Holiday Family Time

we didn't get to spend thanksgiving with daddy and lisa because she had pneumonia and i did not want to expose claire to it since she is still so young. so we invited them up to our house on dec 6th to have lunch and then go watch the mtn brook christmas parade. i was so excited to have them up because this was the first time i actually cooked a full meal for daddy and he had never seen my christmas decorations before. talon fried a turkey (which was sooo yummy!) and i cooked green bean casserole, homemade mashed potatoes and some espresso brownies. i decided to use nanny's china to eat on and it worked out perfectly! april also brought rich so we had exactly enough seats at our table and plenty of arm room since we had nanny's dining room table now. everyone enjoyed lunch and then we got ready to go the parade. we thought there would be much more traffic, so we decided to get there a little early. it was a beautiful day and felt very "christmassy" since it was so chilly outside. the parade was great and tons of people showed up right before it started. claire enjoyed a lot of the singing and it was nice to do something festive with our family. toward the end of the parade, the wind started blowing so it suddenly felt much colder. it definitely ended at the perfect time because we were all ready to get into a nicely heated car! after the parade, we went by april's apartment so daddy and lisa could see where she lives and meet her roommate. then we headed back to our house for some much-needed coffee and brownies. overall, it was a good family day and i look forward to hosting again very soon!

Let it Snow!

so its usually extremely rare that we actually get snow here in alabama - especially around christmas. but this year was an exception because it did snow during the holidays, on the morning of dec 5th. the night before, it started snowing around 11:30pm so talon and i spent some quality time on our back deck to enjoy it before going to bed. the next morning, talon had go to work but we both got up early so we could take some photos with claire since this was her very first snow! it was mostly a dusting of snow over the ground, but it was still snow in december! we got all bundled up and went outside to take our pictures. claire was so cute! she just kept looking around and trying to touch the snow-covered rosemary by our mailbox. i made a snowball and held it up to claire to see her reaction. she kept trying to touch it, but of course couldn't because she had mittens on. i held it up to my mouth and touched it with my tongue and then she did the same! it was so cute! we threw our snowball at talon and she even laughed! it was such a perfect holiday moment. it was really special to have her first snow this year because just a few months earlier, we had a nice snow when i was still pregnant. it was on march 1, which was 12 days before her arrival and i was very pregnant! so in a way, she had two snows in her first year! i can't wait until she is older and we can have a real snowball fight and make snow ice cream together!

Here Comes Santa Clause!

the morning of dec 3, we woke up excited to go see santa. talon came home that morning, so we had breakfast and then we hung claire's 1st christmas ornament together. her ornament is super cute and the first of a 5 yr series. its a baby bear in pjs with a paci and holding a bottle, while reaching up to the tree (which is shaped as the #1). it really fits claire perfectly!

later on, we all got ready to go see santa. i think that i was definitely the most excited out of the three of us! on our way to the mall, we picked up april so she could go with us. we were a little nervous about claire being afraid of santa and crying during the picture, but we were wrong! she did really well! they told us to place her in his lap with her back to him, without actually seeing him. she was laid back and just hung out with him. we never got much of a real smile out of her because she kept sticking out her tongue. but i'm glad we were able to get that in her santa photo since she loves doing it right now.

after seeing santa, we walked around the mall and stopped by hallmark to look at the ornaments. my mom loved hallmark christmas ornaments and it was always a tradition to get a new one every year. i sort of started this back up last year with talon, for our first real christmas together in our house. we bought an ornament for "our new home" and also a fireman santa for talon. this year, talon was super excited to get new ornaments for our tree. we went to a couple of hallmarks to pick out which ones we wanted to get. its so cute to see him get so excited about christmas traditions we are starting together. he loves our christmas tree and all the decorations i put out for the holidays.

this year, i had some of my mom's ornaments for the tree, which helped fill it up even more. and i also had nanny's christmas village, along with her porcelain christmas tree and some festive figurines. i use my mom's christmas carousel for the mantle too. even though i miss them more than anything, its nice to remember them during this time by using some of their favorite christmas decor and ornaments. every time i look at each piece, i have a vivid memory with both nanny and my mom. i look forward to sharing these memories and traditions with claire for many years to come!

Rub a Dub Dub...

tonight, we did our regular nightly routine...eat dinner, play, bath, bottle, sleep. it all went as normal, except for one thing - claire sat up in her bathtub and actually enjoyed her bath!! claire has never really liked bath-time. i believe she just felt awkward in the water and may have been a little afraid. well, tonight i decided to see if she would sit up in her tub since she has been sitting more now, and she did! i started splashing the water a little bit around her and within seconds, she started in on the fun too! she began squealing and laughing while she splashed in the tub. this was the longest bath we have ever taken, since we usually rush through it to finish before she starts crying. the best part was that talon was home to see it too. i'm actually looking forward to our next bath and now we'll have to start collecting bath toys!

until next time...

