It's Called Love...

Baby Love

2012-02-12T12:17:00.002-07:00

Being a mom is seriously the best! I love spending time with Claire - reading books and playing. Every morning when I get back to my car after my 4 hours of student teaching I see this little handprint she made way back in the summer after touching some of the grease in the door. Surprisingly, it hasn't come off through the winter and I don't ever want to wash the car. It's a good reminder that she's waiting for me:

Claire has discovered puzzles and insists on bringing them in the car with us which makes for some interesting cleanup and search n' find when we reach our destination.

Claire got this puzzle from Grandma Valerie for Christmas and she loves it! She tells me about all the pieces and what they are and where they fit.

This is Claire watching out the window for her "piano friends" to come over. I teach piano lessons in groups of two, which means that while one child is playing the piano the other is playing with Claire. She loves it!

On another happy note - My published blog book came in the mail! It looks so nice and I love it! I printed from 2008-2010, capturing about 2 1/2 years of our lives together. What a great way to keep a family journal! I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Other Thoughts:

We went to the zoo yesterday and this was the first time that Claire actually "got it". She always enjoyed our trips to the zoo, but this time she kept talking about the animals and chose what animals she wanted to see next.

Kelland and I went on a Valentine's Date last night. Indian food for dinner, movie theater, and a visit to the Stake Valentine's Dance. When did we get so old though? It hit about 10:00 and we were both so tired! Perhaps if we didn't pack our days so full we could be party animals.

I auditioned for a show Thoroughly Modern Millie, and I got a callback! Lot's of work to do. Excited, and also really nervous!

So Content

2012-01-30T20:55:00.005-07:00

We've had a great couple of days! Nothing spectacular has happened, but I feel so content with our life! Our little family is so blessed and I just love my husband. Goodness, I just love that boy! He loves me even when I don't deserve it! And I totally have the best baby girl. I know I'm biased, but that's totally my role in life. Biased mom. What more could I ask for?

Extra News:

Our Family Home Evening Activity on Monday was swimming. When we deciding on an activity, Kelland asked Claire if she wanted to go swimming. We were surprised when she said, "Sooming!" and went to get a towel. She even willingly put on her swimming suit which has never happened. We haven't been swimming in such a long time! I'm not sure how or why she remembers, but she does. I hate swimming when it's cold outside but Kelland loves it. And so does Claire. Guess I'm outnumbered. We went the aquatic center by our house and Claire got so excited..... and then they were closed to the public. We walked back out that door with a screaming toddler who didn't understand that we were going to take her somewhere else. She thought we were the meanest people in the world for teasing her like that. Instead, we took her to Surf n' Swim where she had a complete blast and loved the waves. She tried catching them and blowing bubbles in them like Daddy was doing. I guess we have to go "sooming" again soon.

Even this morning as she saw the towels hung up in the bathroom drying she wanted to go swimming. Makes me totally miss summer!

I actually used to work at Surf N' swim. I was a cashier and I taught swim lessons to 3 year olds. I got so tan that summer!

Claire had the best time on Monday with Grandma Valerie. Aunt Shanna even said when I went to pick her up, "She has been nothing but rays of sunshine the whole time. Seriously." They played, and read books, and Grandma Valerie always makes her look so cute when I come to get her! The family is falling in love with our little one - We're lucky to have such a great family.

Little Claire smarty-pants knows her shapes. She's not even two and I wouldn't believe it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes, which I have. She knows circle, square, triangle, heart, moon, star, oval. Not only can she point to them when you ask her, but she says what they are when she points to them. Mind Blowing really.

I have been cleared for graduation! This means that as long as I finish my classes and don't mess up that I will be graduating on April 20! WOOT WOOT!

I have finished the cupcake toppers and banner for Claire's birthday in March. I know, I'm really jumpin' the gun here, but with all the things that we have going on I don't want her birthday to slip through the cracks so I'm getting an early start.

Claire is showing signs of potty-training.... it can't be too far off!

"Sooming":

Sticker Phase

2012-01-28T13:43:00.004-07:00

We have entered a sticker phase at our house. I give out practicing stickers to my piano students and I give one to Claire on the back of her hand for being such a good girl during piano lessons. Now, whenever she does something good she'll point to the back of her hand and say, "Sticker." How do you refuse that?

It's been a few weeks since then. Now she's figured out how to peel the stickers off by herself and stick them to things. After working on a sticker masterpiece in the kitchen, and I told her to go stand by the stickers so I could get a picture. She ran into the kitchen and stood proudly nearby the 3 or 4 stickers on the hardwood. No smile yet when I take pictures - but I'm sure that won't be too far off.

And here's another collection on the coffee table.

Other News:

I filled in last night as a Gemini twin in A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum and I have another performance tonight.
Kelland also had a comedy improv show last night. My show ended, I raced home, we traded being at home with the sleeping baby and he drove to his show. With two evenings taken up by shows, we plan on having a Saturday afternoon date instead.
We were given names by my hard-working mother-in-law Valerie and Grandma Child to do baptisms this morning. With the Ogden and the Salt Lake temple closed, the Bountiful Temple was crazy and it was at least a 2 hour wait to get in, and we could only do 5 of the names that we brought. Sad really. We'll have a try again this week and make an appointment.
The house is cleaned, swept, mopped, vacuumed, and my homework is done. Time to enjoy the rest of my weekend!
We plan on buying me and Claire some new shoes today. Hooray for shoe shopping!
I have ordered my blog book for 2008-2010 and I expect it in the mail pretty soon. It'll be great to have all that family history bound into a little book :)

Another Wednesday

2012-01-25T21:16:00.002-07:00

Whew! Today was a busy day! I hate Wednesdays - they are my craziest day of the week right now and when Thursday finally comes and things slow down, it feels like the weekend is starting a day early.

Day's Schedule:

7:20 - Kelland and I drop Claire off to play with Danae and Diana
7:30 - I drop Kelland off to teach at North Davis Junior High
8:00 - I am at my classroom with my fellow student Teacher Laurie getting things ready and planning curriculum.

9:00 - 11:30 - We teach preschool - which was pretty nuts today. Show n' tell days are always interesting.

11:30-1:00 - try to sit attentively in my advanced planning class while munching on my lunch.
1:30 - Pick Claire up and smother her with lots of love!
2:15 - 3:00 - Me and Claire went visiting teaching together.
3:15 - picked Kelland up from school
3:20 - frosted my cake for my cake decorating class later
4:00-5:00 - taught two piano lessons while Kelland and Claire played together
5:30 - Dinner
6:00 - 8:00 - Cake decorating class
And now I'm home.
Trying to unwind and work on my homework.

Thursday I have nothing to do but go to school in the morning - which means that me and Claire get to have lots of bonding time tomorrow - maybe we'll even go on a date to the Treehouse Museum!

On a more relaxing note, here is an adorable movie of Claire talking for me. Usually when I pull out the camera she refuses to talk or act remotely normally. I was pretty shocked when she started talking to the camera! Though she's speaking more softly than normal and I have church music blaring in the background, it's still super precious!

And here is the cake that I decorated tonight:
I had major baking issues with this cake. Even though I put shortening and flour on the bottom of the cake pan, the cake refused to leave the pan and broke into several pieces. I almost cried. Instead, I just tried to frost and work with my crumbly cake that's totally lopsided.
Don't look too close :)

I ended up taking the cake over to our neighbor's house who have 7 kids - Kelland is pretty tired of eating cake.

Stake Conference

2012-01-22T13:00:00.004-07:00

We had Stake Conference today - which meant that Kelland had no morning or afternoon meetings! Yahoo! A whole day to ourselves :)

I made a fantastic breakfast this morning of french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and orange juice. There's not time during the week to make breakfast and I don't like to wake up early on Saturdays to cook. Which made today a perfect day for some yummy food :)
We got to the Stake Center for Conference a half hour early thinking that we would get a soft bench.... nope. We sat ourselves in the back. On the gym floor. Which is really loud and echoes when Claire threw things, which she really liked. Halfway through the meeting we moved to the Primary Room to give people around us a break. We sat in the very back of the primary room where we couldn't hear the speakers or even see the tv from being so far back. Next time, we'll get there really early so Claire can get into her usual church routine.
We left Claire's prized bear in the primary room after conference and we were seriously panicking when we got home. This is her comfort item, sleeping tool, and buddy, and having it go missing was going to effect our quality of life. We checked the house, the car, and Kelland even drove back to the Stake Center looking for it. Luckily a ward member picked it up and returned it to us. Huge relief!
We went on a walk today in our coats and mittens and we pushed Claire down the street in her new toy car. She loved it!
I started making Claire's birthday banner this afternoon.
We had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch today - yum!
Kelland and I choreographed a number for our musical that I'll need to teach in a few weeks - I'm sure we look hilarious dancing around the room together. Claire gets a kick out of it.
We're going to have Family Council tonight and plan our week with large cups of Hot Chocolate. Mmmm.

Full Week and Weekend :)

2012-01-21T19:17:00.004-07:00

This week was pretty crazy! Kelland had shows, I had home visits for school, church meetings, cake class, rehearsals at the Junior High, 3 piano lessons, assignments, and papers. Whew! Freezer meals and trying to go to bed early seriously saved us this week! In spite of staying busy, we Davis' still know how to have a good time!

Kelland planned an amazing date night last night! We watched a romantic comedy while sipping lemonade and played a homemade dice game. Numbers 1-2 where categories about our future, 3-4 goals and skills we want to learn, 5-6 minute long back scratches. We talked, bonded, and made plans for the next couple of years :)
Kelland loves teaching math to teenagers! He comes home exhausted but invigorated everyday.
This week I rocked my student teaching! I gaining some great relationships with those kids.
Claire LOVES books! I mean seriously, she can't get enough of them - which we don't mind at all. I see books as fruits and vegetables, she can have them anytime she wants.
Claire knows the words to "I Am a Child of God"! She can fill in the words for us - it is the cutest thing ever! Also - she knows the words to "Popcorn Poppin" the "ABC's" and "Goodnight Sweetheart."
We work hard during the week and play lots on the weekend! We went to Chuck-e-Cheese and the Syracuse Fun Center for bowling and games. We love playtime with our family!

This is what I learned to do at my cake decorating class this week! Pretty fun huh? Claire is going to have have some pretty awesome cupcakes and cake at her party in March.

Claire was having a mid day snack of pudding and graham crackers and I was washing the dishes. Sounds simple enough right? Well, I turn back for a minute - and when I turn back around, Claire has climbed from her high chair onto the table. Awesome. Guess I have to keep a better eye on my monkey.

Chuck-E-Cheese:

Here is our newest D.I. toy that Claire loves:

Daisy also got a haircut today:

Syracuse Fun Center:

How I love my little family :)

Another one Bites the Dust

2012-01-14T21:09:00.003-07:00

We have completed week # 2 - and we're holding strong. I've intended to blog more often this week, but somehow it just slipped by me!

