Claire is Two!

Claire's birthday this year came up on us quickly! I can't believe my baby girl has turned two! She started out the day with her favorite breakfast - Dora cereal and pancakes. The pancakes have apple butter on them (in case you were wondering why they look so funny). She and her dad share a taste for it. It's not bad. Thanks to Aunt Lynn for the birthday princess hat.
She got to hold baby brother for a second and she was gentle.

She took a ride on her new Rock & Roll & Ride Trike.
It was not as enjoyable as the picture above portrays. We still have some practising to do. Claire gets frustrated and exhibits all of the emotion that you would guess a new two year old should when the trike only goes in circles (because she can only hold the handle bars to the right). She has been practising just rocking for now. We thought this would be a good toy because she is getting tired of the stroller thing and the trike can grow with her.


We invited a couple families from the ward over and played pin the tail on the donkey. I didn't think they would need blindfolds at this early age for it to be a challenge. Surprisingly, all of them got their tails on the donkey - not so close to the tail, but that's all right. We had a really nice evening visiting. I think the kids really enjoyed themselves playing too. Thank to the Lauritzens and the Krohns for coming and sharing a special evening with Claire.

We sang to her and had cake. I think she was kind of freaked out in the chair with everyone singing and the cake coming at her with burning candles. She looked like she was about to cry. She calmed right down when she got her piece of cake with ice cream.


A birthday family photo.

Daddy helped her open presents. She got some nice toys from Grandma and Grandpa and her friend Brynn.
She got a Dora nightie from Mommy and Daddy. She got two hand-me-down Dora nighties last year from her Aunt Hiro and she has become obsessed with Dora things - even though she has only seen the show maybe once. She's growing out of them so she needed a new one. After her bath she always asks, "Dora Nightie?"

Happy Birthday Claire! We love you!

Like Father Like Son?

This is Aaron as a baby. I think he's about 3 - 6 months old. What a cutie!
Here is Noel making a similar face at just one month old.
Here is Aaron at 18 years old. For those of you who haven't seen him with long hair, you should get a kick out of this. Aaron always assumed he was a rock star, too bad he can't play any instruments or sing very well.
Here is Noel at three months old, already looking like a Beatle (with a little help from Mommy).

More Noel Smiles

Grandma Daniels requested a video segment of Noel smiles and giggles. Here it is!

Love you Mom!

Are You Blog Surfer?

O.k. so Aaron told me about something a few months ago that he said would really help me out and that I was really going to love. I thought - o.k. let's hear it and we'll see. He showed me Google Reader. He said that Google reader will tell you when there is a new blog post on your favorite blogs. I thought - oh, big deal. But after taking the time to set it up - I was in blog heaven! He knew that I used to waste lots of time checking friends blogs and getting upset when there wasn't anything new. I would even say - What a waste of time! But now I can check my Google reader and in a matter of seconds I know whose blogs have new posts and can read them all in a matter of minutes usually. I feel that my time is more valuably spent - which it should be as I have two kids under two for a few more days - Claire is turning two :-).

Do you use Google Reader? If you don't already and you'd like to just click on one of my many hyper-links to Google Reader and sign in with your blogger ID. I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed. Let me know what you think about Google reader!

Claire's second b-day is Friday. I wanted to have a party, but the clubhouse here is still under construction with no end in sight. We will be having cake and ice-cream I think, but I'm unsure how to make it work with friends over with such a small living space. Any ideas?

A day in the life...

I took these pictures the other day when we went to get the mail. We have to go past the playground and the pool, so Claire has to make all sorts of stops along the way. I wish I was adventurous enough to take Claire outside everyday. She enjoys the outdoors so much. So do I. I've always loved the outdoors. But there is something about this heat and having to climb up and down a flight of stairs holding her hand and having one baby brother either in a heavy car seat or strapped to my chest in a carrier - that makes the thought of going outside very daunting. But I guess it's worth it, right?

Father's Day week-end

This week I heard about another great place to take Claire to play. Thanks Lauree! It's Brushy Creek Park. There is a lake with boat rentals, a trail, and a free water playscape for kidees. Claire was in her element! She ran around and played in the water for about an hour and didn't want to leave. The small dark spots on the ground are actually fountains that shoot water up out of the ground and random moments. Claire thought that was very cool.
Dad and Noel hung out in the shade and watched. Yes, I broke down and got a Baby Bjorn finally - $25 on craigslist... and it's great.
Noel loves to be with people and react to smiles - especially his dad's. Does this smile look familiar? He is such a happy little guy.
Happy Father's Day! We love you and are so glad that we have you in our family! Thank you for taking such good care of us and keeping us with smiles on.

The Pool is Finally Open!

We finally have accss to the pool again. The pool was closed due to the clubhouse remodelling for the longest time. It has been so hot here, we could have been swimming since before Noel was born. It felt really nice to dip in the pool last week-end. We are hoping to have more good times there soon. Thanks to all who let us come play in the water with them in the meantime.
Noel still isn't ready for the pool, but he enjoyed hanging out in his stroller with Dad and watching.
Here is our beautiful blue eyed girl all tuckered out after pool time.
Noel is loving his bath these days. He's not quite ready for the cold water yet, but I'm hoping in the next month he'll be more open for the cooler water of the pool. Claire loved it once we got here last year, but she was 11 months old. Any guesses as to when babies normally stop freaking out in the pool?