Eleven Months

People, next month my baby will be 1. That's 12 months old, 366 days (it was a leap year), and 52 weeks. Where oh where has the time gone?! In order for Claire to get to 12 months, she had to turn 11 months. Today was that day! Happy 11 month birthday to my sweetie.

At 11 months, Claire :

::dances every.single.time she hear music, including church. She loooves to move her head back and forth. It is especially silly when she is crawling and music will start playing. She is on her hands and knees and sways her head and her bootie to the music. She has some mad skills, this one does!

::went on her first airplane ride. She did so awesome! She didn't seem to have ear problems and wasn't too unhappy at all. A man told us as we were getting off in Spokane, "Your baby is an angel. We have an almost 2 year old and I know he wouldn't have been that great." Yep, I know it.

::will point at us really excitedly. Funny story, on the plane Brent put Claire on the floor between his legs and she was standing up. She looked up and pointed at Brent as if to say "Hey! You are my dad and you are here! How long have you been sitting there?" Then she looked at me and did the same thing. It was hilarious.

::makes sounds that are starting to sound like actual words and really wants to talk. She will hold conversations with us like she knows what we are saying and we know what she is saying. I can't wait to be able to know what she is talking about. I am confident that she is going to have lots to say.

::walks around holding on to things. Claire will walk all around the couch and walk all around the playpen just grinning. Grandma Jackson made a huge deal about her walking around this morning and she was loving it.

::can run! Uncle Tio (Uncle Chris) was helping her walk and then he started running. She was pumping her little legs trying to keep up and she was laughing.

::takes a little while to warm up to people. The trick is to give her some sort of food and then she likes you pretty quickly after that.

::has 8 teeth. When I was 1, I only had 4 teeth so she definitely got her tooth growing ability from her daddy.

::is getting better at sitting down from standing. She used to just fall backwards and hit really hard. Now she is bending her knees and plopping down more gently.

::eats big people food occasionally. We will try to give her at least some portion of our meals and she loves it. We haven't really found anything yet that she hates so I'm hoping she won't be too picky.

Dear Claire,
I am crazy about you, Kid. You are hilarious and so much fun. I love seeing you explore the world around you. We came to Washington for Christmas this year and you have had a blast exploring Grandma's and Grandpa's houses. I was talking to Ellyne the other day and she was telling me how she couldn't believe you were going to be a year old next month. I couldn't believe it either. Time has flown but I'm so glad you are getting bigger, stronger, and smarter. It's fun to watch.
Love,
Mom

Ten Months

Yes, I know. It is closer to her 11 month birthday than her 10 month birthday and I'm just now getting around to posting. I've been busy, people! Claire, I have chosen to spend my extra time with you and Daddy instead of blogging about you. I think you will forgive me.

Anyways...

At ten months, Claire: (I took notes on her 10 month birthday, so all of these are from then.)

::has 6 teeth! She is a super tooth grower and is doing really well at growing them.

::can do real crawling! She is really good at crawling with her belly off the floor and loooooves to get into things.

::is getting better at copying sounds that we make. She will often times make a noise and Brent or I will copy it and she will get a huge smile and repeat the sound. Then she gets really excited about the noise, laughs, and we do it all over again.

::has a lowered crib to sleep in. Since she began pulling herself up we decided it was time to lower the crib so she wouldn't be able to stand up and flip herself out of her crib. She thinks it is fun to stand in her bed and just look around the room when we put her in there.

::loves the entertainment center because it has the perfect shelves to pull herself up on it. She loves the lights on the consoles and thinks it is fun to turn the x-box on and off over and over again. We will run over to her saying, "You're in trouble!" in a funny voice and she just laughs at us.

::isn't a huge fan of snuggles. She likes to be on the move and doesn't usually like to be held down with snuggles.

::claps. And it is the cutest thing ever.

::eats puffs and loves them.

::holds the bottle all by herself without accidentally pulling it out of her mouth. She will occasionally sit in her high chair and feed herself if Brent is making dinner while I'm still at work.

::is sleeping better again. Hooray!!

::pulls herself up to standing position and will try to walk along things. Where did my baby go?!

Dear Claire,
I love you. So much. When I come home from a long day at work, you make everything worth it. I can't help but be happy when I am around you. My life has been so blessed in these short few months that you have been here and I can't even begin to imagine the blessings I am going to continue receiving because of you. Be happy, my sweet baby.
Love,
Mama

Claire is loving this thanksgiving day attention.

Loving these midday snuggles. I enjoy thanksgiving break.

Shoulder rides!

Scratch that...

...she has 6 teeth. SIX teeth! I don't have a baby anymore.

More teeth?!

This cutie has 5 teeth! She has 3 bottom teeth and 2 on the top. She is a teeth growing champion.

Nine Months

I cannot believe it. Claire has been outside of my belly longer than she was inside. That is insane to me. She is getting SO big.

At nine months, Claire:

::dances to music. It is absolutely adorable. She will be sitting on the floor and music from her singing bug will start playing. She will start bouncing up and down and will smile a big smile. She has a pretty good beat for a baby.