Fun things this week:

My supervising teacher evaluated me this week and told me I seem really confident that I'm ready to be let go and teach.
Kelland starts his first day of teaching on Tuesday. His supervising teacher completely leaves and he is in charge of 6 class periods for the next few months. He's super excited and has been working on activities and lesson plans for days.
Claire's black eye is looking so much better! It's yellow and brown and healing :)
Tuesday was a HARD day in preschool! We had a little boy who had 6 different tantrums at different areas at center time. Imagine trying to help someone who's yelling in your face. Priceless.
I had two shows this week. My friend Annie went to Disneyland and I covered for her in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". I'll play another part next weekend and a Belly Dancer the week after that. It's kind of fun to be pulled into shows at the last minute. It's a huge rush to learn what I'm supposed to do right before I walk out on the stage and then go out and perform with a crowd watching. Really fun!
I had my first cake decorating class this week. I learned how to transfer images onto a cake and several helpful techniques. I've got a long way to go before I can make stellar birthday cakes - but I've got some of the basics down!
Now I need to share my Movie Star moment. We went to the zoo today and I caught the glimpse of a man's face that I recognized from the movies. Once I heard the man say something to his son and his voice matched the character - I knew that I had seen that man on a movie! For whatever reason I remember names, faces, voices, and movie quotes from years past. Lots of my siblings can do it too - must be a family thing. Though I knew the man, I couldn't quite place where I had seen him before. Kelland thought I was nuts and kept telling me that the man in the baseball cap with the scruffy face wasn't a movie star. It wasn't long before I placed the man who played the character Chad Decker from the ABC television show "V" - which we really liked a couple of years ago. Kelland told me it wasn't him but allowed us to walk back to get another glimpse of the man. Kelland said that it did look like him, but probably just because I had planted the idea in his mind. I knew that it would bug me forever if I didn't know for sure - so I approached the man. I know, here he is at the Zoo with his wife and son and the last thing that any person probably wants is to be harassed by some stranger, but I just had to know! I waited until he was alone and I got up enough courage to ask him, "Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but I was wondering if you played Chad Decker on V." "I did." "Thank you, I just had to know because it was driving me nuts. Have a great day with your family." " It was nice to meet you." Totally vindicated! That's right Kelland, have a little more faith in me. We looked him up when we got home (I promise that I'm not a crazy stalker) but we found out that his real name is Scott Wolf, he lives in Park City, his wife is also an actress from the Real World, and he started his acting career as an extra in several Saved by the Bell episodes - which I grew up with. Thanks for a great story and memory Mr. Wolf.

My first cake. Don't look too close.

Fuzzy but cute zoo pictures.

One Week Down!

2012-01-06T19:11:00.002-07:00

Whew!
I'm taking a breather and sitting down to relax. This week is our first crazy week back from our month-long vacation. Me and Kelland are both student teaching, directing a musical, as well as performing in a musical and juggling church and our awesome daughter. Don't ask me how we plan to do it all, but I know that somehow we will :)

It's been nuts trying to get ready and out the door on time at such an early hour with a little one. Luckily, because Kelland is student teaching at North Davis Junior High which is only 5 minutes away from our house, we get to ride together and work as a team to get to school. Claire has been doing great all week - except for a slight fever she contracted today. I hate leaving her when she's not in tip top shape! Makes me feel super guilty! But in 12 weeks it will be over and her parents will be graduated and have college degrees. Totally worth this in the long run even if I cry everyday after I leave her. She spends her time with both grandmas and one of my friends who has a girl her age.

My student teaching at Weber State University has been super fun with all the preschool kids. I have missed working with this age. They are so smart - and they say the funniest things! Today a little girl refused to share silly putty with the other kids at the table. My conversation with her went like this:

Me , " Holly, it seems that you have a whole bunch of playdough and Kate and Thomas don't have any. How do you think that makes them feel?"
Holly, "Sad."
Me, "What do you think we should do about that?"
Holly, " I should share,"
Me, "That sounds like a great choice, and I bet it will make them really happy."
Holly, "But I have a lot and I don't care if they have any."

Kids say the darndest things :)

The New Year...

2012-01-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting New Year so far... we had our first visit to the Emergency Room on New Year's Eve. Around 5 in the evening Claire was climbing and being such a little monkey in our bedroom when she slipped and hit her face on a slab of tile in my closest that is seriously only 8 inches wide. She screamed her head off and then all of the sudden became quiet and super sleepy. Her eye swelled up and sagged and she looked like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. She stopped talking and became expressionless. We knew that we wouldn't feel better until we knew for sure that she was okay. Well, with it being New Years Eve and all, the only place open was the Emergency room.

Surprisingly, it didn't take as long as we thought it would and they were super nice to us. It helps to have an adorable little girl on your team. We were there almost 3 hours and Claire got her first CT scan. Her brain is okay and things look great inside, but she broke a bone. There is a small fracture in her eyebrow bone, thus explaining the droopy eye. Can you imagine? Me and Kelland have never broken a bone, and Claire is the first member of our family to break something and she's not even 2!

Her bone is going to heal just fine - and she'll be good as new. In the meantime however, she has a huge shiner, and we look like abusive parents :)

Ode to 2011

2011-12-31T11:31:00.007-07:00

I can't believe that this year is over! Wow - where does the time go? The day by day things seem ordinary and slow, but when you put them all together it seems that time just slips by. We've had such a great year - lots of progress and growing up, though I still feel that most days I'm just "playing house".

Here are some fun things that we have done this year:

Claire turned one, learned how to walk, learned sign language, and now has an extensive vocabulary of about 60 words.
We directed two shows at different Junior Highs earlier this year.
We finished our last semester of classes.
We finished two rooms in our basement and cleaned out the rest of it.
We went to Disneyland with the entire Schmidt family.
We went to the Manti Pageant with Claire and stayed the night in Nephi.
We went to St. George with the Davis Family.
We had two grandmothers pass away.
We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.
We put flowerbeds in our front yard
My last sister got married
Kelland and I turned 26 & 24 years old
I was filmed in a pilot for a children's show
Claire got her first teeth at 14 and a half months.
Lots of trips to the park, the Treehouse museum, Chuck-E-Cheese, and play groups.
I made several matching dresses for me and Claire.
We had a No- Eating out for 90 Days food challenge that we completed.
I did P-90x with plans to start over when I'm done Student Teaching this Spring.
I wrote our Primary Program and directed the children in a Christmas Nativity.
Kelland survived many moves and lessons in the Elder's Quorum.

It's been a great year - with even more to look forward to next year! Graduating, a real career, growing up, and lots of time to spend with our little one. Yep, life is going well and we are looking forward to 2012.

Freezer Meals

2011-12-30T20:23:00.003-07:00

The start of Spring Semester is creeping up on us, and I'm feeling the pressure to get the house ready! Yesterday I spent the day making freezer meals. I know that when things get really busy the last thing that I will want to do is worry about what we're going to have for dinner.

I made 26 frozen dinners for our little family and I'm putting our new deep freezer to good use! I hope that they turn out and that this whole experiment works! If so - I'll probably make a habit of it. Think about it, cook once a month for a few hours instead of every day.

Other thoughts:

Claire is obsessed with babies and insists on taking her baby, her dolly, a book, and her special bear to bed with her every night. Heaven help us if we lose any of them!
Two bedrooms in our basement are completely done and are furnished and organized. One of them serves as the office/craft room and the other is Claire's playroom. I'll have to take pictures.
Our basement is the cleanest that it has ever been! We've spent lots of time during our break to clean it up and we took a U-haul to the dump that weighed 2,000 pounds of junk from us and our previous home owners.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T07:33:00.001-07:00

I love this time of year! The jolly Christmas tunes, hot chocolate, and lots of time spent with family. What could be more perfect? Every year we spend Christmas Eve with the Schmidt Family and Christmas Day with the Davis Family.

Christmas Eve:

Derek is reading Claire a Christmas Story

The Newlyweds

Claire loves her cousins!

Every year we have a Christmas program with different talents shown off by members of our family:

Amy and Jake with Silent Night on the guitar.

I wasn't able to sing this year because I still don't have a voice from being sick. Instead I played the piano and the grandkids sang "Picture a Christmas."

Every year my parents sing a Christmas song Called Starbright and this year was no exception. This video is for my two sisters who live out of state to remember and appreciate this beautiful song - and the craziness of the Schmidt house:

And of course no Christmas Eve would be complete without a nativity. Kelland and I were shepherds and Claire was an angel:

Christmas Pajamas:

Don't be fooled by her sad face - she really did love the Tinkerbell pajamas - she was really tired by this point.

This year for Christmas I crocheted every member of the Schmidt family a winter hat. The boy hats were fairly basic, and the girls hats were feminine with flowers on them.

Christmas Morning:

This is what Claire was greeted with on Christmas morning.
And this was how she reacted:

Kelland and I decided to do our Christmas presents a little bit different this year. We chose a certain way that we wanted to feel and then we bought gifts based on them. I wanted to be entertained - and I sure was. On Christmas morning Kelland put together a "Deal or No Deal" game for me to play. There were 15 small boxes under the tree and each envelope had the numbers of boxes that I got to open with presents inside. I chose my beginning envelope and the game began. It was so detailed and even included the "banker" (or Kelland) would call and offer me deals like "4 boxes and a bowling party for you and six friends."
Well, I ended up WINNING the game! I chose the million dollar case or the envelope with number 15 inside at the very beginning, and I won every prize he had available in the game! This NEVER happens to me - I have the worst luck in the world!

Some of the gifts are spread out based on when the activities start, which means that I get to be "entertained" pretty much all year long.

Here's what a won:

1 - A ski trip for me and Kelland.
This one is huge, because even though I'm not a passionate skier, Kelland swore he would never go skiing with me or ever.
2 - One dollar cash
3 - A remote control Helicopter
4 - A trip to St. George to see the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with local babysitting from a nearby cousin.
5 - 20 dollars cash
6 - a massage from Massage Envy
7 - Dinner and tickets to see Wicked in SLC when it comes at the beginning of the year.
8 - Another trip to St. George to see Hairspray
9 - A fun toy!
10 - Another fun toy!
11 - Season Passes to Lagoon
12 - a TRAX day where we ride the train down to Salt Lake with Claire, go to Lunch and play at the Children's Discovery Museum
13 - A shopping spree
14 - My watch that he secretly stole and fixed
15 - New Running Shoes

For Christmas Kelland wanted to feel loved and appreciated (makes me feel kind of shallow!) So Claire made him (actually it was me, but I like to say it was from her) a photobook of pictures of her and her dad and some of their favorite memories together. I got him the rest of the Harry Potter movies that we didn't have (because Kelland LOVES Harry Potter) and a black Harry Potter Mug that says "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" and when you put hot liquid inside it turns white and says, "Mischief Managed".

The big gift that I got for Kelland was a box filled with 101 reasons why I love him. I typed them all up and taped them together accordion style. Below my 101 reasons were gifts to go along with some of the reasons and were things that I knew he would really appreciate - new jeans, a comedy improv book, a new movie, toys from the dollar store, a new sweater, etc.

Claire was fascinated by the wrapping paper! I have to say, Christmas with kids is such a blast! I can't wait until next year when Claire will actually "get it!"

I really liked going to church on Christmas morning - really special. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the birth of our Savior than to worship him with song.

Normally we get together with the Davis family in the morning to open presents and enjoy a lovely breakfast, but with it being a Sunday and everyone having church at different times, we got together for a Christmas Dinner - but still had breakfast food. A really nice touch!

Claire got furniture for her playroom from Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt,
And Grandma and Grandpa Davis gave our family a deep freezer - which we're so grateful to have!!
I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas!

