Claire at the park

The older Claire gets the less she likes being cooped up in our little apartment. Fortunately we live close to a few really great parks where she can run around and play!

Cornwall Park

Lake Padden Park

Time flies when you're going to school, working, and raising a baby!!!

When I started blogging I intended to post a monthly update with pictures and exciting news so everyone could see how much Claire was growing and changing. I was doing pretty good until I went back to school in the fall and I became even busier. I am currently taking a class about Digital Literacy and one of the phenomenons we are studying is blogging. This lead me to think of my own blog and how neglectful I have been so I decided to post an update! Here is what you've missed since my last post:

Claire's 1st birthday!
Claire is walking now!
Claire has lots of teeth and loves to say "hi!"
Claire LOVES bath time!

Claire is becoming very independent. She likes to feed herself, walk on her own, and even brush her hair. She is very silly and has the cutest little laugh. I am truly blessed with every minute I get to spend with her. My only wish is that she'd let me snuggle with her more!

Christmas Pictures

We had our first family photo shoot on Wednesday. Here are a couple of our best shots!

Halloween

Claire had an awesome 1st Halloween. She dressed up as a pink elephant, courtesy of Will's mom Susan, and visited a few people to show off her costume. We are going to save door to door trick-or-treating for next year when she can walk and really enjoy it.

Claire's Christmas Dresses

Grandma Doni made Claire 2 adorable Christmas dresses with a black fur shrug and matching hat. The first one was made out of fabric I helped pick out.


The second dress was a surprise for me made out of fabric left over from a Christmas dress made for me when I was a baby. They both turned out great. Thanks mom!

What you missed this summer

I can't believe it is already October! I started this blog because my family and friends are so spread out I thought it would be a good way to keep everybody updated, but I was so busy being a mommy I haven't been keeping up with Claire's blog. So here is what you missed this summer:

Claire went to her first Mariner's game in April with me and Will. It was a night game and we didn't really plan on her getting tired so when she did we had to improvise. Will made her a bed inside her diaper bag. She took a nice little nap in it and when she woke up she was so cozy she didn't want to be taken out.
Claire has since been to one other Mariner's game. It was in August against the Yankee's and we got to see a lot of my dad's side of the family.

In May we flew to Las Vegas to celebrate mine and Sara's 21st birthday. Claire did great on her first plane trip and has continued to be a really good flier. Even though we were only in Vegas for a couple days we had a lot of fun. Claire especially loved floating on the lazy river at our resort.


In July we flew to Texas to visit Auntie Sara and Auntie Jaime. We went on a safari, spent an afternoon at Sara's work having lunch and meeting her co-workers, and spent some time at the pool. I wish they lived closer. It is hard being so far away from them.


In August Will, Claire and I moved into our apartment in Bellingham. We had a lot of much needed help from my parents and our good friends Randy and Heather. Claire wasn't much help in the lifting or unpacking department, but she did make sure that Grandpa did a good job putting her high chair together.

Last month we flew to Orlando, Florida for our first family vacation. We got to go to all four of the Disney theme parks and Disney's Blizzard Beach water park. My parent's came with us and were gracious enough to watch Claire so we could spend a day with my friend, Amanda, who is living in Orlando and going through the Disney college program. It was so great to hang out with her and see her in action! Our trip to Florida was the perfect way to end our summer.



Other Claire updates: Claire is 8 months old and weighs about 16 lbs. She has two teeth (which she hides with her tongue every time I try to take a picture) and is learning how to crawl (even though she can roll around to get pretty much anything she wants). I know everybody says it... but she really is growing up so fast!!!

Photo Shoot

Claire had her first professional photo shoot last Friday. Here are some of my favorite shots!