefully on my towel where I would people watch for the next 2-3 hours. Now that a child is in the picture, before we even get to the pool, I am exhausted. We have to lather a wiggly pretoddler with sunscreen, put on her swim diaper, put on her second swim diaper (annoying new law), squeeze her into her adorable animal print swim suit, pack pool toys to keep her occupied, towels, more sunscreen, and snacks. Then, once we are there we have to lay everything out, get in the pool, get out 15 minutes later for an "hourly pool check", feed her snacks, clean up her food, and put more sunscreen on. The entire time you're on your toes. It's as if Claire is saying "chase me Mommy" and "no sleeping Daddy". 
  

 



After another 45 minutes in the pool it is time to leave. What? After all that?  Now you need to gather everything up, drive home, give Claire a bath, hang up all our wet clothes, and put Claire down for her nap. And that's with only one child! So much for a relaxing day at the pool.

Even though it requires so much planning and packing, it is still SO MUCH FUN and I get excited to go back every week. I think Claire does too.

First Encounter

Claire visited the Living Planet Aquarium over Memorial Day last month for the very first time. I had all sorts of activities planned to do over the holiday weekend but since we had torrential rain storms, they all got cancelled. The only indoor place I (as well as everyone else that lives nearby) could think of was the aquarium. It was really busy, but people were very generous to move out of the way so Claire's little eyes could see the animals.

Her favorite part of the day was touching the sting ray. I was anxious for her to touch them but was not anticipating their bodies coming half way out of the tank each time they would swim by. I've never seen them do that before. Their skin was so slimy, but obviously Claire didn't mind. She loves touching animals and sticking her hands in water is even more fun.

Along with the adorable penguins, my favorite were the jelly fish. Erik and I often talk about how some day we would like a giant tank filled with jelly fish (like in the movie "Seven Pounds"). They are so interesting to watch!

I am so excited for the new Aquarium to open in a few years. I bet it will be amazing!

Claire Bear - 11 Months

Our little bear is already 11 months old. I swear it was just yesterday that I gave birth to her and in just a couple more weeks, she's going to be 1 year old! Wow! She has turned into an adorable pre-toddler and is extremely active. If you lay on the floor, she'll amuse herself by climbing over you for as long as you let her. I am so excited for this new stage of her life. We can finally go places and do activities together instead of lay around all day like most newborns. This summer is sure to be full of fun events. Lately Claire has been:

• waving "hi" and "bye" when prompted; it is one of my favorite things
• enjoying hitting objects against her head; I guess she likes the sound it makes
• hanging out with her cousin, Emma, at Farmor's house
• dreading getting her ears cleaned after bath time
• saying "mmmm" when asked if she wants to eat and also before/after she takes a bite
• hanging out with her favorite buddy, Carson, every time we meet up for dinner

• eating anything and everything she can get her hands on including Khloe's dog food; I really hope she doesn't turn into a picky eater like her Mommy and Daddy
• becoming a little wiggle worm when getting her diaper changed
• climbing up the stairs, clapping when she gets to the top, and trying to dive head first when she wants to go down

• sleeping like a champ; as usual

• cruising around anything she can hold onto

• intrigued by opening up the kitchen cupboards and gets very upset when I hold them closed

 

"What? I didn't do anything."

• going through the "clingy" phase; we continue to give her to other people but she still prefers Mommy and Daddy
• getting very excited and laughing when you chase her
• saying "nigh nigh" when asked if she wants to go "night night"; so adorable!
• throwing her food to show me that she's finished
• learning animal sounds; she obviously doesn't say any herself but she always smiles when I say them to her
• becoming a little reader or should I say listener; she's already checked books out at the library and has began their Summer Reading Program
• getting more teeth; she hasn't let me check recently, but as of a couple of weeks ago she had 8

Below is her 11 month bear picture. To view the others, click here or go to the "Bear Pictures" tab at the top of the page.

Love you so much little Claire Bear! You're almost 1!

All Smiles

Somewhere in between all of the rain we've gotten this year, there managed to be a little sun and time for Claire's first ride on Mormor's swing set. She LOVED it and I am so glad. Kids are often scared of the most random things (Claire does not like going down the slide...I guess that could be a little scary) and I was hoping the swing wouldn't be one of them. Once we gave her a little padding with her blanket so she wouldn't fall out, she was all smiles. I think she could have gone back and forth all day. Both of us are looking forward to many more rides on Mormor's swing set this summer.

   

Lady in Waiting

I took this picture of Claire today while she was watching Khloe walk around beneath her after her morning nap. As soon as I looked at the image I started laughing. This has to be what Claire looks like every morning when she is waiting for me to come get her out of bed. I've said many times before that I don't get her up until 9am and that most weekends, it approaches 10am.