Claire's Christmas Stocking

2011-12-24T14:37:00.001-07:00

I finished Claire's stocking! From the time we were born my mom made personalized Christmas stockings for each of us. When in-laws were added to the family she continued to add apersonalized Christmas figures for each person and grandchild - and now we have to be really creative to think of Christmas items that haven't been used yet! Here's our list:
Dad - Candy Cane
Mom - Wreath
Brent - Gingerbread Man
Darren - Snowman
Amy - Angel
Andrea - Star
Annette - Gift
Me - Bell
These were the original stockings. Here are the added ones:
Judith - Christmas Candle
Derek - Christmas Train
Jolynn - Christmas Tree
Patrick - Soldier
Maylin - Doll
Patrick - Elf
Sydney - Teddy Bear
Celeste - Snowflake
Joshua - Polar Bear
Michael - Shepherd's Crook
Christian - Manger
Jake - Santa's Toolshop
Ross - Drum
Allen - Reindeer
Abby - Music Note
Emma - Christmas Cookie
Jane - Christmas Lights
Caleb - Sheep
Hyrum - Rocking Chair

As you can see, we are running out of options! Claire's stocking is a Nutcracker Ballerina. Actually, the girl in the Nutcracker is named Clara, though I'm not sure that my mom knew that when she decided what Claire would be, she just knows that I love dancing and that Claire probably will too.

I have always loved my mom's stockings while growing up so much that I copied them and made my own version for my house. Here is Claire's finished stocking:

I'll have to take pictures of all three of our stockings - perhaps Christmas Day.
Christmas is just around the corner!

Davis Family Christmas Party

2011-12-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

Kelland was Santa at the Davis Family Christmas Party this year. We had a "Cookies & Milk" party with lots of treats and yummy drinks! And of course, no party would be complete without Santa! Kelland did such a great job, and it didn't even look like him once we was all dressed and had his eye brows whited out! He was so great with the kids and made hilarious comments that the adults enjoyed too. I played his Elf and wrote down Christmas wishes to be added to the back of their Santa photo to create memories. I don't think that Claire realized that her dad was Santa, but when Kelland asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said, "Daddy". A keeper for sure!

Claire was an angel for the family nativity, and wasn't very cooperative. It was past her bedtime and she preferred to sit with mom and dad. I played the piano for the hymns during the nativity.

Claire is the little on the left with the green soothie in her mouth and was placed there for a quick photo by her dad.

Traditions

2011-12-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Because we have been sick for 3 weeks this month we are really behind on Christmas and our traditions!

But first, let me show you Claire taking a bubble bath:

She is obsessed with bubbles lately! Singing songs about them, having us blow them in the kitchen, and every bath MUST be accompanied by lots of bubbles. We better stock up!

This was our first visit out of the house is almost 3 weeks. I finally felt well enough to brush my hair and put contacts in. (Kelland is still wearing glasses to get over his pink eye) Please ignore my lack of makeup :)

One of our traditions every Christmas is to visit Denny's and enjoy a cup of their peppermint hot cocoa and other holiday goodies.

Claire fell asleep in the car and surprisingly slept through our whole meal at Denny's - who knew that we would get an impromptu date?

Callbacks

2011-12-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

This Spring both me and Kelland are student teaching and will graduate in April - THE END IS IN SIGHT! In addition to student teaching we are still going to direct Sunset Junior High's Musical. Don't ask me how we're going to juggle everything because we just don't know yet.

We had auditions for our musical earlier this month and callbacks that Saturday. I hate the casting process of directing! It's so hard to disappoint teenagers at such a tender age! Luckily, my husband is much more reasonable and does the hard stuff that breaks my heart to do. We cast 73 kids - more than last year. It's gonna be so fun and so crazy! Bring it on - we love teenagers!

I get to count my directing as my Cooperative Group Experience and get College Credit for it by turning in logs and lesson plans that are Developmentally Appropriate. To document this process I snapped a few photos! Enjoy!

Decorating our Tree

2011-12-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Because we've been sick - we were also behind on getting our Christmas decorations up and our tree decorated. Some of our neighborhood friends came to visit and helped us decorate our tree. Claire was fascinated with all the lights and ornaments and couldn't take her eyes away from it!

Trip to St. George

2011-12-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

Every year the Davis Family has a getaway vacation stay in a condo in St. George. Usually the trip is in September or August, but we went in December this year. It was so much fun! Lots of playing, board games, relaxing, and family time. The last day we were there we got SO sick! Claire was just so sad and fussy and we didn't feel so hot either. After we returned home and visited the doctor we found that Claire had 2 ear infections, pink eye, and a horrible cold! No wonder she was so sad!

We decided to finally turn Claire forward-facing for the first time for our ride down to St. George. She was pretty thrilled and said "Whee!" at every hill and turn for quite a while.

On our first day our little family went to the Fiesta Fun Center to use their soft-play area which turned out to be free because Claire is under 2. What a deal!

I got a video of Claire starting the little bus and I even caught a few words: "Thank you", "please", and "off". I really need to catch her in a talkative mood and get a video of all of her words!

Air Hockey Table:
Yes, Claire is sitting on the table and had a blast using her hands to play air hockey. Don't judge.

My favorite family activity was Anti-Gravity which was a warehouse that had floor-to-wall trampolines and blow up toys! Claire wasn't feeling very well at this point and didn't have as much fun as we hoped she would have. Maybe when she's a little bigger.

This is Grant helping Ella up every single time on this same blow-up toy. What a gentlemen!
See how miserable she looks! We didn't know she was sick - we just thought she was being ornery and needed cheering up. Wrong mom. So wrong.

And the favorite tradition in St. George: Playing Board Games!

We had such a great time - except for when we got sick! I drove most of the way home and ended up getting pulled over for speeding because Kelland said he was going to throw up at the next exit, which made me put the pedal to the metal.When the police officer pulled up behind us we were already stopped in the middle of nowhere with the passenger door open and Kelland leaning out of the car. He didn't give us a ticket. Merry Christmas Officer.

Ogden Lights

2011-12-21T21:58:00.002-07:00

I love visiting the Christmas Village every year in Ogden - So magical! When I was a kid I remember seeing the little houses and sitting on Santa's lap and it was so cold and snowy and I always thought that it was the North Pole.

Claire just sat there and stared at Santa. She liked Mrs. Claus better - a pretty nice touch having her there I thought. She really liked her candy cane.

Thanks Grandpa Schmidt and Annette for tagging along!

Chuck-E-Cheese!

2011-12-21T21:42:00.005-07:00

We have been SO SO sick at our house with colds, pink eye, and strep! At the end of every semester when we are finally able to take a break, we all catch something and are sick for weeks! We're just starting to feel better just in time for Christmas! I'm so behind on blogging and will have lots of posts for the next few days to come.

Before we got sick me and Kelland took my sister Annette and her little boy Hyrum to Chuck-E-Cheese while they were still here from Arkansas. We LOVE Chuck-E-Cheese! It's free to get in and we only spend a few dollars playing the games, a great warm activity for this time of year.

Look at my princess who is getting so big!:

Playtime!:

These little ones are 6 months apart, but they are gonna be great buddies!

More Wedding Pictures

2011-12-21T21:18:00.008-07:00

Here are more pictures of the wedding with the reception and family candids.

Amy & Jake's Wedding

2011-11-29T21:54:00.003-07:00

Well, they did it! My sister Amy and Jake tied the knot officially making him her husband. After only a 7 week engagement we pulled everything together to make a beautiful wedding with normal amounts of chaos. It was only 7 weeks after all, and there was lots to get done. Chaos is expected.
It was so fun to see my sisters who live out of state and spend time with them and their cute kids! Sometimes I wish they lived closer so Claire could play with cousins her own age!

Here's some fun pictures of the wedding:

Waiting for the couple outside the temple - this was us not too long ago!

The happy couple!

Their sealing was special and one to be remembered. Amy is the last sibling to get married and for the first time, all of my family including brothers, sisters, parents, and in-laws were able to be in the temple together. A special experience indeed!

Check out our cute family - and me and Claire's matching red pea coats! Thanks Aunt Brook!

Claire and Grandma Schmidt

Claire, Patrick, Derek, and Aunt Judith - whom Claire just loves!

The family that I grew up with: My 2 parents, two brothers, and three sisters. The whole gang.

Another shot of our cute family - I just can't resist seeing my Hubby look like James Bond in a tux. What a stud :)

Congrats Amy and Jake!

Happy THanksgiving!

2011-11-25T07:25:00.007-07:00

We had a busy and fun-filled Thanksgiving Day! My sister getting married on Saturday (yes, THIS Saturday) and things are already pretty crazy, but with my whole family being here for the wedding, and with it being our year to eat with Kelland's family, we decided to split the day and spend it with both families. It sounds good, and it was, but it was also pretty darn exhausting!

We ate with the Davis side of the family and carried out the tradition of the girls sitting at the kitchen table helping cook and putting together a craft (This year we made an advent calendar with little decorative boxes) and the boys watching a football game. After the meal the women then take a break and relax and men do the cleanup. It's a pretty fair trade :)

This picture is really fuzzy - but the light was just awful. But you get the idea:

Here's me and Lindsi peeling potatoes:

My parents decided to reserve the church building and hold our Thanksgiving festivities there. It was little different, but still great!

There were wedding projects for the women, Cars 2 for the kids, and the men played basketball with matching shirts.

Claire had a blast with all of her cousins! With the wedding and the fact that it's the end of the semester, I didn't have time to make Claire a cute Thanksgiving outfit to wear. I just ran out of time. Instead, Kelland dressed her in the 4th of July Flag dress. "It's an American holiday! This is totally appropriate!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be grateful for! A smokin' hot husband, the cutest daughter, my house, my skills, the church, and the fact that me and Kelland are both graduating this Spring. We have a lot to be thankful for and I wouldn't change any part of it!

23 Years Later...

2011-11-22T12:39:00.006-07:00

My mother is a saver. She has saved boxes and boxes of our stuff and her own in the basement.

When I got married and got a house of my own, I took my boxes home to sort through them. I knew that if I sorted through them at her house and started throwing stuff away she would secretly pull it out of the garbage can and save it anyway. It's pretty precious :)

About 6 month ago my parents found my own baby clothes and they sent them home with me. There were shoes, onsies, pajamas, and some pretty cute little outfits that Claire fits into. Though most of the items I couldn't use because the elastic wasn't stretchy anymore.
Here's me and Claire wearing the same outfit 23 years later...

As you can tell she doesn't get all her hair from me! I love my little princess and I'm happy to share my old clothes, my knowledge, and my life with her.

Who's your Daddy?

2011-11-21T19:58:00.002-07:00

I always had a fear when I was little and even not so little that I would marry a man and that he would turn out to be a jerk and a bad father. Even though I knew that Kelland would never be like that when we were engaged, it was still an annoying nagging thought in the back of my head.

Kelland has not only met my expectations, but he has exceeded them tenfold. He is the BEST husband and father! He always know what to say to make me laugh, and what not to say when I just need silence. He is supportive and affectionate and dotes on our little girl! I love when we end up staying up WAY past our bedttime just talking. Not even about anything that pressing or important - but just talking together. I love watching him with Claire! She just adores her daddy. I seriously am so lucky!