::got a car seat upgrade. She was extremely heavy to carry in her carry car seat and so we got her a convertible one that will grow with her until 100 pounds. She looks SO much more comfortable in this bigger car seat.

::went to her first BYU football game. We went to the McKay School Alumni lunch before the Homecoming game and then took her to the football game. She did great and was super happy. She made lots of friends with the people around us because everyone thinks she is stinking cute.

::can army crawl! I was getting really nervous that Claire wasn't crawling yet. It is hard to not play the compare game when there were so many babies born right around the same time as Claire, but Brent kept saying Claire would crawl in her own time. One night, I was eating a cookie and she just started army crawling to it! It was so funny. She will crawl to electronics, cookies, and ice cream mostly, she rarely crawls to her toys.

::will crawl over to the XBox and turn it on. She is just like her daddy.

::is getting more and more teeth. She has two on the bottom and two on the top. They make her look really old!

::does this hilarious thing where she will point at things with her pointer finger. She points at everything!

::loves solids. She has a new favorite : oatmeal with peaches. She has a fine palate, this kid does.

::waves! She does this funny wave thing with her entire arm when people wave to her. She doesn't do it every time, but she will do it often.

::gets lots of compliments on how adorable she is whenever we go out. People always comment on how happy she is.

::has longer hair that lays down more than before. It doesn't seem quite as fluffy. I do miss that fluffy, see through hair.

::jabbers all of the time. Yesterday she said "oh baby" and I was so excited! I know she didn't actually mean it, but she still said it! She is a genius.

::had her first babysitter. (Well, she was a week older than her 9 month birthday, but I'm adding it here so I don't forget next month.) Mom and Dad went out for a few hours last night alone. It was very strange driving somewhere with Brent but without Claire and I actually felt sick to my stomach leading up to leaving her with a babysitter but she did great! Morgan was so nice to come over and stay late to watch Claire and Claire loved it. Mom and Claire both survived.

Dear Claire,
I love you.
I sometimes wonder what the world is going to be like when you are a teenager or when you are getting ready to get married. I hope that you will make good choices and be an example to others.
I saw a quote today that I loved. "I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." Work for success, Sweetie. If you want something, go out and get it.
Be happy with the choices that you make and the things you will accomplish. I love you.
Love,
Mom

Four

Claire has 4 teeth! I figured her 4th one broke though because she finally slept through the night again. Woohoo for sleeping all night last night. Boo for growing so fast.

Three

Claire has 3 teeth. She is a super tooth grower. I'm proud of my baby!

Eight Months

Whoa! We are already at 8 months. It won't be very long until my baby is a year old. I can't stand it. She is at such a fun age though. I love how much she can do and how fun she is.

At eight months, Claire:

::plays the piano. We pulled out the toy she used to lay on to play the piano with her feet and now she sits up and plays for us. Usually she plays while we eat dinner. It's pretty cheap dinner entertainment.

::sits for a long, long time. Claire will sit and play with me or Brent on the floor and just giggle. Eventually she will be reaching for something and topple over but then she just starts to roll.

::rolls everywhere but still doesn't crawl. She doesn't really have an interest in crawling because rolling takes her everywhere she needs to go. She is an expert roller and she is super quick.

::is a wiggle worm. The kid won't sit still!

::talks all of the time. She is saying all sorts of things and is constantly making noises. She has most recently started making this gurgle noise a lot. It's like she has spit in her throat and gargles it to make a funny noise. She loves it when I imitate that one.

::no longer sleeps in a swaddle. The transition hasn't been too bad. She loves to sleep on her side and will still (most of the time) sleep through the night. Knock on wood....

::has a sippy cup that she likes to try to drink from. She mostly spills water all down her front but it is fun to watch her try to drink from the sippy. She just keeps trying again and again. She also likes to drink from our cups and is doing better at getting a little in her mouth instead of all down her front.

::loves vegetables, but squash is her favorite. She is a messy eater but she has so much fun eating.

::'s hair is getting super long and fluffy. It is uncontrollable and absolutely adorable.

::pinches super hard. (Brent said, "She will claw your face without remorse." haha) I can't keep up with the rate that her finger nails grow.

::has been teething. She is trying to get a tooth on top. It's allllllllllllmost through. Her sleep was interrupted for a couple of nights due to this tooth. I'm rooting for it to break on through!

::had her first real cold. Poor kid! I brought it home from school to her and I felt awful. Awful. She had a runny nose and had snot dripping down her face all day long. She did great though! Her cold was in addition to teething so it made it that much worse.
::applied to 5 colleges. We are waiting to hear. I have no doubts she will be accepted to all.

::is getting better at playing with toys and with her dexterity. She likes to pick things up and will reach and reach to get her hands on things. She is pretty good at using her thumbs most of the time. She will occasionally forget they are there. ha

::likes books but doesn't sit still for very long. She does love a soft book called I'm going to school today. It has all sorts of fun things to do like buckle the seat belt and button the coat.

