Birthday Weekend: Saturday

On Saturday we went to breakfast for my birthday at the Black Bear Diner.  If you are ever in town you should go there because they have the yummiest pancakes!  Plus they gave me a free birthday meal :).  Dan had this awesome surprise planned but unfortunately it didn't work out.  His gift to me this year was a glass tile back splash in our kitchen; something I have been wanting ever since we moved in.  Well he had planned to have them start to install it while we were at breakfast, then I would come home to it partially done.  Unfortunately the tile he picked had to be sent from California and took forever to get here.  He even tried to overnight it but they said no.  So... he told me about his awesome plan while at breakfast and finally a week later they are starting on our back splash.  I will post a pic once it's finished.

After breakfast we came home for the baby to nap.  That afternoon my sister, Jannifer, and her husband, Danny, stopped by on their way to Vegas.  They joined us for the rest of my birthday festivities that day.

We took Claire to the carousel for her first time:

She really did like it, even though she never smiled while Dan was taking pictures.

Jannifer is clearly having the most fun! I was just trying to make sure Claire didn't fall off the horse.

That night we went to dinner at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants while Claire stayed at Grammie & Papa Joe's house.  Thanks to them and Andrew & Jess and their kids for keeping Claire entertained!  I don't even think she noticed we were gone.

We then finished the night off with delicious Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes, one of my favorites!

Happy 27th to me!

Delicious and pretty!

And then of course we played games with Janni and Danny; one of our favorite things to do while guests are in town!

Birthday Weekend: Friday

On my birthday weekend we headed to a nearby pumpkin patch/farm with Dan's family.  We had a fun evening together even though we thought it cost too much :).  I told Dan we really needed to start our own Halloween attraction to compete with them because there really aren't many down here.  I'm sure we never will, but somebody should!

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures with cousins, these pretty much just document Claire's experience at the pumpkin patch:

Watching the animals

Riding the tractor

Petting zoo area

On the hayride

Family photo!  I really like this picture of us especially with the beautiful red rock in the background.

8 months

How is my baby already 8 months?  I have to say, this month was by far the most difficult taking her monthly pictures.  Dan was helping me and we had to do everything we could to get her to not roll over or jump out of the chair.  We didn't even worry too much about catching a smile because we were so busy just trying to get Claire to look at the camera!  This girl is a busy one, always moving and exploring.

This past month has been a fun one.  Claire is so cute and interactive!  She has learned so much this past month.  Here are her 8 month facts:

• Claire can now wave, and it is adorable!  Dan and I are always waving to her just so we can see her cute little wave.  
• Her first bottom tooth poked through this past month.  Her 2nd tooth is close behind.  
• She can say "mama" and "dada" but doesn't really associate those words with us.  
• When I walk over to her, she now lifts her arms for me to pick her up.  Even when I'm not planning on picking her up, she lifts her arms whenever I get close.  
• She plays peek a boo with her burp cloth, towel, bib, blanket, etc.  She thinks it is so funny and always gets a huge smile when she does it.  
• Claire can now sit in the shopping cart and in high chairs at restaurants.  It is so nice!
• We got her a new convertible carseat so she can sit more upright.  She still fit her infant seat but was always trying to sit up in it!
• She loves Gerber Puffs!  She would eat the whole bottle if we let her.  She is really good at grabbing them and feeding herself.  They have been a really great way to keep her happy at dinner or quiet in church.  
• She shakes her head no and it's so cute!
• Claire will roll a ball back and forth with us.  
• She is trying to crawl!  She gets on all 4s and rocks back and forth.  We're sure it'll happen any day now.  Then we will really need to baby proof!
• She loves splashing around in the bath.  
• She likes standing up on the couch (with some assistance).
• Claire can drink out of a straw and really loves when I give her apple juice (which isn't very often).  I wasn't sure if she would know what to do with a straw, but she figured it out pretty quick!

Claire has the cutest smile and is usually pretty happy (except when super tired or teething).  Our friends visited last week and she loved playing w/ their boys and they were amazed at how smiley she is all the time.  We love our smiley girl!  

Update

I think it's high time for an update on our family.  It's something I don't do all that often aside from Claire's monthly updates.  It's about time I talk about all of us on this blog :).  But we will start with the star of the show, of course...

Here is a pretty good picture to sum up Claire:

She truly is the Princess of the house, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  Some might call us a little obsessed, but it's hard not to be with a face like that!  She probably gets tired of us kissing her sweet cheeks all day long.  People are constantly telling me how beautiful this girl's big blue eyes are and I completely agree.  She is very alert and loves looking around at everything.  

This past month Claire has been learning so much!  She isn't crawling yet, but is getting very close.  She now plays peek a boo with us and is learning to wave.  She's also getting her first tooth.  Time is really flying!  She is very content and smiley most of the time.  The minute Dan walks in the room she gives him the biggest smiles.  She is a great eater and loves almost everything she has tried.  Her new favorite snack are Gerber Puffs.  She could probably eat a whole container in one day.  Whenever I pull them out of the pantry she kicks her legs and gets so excited.  She is so much fun to be around, she brings so much joy into our home.  We can't imagine life without her.