Here is Claire and Daisy watching out the window for Daddy to come home:

One of Claire's "Big Girl" walks that don't include a stroller and don't last very long:

Kelland has taught Claire to respond to the following questions:

"Claire, who do you love?" --Dada

"Claire, who's your favorite?" --Dada. Apparently that was going to be Mama, but he just couldn't help it ;)

Bridal Shower & Temple

2011-11-21T07:24:00.005-07:00

Saturday was a very special day for my sister Amy, but also a crazy busy day for the rest of us. We had Amy's Bridal shower in the morning from 11-1, followed by her endowment later that afternoon. I was in charge of bringing the soup and last night Kelland and I spent several hours peeling, chopping, and preparing the soup. I married such winner! He helps me with my projects and never complains that I volunteer for things that are way over my head. I'm such a lucky gal to have him! After he dropped me and Claire off to the shower and helped carry things in and decorate, he went to the copy center and to get balloons. How did I ever deserve him?

We served Zuppa Tuscana (a recipe from the Olive Garden), rolls, veggie tray, fruit kabobs, brownies with ice cream (Amy's favorite), and frappe' (or sherbert icecream and sprite). I debated on whether I should bring Claire, after all, it is close to her naptime and she would be spending most of her day with Grandma Valerie so that we could go to the temple.... and I decided that she was a niece of the bride and deserved to be there. Luckily her dad came and got her early to lay her down for a nap so she would be happy for Grandma :) He's such a stud a tell ya!

There was great turn-out, mostly at the end which put us all a little behind at getting to the temple on time so that Amy could receive her endowment.

Judith, Grandma Schmidt with Claire, the bride-to-be, and cousin Heidi.

Some of our food before we were done laying it all out to make it look nice.

Sisters - do we look alike?

Claire disappeared from the shower near the end, and after a few minutes of panic I found her in the fireplace in their living room. First I took a picture, then I pulled her out and got her cleaned up.

Around 1:30 - we all jumped into action to get things cleaned up and to get the bride and Grandma to the temple by 2:30. When I got home I only had 20 minutes to get ready, get Claire ready and get her to grandmas so we could drive and get to the session before 4:00. That's how our family rolls - we all run around like chickens with our heads cut off. I'm worried that it's genetic.

It was such a special occasion and I'm glad that I got to share it with my sister. Sadly, my other sisters weren't able to be there and we sure missed them! It felt like such a small crowd without everyone there. After the temple we ate at the Lionhouse Pantry and came home to some much-needed sleep.

Yesterday in Sharing Time my topic was on reverence and I used the story about us fighting to get to the temple on time, running from the parking lot, and how we got to the temple and felt that special reverence that's inside. What a nice reminder :)

Crunch Time

2011-11-12T22:22:00.004-07:00

Whew! It's the end of me and Kelland's last semester of classes, the holidays, and a wedding. Things have been pretty nuts the last couple of weeks trying to fit in all the duties with regular meals, cleaning, church stuff, and family time. Luckily, we've gotten pretty good at juggling things the last couple of years and we have a hard when there isn't enough things on our plate.

My show ended last week. I learned a lot from doing "Curtains". First of all, I filled in and learning the show in 4 days. Talk about pressure. Then, I ended up filling in for other members of the cast last minute. I would literally learn what I was supposed to do for their part right before I walked out on stage. I learned a lot about improv, my self, and gained a boost of confidence.

Here's a picture of the girls dressing room. I'm in the back in the middle with a short blonde wig. I wore 3 different wigs in the show - all blonde. And let me just tell you, even though I was already blonde, wigs are the way to go! No having to curl your hair and spend time 30 to 45 minutes getting ready for each show, I could show up 15 minutes before cast call, get dressed, apply theater makeup, and throw a wig on. Totally awesome.

I have a feeling that Claire might be a total girlie girl. Lately she has become fascinated by purses. I found some of my old purses that are small and just her size and she insists on carrying one whenever we leave the house and she even drapes it over her shoulder like adults do. I guess she's been watching me....She likes to fill it with snacks or toys and she will go to town!

Here's a picture of her dragging our Halloween Trick-or-Treat bags around the house:

It's been getting cold outside and we've been looking for lots of fun places to spend family time where it's WARM! We've been going to the treehouse, the library, bowling, McDonald's, and Chuck -E-Cheese. Neither one of us had ever been to Chuck-E-Cheese, so we decided to try it out - totally cool. It's free to get in, and they even gave us a small handful of tokens to try out our first time. A very economical activity.

Here's a picture of our family after a ward baptism playing at McDonald's:

Our Ward performed our Primary Program last Sunday that I as in charge of writing, or rather compiling. Each child was asked a question that fell under a certain theme and we wrote down their answers, which became their primary part. Obviously the other children had longer parts or talks. And we got adorable answers from the young kids! One little boy said, "My favorite scripture hero is Noah because we both like boats." Precious.
I can't wait until Claire is old enough to participate.
Amy wedding is next Saturday and wedding plans have been super stressful, but rolling along. The elaborate wedding quilt is stitched and waiting to be bound, I finished making her sign-in photo book, clothes are all hanging up, and we are celebrating her bridal shower today, which I finished the decorations for last night.
Along with her bridal shower is her endowment this afternoon. It is going to be one busy day!
Claire is becoming such a little chatterbox! She can communicate what she wants and needs and it's getting to the point where we understand her words and can help her more often than not.
My new favorite word that she says is cereal, though it sounds more like 'Sear-si-ul' - she's becoming a pro with using silverware and gets most things into her mouth with a spoon or fork.
Every time we go somewhere we ask Claire, "Claire, do you want to go outside?", "Outside", "Okay, but we need to get your shoes and coat on." She helps us find them and patiently helps us get them on. If we try to force her to put on her coat without explaining that we're going outside - it's a lost battle! This little one knows exactly what she wants.
I have finished my two presentations for the upcoming week and I'm so glad to have them out of the way so that I can enjoy Thanksgiving! One is on "Developmentally Appropriate Practice in a Theater Education Program." And the other is on "Building Partnerships with Parents through After-School Programs: Emphasizing Theater Arts". I was able to pick my topics, so I chose ones that fall under my interest and ending goals.
After lots of consideration, after I graduate I want to start a Preschool and a theater program for kids. I will be a certified teacher and fresh out of college all ready to teach and spend the rest of my time spoiling my little girl. I also want to start a theater program for kids that is developmentally appropriate. We've been talking about the 'how's' and 'where's' of these goals lately, and surprisingly, It's all coming together pretty nicely. It will be a great balance of being a mother, and still doing something on the side for myself.
I can't believe the semester is almost over! If we can just get through these next 2 weeks of papers, presentations, finals, and a wedding, it all be worth it! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

A Big Family Day

2011-11-02T22:38:00.002-06:00

Today felt like a Saturday to me, and it's throwing off my perception of the week. Most of our day was spent at my Grandmother's Funeral: Lois Ruth Belnap Erickson. There was a viewing and lovely service in Provo with a luncheon afterward, and a nice program and dedication to her grave in North Ogden. Lots of driving and family time today :)

Other Things:

The two rooms in our basement are almost DONE! They are waiting for paint, light fixtures, and carpet - all of which we have already picked out. I can almost see the finished office/craft room and playroom now...
Because we were already down in Provo today, we swung by Ikea to look at furniture for the two rooms downstairs. Ikea is meant to maximize space when there isn't much, and we don't have a lot in our house - a match made in heaven.
Spending time in Provo today reminded me of when I lived there 5 years ago. I showed the husband and Claire where I used to live, where I'd catch the bus, go running, and my favorite places to eat out and buy clothes. It brought back lots of memories!
Claire is picking up new words left and right! Just for fun today I tallied them all up and reached 27 words that Claire says - and that doesn't include words or phrases that she understands but can't say yet. She's turning into a little talker!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T10:48:00.008-06:00

We had the best Halloween ever! We've been sick, and so we packed all of our celebrating into one day where we all felt healthy! We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon and Claire had the time of her life!

Claire wasn't a huge fan of the train on the first time around:

But she warmed up:

And then dad took her 4 more times and she loved it!

We enjoyed pig races, pumpkin blow-up jumping, a candy cannon, animal train, grain slides, a corn box (or a sandbox FULL of corn), and a children's maze. Definately a new tradition.

Now for our costumes!

Introducing:

Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell

I made Claire costume following a pattern from a blog, and made her shoes to match! Sadly, she wouldn't wear the wings, but I think she still looks like Tinkerbell. Here's a better view of the front:

And a view of back as she tried to run away:

Claire with her Aunt Amy, and soon-to-be Bride:

During Trick-0r-treating Claire would NOT let go of her treat bag. She carried it the entire time even though it got pretty heavy! She didn't understand the whole "say trick-or-treat, and they give you candy" yet, but she did pick up on the fact that after they gave her candy, she would smile, and say "Buh-bye!" and we would go to the next house. She enjoyed her spoils at home and asked me to open every piece of candy she could grab! After Trick-or-treating we went to Grandma Valerie's where she found found their treat bowl, and she kept bringing me suckers to open. We made sure to brush her teeth really well that night - to hopefully void all the sugar!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Sunday Thoughts

2011-10-16T20:56:00.002-06:00

It's the beginning of a new week!

We have a family Halloween Party on Saturday that's pretty intense with themed food and fun games. I'm in charge of "Pumpkin Bowling" with Paper towel rolls that look like ghosts and small pumpkins. We look forward to this party every year! Last year our Flintstone costumes weren't quite done and we went as boxers and a cat instead. I have to get Claire's Tinkerbell costume done by then! Most people don't dress up - so our family would be a shoe-in for the Costume Contest.
I now have 7 piano students. Word travels fast! It also doesn't hurt that I'm in the primary and the kids already know me. Claire gets jealous during lessons when she can't play the piano too. At least once a day, she asks to sit at the piano with me and we have a short little lesson which consists of her banging and laughing at the sounds she can make.
Did I mention that Claire is learning to be polite? She says 'please' and 'thank-you' thou it sounds more like "Taze" and "Dunk -oo".
Claire's new "thing" is to try and put on her own pants. Often I'll find her tromping down the hall holding her pants up with one pant leg in. So amusing :)
I'm in charge of writing our ward's Primary Program - and it's all done! Now we get to practice and perform next month.
We had another hard sacrament meeting today. I think it's going to take awhile until Claire gets used to the nursery and then sacrament schedule. She's just plain exhausted by the time she gets to sacrament meeting! We try re ally hard not to take Claire out of sacrament meeting, and if she does go out, we don't let her get down and run around. Today, after a big tantrum, Kelland picked her up to carry her out and she turned to me with a big smile and said, "Bye, bye". Apparently she was grossly disappointed when dad wouldn't let her get down outside and she continued her tantrum out in the hall in his arms.
It's a rainy Sunday evening and we're winding down to the sound of wind and rain outside. Lovely.

Dress Shopping

2011-10-15T19:08:00.004-06:00

Here are some fun pictures of the last week:

Claire's favorite place to hide is under her bed. Yesterday she was helping me "clean" and the house got really quiet which always makes me nervous. She popped out "HA!" and scared me half to death!

Wedding dress shopping!

