Hooray for Spring!

So usually with the cold weather outside we spend our days doing things like this...

(She was 'helping' me with laundry)

...basically, I try to do things that need to be done around the house and entertain her in any way I can, all at the same time. :)

This week however has been much more exciting. Besides getting a root canal this last Monday (super fun... NOT!), I had the opportunity to go to a photography workshop with my fabulous sister-in-law. The workshop was AWESOME and I felt like I learned a ton! :)

The next day was so nice and warm I just felt like I HAD to go outside and use what I had learned, to take pictures of everything. So Scott, Claire and I went for a walk up the canyon and although the weather was beautiful, the scenery was not. It wasn't really the best time of day for pictures, but the walk was fun, and despite the looks on both of their faces, they did enjoy being outside. :)

We can't wait for more sunny and warm days this summer. We will be going on many more of these walks I'm sure. :)

Root canal, photography workshop, warm weather, new phones, plus a couple intramural games for Scott (which he won both, I might add) make for a pretty intense week. But we have one more bit of news... It's pretty exciting and scary all at once! :)

You ready for this?! You'll have to just watch and see...



Claire has mastered the technique of scooting around! Oh the places she'll go! One more reason to love spring. With her new found ability to get around, she's going to be everywhere and getting into everything. :) Being able to play outside will be like freedom (for her and me)! Hooray for spring! :)

claire bear's hair

by writing this blog, i acknowledge that i risk my daughter one day hating me. i imagine, many years from now, our little girl wanting to read all about her first few years of life. i see her reading this entry, her mouth agape, and her yelling, "you said what?!" i see me, with my 5 olympic gold medals draped around my neck, pleading for forgiveness and trying to bribe claire with a brand new solid gold flying rocket car (cuz those will exist in the future) and a unicorn (those too). she'll storm off angry, jump in our private space shuttle, and take off to our cabin on mars to cool off for a few hours. with all this in mind, i write anyways.

our little girl was born a hairy beast. she had a nice full head of hair that the nurses promptly put up into a cute little fohawk. and on the not-as-cute side, her body was covered with little patches of hair. they were light patches, but they were noticeable if you really looked. she had them on her forehead, shoulders, lower back, and ankles. everyone couldn't help but remark on all her beautiful hair. those comments have since died down. while our little girl has grown, the one thing that hasn't grown with her is her hair.

in some cases, this is a good thing. her patches on her forehead, shoulders, and ankles have completely disappeared (though the one on her lower back is still there - at least it should keep her modest when she gets older :) ). but we're a little sad that the hair on her head hasn't grown much. i love the thought of amber doing cute stuff to our little girl's hair. but you can't do pigtails on a prematurely balding baby. her hair just won't grow. well, most of it.

amber has recently discovered that a few random hairs have sprouted up. we're not sure if you can see them in the picture, but they are there. a few have suggested that we shout cut these beautiful longer hairs to even them out with the rest, but we shun the idea! be shunned idea! these hairs represent hope in a world that needs more hope. they represent potential. little hairs from all over claire's head can look to these longer hairs as examples - as a light. they can stand tall and say, "i can do this! i can grow!"

and if we were to cut those standout strands of hair, the shorter hair would be scared to grow. we don't want to scare claire bear's hair. he he. scare claire bear's hair. i think i'll end on that little rhyme. :)

Create, Cook, Capture

So this is just a little update on my goals for February, which Scott is now calling my three C's. :)

Create: I wanted to learn how to crochet and make all these cool things, but decided I should start simple so I made this small purse. It probably won't last me long before the strap is all stretched out or things are falling out of it. I now have something to carry my basic items though, so I don't have to carry around the big diaper bag when I don't have the baby with me. :)


I also learned how to recover a pillow. Yes, I'm starting out very simple with my sewing, but I'm happy with how they turned out. I recovered two pillows, but they look the same so I only took pictures of the one.


I like how the flowers look on it, decorating them up a little. :)


Cook: I put a little more effort into this one this month, since last month was just a spur of the moment thing. I found this recipe online for baked potato soup and I thought it would be fun in a bread bowl. No, I didn't make the bread bowls myself, but the soup was delicious in them! I was worried the whole time that I had ruined something, but it actually turned out pretty good. :)


Capture: Well this month was an easy one for me. Claire turned 6 months, so I took her 6 month photos. My sister Heather also came into town for a weekend and I took her family photos as well. You can see both of them on my photo blog. :)

My Two Valentines

My two favorite people...


Our Valentine's Day wasn't extravagant at all, but it was lovely still. Every day is the best when I'm with these two. :) Scott spoiled me. He took care of Claire the night before so that I could get some sleep and he made a delicious breakfast for me before driving me to work, plus he put together and posted that video on the previous blog...and he bought me a new lens for my camera! I'm sad to say I didn't spoil Scott at all, but I hope he knows how much I love him! He means the world to me. Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

happy valentine's day beautiful

i will never be able to say it enough times or show it in a grand enough manner, but i love you amber. i hope you accept this humble valentines this year. it's not shakespeare, but i hope it conveys somewhat how madly in love with you i am. tears filled my eyes countless times as i previewed this again and again as i pieced it together. you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and while i know i will never be worthy of you, i am thankful that you're too blind to see that. i love you amber. more.

Claire Bear's Stats and Facts

1. Claire is 6 months old. Such a big girl! :)

2. She weighs 15 lbs plus 5 ounces and is 26 inches tall.

3. She's in the 45th percentile for weight and 55th for height. Her head is still small in the 10th percentile (but the doctor did tell us the nurse should of measured the largest area instead of the smallest so he said it's probably more in the normal range).

4. Claire does have a slightly flat head in the back. We were taking her to the orthotic doctor every 3 weeks to get her head measured and we are happy to say it is slowly improving so we decided a helmet is not needed. yay! :)

5. She can sit up now without being supported. It's so nice to be able to put her down to play and not have to hold her constantly.

6. So far she's loved everything we've fed her except for the mum mum cracker things that dissolve. She ate one of those and the first time seemed to like it, but ever since makes this face as soon as it touches her lips like it's the grossest thing ever.

7. She can roll from tummy to back (but only to her left) and back to tummy (both ways). This is making diaper changing and dressing her a lot more difficult! :)

8. She's not sleeping as well as she did before. Some nights are good, she'll only wake up once or twice, but other nights she wakes up about every hour... hope she grows out of that soon! :)

9. She doesn't seem shy at all (as long as I'm holding her anyway...)! We went to D.I. the other day and we passed someone in the aisle (have to admit, this person was a little strange), they weren't even looking at Claire, but Claire flashed them the biggest smile ever. She loves smiling at babies and little kids too.


10. We are loving this stage with her! She's so much fun and is so interactive. She laughs and smiles and talks and coos, it's so cute hearing her talk to herself and others. We love her so much! :)

Happy Half Birthday Claire!

6 month stats and facts coming soon! :)