Past and Present

About 26 years ago, at the age of one, I sat on my Mom's lap for this family picture. I wore a beautiful smocked custom made dress sewn by my Mother. It is now one of my most cherished items from my childhood and I am so thankful to have it today. I now get to pass it on to Claire and hope she treasures it as much as I have.

This was the only picture I could find with me wearing the dress and all I can say is thank goodness for digital photography. I'm not even looking at the camera! :) A lot has changed from March 1985 to July 2011.

Lock Down

I kind of feel as though I have been on Photoshop lock down recently. Last month I took TONS of pictures for my family and I've been spending every spare moment editing the images.

Johansen grandkids, Olafsson grandkids, Ashlyn's baptism, Ashlyn's 8 year portrait, pictures of Avery, Blake, the three of them together, Soren, and lastly, my niece, Vivian. All in a span of about two weeks. It's exhausting just listing them all. Posting pictures of Claire's birthday has taken a back seat to it all while I get her cousin's pictures edited, but that's okay. It is such a joy capturing their adorable faces.

Below are some of the pictures I took in celebration of my niece, Ashlyn, getting baptized next month. She was born a couple of days after Erik and I got married. Kids grow up way too fast!

Smarty Pants

Every parent thinks their child is a little genius, and well....Erik and I have joined them. :) Claire is quickly picking up on things we have been teaching her and it is so exciting to watch her repeat them back to us. Take a look at her latest tricks:

Look How Big!

Claire's 1 Year Portrait

Claire Bear - 1 Year Old!

Our little "Claire Bear" isn't so little anymore. On June 30th she turned 1 year old! This post is more difficult than ones past because I don't even know where to begin. Coming to terms with the fact that I don't have a baby anymore is difficult. I feel like I didn't cherish every day as much as I should have. I should have smiled more through the tough moments, I dwelled on the difficulties too long, and I didn't spend enough time teaching and molding her tiny brain. Even with a few regrets, I am delighted to see how much progress Claire has made in one year and how happy she has made Erik and I. Children develop so quickly, it amazes me everyday. If only we adults could learn as much as children can in such a short amount of time. Seriously, what did I learn in the past year? Not much.

This past year has been one of such joy and happiness. Sure we had to figure out the ropes of welcoming a newborn child into our family, but I honestly wouldn't change a thing. When I did something wrong, I tried to learn from it and improve the next time. When I did something right, I relished in the results (Claire is such a good sleeper) and patted myself on the back. Before I had a child, I had no idea how much I would doubt myself and the decisions I make and just when I was getting the hang of everything, I have found myself in a new, unfamiliar territory. Yes, the newborn stage was hard, but I feel like now the real challenges have begun. For example, I used to think children learned how to hit from others. Um, not anymore. Claire has just started to hit out of frustration and I promise you, she didn't learn it from any adults or children around her. I read tons of baby books prior to having Claire and I guess I better get started on the pre-toddler books as well. Any recommendations?

This past month, Claire has become a little sponge and is beginning to show many new signs of learning and progression. When we read to her, she doesn't care about the words, she just turns the page as quickly as possible to see what's next. When we are doing something on the iPad, whether it be flashcards, playing the xylophone, or tickling an imaginary teddy bear, she always has to grab it and look behind it as if she wants to know where the image is coming from. Hilarious! When asked "Claire, how big are you?", she puts her arms above her head and waits to be tickled. As of a few weeks ago, Claire started swim lessons and has made a lot of progress. She no longer cries when she is dunked and the instructor says she has great breathing control. How funny! My absolute favorite thing she does is when she points to something and says "whas thaa?" (what's that). It is completely adorable! And as of a few days ago, she has started to sign "more" by patting her hands together (it looks like she is clapping). Claire also finds it very amusing if you ask her to put something away (meaning put it in the bucket). She drops it into the bucket and waits for your reaction. It's so cute.

We are thrilled to see Claire progressing so much lately and I hope we can keep the few negative aspects of her personality, like her new-found hitting, to a minimum. This past year has been one of the happiest years of my life and I anxiously await the next year of Claire's. What a whirlwind it is going to be!

12 Month Bear Picture

(to view the others, click here)

*Note: birthday party post coming soon!*

Exciting Update (I wrote/scheduled the post above last week) - on Wednesday, July 6th, Claire took her very first steps! While standing in the kitchen, she took three steps and then plummeted to the ground. We are so thrilled, yet also a little nervous to see her mobility improving.

Unexpected Results

Erik and I are constantly stubbing our toes on our bed frame and it always results in a second of pain followed by instant relief. Well, not this time.

Two weeks ago on a Sunday night, Erik and I were headed into bed early for the first time in who knows how long. We were so happy to get to sleep earlier than usual until something unexpected happened. The usual toe stub turned into a broken toe! Early to bed went out the window in a matter of seconds.

I have personally never broken a body part and since I have known Erik, he hasn't broken anything as well. We had no idea what to do. Urgent Care facilities were closed so Erik called his friend who said it was okay to wait until the next morning before doing anything. After an x-ray we were initially told that it was indeed broke, one of the worst kinds of breaks (a spiral fracture), and surgery was imminent. After an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon later that day, we were told that it could heal on its own after diligent wrapping. A simple toe wrap? Who knew breaking a bone could be taken care of so easily?! Because of our terrible insurance, we are crossing our fingers that Erik's toe will heal correctly and no surgery will be needed in the future. So far so good.

Festival Fun!

One of my favorite things to do during summertime is enjoy all of the festivals that happen around town. A couple of weeks ago we went to two in the same day. Erik went golfing and us girls (me, Claire, and Khloe) started our morning at The Gateway Mall where they held the "Chalk Art Festival". It is amazing how talented some people are. Drawing is at the very bottom of my list of abilities and so I am always fascinated at how good some people are at it. Claire and Khloe enjoyed looking at all the paintings, but I think their favorite part was the cookie we all shared before we left. Yum!

 

Later that evening, Erik and our nephew, Soren, joined us for the "Outdoor Festival". This is by far the coolest festival I have ever been too. They had so many attractions and activities and the best part was that they were all free! Soren had a blast sitting in the University of Utah's medical helicopter, going inside a S.W.A.T. van, and playing with the fireman's water hose.

Claire, on the other hand, enjoyed all of the girly attractions like touching a giant tortoise, going on a pony ride, visiting the petting zoo full of miniature buffalo, goats, and horses, and collecting as many stickers from the booths as possible. :) This festival is definitely going on my list of activities for next year. It was so much fun! 

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!