Dear Claire,
8 months? Is this a mean trick you are playing on Mom or are you really growing so quickly? I love spending time with you and getting snuggles in. The kids at school adore you and love when you come to visit mommy. They sing to you and they will do silly things to get a smile out of you. (It really isn't hard to get you to smile. You are such a happy baby.) I'm glad there are so many people that love you. I can tell you are going to touch so many peoples lives. I love you. So much.
Love, Mommy

Yes. I am.

Me : Watch me do this problem for you because I'm really smart.
Student : You're not smart, you're arrogant.
Me : What?
Student : Arrogant, you know, not humble.
Me : Yes. I am. But I'm also smart so watch me.

Hahaha. Man, I love my job. These kids always keep me on my toes.

Seven Months

Wowza! My baby is 7 months old. If I didn't know how to use a calendar and count myself, I wouldn't believe it. We are so much closer to a year than we are to when she was born.

At seven months, Claire:

Look at those two, tiny, sharp teeth!

::has two teeth! She has her two bottom, middle teeth. They are adorable, and super sharp!

::sits up for long periods of time. She is getting stronger and stronger. If we put her on her bum in sitting position she will stay there for a long time. When she is laying down she will try SO hard to sit up by herself. It won't be long before she can sit herself up whenever she wants.

(This was a couple of days before she turned 7 months. Look how far she is from her blanket!)

::rolls all over the place. She will try rolling to something. When she gets on her back, she arches her back to try to see where she wanted to roll. She will roll and maneuver her way to toys and things. Brent will put her on a blanket when she is playing on the floor, but she is quickly rolling herself off the blanket.

::turns when she is on her tummy. She also kicks and tries to move herself forward. She wants to crawl so badly but can't figure it out.

::is an eating champ. Her favorite foods are squash, peas, carrots, green beans, and her bottle. She is a huge fan of veggies but not so much of fruit. I'm surprised since the fruit is so sweet. She is a cute eater and can't get enough of using the spoon.

::talking more gibberish and making lots of different sounds. I'm trying to teach her to say mom so it's her first word, but I haven't had much luck yet. :)

Claire loves to stick her tongue out.

::sometimes reaches for us when we go to pick her up. I really think she reached for me very first, but maybe I'm just trying to pretend like she did. I love when she reaches for me though.

::transfers things from hand to hand. It is so fun to watch her motor skills improving day by day.

::bounces super high. She still loves the bouncer toy.

::is so much fun! She is constantly laughing and smiling. She is a gem. Claire is pretty ticklish under her armpits and it is hilarious. She will laugh and laugh when we tickle her and then all of the sudden she will stop laughing and look at us like we are crazy. I love it! I wonder when people stop enjoying tickles?

Dear Claire,
I love you. I had to go back to work this week and I have missed you terribly. I had a wonderful summer playing with my baby. I do love it when you greet me at the door when I come home from work. You always give me a huge smile. It makes my whole day happier. Stay my little baby just a bit longer. Please?
Love, Momma

Summer Adventures 2012 Part 11

We went to the Kennecott Copper Mine while Heather and Hilary were here.  We had never been before and thought it would be a fun (and cheap) activity for all of us to do.  It only cost $5 per car to get in, so not bad at $1 a person.  After we drove in, we traveled up a long windy road around the mountain to the visitors' center.  From there we could see just how big this giant hole in the ground really was.

It's hard to tell just how big this thing is from the picture, but if you look at the little black dots along the road on the far side of the mine, those are the giant dump trucks they use to haul the rocks out.

To give you a better idea of how big those trucks are, here's a regular sized school bus taking some workers down into the mine alongside the dump trucks.

 They had a truck tire out in front of the visitors' center.  There are six of these on each truck--each back wheel has two tires.

 This aerial shot displayed in the visitors' center shows the whole operation.  It's massive.

We had a great time marveling at how huge the mine is.  It's a pretty unique attraction, and it's impressive that men have been able to literally move a mountain.

Summer Adventures 2012 Part 10

We went berry picking! We went to McBride Briar Patch in Mapleton and had a wonderful time! The kind man that helped us was wonderful. I wanted to adopt him as my grandpa. He told us to taste as many as we wanted while we were picking and to have a great time. We ended up picking for quite awhile and got a lot of blackberries and raspberries. My freezer still has berries. YUM. Hilary made us waffles the next morning with berries and cool whip. I'm so glad we went! We had a great time!

 Brent and Heather out picking some berries.

 Hilary had the brilliant idea to go berry picking.

 Brent was like a kid in a candy store. He was searching for the very best berries.

 All the berry picking tuckerd out Claire. (Actually, she was like this when we first got there. She woke up and had a wonderful time. Promise!)

 Mmmm. Ice cream and fresh picked berries.

 The yummy waffles Hil made us. She even added colorful designs with food coloring.

Hil and her waffle

Summer Adventures 2012 Part 9

Auntie Heather and Auntie Hilary came to visit us! We had such a fabulous time. Thanks for visiting, Aunties. We can't wait to see you again! We also saw Grandpa Mark and Grandma Kelly when they were on their way home from Vegas. Thanks for stopping by!

 Grandpa & Grandma Hirz

Claire loved having her aunties love on her. She thought she was something else being the center of attention of not only her mom and dad for a week.