Check out this chick's hair that is long enough for me to do cool things with it! - if only she would hold still longer.

Claire loves playing at the library. This week she mainly ran around and pulled books off the shelves. I'd like to think that it's still adding to her character and love of books right ;)

I didn't have class Thursday or Friday of this week. There's a "Families Alive" Conference on campus and they cancelled all the classes in my department - which means that we got to party and go to the zoo!

Yes, Kelland and I are matching. It happens to us all the time! If we catch it, whoever was dressed last has to change :)

Other News:

Not only did we go wedding dress shopping this week, but we practiced Amy's "wedding hair" this morning. She wants super curly hair with flowers in it. She loved it - which means that I have a big job for the bridals and wedding :)
I had a show last night - it's been over a week since I performed my role in curtains and I was scared I'd forget all my lines since I hadn't practiced and I forgot my cheat sheet. Luckily, as soon as I hit that stage it became natural.
Kelland and I had a date after my show and stayed for the improv parody "Wicked Funny" where they made of up their own version of the musical Wicked - which I've seen three times.
I spoke and played the piano at a baptism for a little girl in my ward. I was super flattered that out of all the people, she wanted me to speak. I talked about covenants and used my wedding ring to teach the symbolism of making promises, which I tied to getting baptized.
Kelland had a long service project this morning building a wheelchair ramp for a sister in our ward. He had a hard time getting elders there - lots of young families are busy and work on Saturdays. He was there from 10 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon.
I finished Kelland's Halloween Costume today (Peter Pan) and I can't wait to take pictures of our whole family in their getups!
Claire is beginning to say "Please" and "Thank-you".
I helped my mom trace and set up my Sister Wedding Temple Quilt. Now I've got to find time to sit down and stitch.
I took an exam EARLY Friday morning and I was back before my family was even out of bed - no family time wasted at all!

Nursery

2011-10-09T22:56:00.004-06:00

I feel like I have tons going on and that I have 15 juggling balls in the air. Reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite chick flicks: “I've got all of these little balls up in the air. And if somebody else caught one for me, I'd drop them all.” - One Fine Day. I know my Sister Andrea will get the reference :)

My Sister Amy just got engaged to Jake Tolman and the Wedding is on November 26th. That's 7 weeks people! Lots of planning to do! We've already been to look for bridesmaid dresses and out to lunch! I wish my other 2 sisters were here to share the love! (And some of the duties ;) - Miss you Andrea and Annette!) Good thing I also have some awesome Sisters - in- law too!
Today was Claire's first day in nursery. 2 weeks ago before conference I took her in to give her a little taste and I could hear her scream all through my lesson. Urg. I was all prepared to feel that guilt again. Today though, she was awesome! Every time I peeked in (which you can be sure was A LOT) she was smiling and playing and running around. She was a gem...... until we got to Sacrament Meeting which is last, and then she was a holy terror! Nursery must have worn her out and my little girl doesn't fall asleep anywhere but her own bed. Whew! Glad that experience is over.
I finally finished my 15 page research paper! YAHOO! I'm not a big fan of these kinds of papers - but all those nutrition research papers I had to write last semester sure have helped my small skill.
Kelland has been crazy busy with school - if he can meet certain deadlines by November 1st, then he can student teach in January and ultimately GRADUATE in May! And I mean crazy busy! - On Thursday he stayed up until 3 a.m.doing homework! Keep your fingers crossed for him!
Wedding Dress shopping with Amy this week and I have constant bridal shower ideas floating around in my head.
I taught Sharing Time today about Prayer and it went really well! We had one of those - unorganized - no teacher - no substitute - small kid size- primaries today and I was told to take as much time during sharing time as I could. The kids were really responsive and we had a great discussion with lots of participation. Yep. I love my calling and I love working with those fun kids!
I jumped in twice today to play the piano - once for Sunday School, and once for choir. I'm so glad that I've kept up on my piano playing skills!

Blessed

2011-10-06T15:34:00.004-06:00

Life is a gift.

Truly, it is. A friend of mine delivered and lost her baby and I can't believe all the heartache that family must be going through. Reading her experience, it has made me reflect on my own life. I have a fantastic life! I have the most beautiful daughter who I'm told is a carbon copy of myself. I love to play and talk with her. We go on trips to the library and the Treehouse Museum and we play with dolls and read books about cars. She is growing up so fast and even in just the last few days, her development has spiked! She's all over the place and saying tons of words! I love going to get her after naps and she greets me with a huge smile and throws herself under her blankets knowing just how to start playing a game. I can't remember what my life was like without her, and frankly I don't want to.

In addition to my little princess, is my partner in crime and lover. Kelland is my best friend and I don't know how I got through most of my life without him. He is the PERFECT person for me! He always knows just what to say and how to make me laugh. I can bring any situation to the table that I'm going through and he knows how to fix it without being impulsive or irrational like me - which helps my personal growth in leaps and bounds! He knows just when I need junk food and a good show to watch. He takes me on fun dates and family outings that he has already arranged. He's such a hard worker, and he ALWAYS does the right thing! I love our simple life and goals that we have made for our little family.

From a song that I love: I am so blessed, and I feel like I've found my way.
I thank God for all I've been given at the end of everyday.

Conference Bowling

2011-10-02T10:13:00.004-06:00

We've had a great time watching conference this October! I remember when Claire was born several conferences ago in March and we watched conference in the hospital while she was in NICU - ah the memories!

Yesterday we played and played during conference. We went through our quiet books, a toy box, books, and some cuddle time. In between sessions we picked up pizza and had a picnic at a local park. Claire has done pretty well and we have thoroughly enjoyed the messages and spirit in our home from our prophet and apostles.
Last night during the priesthood session my mom and sister showed up at my door and wanted to go do something fun! I pulled Claire out of the tub, got her dressed and we went bowling. I was a little nervous of how she would do, but she actually LOVED bowling! She got one turn every round where she would push the ball and I would add a little more strength behind it. She even got a strike! She was a great little cheerleader and after everyone's turn she would clap and say, " Yay!"

Here is proof of all the fun we've been having during conference!

During Conference, Claire helped me put up some of our Halloween decorations to get ready for the upcoming holiday.

Bowling:

We bought our Halloween fabric yesterday and I'm all ready to start sewing Kelland's Peter Pan Costume!
As of 5 days ago, I'm now in a musical. A performer in a local show hurt her knee to the point that she can't use it, and so I got called to learn her lines, blocking, and dancing for the show to open in a week. It's been a stressful week, but it's all worked out okay and I've been able to learn everything with lots of help from the cast! The musical is called: Curtains, and it's downright funny! I play the character Bambi - and I have lots of fun dancing!
Claire's new thing is that she asks to take naps. She grabs her "comfort bear" and says "bye-bye". What other options do we have? We lay her down and let her take a snooze :)
School is going great this semester and I might be looking at a 4.0
Today would be Claire's first Sunday in nursery..... and instead it's conference weekend. Tis my life :)

Carnival

2011-09-24T20:46:00.005-06:00

We had the opportunity this weekend to take Claire to a local Carnival at Layton High school. It was so much better than we were expecting! It was well organized and had a big variety of activities! After buying our tickets we enjoyed a dinner of hot dogs, chips, and drink and watched the cheerleaders perform while we ate. We visited their "petting zoo", played ring toss and bean bag toss, popcorn, a duck pond, played in a bounce house and slide (where they giggled at us when we asked if there was an age limit), rock climbing, we won two gold fish, and Claire and I both got a manicure! I couldn't help but think of the little boy in the movie The Incredibles when he collapses on the bed and says "I love our family." I felt that emotion alot tonight!

And this was my first rock climbing experience ever!:I'm not sure why I've never actually tried any rock climbing walls - because it was fun! Kelland's a little iffy on heights and preferred to stay on the ground and watch with Claire. I was successful and made it to the top!

Obviously, the manicure part didn't work out so well, Claire kept moving and trying to touch her wet nails, and the high school girl running the booth felt so bad and offered to return our tickets. I had to tell her: "Hey, I knew this wasn't going to be successful, but I knew it would be fun!."

And these are our new fish. Total impulse. I'm not sure what we're going to do with them, but you have to get a fish at a carnival! It's a must!

Despite the scowl on her face, Claire was having a great time and loved her hot dog, even though this picture would suggest otherwise!

Carnivals rock. I'll have to keep my eyes open for more fun times!

After winning a small bottle as a surprise, we opened a pack off bubbles and blew them for Claire and she quickly said, "Bubble" without any prompting. Loving the new language.
Claire said our prayer at dinner tonight. When told it was time for a prayer, she set down her orange slice, clasped her hands together and proceeded to jabber for about 15 seconds. "Did Claire just say our prayer?" "Totally counting it!" - she used to throw fits when it was time to pray, so this is a BIG deal :)

Birthday!

2011-09-19T20:59:00.003-06:00

Whew! The days are just speeding by and I'm not quite sure where they are all going! We had a FANTASTIC last week - I know, lame to be blogging about the past week when a new one has started - but I have to do it because we celebrated my BIRTHDAY!

That's right, the big 24. Before my birthday I told Kelland that next year I want to have a big party for my birthday. "We can do that this year!" I vetoed his decision, not because it wouldn't be fun, but 25 is a much cooler number birthday than 24. Quarter of a century - who doesn't want to party?

My birthday also happened to fall in the middle of the week. Urg. Middle of the week birthdays aren't my favorite - you still have to keep up the same schedule and forget half the time that it's your special day. On the plus side, your birthday turns into several days of celebration. Not too bad ;) Instead of Tuesday, we celebrated on Monday night (I know, what happened to the weekend? Our weekend was completely crazy) I do have to say though, Monday date nights are the best! Lots of personal attention and we got places all to ourselves! We spent the whole day together on Monday. What a better way to celebrate than with my little girl and then with my husband on a fun date! We had a picnic in the park, ice skating, dinner, movie complete with popcorn and pretzel and lots of snuggling. Completely fun!

Claire's language is booming! She is trying all kinds of new words and repeating things that we tell her! I LOVE it! Can't wait until my girl can communicate with me and I can find out how that brain of hers works! - Bird, Popcorn, buh-bye, mouse, yes, ball, and it just keeps on growing.
I'm going to be starting our Halloween costumes this week. We have decided to be.... (drum roll.....) Peter Pan! Claire gets to be Tinkerbell and I found the cutest pattern from a blog that I know I can follow. Kelland is of course, going to be Peter Pan, - without tights he says- but I'm going to have to enlarge his costume from a 4 year old. And I'm going to be Wendy.

Mary Poppins and other Fun

2011-09-07T18:56:00.007-06:00

We have had a fantastic week! Lots of fun activities to keep us busy and I managed to take a few shots of things along the way.

Kelland I got to go and see a Broadway touring cast Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theater. It was awesome! So magical to see how they did things - made things appear out of no where and had Burt tap dance on the ceiling. Mary even flew out over the audience at the end and I couldn't see any strings attached! I have to say though, it's not my favorite musical and I only like about 3 of the songs, but it's a great show to see the Broadway magic!

We celebrated Labor day with both sides of the family; going with the Schmidt family to the Riverdale Splash Pad and lunch, and we having a BBQ with the Davis family.

We also went on lots of small family outings to feed the ducks, play at the park, work on outside projects, and play group.

