Are You (Pin)terested?

Now that we are in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I can really focus all my energy on Claire's first birthday party. For Kevin and I, birthdays are a big deal. Claire is the most special thing in our lives and we want to be sure she feels loved on her most special day. That, my friends, is where Pinterest comes in. Every chance I get, I'm pinning ideas of what would be the perfect addition for her party. Crafting, here I come. This is my first birthday planning experience as a new mama and I want to be able to look back on this big, special birthday and know we celebrated her right. There are two things I know I want for sure: 1) some kind of felt bunting and 2) a photographer. The first can be done with a leftover half-spool of ribbon, some felt and a hot glue gun. The second one is a little more challenging, as budget and availability are big factors in making that want a reality. The majority of ideas change daily, but I do have a list of recurring ideas that are crowding my mind with sparkles and promises of a good time. A Happy Birthday, Mouse guest book for people to sign? Of course. A game for the kids to play? Duh. Favor bags for the miniature guests complete with glow sticks and silly putty? You betcha. Pretty punch, homemade treats and the most adorable chocolate smash cake for the little miss? Add it to the tab. Party hats, streamers, fancy foil balloons, confetti? We need it all! Move on over, Martha, because I'm at it again. Claire's first birthday bash is going to be one for the books. 

A California Thanksgiving

For Claire's first Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough to spend it with the Kessler family in sunny Sacramento. Claire's second time traveling via airplane was a little more complicated this time around than simply making sure she didn't blow out her diaper or barf on the guy sitting in the aisle seat. Our plan, making it's way to Portland from Chicago, was delayed multiple times due to inclement weather. After hours with a sleepy toddler at the airport, the plane finally arrived. We practically jumped for joy when we actually got to line up to board the plane then, there it was...speak of a fuel leak that may further delay and/or cancel our trip. After an additional hour or so, we were clear for take-off. We boarded the plane and I tried not to think that a hour earlier our plane was deemed broken.

After wading through the travel mess, we came through on the other side with a (miraculously) happy baby and smiles on our faces. It felt good to be back with family. Considering the last (and only) time we had visited since Claire had been born was when she was only 3 months old, it had definitely been too long since we visited. Great Grandma Janet was gracious enough to welcome our family of three into her home along with Grandma Karen. The house was full of people coming and going all weekend long - it was so fun to catch up and watch our baby impress everyone with her tricks. We had a blast.

Then, Turkey Day came! The feast was just that - a true feast. Grandma Karen and Kevin cooked the day away. We snacked. We watched football. Claire got all dressed up in her special Thanksgiving Day outfit. We read books, played with toys, tried to keep the baby from destroying the knick-knacks in the house. There was beer, there was wine, there was Prosecco! The bird was cooked to perfection and surrounded by all the best fixings including the most delicious cranberry sauce and candied yams there ever was. It was the perfect day. We ate, we drank and we were definitely merry.

Aside from her first taste of real turkey and pumpkin pie, Claire got to experience things on her first Thanksgiving that would never happen in a typical Oregon November. We took many walks, we went to the park and played in the grass. We had to shield her sensitive eyes from the sun multiple times. Sun? In November? What? Oh, and there wasn't a drop of rain! For that, we were grateful. The best activity of the weekend? Grandma Karen raked up a pile of crunchy leaves for Claire to play in while we all stood around watching her, snapping photos, ooh-ing and ahh-ing. If I know one thing for sure, it is that Claire is definitely not lacking in love or attention. She got so many cuddles and kisses. With all that attention, she was all smiles and loving every minute.

The aunts, uncles, and cousins came and went. We relaxed. We shopped (thanks Grandma K!). We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Great Grandma Janet treated us to Cattleman's, Kevin's favorite restaurant, in Sacramento (thanks Great Grandma J!). The days flew by and soon enough we found ourselves packing up all of Claire's new toys (and a few new items for us as well) and boarded our plane home. The return travel day was a breeze. Like they say, all good things must come to an end. Can't wait to see what next year will hold!

Cries in the night.

Claire is teething again. When I first announced that two of her top teeth were coming in, only one had actually popped through the surface. It's hard to tell because she will rarely let us look in her mouth - I usually just have to stick my finger in and feel around while she's chomping on them. Ouch! About two days ago she started showing signs of teething again and, sure enough, the other one popped through. Pair that with another tooth coming in on the bottom and my poor baby is quite uncomfortable. Thank God for Hyland's all natural teething tablets, teething gel, infant Tylenol and gripe water. When she's teething, it's a lot harder to get her to drink a full bottle before bed time which leaves her more restless and harder to put down. Once she finally falls asleep, she wakes in the night because her mouth hurts, it's uncomfortable to suck on her binky and she's hungry from not drinking her whole bottle before bed. Even though it gets exhausting, it's not all bad. Her waking in the night just allows us time for extra cuddles, songs and books in the rocking chair. Those are the special moments, even if she does grunt at me and shake her head to get me to stop singing or talking to her sometimes. Haha! She wants mama to hold her, just not make any noise! Stinker! Overall, she's handling all this teething like a champ. She's not much of a drooler anymore which keeps me from having to do a load of bibs every few days (that's nice) but she chews on anything and everything to relieve the pressure. For a little one, growing up is rough!

