How we roll

So, it's been a while and since I don't live near family, I figure I should update especially for the three of you who don't have facebook. :) First off, we're doing well and getting settled in.  Claire already loves to go swimming and we've been to the aquarium twice (believe me, it is amazing we haven't been more).  Anyway, as I was getting pictures to share, I found some gems of when I was still living in Idaho. So, I would like to share those first. 

To start us off, I have some pictures from our trip to Texas. Claire LOVES animals, so the zoo was a huge hit, especially since it had elephant statues to ride.

 She was getting into the spirit of picture taking and would stand on something random and say, "Picture You!" So, of course, I took a picture.

 Now this picture of the cousins is a real gem.  I had others that I could have merged together so everyone was looking and smiling at the camera, but I thought, "Why ruin a great blackmail piece?" It's quite lovely, don't you think?

 And of course, this is just cute.  The littlests and their blankets having their own silent conversation.

And of course, you need to be able to share in the happiness when Nathan came home for Christmas, and the randomness that is our daughter.

 When C saw Nathan, she wanted out of my arms and into his right away!

 She's just silly. Period.

 She loves the feel of her blanket.  This day, she was wanting it on her belly.  Well, when you have one piece jammies, you do what you have to.

On to our travels. We only went through maybe 2 tunnels, but Claire thought they we AMAZING! We go through a tunnel when we pick up Nathan or if we go to the Aquarium, so it gets pretty exciting.

 This was just funny to me.  I know the packers were rushing to pack up my stuff, so it's not completely their fault that they spelled things wrong.  But it was still funny.

As I said, Claire LOVES animals.  So the Aquarium is a great place for her.  We like the Nemo tank, penquins (not pictured), the jellies, and the touch pools the best.  Claire asks almost daily if she can go touch a starfish. I've yet to get her to touch the crab in the touch pools, though.

 Okay, this is just more of her being cute and random.

 This was Claire's fortune from Panda Express (our Valentine's dinner). So true right?

Claire loves to go swimming.  We live near a pool that has a kiddie pool perfect for Claire (1'6"). She loves it and cries every time we leave.

Another joy for Claire is the great weather so we can go to the park multiple times a week (sometimes every day). She loves to swing and has her favorite slides at each park (we have quite a few all around our community). She also loves ladders (it scares me sometimes because she has almost fallen twice!).  I like when she sticks to the little ladders.

Because of Claire's love for parks, we took her to a really fun local park that everyone raves about.  It is really big!  I think she would have enjoyed its entirety if it hadn't been so crowded (that's what you get on a holiday weekend I guess). But, the swings were still a hit.

 

She likes to watch the waves and feel the sand on her toes, but she doesn't like the waves to get her.  When they do, she tells them, "No do again!"

 Here she is loving that the sand has sparkles in it and so it's making her feet sparkle.

 
Oh and this is her penguin family.  I mentioned above that we like the penguins.  Well, the smaller two were presents from Grandma Norby when she joined us at the Aquarium.  The bigger one she already had.  She had to have these with her almost everywhere for at least 2 weeks. She still likes to have at least two of them in bed at night (along with Mario of course).

 

 

 

Yesterday we took a trip down to the Hearst Castle.  I post that seperately so as not to overwhelm one post with all these pictures.  Thanks for joining us on this brief catch up of our lives.  I hope to keep you in the loop with our activities as well as maybe rant/ramble since I don't have anyone to rant/ramble with regularly (Nathan always has studying...sheesh!)

Over a year

So, this is just a quick update to let everyone know I am back to updating this blog.  I know I need to do a year in review, but that probably won't happen.  Here are just a few quick snapshots of what we've been up do these last weeks.  These are the photos we send to Nathan every week while he is at boot camp.

                                                                       

Rice Cereal

Claire had her first taste of rice cereal last night. She has been acting very interested when we eat and so I figured she was ready to try it. At first (1), she didn't realize she needed to swallow what was put in her mouth by the spoon. She also got a little confused as to what she was supposed to be eating (2 & 4). As predicted, she was messy (3...okay all of them). I loved how she would reach for her bites (5). She was good to open wide and got the hang of it quickly (6 -8). She is pretty much a pro. Yeah...I think she liked it (9).

Happenings

So Claire is still ridiculously adorable. She is so much fun. She loves to squeal and put anything in her mouth...including her toes. She has rolled over (both directions) a few times but I don't think she realizes she is the one controlling it because she doesn't roll over all the time. She does, however, like to scoot around on her back. She will smile at anyone who talks happy to her and giggle if she is tossed in the air. She is ticklish and it is hilarious to hear her laugh. I'd have to say she is the best toy ever!

School starts at the end of this month and I think it will be harder after the summer than it was after my maternity leave. Luckily, Claire is happy with other people watching her (however she could act like she missed me a little). I'm also wondering what kind of disarray my house will be in once I go back to work.

Nathan is staying busy at work but we love when he comes home and can play (he likes it too). It is so cute to see Claire smile and light up when she sees him. He is such a good dad and I have to share this cute dad moment. Sunday at church the little boy behind us looks at Claire and says, "Mom, she's a princess!" I turn around and say, "She totally is!" The cute part was what Nathan said a bit later, "We need to keep track of the boy that called Claire a princess." I giggled inside.

Well, here are some cute pictures of Claire (click to enlarge).

First, this seems like just a cute innocent picture.

But this is where I found her when I peeked around to check on her while I was cooking dinner a few nights ago.

This is what happens when dad is left to fix the headband. :)

And here is what happens when dad goes shopping for Claire. These are her jammies, but we had the headband so while she's awake I have her wear it so she looks like a girl. :) Also, you can see in these pictures how much she loves her dad.

Cutest baby in the world!

Your baby(ies) may be beautiful beyond belief, but I have the cutest baby in the world!

3 Months and New Tricks

Claire turned 3 months yesterday! She is growing so fast! She is still a happy baby who loves to laugh and smile. Added to her interests have been her voice and her hands. She finds her hands extremely delicious and is working on fitting her entire fist in her mouth. She gets pretty close but then gags herself (luckily nothing comes out with those gags). That is when I exchange her hand with her binky.

She really likes to hear her own voice. She is convinced that the best time to practice her singing (squealing) is early in the morning at 5 or 6 am. I'm willing to let her squeal (we go into the living room so dad can get an extra hour of sleep before going work) as she normally will only stay awake for about 30 minutes to an hour and then we can go back to sleep until 8 or 9. I'm loving that this new development happened now while I'm out of work; otherwise I would be so dead and exhausted all day.

Claire has been acting like she wants to roll over. I'm not so sure I'm ready for that. She hasn't been successful yet, but she gets her legs moving and kicks herself onto her side. I think once she realizes her arm is in her own way she'll move it and roll over. Yikes! She does love when dad or I roll her over. She starts to laugh. I also think she's going to be a thrill seeker as she loves when dad swings her around...she gets the biggest smiles and starts to giggle. Here are some 3 month pictures that we took yesterday because she is so cute!