This is Claire's new favorite toy when we go to playgroup at Diana's house - she can play the piano on a seat just her size :)

Riverdale Splash Pad:

Ignore Kelland's crazy hair :)

Claire and her cousin Derek

Such a happy, happy girl!

Grandma brought doughnuts...

Claire, Amy, and Jake

Park Time:

Our neighborhood friends Emma and Lydia who tagged along

Mary Poppins:

Yes, I know that I'm wearing a hat to a musical - it had been a crazy day and I ran out of time to do my hair. But it's a nice hat right? Don't judge.

Project Bag!

2011-08-27T11:50:00.005-06:00

We have survived our first week of school and our new schedule. And I have to say - that it's going much more smoothly than I thought it would! Actually, I think that Claire prefers the way we have started doing things. She gets several hours with each parent every day and we plan fun things to do everyday. Kelland took her to the Treehouse museum, the library, the park, and we all went swimming as a family Wednesday afternoon. I took her to play group, to play on the swings, and outside time at our house.
We're both loving our classes and it's so fun to share the information with Kelland that I'm learning that's both interesting, and that applies to our little girl. It's harder to talk about what Kelland is learning - advanced math sounds like a completely different language to me!

On a different note: I finished a new project. A cute tote bag! Now, I didn't get good pictures of it because Claire was having a moment, but let me tell you, it turned out so cute! I got the pattern from this website:
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/08/large-tote-with-rounded-opening.html

Honestly, my bag turned out just as cute, I just don't have as good of pictures :) It's my new toy bag for church, and after testing it out on Sunday it's really sturdy! I've already made another one because I have a few birthdays coming up soon in my family - I hope they'll like their bag!

It had a square bottom so it holds lots and stands up on it's own and it has hot pink lining - very stylin!

I even made the flowers on the front out of fabric from old scraps

One of Claire's favorite games is to pull out 50 wet wipes when I'm not looking and then play peek-a-boo with them.

Other thoughts:

I'm finishing my 3rd week of P90x and I can't believe that I've made it this far! My calendar is slowly filling up with X's, and I'm getting stronger!
Our basement is slowing getting finished and it finally feels like we have a room down there - it even has sheet rock and insulation!
Kelland made curry chicken yesterday for dinner - and it was pretty awesome!
We got our little puppy Daisy "fixed". It's sad to see her out of commission, but it's good to know that we won't have puppies!

New Family Picture!

2011-08-20T12:45:00.007-06:00

School starts tomorrow which means that we get to look forward to new adventures and learning new things. I'm kinda excited for school, though I know that in about a month I'll be kicking myself for saying such things.

Our New Family Picture:

Other fun pictures this week:

Claire likes to play out on the deck and close the door after herself.

This is our neighborhood friend Lydia who comes over to play with Claire almost daily. Here the two of them are enjoying a bedtime story.

Claire has entered the really REALLY messy eating stage where not only does it get all over her face and hair, but the walls too.

Other Thoughts:

This week Claire grabbed my curling iron as I was trying to put it away and it was still hot. She screamed and I felt like the worst mom in the world. A few days later at the dollar store we saw a toy "Hair kit" with a plastic curling iron inside. She loves that toy!
We participated in our ward's Back-To-School BBQ on Saturday, where Claire was toted around by the older kids.
I got into my last class! YAHOO! That's one less thing that I have to worry about this week! I've been checking my student email everyday compulsively for a month so that I don't miss another "you only have 24 hours" email.
Did I mention that Claire can walk, she just won't. She still prefers to scoot around unless I'm holding one of her hands. It also doesn't help that when we go to church or ward functions that she gets toted around by the youth. - Though I can't really complain about it :)
Claire's countdown for nursery is 5 weeks. With missing people, she got to go in there the whole time with me today as I helped our lone nursery leader. I think she's gonna love nursery! She did everything with the big kids. She sat in her little chair for singing time and the lesson, and loved the snack with the little paper cups. Maybe those kids will motivate her to start walking :)
I made it through my 2nd week of P90x, and my calendar now has 14 red X's through it. This week was much easier on my body. I wasn't nearly as sore, and by tracking my progress, I know that I'm getting stronger and leaner!
Kelland has been gone every night this week doing his Hunt Mystery show in Provo. We've missed him!
I worked on our ward's primary program this weekend, even having a few neighborhood girls over to watch a movie with me while I got it all typed up and ready for Sunday. What can I say? They wanted to stay, and I was just going to watch a movie and type anyway. Might as well make a party of if!

Look Who's Walking!

2011-08-11T17:04:00.005-06:00

As you can see, Claire is finally trying to walk! Her stubbornness finally broke and now she's at least trying to move on her own two feet!

On Monday: We had FHE with another family in our ward delivering invites for an upcoming event and then enjoyed Red Mango Afterward.

On Tuesday: We made a trip to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. Every time we go Claire discovers something new that she loves!

Today: We went swimming at the Clearfield Aquatic Center

Kelland's "church" at the Treehouse Museum - we might have just as much as Claire :)

Swimming:Please excuse my awesome farmer's tan.

When we ask Claire, "How old are you?" She holds up her pointer finger all by herself
Claire knows the difference between giving a high-five and knucks (or a fist bump) - it's the primary kids favorite trick of hers!
Claire has been drooling lately with a slight runny nose - another tooth might be coming in.
Claire 'sings' with dad copying him with "La la la"

Summertime

2011-08-10T14:41:00.003-06:00

I feel like my summertime is running out and I'm getting kind of frantic about it. I've loved this summer! Relaxing, learning new recipes, taking dance classes, watching my baby grow, starting P90x, and being together as a family has been so refreshing! There's just a little over a week left before our schedule fills up and our life becomes more structured. Last night I made a bucket list of summer activities I want our family to do before we all go back to school. The Zoo, The Treehouse Museum, hiking, eating otter pops on the porch, stargazing, and swimming are just a few of the fun things we are going to pack in before August 22.

Other things we've been up to:

I'm in my first week of P90x - and it's kicking my butt! It's such a great workout, and besides being super sore, I think that I'm getting stronger. I know that my eating habits have definitely improved!
Claire's hair is long enough in the back for two low pigtails - which reminds me of Pippy Longstocking.
Kelland has had lots of moves recently - 2 last weekend and another one tonight.
Kelland only has one Hunt Mystery show this week - but next week is packed with performances. Which he gets paid for - Oh the purchasing possibilities!
I met with the owner of the dance studio where I'll be taking - and she rocks! These classes are going to be so fun!
Claire is FINALLY starting to walk by herself! I know that she can, for a month now she's had the balance and strength, she just won't. She has no interest. So, with a little bit of persuasion and bribery, I can get her to walk across the entire living room for a fruit snack. I wouldn't say she's full blown walking yet, but she's made lots of progress! I love watching her little legs teeter along.
We had family pictures taken on Saturday with our little group and Claire was not very cooperative. We only got 4 family shots before she decided she was completely done! Luckily, there was one picture that 's pretty good - with all of us looking at the camera and smiling. What more can you ask for?

Back to School Dress!

2011-08-02T10:59:00.002-06:00

Me and Kelland are going to be starting school later this month and we are trying to get things all ready so that we are prepared when our schedules dramatically change. I'm in my last semester of classes - only 12 credit hours. It shouldn't be too bad, but it's different having a toddler versus having a little baby. I remember taking Claire to campus when she was only 2 months old and me and Kelland would switch who went to class and who watched her in the union. I became pretty awesome at breastfeeding in public!

Luckily, me and Kelland worked out our schedules once again so that he can watch Claire while I'm in class - pretty perfect. I don't have to feel guilty about leaving her -She gets lots of Daddy/Daughter time. To celebrate our upcoming change I decided that Claire needed a new back to school Dress. Even if she's not the one going to school, her parents are. My mother-in-law gave me lots of fabric scraps last time I visited and I decided to put them to good use.

I made Claire an apple "Pillowcase Dress". I'd never made a pillow case dress before, and I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt. Pretty easy to make and they grow with the kid. I have feeling that making a lot of these will be in my immediate future...

She wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get a good picture of her - but you get the idea :)

Because we're heading back to school we're also in the process of deep cleaning our entire house - today we finish up the kitchen. Tomorrow, we start on the living room.
We had play group today at my house - and it's a total wreck right now! I have to remember that the best memories come with the biggest messes - makes it all worth it :)
Kelland's dinner theater opens this weekend and I get to see it on Friday and have a pizza buffet.
Tonight I'm trying a new recipe - shrimp fettuccine alfredo. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!

My Shoes

2011-08-01T08:40:00.003-06:00

As you can see - Claire's new obsession is shoes.
Claire must be exhausted from our camping excursion this weekend because she's still sleeping - 1 hour and 40 minutes after she usually wakes up.
I've been on a waiting list to get into a certain class that I need - and they emailed me about an opening while we were camping. - I only had 24 hours to respond, and I missed it. Back on the waiting list. I'll be SO mad if I can't get into that class!
Today I plan on deep cleaning our car and the trunk. It needs some serious love!
Claire did great at church yesterday, but she is so ready for nursery! She's not naughty at church, just really loud. We end up taking her out of Sunday School because she's jabbering or creating noises that make people turn around and look at us. I think she'll love getting to play and be as noisy as she wants at church for a change.
I played the piano yesterday in primary. All the teachers went to a combined lesson and our presidency juggled all the kids. We played a temple matching game, helped each kid make a temple out of paper that would stand up on their dresser, and ended with a movie.

Camping!

2011-07-31T10:09:00.004-06:00

We went on a Ward Campout this weekend and had a good time. We're not really campers. I'm sure that it's much easier when you have a soft pad to put under your sleeping bag - otherwise you get poked by rocks all night. Claire did really good with sleeping in the tent - she fell asleep as soon as we laid next to her. Even though we stayed awake for a long time talking and laughing, she just turned right over and went to sleep, content that we were right there.

In the morning, she woke up rearing to go - at home she'll wake up and play in her crib for a long time until she's ready to face the world. But with camping, we were right there and she thought it was party right when she woke up.

We had a good time bonding with people in our ward enjoying a BBQ, games for the primary kids that I helped put together, and a fireside.

These two girls share the same name: Claire and Baby Claire

The kids in our ward LOVE Claire! They want to hold and play with her all the time - I don't really complain about this too much :)

Happy Pioneer Day!

2011-07-26T18:55:00.003-06:00

We had a great holiday yesterday! We went to the Ogden parade, where we danced along with the bands and waved at the missionaries. Then Kelland took me to try Indian food at a buffet. I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it was! Even Claire liked parts of it, especially the rice and curry beef. After an afternoon rest, we finished off our day by playing at the park and enjoying pizza and games with the Schmidt Family!

The Parade:

Claire really likes the camera... or rather just wants to hold it and slobber all over it. :)

Park Time:

This little chick is really brave! She loves to go down the slide ALL by HERSELF! Think I'm kidding? Check out these video clips - the first one is the baby slide, the second is the big kid slide. No hesitation from Claire:

Claire still loves bananas and was devastated when we ran out and didn't have any for breakfast yesterday
Our new favorite "couple activity" is to read books together, out loud. It's actually been really fun - much better than watching tv :) We just finished Divergent and are part way through The Forest of Hands and Teeth. We have to find a compromise to find books we both like.
Kelland bought me a "tap floor" that I can practice on with my tap shoes. It's really just a masonite slab, but he cut it so that it slides under the couch when I'm done using it.
This is the last week of my summer tap and ballet classes - and I'm really sad!