I can just picture her standing in her crib, staring at the door, waiting for it to open and be greeted by her smiling Mommy. Maybe I am a bad mother for getting her up later than usual and for relishing every minute of my sleep, but I like to think I am teaching her patience, and providing her with the ability to be perfectly comfortable in a room filled of silence.

My adorable "lady in waiting".

May Day Festival

This past weekend our family spent the morning at the Wheeler Farm May Day Festival. I love going to events like this and it is even more enjoyable now that Claire is older.

The first thing we did was a pony ride. Claire had so much fun; her arms were waving in the air the entire time. Surprisingly, the ride lasted quite a long time. The smile on her face was priceless. I'll pay $3 anytime to see her that happy.

We were so delighted to see that Claire wasn't scared of any of the animals. Big or small, she touched them all. Not even the giant horse scared her.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how intrigued Claire was with all of the animals. She pointed at everything and it seemed as though she kept calling them dogs ("da"). While we were walking through the farm, we came across a small pet goat. The owner even let Claire sit on it for a second and it quickly started to run away. It was quite funny! Who buys a goat for a pet?! :)

The May Day Festival was a hit and I am even more excited to take Claire to the zoo this summer so she can see many more animals. If it was up to Claire, we would have stayed there all day.

And of course, Khloe had a blast too!

What Could Be Better?

friday afternoon

82 degrees and sunny

beautiful day on the golf course

claire's first putting lesson  

together as a family

an evening playing in the grass

sharing cafe rio tacos with claire and khloe

a new fedora from old navy for $5

and a redbox movie in hand



perfect day in my book!

Before I was a Mom...

Photo Taken Today On My 1st Mother's Day

"I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, or peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. 

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom."    --- anonymous

Today on my very first Mother's Day, I am filled with joy. I could not be happier with my life at this moment. Being Claire's mother is such an honor and I feel so grateful to have her on loan to me from our Heavenly Father.

This afternoon I made a short video for Claire telling her how much she means to me so that when she is older, she can see my emotions and really understand my feelings for her. I was a total cry baby, staring at the camera, not knowing what to say, but I guess it's the thought that counts.

Claire, I love you more than words can say and I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together.

....And I love you too Khloe, my four-legged daughter! :)

Claire Bear - 10 Months

Our little baby is growing into an actual child; I can't believe it! Earlier this week, Claire was cranky, getting into everything she wasn't supposed to, I was tired of telling her "don't touch", and she was throwing things as if to get back at me. I remember thinking, "I actually have a child now". My sweet baby that could do no wrong and was incapable of understanding the word "no", had disappeared before my eyes. To be honest, I am scared to death of the near future when my parenting skills really begin to have a huge affect on how Claire develops into an adult. I feel like I really have to be on my game now and be the best parent possible. It's a little sad to think that some of her innocence is gone, yet extremely intriguing to anticipate her life to come. Lately, our little child has:

• a total of 7 teeth - last week I looked under her top lip to see if anything was there and I about died! She has 4 teeth up there that we had no idea even existed. Claire went from having a total of 3 teeth, to 7! Another one has sprouted and is on its way up as well.
• been infatuated with opening and closing doors
• clapping for almost any reason....getting her toy, standing up, or no reason at all
• increased her vocabulary - she now says "dada", "da" (for dog...if she hears Khloe in another room she will stop what she's doing, look at you, pat her leg for the dog sign, and say "da"), "mama", "nana" (when she is cranky and wants me to hold her), and "baba"
• learned how to give kisses on command - I LOVE this! Sometimes they are really gross and slobbery but I cannot get enough of them.
• insisted on turning the pages in her books
• an increasing knowledge of body parts - if she is in a good mood, you can ask her to point to your head, hair, ear, eyes, nose, mouth, and teeth. She is also learning toes and elbow this week.
• discovered throwing the object in hand is the best reaction when confronted with the word "no"
• began to cruise around small tables, couches, her crib and anything else horizontal within reach
• a new found love for accessories - I noticed this one today. I picked her up out of the crib after her nap and she couldn't get enough of my earrings, fedora, and sparkly belt. A girl after my own heart. :)
• finally been crawling on her knees. This week she just started using her knees instead of her trusty army-crawl.
• loving her favorite toy, a yellow ball from Wendy's. She will dig through her toy box until she finds it. Then she crawls over to the coffee table, stands up, bangs it and smiles. So cute!

•  been getting into Khloe's food and water now that she can crawl into undiscovered territories

Here is Claire's official 10 month bear picture:

These "bear pictures" are really getting difficult to accomplish. Look at how she was all over the place during this photo shoot:

 

  

And here are her previous "bear pictures" which show her growth:

8 Months

6 Months

4 Months

2 Months

We love you so much Claire!