Erik's Most Important Day of the Year

Utah vs. BYU (football)

 

Saturday, September 21st

 

20 - 13 for Utah

 

4th year in a row Utah won this game

 

A New Me

It was finally time.

Time to get rid of my long hair.

For the past seven years or so, I have had long hair and it was definitely time for a change. So, I decided to chop it off. Eight inches. Go big or go home right? It felt so nice to not have all of that hair weighing me down.

However, I had finally mastered how to do my old hair and now I had a new set of problems. How in the world do you style it? I knew what I wanted it to look like, but I was a clueless as to how to get it that way. It literally took me about two months of trial and error until I finally felt like I could make it look the way I wanted. With that said, I have loved my new hair cut and will probably keep it short for a little while.

The Feeling of Home

In mid-September, Erik took Claire golfing at Mountain View Golf Course for the afternoon. I think Erik pretty much considers the golf course his home. After all, he does spend most of his time there in the summer. I love that Claire is old enough (and behaves well enough) to go golfing with her Dad. From what I heard about this outing, they both had a blast. Erik shot two under, and Claire loved running around, driving the cart, and practicing her swing.

Erik and Claire were gone for a good three hours, so I decided to take Ethan and Khloe on a walk through one of my favorite neighborhoods.

I love strolling through this neighborhood because it reminds me of where I grew up in Washington. There are tons of big trees, but it still feels open and not claustrophobic.

It's breathtaking.

The beautiful tall green trees, the perfectly manicured landscaping, the gorgeous plants that line the wide street throughout, and the wonderful people that wave to me while I walk by (even though they have no idea who I am) all make me crave being home again.

Utah continues to grow on me, but nothing will ever feel more like "home". So, whenever I need my fix of lush, green foliage and the feeling of "home", I know I can always go for a stroll through this beautiful place.

Gorgeous, huh?!


 

Our Little Guy - Month 7

When Ethan finally hit seven months, he had become a lot more active and much more expressive. August (his sixth month), was very enjoyable. Ethan was happy, healthy, and loving life. Our little guy was:

• army crawling
• ticklish in his armpits
• rolling all the way over
• eating solids
• standing, jumping (with help), and kicking
• patting his legs really fast
• spitting food out
• sprouting his third tooth (by the end of August, he had five)
• sitting for long periods of time
• crawling to Mommy
• loving kisses on his neck
• sticking his tongue out
• disliking his mouth wiped
• pulling himself up
• sleeping on tummy
• figuring out ways to see the TV

 

Ethan's 7 Month Bear Picture

 

Catch Up with Claire

August

Left: Making brownies with Mommy on a Sunday evening. Doing this with my Mom was sort of a tradition when I was younger. Claire was super excited when I asked her if she wanted to lick the spatula.

Middle: Claire was thrilled to have a 'Ute' tattoo on her cheek for the first Utah football game. She loves to wear temporary tattoos.

Right: Being silly when we stopped at La Caille to look at the swans.

 
Bottom left: I walked by the bathroom one day and found Claire doing exactly what her father does. :) Wonder where she got that idea?

Bottom right: She also definitely takes after me and likes to be very organized and make things "shiny" (clean). She is an avid organizer which is music to my ears. Here she was putting away one of her toys. She said they had to be organized and all lined up.

 
Here is our little cutey patutey saying her bedtime prayers. She does such a good job and always says thank you for her Mommy, Daddy, Khloe, Ethan, all of her toys, and blessings.

 

 
Top row: Sadly, our next door neighbors moved away this summer and Claire had to say by to her friend Halle. She was thrilled when we got to have a play date at Halle's new house. They are such cute friends!

Bottom left: Claire was outside one afternoon riding her bike and said she wanted a snack. I came out a few moments later and found her sitting on her blanket with Baby O'Murria, eating a cheese stick, blueberries, chocolate milk, and a garlic biscuit. Too funny!

Bottom right: Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what happened in this photo. I think she wanted to help me vacuum and when she said she was done after two seconds, I told her she needed to finish. She was not a happy camper.