Shots-a-Plenty

we went to the dr today for claire to get her flu and dtp shots. she usually becomes very upset when they give her the injections. not this time. claire took them like a pro! she became a little upset at the very end, but was smiling again within seconds. i'm so proud of her and honestly, i don't know if i would have taken it as well!

Cupcakes & Baby Giggles

yesterday, we drove to huntsville to visit with my good friend, kim and her daughter sophia. the four of us had mexican for lunch and then we went to gigi's cupcakes for dessert. can i say "yummy!" i bought a box of 4 so i could bring some home to talon. they told us there should be a gigi's opening in 5 points in bham sometime next year. i don't know if this is a good or a bad thing for me. i love cupcakes and this probably won't mix well with me going to school at uab (which is right down the road) and my attempt to conquer the rest of this "baby" weight before claire's 1yr birthday. oh well, i guess we'll see how strong my willpower really is!

so back to our trip...after purchasing heavenly cupcakes, we went back to kim's home where it was warm, since the weather decided to turn cold on the day we make a road trip. we spent the rest of the day chatting about life as new moms and tending to our little ones. it was so cute to watch claire and sophia interact. claire is bigger and much more active than sophia since she is 4 months older. she kept trying to grab sophia's hand and it looked as if they were holding hands :) i so wish i had taken pictures, but of course i didn't think about it. i'm sad to say, but the photographer in our family is definitely talon, not me. later in the evening kim's hubby, brannon, came home and he helped out with sophia while kim cooked us homemade bbq chicken pizza. she even made the crust from scratch! and it turned out great! i have to say i was impressed. i've never attempted to make any type of bread from scratch, but she somewhat inspired me to try it.

i really love spending time with kim; i hate that they moved to huntsville. its so nice to have a close friend who also has a baby girl. it will be fun to watch them grow up together and maybe they'll be friends when they are older too!

Claire: 6 Months

we took photos back in october to capture claire at 6 months. i think they came out really well...and i especially love the ones of her in the tutu! here is a slideshow with a few of the photos...

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Claire Trying to Crawl! 11/15/09

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Claire Sitting Up!

What a BIG Day!

today was a great family day for us. we went to sunday mass this morning and it was a great service. i always enjoy father booth's homilies. he has a wonderful way of relating his topics to everyday issues that everyone faces. after church, we had coffee at o'henrys, which is always yummy, and then we ate lunch at surin. i don't know about you, but i could probably eat surin everyday - i love it that much. for our afternoon outing, we decided to take chloe to the new dog park at george ward. i was really impressed by how nicely it was put together. there are three different sections; small dogs, large dogs, and mixed for both sizes. we went into the small dog area at first for chloe to get a feel for it and she seemed to enjoy herself. you see, chloe is a very anti-social dog. she loves people, but doesn't really like to associate herself with other dogs. she seriously thinks she is a person! so we were happy to see her interacting somewhat with a few of the other dogs. since she did so well, we decided to try out the large dog area because it was a much larger area and had so many more dogs for her to play with. well, as you probably guessed, chloe didn't really care for the large dog area too much. she kept getting between my legs and the stroller and wouldn't run around. so i guess we'll be sticking to the small dog area from now on!

claire is becoming pretty mobile these days. she has been rolling for months now and has become very good at maneuvering her body to get where she wants. well, about a week and a half ago she started supporting her body on her hands and knees. she started doing this more and more as the days passed. at first, she would just hold herself there, and then she started rocking her body back & forth. the past two-three days, she has been "crawling" backwards and kind of at a diagonal across the living room floor. she doesn't get very far; but she does it and once she gets tired, she'll just prop herself on her side. its absolutely adorable and amazing to watch.

well, tonight she decided to conquer another feat. she was lying on her tummy, and we watched her push herself up on all fours and then sat back on her booty. so she went from lying to sitting on her own! that is a big deal for claire!! we have been struggling to get her sit because she just doesn't like to do it. she would much rather be on her tummy. but tonight, she sat all by herself for a long time. and she did it three times within a 10-15 min time span! maybe claire will sit if she gets there on her own; she just doesn't want to be placed there by anyone else. :) she is already stubborn! but she is bound to be with talon and i as her parents! i am so proud of my sweet baby! it is so exciting to watch her grow and develop, but we must completely baby-proof now! because i know once she starts crawling, there is no stopping her!

until next time...

And So it Begins...

i have decided to do a blog so i can keep a recorded history of my precious days with claire. i am not good at doing baby books or scrap-booking, but i do get online just about everyday. so maybe this will be easier for me!

luckily, i've had the wonderful opportunity to stay at home with my sweet baby since she was born. it is amazing to watch how quickly she grows and learns everyday. claire turned 8 months old yesterday and i really can't believe it. we have less than 4 months to her 1yr birthday!! while i was preggers, everyone always told me how fast the time flies by. but you can't truly understand how fast it goes until you have your own child. she just continues to change and her personality keeps getting bigger as the days pass by. hopefully this blog will help me record those special and silly everyday moments that i may not remember years from now. i hope you enjoy reading and watching sweet claire grow as much i do!