Family Time!

2011-07-24T19:04:00.006-06:00

We're trying to spend lots of time as a family during our last month of summer - because once fall comes and school starts again we won't have nearly as much time to play. Here's a few pictures of our week:

I took Claire to a nearby park in Riverdale that had a "splash pad" as well as a playground and lots of space and shade - probably our new favorite park!

Zoo Trip:

Play group:

My friend has an awesome ball pit for the kids to play with at her house - I might enjoy it more than the kids :)

Claire's Big Girl Hairdo:

We made two trips to the library where Claire picked 5 books to bring home.
Lots of park trips to play catch and kick around a soccer ball.
Claire loves swimming and we took her to the aquatic center this week. She loves to sit in the kids swings and run around in circles splashing! She also loves to go down the kid waterslide by herself letting Dad catch her at the bottom!
On Wednesday Claire was so fussy! All. day. long. At bedtime I told Kelland, "I don't know who this baby is, because she's not my happy princess!" This has happened two times before, which helped us discover her new teeth. Sure enough, she has her bottom two canine teeth sticking partway up. That made me feel better - she's just teething, not going through a personality change :)
We went to a family reunion yesterday
I got my hair trimmed this week and it feels SO healthy!
Me and Kelland have been awesome with exercising this week - and have worked out everyday.

Big Girl "Do"

2011-07-17T10:38:00.005-06:00

Look who is getting to be such a big girl! Claire has enough hair for me to give her "normal" pigtails instead of having them right on the top of her head! She looks like such a little lady with half of her hair up in pigtails and the other half laying down in soft curls.

I had Claire through all three hours of church today - all by myself! Kelland wasn't feeling well (I hope we're not starting this up again) so I flew solo. Too bad Claire was super ornery. It would have been much easier had she been her normal self. Getting over those lingering effects of being sick I assume.
We have brand new carpet in our bedroom that is super soft! Our floor is no longer dangerous with nails sticking up around the edges which makes my parenting job much easier.
We had taco salad for lunch today - love it! What a simple, quick, relatively healthy, yummy meal. Definitely a keeper!

Sidewalk chalk

2011-07-17T10:29:00.003-06:00

Claire has been introduced to sidewalk chalk, and she loves it! The cement on our sidwalk and driveway was pretty hot, so we drew on the porch instead.

Other Thoughts:

We had a picnic at the park yesterday and played on the toys. Claire LOVES the swings and the slide. She goes down the slide all by herself!

We are finally all feeling better and we're starting to put our life and house back in order from 10 days of the flu.

Me and Kelland are both registered for school and I'm excited for my final semester of classes! Claire loves going to campus and switching back and forth between mom and dad depending on who's in class. This is when our pass to the Treehouse Museum is awesome!

Harry Potter

2011-07-16T10:11:00.005-06:00

It's all over. Kelland and I went to see the final Harry Potter yesterday at 10:00 am - the first morning showing, much better to get a sitter :)

We absolutely LOVED it! It was the perfect way to end the "worldwide phenomenon" as they said in the previews. The acting was awesome, not to mention the special effects and the dialogue. I was on a rollercoaster of emotions through the whole thing. Excited to see how they made it end, and sad for it to be over. This week we have all been REALLY sick and have watched lots of movies and tv between bathroom visits. To celebrate the end of our favorite series, we watched all 7 movies leading up to the 8th. J.K. Rowling is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Her books flow together and all the pieces fit in so nicely! Things she mentioned in the 2nd book become important in the 7th book - tying it all together. She has created her own world with a different culture and details about pictures moving, and wizard's chess, every flavor beans, and viewing memories through the pensieve. More than once this week, Kelland and I have wished we were wizards and have repeated "spells" during the day wanting them to really happen.

There were details that I loved from the book that I wished would have been included in the movie (like the protection charm placed over everyone when Harry sacrificed himself, and that the final battle between Harry and Voldemort was in the center of the crowd with everyone watching) but the movie was perfect none the less! The romance was touching, Fred's death was handled beautifully, the "other world" was just as I pictured it, and Snape was honored impeccably. I loved the clips from Snape's memory and how well they explained his story. I actually thought that the movie did a better job tand I felt more for him than I did when I read the book. Though, showing his emotions is much harder in a book than a movie - more visual.

Basically I cried through more of the movie than I would like to admit. I cried when it was touching, when it was sad, and when they triumphed. Total bawl baby. I clapped and cheered along with everyone and I was sad when the movie ended, because it's over. There are no more books or movies to look forward to. Harry Potter was such a huge part of my childhood.

When I was in the 6th grade (yes, I was young and still am) my teacher Mrs. Mills started reading us the first Harry Potter book aloud. I remember wondering why she was reading us this book about a boy who lived in a cupboard, odd. But once I found out he was a wizard and the story unraveled, I devoured the book at home and I have never looked back. When the 7th book came out, I was on a camping trip and I was devasted that I was going to have to wait to get the book. Kelland waited in line until midnight and left the special present at my door, letting me read to my hearts content.

Harry Potter has taught me great lessons about growing up and integrity. I learned to be myself and that it's my choices that define who I am - Dumbledore taught me that. Neville taught me that it takes a lot of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends. Ginny taught me that through patience, true love will find you. Hermoine taught me that you can exceed expectations. Ron taught me about loyalty. And Harry, dear Harry, has taught me to ALWAYS do the right thing.

A friend of mine posted this about Harry Potter, and I just had to include it in my own record:

"Step aside Star Wars, Twilight, The Narnia Series, and even Lord of the Rings for the ending of Harry Potter. My childhood ends in a week." - I couldn't agree more.

Another friend said:

"In a little over 24 hours it will all be over. There are no more books or movies to look forward to. I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't looking forward to something Harry Potter related. And now it's over. Call me a cheeseball, but I consider it an honor to be apart of the original Potter generation!"

It's been a great ride Harry - thanks for the memories!

15 Month Checkup!

2011-07-08T15:30:00.002-06:00

Claire was awesome at her latest Doctor appointment. She did great when they weighed her, measured her, and poked her to test her iron levels. But when it came to measuring her head, it was the end of the world. She did not like that band that went around her head - which is weird considering that she wore headband everyday of her life for 8 months. After that, we had a hard time getting her to cooperate with anything else. Our doctor said, "you have a strong-willed one here, good luck on potty training!" That's a part of parenthood that I am not looking forward to.

And here are her stats at 15 Months:
Weight: 18.6 lbs. 3%
Height: 22.4 inches 4%
Head Circumference 15%

We have graduated Claire to a bigger car seat! She's still rear facing, but sits up higher and upright. Aunt Brook gave us an adorable one that we waited to install after we got back from Disneyland - trying to keep everything the same for the long car ride. I'm not too sure how she feels about it, considering that I banged her head while trying to stick her in.....
Our front yard is rockin' compared to last year! Our sprinklers work and the lawn is actually green. Of course it also helps that the house next door is vacant and their grass is dead. Makes our look awesome!

Surfer Girl!

2011-07-07T17:26:00.000-06:00

Check out this little girl who loves to swim now! We've taken her swimming many times since she's been born, but this was the first time that she loved it, and this event happened several days ago!

Claire came with me to an evening Primary Presidency Meeting. I guess with the vacation and 4th of July Holiday, her nightly routine is slaughtered. She was played with constantly by older kids in the ward (Mainly Lydia West) and was so spoiled - getting multiple cookies and cheese. What can I say? My little one is so loved!

Me and Kelland made white chocolate peanut butter bars tonight - pretty tasty!
We had Maple Salmon for dinner and we all decided that we don't really like salmon. I learned to love seafood after I married Kelland, but salmon's tastes too "fishy" for me.
Our house is FINALLY clean! I think it took me almost all day to get everything scrubbed down, put away, washed, mopped and vacuumed.

Independence Day!

2011-07-05T13:18:00.010-06:00

We had an awesome holiday yesterday! We played all day and didn't do any work or cleaning, and considering that we just got back from vacation - you can picture what a disaster our house was! We went to the Layton Parade with the Schmidt Family,walked through the Carnival (where Kelland bought me a new new necklace), watched National Treasure (pretty patriotic I must say) and had a BBQ and watched the fireworks with the Davis Family.

It was a perfect holiday for our little family!

We brought our dog Daisy to the parade with us and she was so good! She watched the parade from under my chair and greeted kids that came to say hi so nicely!
Today I saw the first signs that Claire might be a diva. After her nap, it was well passed lunch time so I knew that she must be hungry - but she started bawling everytime I put her in her highchair. I finally figured out that she didn't like the bib. As soon as I changed the bib from an orange one to a pink one with Minnie Mouse on the front she started eating like a champ. Are you kidding me? 15 months old and we are already starting this - it's gonna be an interesting ride! :)
Claire was an allstar during the fireworks and cannons. She wasn't scared at all and lost interest in the firework after 3 minutes (just like I knew she would) and wandered over to play with Aunt Brook and Uncle Arron - who let her play with their phone. Spoiled.
While we were watching fireworks a group of "hicks" pulled parked illegally and blared inappropriate country music. We got two soundtracks for the firework show - the city's patriotic song mix, and twang. Polite asking didn't do a bit of good.

Check out those teeth! Claire now has 4 teeth - two top molars and two brand new bottom teeth!

What an awesome day! Happy Independence America!

Manti Pageant!

2011-07-03T21:34:00.006-06:00

Our little family got to go to the Manti Pageant two weeks ago (Before Disneyland). We went last year and decided to make it a family tradition. Because it was so close to our Disneyland trip, we didn't think it was a good idea to overload our family and do both.
So how did we end up going you ask? Well, our ward went to the pageant for Youth Conference and two boys coming up later than the group didn't have a ride - so we decided to make a family affair of it and even got a hotel room for the night!

Claire was awesome! She played and played, watched a bit of the pageant, got rocked, then she fell asleep in her stroller while we finished the pageant.

This year I actually have some pictures to show for our experience! Last year at the Manti Pageant, we lost my camera in the crowd and it never turned up. When I was 3, I lost my favorite blanket at the same pageant. Now, I make sure that everything is packed up tight before it gets dark.

Disneyland!!!

2011-07-03T17:59:00.017-06:00

We are back from Disneyland and we had an awesome trip! Yeah, it was stressful at times, but what an awesome experience! We had such a great time introducing one of our favorite places to Claire, and she started to "get" it. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt for taking us ALL to California!