Here are some funny things she has said lately:

• "I don't like the freaking, freaking, freaking fly!"
• "When the sun goes down we have to put them (the toys) away. Everything needs to be organized and shiny."
• "Pass it" which is what she called her season pass to Cowabunga Bay.
• "Get in your tuckles" which means to get tucked in.
• "My favorite number is two." This is because she never wants to watch just one show or get one piece of candy.
• As she was drinking out of a pink spray bottle she got from her Aunt Rolayn she stopped and said "I am drinking toilet energy". Thankfully, it wasn't toilet water but we definitely questioned her on that one.

Gotta love this girl!

Ute Fan Fest

Every August, Erik makes sure our family attends 'Fan Fest' up at the 'U'. This event is held every year prior to the teams beginning their fall season. All varsity teams, most importantly, the football team, participate. The players sign autographs, pose for photos and engage in interactive games with the fans.

This year, I'm not sure who had more fun. Erik, because the event acts as his kickoff to football season, or Claire, who was able to play tennis, soccer, jump in a bounce house, and get her picture taken with a cheerleader.

 
Ethan was even able to get in on some of the action. He kicked his first soccer ball with a little help from his Mommy. Who knows, maybe he'll be a star athlete just like his Morfar who was almost drafted to the Yankees, and his Great Grandpa and Great Uncle who were both inducted into the Utah Soccer Hall of Fame. In all honesty, we don't care if any of that happens; Erik just wants his football team to go number one. Haha! (Sadly, they're far from it this year.)

Fresh Air

Mid - August

 

Family hike on the Rocky Mouth Trail

 

Beautiful scenery

 

Claire said she saw a bear cave :)

 

Ethan was getting heavy

 

Khloe loved the exercise

 

Short and sweet family activity 

Claire Goes To Preschool

August 27, 2013 was Claire's first day of preschool at Challenger (a private school) in Holladay. Claire was so excited that this day had finally arrived. She had been anticipating it for months.

Weeks before school started, if we happened to be nearby, I would drive her by the building, show her the playground, and talk to her about how she was going to have a teacher and meet lots of new friends. She would often tell me: "Mom, when I go to preschool, I'm going to have new friends. Not my church friends. not my old friends, but new friends." It was too cute!

A couple weeks prior to her first day, I walked into her classroom for preschool orientation and thought "oh my gosh, this is my life now". It seemed so surreal. I couldn't believe that I was now a Mom to a school age child. I was so excited for her to begin learning and exploring new things.

The morning of her first day, I got her ready extra early so we could take pictures and wouldn't feel rushed. Isn't she adorable in her uniform?!

 

 
I've always been really good about handling the moments when I am away from Claire. For some reason, even when she was a baby, I was never the kind of Mom to be sad when I left. Claire going to preschool was no different. With that being said, as I watched her get out of the car and run with excitement to her classroom door on that first day of school, I began to cry. Proudly, I will say that the crying lasted all of about 15 seconds, but I did cry a few tears of sadness as she walked away. That day marked the beginning of an amazing period of her life and I couldn't believe it was actually happening.


 
Three hours came and went faster than I imagined. I have to say that having her gone and knowing that she was learning at the same time, was amazing! I can't remember exactly how I passed the time, but I either got a lot of stuff done, or plopped myself onto the couch for three hours. Either way, it was wonderful! :)

When school was over, she was so excited to show me what she did in class that day. She drew her very first self portrait. I loved listening to her tell me about where her eyes were and that she had lip gloss and purple, girl hair.

Claire has now been in preschool for two months and it is incredible the amount of stuff she has learned in that length of time. Along with the work she does in school, I make her do homework as part of her chores. This is done to hopefully instill a love of learning and also the habit of reviewing what she learns in school. Right now, she loves doing it and often asks to do more. Hopefully, that never changes. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you Claire Bear!

