swimming + kitty

It was a little cloudy and windy that day, but Claire loved it even though it was her first time this year (left) getting used to the water with dad (right) once she warmed up to the water, she loved being in her float- we didn't know how good we had it till AZ, where she would climb out of the float, face first, just to get out of it! I guess there is not enough freedom in the float

After swimming we went to Jason's sis, Amy & her hubby, Nathan's place.
Here is Claire with Uncle Nathan
(left) 'Is this okay mom?' (right) 'yeah, I like this kitty'

(left) 'let me get a better look at you'

(right) 'mu-ah'- kitty was pretty scared after Claire got up his face and promptly ran away.

Utah family reunion

(left)My grandma adores little ones, as you can tell :) (right) My cousin's daughter,Tessa is only two week older than Claire

(left) Claire supervising the kite flying (right) We eventually got it up

(left) Cutie Brooklyn even helped (right) My cousin, Jen next to her cute sleeping baby

This is the most of a group shot that I got of some playing football, but at least 6 of the 9 siblings were there and most of their kids (my cousins) too. It was a lot of fun to see so much family, especially the ones from California that I haven't seen since I lived there 7 years ago. Wow, I can't believe its been 7 years!

projects

From fathers day till we went to Arizona last week, Claire's nap time/ bed time was filled with doing projects. Yes, deadlines highly motivate me!

Father's Day present: grill cover- a little big, but its better than too small

Travel high chair + booster for our trip to AZ
If I were to make another travel high chair, I would make the straps longer, but they worked thanks to the strong 2-inch velcro. I didn't follow the booster directions exactly. I made them to fit our chairs- that's why it isn't square.

Claire is not in love with any thing confining, while she eats. She usually eats cereal and yogurt in her bumbo. But this will also work as a nice alternative if she needs options.

Blocks: We realized Claire's love for stacking blocks. Yes she stacked all of these!

So this motivated Jason to finish these blocks below,
I know Jason made the base on this tower, but the rest is her :). We modeled them after these Brainy blocks. One day, I'll paint numbers on them.

Its so fun to have a toy that she really loves! She is always up for reading, playing blocks, and pretending / playing with buddy.

Hooded robe / wrap dress: I have been seeing all these cute swimming dresses, that I thought it would be fun to make one myself. I used two receiving blankets that were too small to ever wrap a baby in. They are both a thermal knit type fabric.



This is what I used to model my pieces after and added a little seam allowance. I also tried to cut as few of the ends off as possible. It end up being a little long, but she'll grow into it. One tip when sewing with stretchy knit fabric, don't pull! Let the sewing machine do that, or else your straight line of sewing, will not hang straight (when worn).

(left) Proof that even in Arizona, you can get cold after swimming


Hat: I have inherited too much 4th of July fabrics to not do anything with it this year, hence the reversible hat (Butterick pattern # 3782)


Shorts: I was going to use some of Claire shorts as a pattern, but then found this pattern online. I wanted to make long shorts since she had a rash on her upper calves, and it seemed like longer shorts helped. So I added a few inches in length to the pattern and used a t-shirt that was too short on me.



Dress: Yes, I even have an excuse for making a new dress :). All of Claire's dresses are sleeveless, and are shorter in length. I didn't want her to have to wear an undershirt or tights in AZ's heat. Burda pattern #9564- I lengthened out the pleat and added the satin ribbon tie. I wanted it to flair out a little. And on a suggestion from my sis-in-law, Amy, I added interfacing to the bottom. Thanks Amy! It turned out great!
Here is my cutie on the 4th of July!


The only project I didn't get to is this car trash. Such a great idea!

Marsha's wedding!

My friend from high school, Marsha, got married! We went to their reception up Provo Canyon. As you can tell, Marsha's dress is gorgeous! And of course, Marsha is such a beautiful bride.

Mini Oregon Reunion: me, Marsha, Lisa and Lori (and Brinley)

Catching the bouquet

Claire and I

Congrats Marsha & Nick!

silly girl

(left) one second watching mom make dinner, the next, checking the messages on the answering machine (center & right) the box looked so comfy

(left) anything is a stepping stool these days...we have to watch her closely!

(left) giving buddy a new diaper, 'where does this thing go' (right) eating peas out of a cup... hey whatever works...this made it fun and exciting to finish her dinner



I love how she goes from a real cheesy smile to an adorable one

Claire loves to help me with the laundry, this day she decided to climb inside

and lastly a sweet pic...she woke up with ringlets after her nap... so cute

A few other funny things Claire has done recently:
-folding buddies arms when its time to say prayer
-saying 'eeps' (oops) when her tower of blocks fall over
-At church, Claire was being noisy during a baby blessing, so I put my index finger to my mouth and quietly said “shush”. After I did this a few times, with a serious look on her face, she put her index finger to my mouth and said “shush”. It was pretty hard for Jason and me to not laugh after she did this.