Dan is busy maintaining his internet businesses while constantly coming up with new business ideas.  He just started his own web design company (www.thundersparkwebdesign.com) and also started a business with his friend selling specialty wrenches (www.cheaterwrench.com).  His next big idea is to start a roller rink in St. George.  We have gotten lots of feedback from the community saying they would love something like this.  St. George is really in need of a place for teens and tweens to hang out.  We have a couple fun centers but they kinda stink.  Dan has been searching high and low for a building that would work for the roller rink but has so far been unsuccessful.  Most buildings are too small or have lots of poles in the middle.  Dan has always loved hockey and I'm sure he will eventually find a way to bring it to St. George.  Aside from all that business stuff he is busy as a counselor in the Young Men's Presidency in our ward.  He comes up with great lessons to keep the deacons interested and he faithfully attends mutual each week.  He told me it has been one of his favorite callings so far.  

As for me, I am happy being a mom and a wife.  I feel like Claire and I are finally in a good routine and I think all my pregnancy/child birth hormones have settled down and I feel like myself again.  Claire and I try to go walking almost every day with different friends from the neighborhood.  There are tons of babies Claire's age to keep us company.  I also watch my friend's girls 2 days a week.  They are 3 and 5 and so far it's going really well.  They love Claire and constantly want to hug her and hold her.  They always say things like "This baby is SO cute!" or "I wish this was MY baby!"  They are funny and Claire enjoys being around them.  Aside from keeping the baby happy, I try to keep our home in order and I occasionally find time to craft or try one of my many Pinterest pins.  I just decorated for Halloween and I am SO excited for the holidays!  October is my absolute favorite month because it's my birthday (19 days away) and Halloween.  I am starting to get our costumes put together, but you'll have to wait and see what they are.  I'm also looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving this year with my side of the family and I can't wait for the Christmas season.  I think it'll be even more special this year because it's the first year we get to share it with our baby girl.    

That's it for us, life is great! 

7 months

It's that time again, another month has gone by!  Claire is now 7 months old.  I feel like she has really grown up a lot since her last pictures.

As you can see, this is the first picture where she is sitting up in the chair.  She no longer needs to lean back. This girl is a pro at sitting now!  Here are a few more facts about Claire at 7 months...

• She loves to grab EVERYTHING.  Her #1 favorite thing to grab is my hair.  She gets the biggest smile on her face as she wraps her hands around it.  And then she proceeds to put it in her mouth, yuck!  I finally cut it even shorter because it was driving me a little crazy.  Even when my hair was pulled back, she still managed to grab some of it.  She also loves to grab our phones, the remote, my wedding ring, buttons on shirts, and whatever food we are eating.  
• She has now tried quite a few solids and eats 2 solid meals a day (breakfast & dinner).  She really liked when I mixed peaches and yogurt, she also loved her first taste of chicken and apples (sounded like a weird combo to me).  
• Claire can hold a sippy cup all by herself.
• If I take out my phone to take a picture and say "smile" Claire usually will, at least for a few seconds before she gets distracted.  
• She rolls all over the place now.  She can roll across the whole room.  Once she reaches the wall she just keeps trying to roll!  She has also tried to steamroller me when laying on our bed.  
• Claire loves looking at herself in the mirror.  She hits the mirror and gets all excited as she chats away with her reflection.
• We finally got her to laugh for real, no more little giggles.  Dan was kissing her tummy and got her to laugh.  It was so cute!
• Lately the sounds she has been making are "ba" and "da".  It sometimes sounds like she says "hi Dad". 
• She is finally starting to take longer naps, not always but if I'm lucky she'll sleep anywhere from 1-2 hours.  Before it was 45 min.  She still takes 2-3 naps a day.  
• Claire was doing really well at sleeping through the night.  However, this past month she has started waking up around 3 am almost every night.  Hopefully she'll go back to her old ways soon!  
• She can't move forward or backward on her tummy, but she can pivot.  Her mix of rolling and pivoting gets her to where she needs to go. 
• Claire will no longer nap at church.  It makes for a long 3 hours.  
• Her favorite toys are her blocks, this little stuffed Easter chick, this vibrating bird, and this dog with a chime in it.
• She likes being in her exersaucer. 
• Claire loves to use her voice, she talks, yells, screams, etc.  She likes to make sure she gets our attention.  
• She always gets a huge smile on her face when Dan comes home from work.   
• Claire has started to cry when I leave the room.  
• She likes other kids.  I babysit these 2 girls and she loves watching them and giving them big smiles.
• This past month Claire got her very first cold.  It was sad but we all survived.    

I know this is a long one, but I don't want to forget anything!  This has been a really fun age.  Claire is really smiley and usually pretty content.  We love our precious girl!