Anniversary in Cabo - Preview

10 year anniversary

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

no kids

amazing

stay tuned

Splashin' in the Sun

This past summer, we were fortunate enough to go to Cowabunga Bay a few times. We love this place! When we are there as a family, Erik takes Claire around the lazy river and down the big slides, while I hangout with Ethan on the lawn chairs and in the baby area. In August, I was even brave enough to take the kids here by myself a couple of times. I was nervous to attempt it, but it was surprisingly very fun! Ethan and I parked ourselves in front of the toddler area while Claire played close by. I am able to concentrate on Ethan and watch her all at the same time, it's wonderful. It went so well, that we even decided to get season passes for next year. Claire was so excited to get her very own pass with her picture on it.

Claire's favorite thing to do at Cowabunga bay is go down the purple slide. She is such a big girl now. She climbs up to the top, waits in line, goes down the slide, and then does it all over again by herself. It is so much fun watching her come around the corner with a big smile on her face.

Ethan likes to splash in the toddler area and doesn't even seem to mind when it gets in his face. It's very cute.

We all had a blast splashin' in the sun this past summer and are anxiously awaiting opening day next year. You know where we'll be spending our afternoons.

 

 

Color Schemes

Below are the last four portraits that I've taken of my kids. As I was uploading them onto my blog, I realized they all had the same color scheme. Oops! Guess I should come up with a different 'look' next time. :)

 

 

Ethan's 6 Month Portrait

Photo taken by Ethan's Mommy

******JULY INSTAGRAM*******

Catch Up

In order for me to catch up on our recent outings, I have to postpone sharing with you two very exciting trips our family went on this summer. Now that my family has expanded, time is hard to come by, and I can't justify blogging and then later scrapbooking about our vacations. Both trips were taken in July. First, we joined Erik's side of the family in Laguna, California for a week. Erik flew home early to get back to our businesses, and me and the kids later headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to be with my sister and her family. We had tons of fun!

 

Afternoons with Claire

Random - Silly - Fun

 

Those three words can sum up any given afternoon spent with Claire. Here is a look back at some of my favorite random, silly, and fun afternoons in July:

 
Walks and Chalk - every once in a while we get outside for a walk. Claire enjoys pushing Baby O'Muria, her blankie, and my water bottle in the small stroller while I push Ethan. If we just can't make it anywhere, then we play in the front yard. Claire likes to slip on her rain boots (because they are easy to put on/take off) and draw line after line on the sidewalk. And if you didn't notice in the photos below, she is wearing the same dress. No, these were not taken on the same day. It is her favorite dress and she tries to wear it all the time.
  

Taking Pictures - she loves to take pictures. Lets all say it again so we can grasp the magnitude of how much she loves taking pictures. Claire LOVES to take pictures. I frequently find random photos of things she has photographed on my camera. Mostly, they include her face, her toys, and duh....Baby O'Muria.

 
The "Water Park" - this is what she calls Mountview Park. She has graduated from the baby playground and now prefers to play with the big kids. She also rarely ventures over to the splash pad, because it is a little intimidating for her. It dawned on me that the reason she probably dislikes it so much is because we punish her by putting her in the shower. Water from the shower; water from the sprinklers. Of course that would feel like the same thing to a three year old.

 

 
Staying Inside - we do a lot of this now that Ethan is around. With him taking three naps a day, it's difficult to find time to leave the house. Whatever we are doing inside, seems to revolve around taking pictures. Now that Claire interacts more with kids her age (neighbors, kids in nursery, cousins, etc.), she has picked up a few silly faces.

 
One afternoon, I was so tired that I actually fell asleep on the couch. I think I was only asleep for about fifteen minutes thank goodness. I woke up to Claire asking me if I wanted a snack and this is what I found. Claire had put Baby O'Muria asleep behind her and gathered some food from the fridge. She got out sliced turkey, Havarti cheese, chocolate milk, and more cheese. I could not stop laughing. You are too cute Claire Bear!

 

Hope you enjoyed an inside peek of a few afternoons with Claire. She definitely keeps things interesting.