{Beautiful} Little Tornado

From sun up to sun down, Claire is like a little tornado twisting from room to room making a mess of anything and everything she can get her adorable, miniature hands on. I was warned that she would become a handful when she started crawling. Now that she's walking, I really have to hang on to my hat! If I leave my purse accessible, she will take everything out of it and disperse it all over the house. We have a console table used for decorative storage in our living room that I have to spend most of my day restocking and reorganizing because a little someone thinks it's fun to throw all the papers, toys and books on the floor. Oh yeah and the day she took all the pages out of my address book? That was definitely the highlight of my week. Ha! Ha! What a little stinker!

   

It is still her daily mission to reach the buttons on the dishwasher. Oh, and now that she can open drawers and cabinets? I can't even tell you how many baby spoons, Tupperware lids and measuring cups I nearly break my ankle on every evening while cooking dinner. Why is it that she has a corner of toys in the living room but all she wants to play with is my kitchen stuff and decorative trinkets? Somedays all she wants to do is take toys out of storage baskets, stack them in a pile one by one until the basket is empty and then put them all back in the basket again. Babies are too funny! I love all the new stages she enters, even these ones that cause a little extra work for mama, because I enjoy watching her go, go, go! She sure is good at it!

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Angelfish

Ever since my friend told me about a program called Swimbabes, I have wanted to put Claire in a similar swim class. At work, I randomly came across a class catalog for one of the community centers in our area and was impressed with what it had to offer in Claire's age range. So, I enrolled her an Angelfish swimming class. I know it seems like she is a bit young for swimming lessons, but this is more of a water awareness class than traditional lessons (obviously). Plus, it's a "mommy & me" setting that allows one parent to get in the water with the child. Kevin opted out so I decided to go ahead. What the heck, right? Ever since the first class, I've looked forward to the following Sunday when we would get to go again.

Isn't her sailboat swim suit too cute!?!

Playing Humpty Humpty on the side of the pool.

Claire sure loves to get in the water. Every time I sit her on the edge and help her "jump in" using the lyrics to Humpty Dumpty, she is all giggles and grins. Since she was a baby, Kevin and I have been sure to get water on her face so she doesn't panic around water. Perhaps this has backfired because throughout every lesson, she just wants to drink the pool water. It's always something. 

So far, she has learned to be comfortable floating on her back using me for support. She has used the "monkey grip" on the side of the pool - a safety mechanism to teach children in case they ever fell in deep water, they could get to the side of the pool and use this technique until somebody could assist them. Of course, Claire is still so young so I'm not sure how useful it would be at this age but it never hurts to learn. She can also use a fun noodle to float on both her stomach and her back while she practices her kicks. The instructor is just starting to introduce hand/arm movements, but I think that will be a little harder to grasp.

Doing the "monkey grip" on the side of the pool.

Practicing her tummy floats and kicks.

Overall, I am glad we decided to put her in the class. She gets time with other babies her own age. She's learning about water safety and how to share toys. I am meeting other mothers in my area. And, for this one hour every Sunday, Claire gets my 100% undivided attention while Claire waves at her papa watching on the side of the pool. Sundays are the best days.

After swim class, papa keeps her warm!

Every day is different.

My girl loves her peas!

Brushing her 4 teeth is one of her favorite activities!

She loves to carry that sippy cup around with her new chompers :)

While we try to teach our children all about life,

our children teach us what life is all about.

It's so true. I'm a different person now that Claire is here. I am trading in my anxieties about tomorrow for the enjoyment of the here and now. Living in the moment, they say. Well, with an almost 1 year old, it's impossible not to live in the here and now. With walking, climbing stairs, drinking from a sippy cup, cutting four teeth, refusing baby food and feeding herself, she keeps us on our toes just about every moment of every day. She has taught us to slow down, to prioritize, to figure out what is really important. Playing with her or doing dishes? She always wins. Reading her a book before bedtime or folding the last load of laundry for the day? Looks like we're wearing wrinkly clothes to work again. Staying home to clean our pig pen home or go to Claire's swimming lessons? Grab the little swimmers, babe! Our life is full, it's messy and busy, it's bursting at the seams. But, I wouldn't trade a day. Kevin and I are so lucky. She is our joy and we are so grateful she's ours. That's all!