Claire's favorite thing about Disneyland was the Balloons. Massive bunches of balloons would pop out all over the park and she would start freaking out. We just had to buy her one. 7 bucks. Kelland said, "I would have bought that balloon no matter how much the guy asked for it."
Claire's favorite rides were the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, both of which put her to sleep before the ride was over. They are pretty relaxing I must say.
Claire was such a TROOPER! Our little girl who is used to a familiar schedule pushed through all day and slept in the stroller or in our arms. She's definitely a Disney fan, just like her parents.
The new Little Mermaid ride is awesome! Right up there with Peter Pan in my opinion.
3 1/2 years prior to this trip, Kelland proposed to me in Disneyland. Of course we had to reenact it and take a few pics.
Claire watched about 10 fireworks saying "Oo!" with each one and then became obsessed with the nearby Astro Orbiter ride (which looked like a group of balloons). However, when we took her on the ride she wasn't such a fan - a little too intense.
Claire doesn't like shows yet. The Fireworks, World of Color, the Parade, The Aladdin Show were all things that she watched for about 30 seconds.
Kelland got the Turkey Leg that he's always wanted to try.
I got to try my first Las Vegas Buffet. Not quite sure what the big deal is. Just like Chuck-a-rama or Golden Corral to me.
Claire LOVED the Dumbo ride and figured out that by pulling the lever she could make the car go up and down.
On the long drive, Claire didn't sleep much, but she didn't cry either. This made for LOTS of playtime in a little place which calls for lots of creativity and makes exhausted parents.
I got to meet my two twin nieces! They are already 8 months old and they're so big and adorable.
We rode to California with my sister and her boyfriend, all squeezing in her 5 passenger car. I will NEVER do that again! The way down was fine, we were all fresh, but the ride home was a different story. 2 adults and 1 large carseat in the back? No thank you. I was starting to get claustrophobic - no matter how much I love to cuddle with my husband.
We loaded up on the sunscreen and none of us got burned. Score!
I'm amazed at how much I eat on roadtrips - do I really need that much fuel, or is there just nothing else to do?
My parents bought all of us t-shirts for souvenirs at a little shop down the street from our hotel. Our little family ended up wearing ours home. Claire's t-shirt was WAY too big for her, but we tucked it into her skirt and she got along fine.
Claire's favorite food right now is bananas. On the trip she learned how to say Banana, though it sounds more like "Nanana". Claire wasn't too sure about the frozen chocolate banana that we bought her in California Adventure though. She preferred to break off the chocolate and eat the banana underneath. That's my girl!

And here are TONS of pictures from our trip. Sadly, they aren't in order and the computer that I'm blogging on won't let me move them. So bear with me:)

Our little family on the teacup ride - which Claire loved!

Kelland's turkey leg that he has been talking about since we first learned about the trip.

This is the end of our second day after standing through World of Color. Don't we all look exhausted? And yes, that's my dad laying on the cement.

Here we are - ready to enter the park! Claire's outfit is still clean and white - that didn't last long!

Claire finally got her balloon! It is super protected by a plastic ball and made it all the way back home from California only to expand too much when we ran into Walmart for a quick shopping trip. Sad actually, though Claire prefers it that way, much easier to grab.

Swimming after our LONG car ride to California!

Future Bell Hop

Happy Baby in the Car!

Resting from our LONG car ride. And yes, Claire is using a swimming towel as a blanket, only thing I could get to without disturbing her.

Part of our large group

My Nephew Hyrum who lives in Arkansas

Sweet Baby Jane!

Cute Emma

Jake, Amy, Hyrum, Maylin, Celeste, Emma, Jane, Ross, Andrea, Annette and my Mom

My awesome parents who I love so much!

Hyrum, Caleb, and Annette from Arkansas

Claire did a lot of snacking while we waited in line. I've come to think of Tootsie Rolls as Baby tobacco because of all the juice that would run down her mouth.

Jungle Cruise

The whole group. Can you believe that we actually ALL got together to take a picture? Amazing really.

Her Chocolate Banana

She's in a sharing phase right now. We don't really complain about it too much ;)

Reenacting our proposal, this time with an extra little person in the picture!

She looks pretty exhausted huh? She took a long nap right after this :)

Watching the show at Circus Circus while waiting to get into the buffet.

This next part is actually from my sister's blog, but I wanted to record and remember it too! Thanks Andrea!

How many people were in our party? 29 adults, kids and infants
How many steps can one do in Disneyland in a day? 25,000 or 11 1/2 miles
How many runners to get 24 fast passes? Two (Amy and Jake were super fast at working the machines and meeting us at rides. We got 5 fast passes that day because of them.)
How many people can fit in a boat at the Pirates of the Carribbean? A group of 24.
How many people can fit into a honey pot at the Winnie the Pooh ride? 11 including 4 adults, 4 infants and 3 kids. (Which was a good way to kill time while one group went to Splash Mountain and then we swapped groups).
How many happy meals make grandkids happy? One per kid (10 were ordered), especially because the boys all got Pokemon toys and all the girls got doll toys.
How many minutes did we wait in line for Roger Rabbit? One.
How many people were in line for the new Star Tours? Lots! There was over an hour wait all day. Luckily with a fast pass we got on in about 20 minutes. The new ride is definitely better. It's got a better movie, but I didn't think it was worth more than a 20 minute wait.
How many babies did Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt babysit? 5 infants. They stayed home after dinner with the sleeping babies while the rest of us could return to the park to do more rides.
How many times did we wait in line before entering the park in the morning? Three -- bag check, ticket check, rope drop. As my Brother-in-law Ross says, it's like going to the doctor. You go, you wait, you move and then you wait again somewhere new.
How many people went to the World of Color show? Way too many. It was hard for any of us to see what was going on and the tallest people in the park were standing right in front of us.

Birthday Guest

2011-06-20T21:43:00.001-06:00

Claire attended her first birthday party for her friend Diana. There's a small group of us young moms whose kids are all 3 months apart and we get together several times a week for play group. It so cute to watch our kids interact and recognize each other, not to mention the little tantrums that break out because they all want the same toy but don't understand sharing yet.

Claire acted like such a big kid at the party! She sat by the birthday girl and watched her open up her presents so patiently!

My favorite moment was when Diana opened up a DVD with a colorful picture on the front and Claire wanted to hold it so bad! Once it was in her hands she tried to turn the pages like a book. That's all the knows so far, she doesn't watch any tv or movies yet, but she is all about the her books. Pretty awesome I say.

Ahhh - and Diana finally opened a book! Doesn't Claire look so content?
And yes, my friend really does have pink hair - it's not a trick of the light :)

Treehouse Museum!

2011-06-20T09:37:00.002-06:00

Claire LOVES going to the Children's Treehouse Museum in Ogden and she even has her own annual pass. I know, she's pretty little, but I still find it money well spent. We originally got the pass during those winter months where we would spend hours with her on campus. It was so much easier to take her somewhere for her to play that was WARM!

We take her at least once a week, sometimes more. I suspect that as we start up school again that we'll have many more trips. She loves playing with all the little pieces and watching the big kids. That's gonna be her soon!

We happened to have an extra coupon for a free pass so we took our friend Jaden and her mom Kasia. The kids played for 2 1/2 hours and took the best naps afterward. I sure know how to tucker kids out :)

By the way, I think that Claire would make an awesome President. There would be love all around. I'm just sayin'...

Other Thoughts:

We had an awesome Father's Day and spoiled our Daddy all day long! He was even treated to breakfast in bed and a customized gift t-shirt with Claire's picture on the front and Kelland's favorite phrase about our daughter: "How'd ya get so good lookin'?.... I got it from my Daddy!"
Things were a bit disorganized yesterday in the primary and I had to be the pianist, which also means that I had to play the piano in Sacrament Meeting for the Father's Day songs. On the spot. Super awesome.
Claire officially has tooth #3! This time, she's more like a normal kid and it's the front bottom one. Whew- I was starting to worry ;)
Kelland and I ended up talking on the couch until 1:30 last night. It's awesome that after 3 years of marriage, we still have lots of things to say to each other. Though I hope not to make it a habit to stay up that late all the time - it's been hard for me to function today!

July 4th Dress!

2011-06-13T20:59:00.002-06:00

I finished Claire's 4th of July dress! Finally! This dress has been sitting in my project pile for way too long and I've been procrastinating getting it done. I saw a picture of this dress on google and I tried to copy it without a pattern - something I'm really lousy at! They never turn out exactly like I picture, and this little dress required more un-picking than I would like to admit. But it's finished and I even made coordinating hairbows for both Claire and myself.

I'm Such a Big Fan!

2011-06-11T19:04:00.003-06:00

We have ceiling fans in our bedrooms and living room, and Claire LOVES them! I'm not joking! After every nap she is obsessed with me reaching up and turning on and off the fan and light - huge giggles!

While buying yard supplies at Lowe's we passed the lighting section and she started freaking out. Squealing, yelling "Da, Da, Da", and bouncing up and down in the cart. She saw all the ceiling fans. Hundreds of them, and she couldn't believe her eyes, we spent 10 minutes walking up and down those aisles while Claire giggled. Precious.

My Bed

2011-06-08T14:33:00.003-06:00

Now that Claire is mobile it's so funny to see where she ends up and what interests her. Today I was straightening the living room when I hear giggling coming from the other room. As a knowing parent, that's either a good sign or a bad, messy one. My mind started sorting through all the possible scenarios of what she could be into. I turn the corner and see her sitting in the doggy bed looking so proud of herself and teasing the dog.

She kind of looks like Diddle Diddle Dumpling with one shoe on and one shoe off, including the hairbow on one side.

Other thoughts:

This morning I taught piano lessons to young sisters in my ward. I'm so glad that I know how to play the piano. Once you get the rhythms down and where the notes are you can play anything! But learning those basic principles can be kinda tricky!
Claire came visiting teaching with me today and threw a tantrum while we were there. I feel for parents in grocery stores.
Tonight we are having a birthday party for Kelland with the Davis family. BBQ, salads, fruit, and I'm making a cake with a caramelized and whipped cream topping -let's hope it turns out! I actually really like trying out new recipes on other people, because if it doesn't turn out, no big deal. It's not my fault - I just followed the recipe ;)
Kelland leaves EARLY tomorrow morning to go to Aaronic Priesthood camp for the rest of the week. It will be the longest we've been apart since we've been married. That means it's gonna be me and Claire for almost 4 days by ourselves without our precious Daddy. I know, I feel for me too. Luckily, I really like Claire and we'll have a good time.

Morning Hair!

2011-06-07T16:29:00.000-06:00

Claire's hair is growing so long and thick! We get compliments on her pigtails or cute side pony ALL the time! I guess we're lucky that she has so much hair at her age, considering I was bald until I was two. It's all dad there.

Before all the bows and ribbons this is what I face every morning:

I can't really complain though - look at that mischievous smile. She's gonna be a total rockstar!

Other thoughts:

Claire's 4th of July Dress is almost complete with matching hair bows!
I've ordered our 3rd family yearbook and expect it to come in the mail anyday now. (I make books from our pictures during the year on a computer program)
We're going Camping and to Disneyland this month! My mind is already racing with packing scenarios!
Claire can drink from a straw. Last week, I attempted to teach her how using some juice and she showed no interest. Today at play group she grabbed one of the other babies sippy cup with attached straw and went to town. Picked that up all on her own!
I start my summer dance classes in just over a week. I'm going to take tap and Advanced Ballet. I'm not five, but I have really missed dancing and I found a professional adult program that looks like the perfect fit for me...I hope.

Applebees!

2011-06-07T00:43:00.000-06:00

In honor of our anniversary (I know, it's been a couple of weeks, I forgot I had these pics!) we went to lunch as a family, using a gift card we had to Applebees. Normally Claire just eats bits of whatever we're eating, but this was the first time that Claire got her very own Kid's meal - a special occasion indeed! It even came with its own activity booklet and crayons. Check out this little girl who already know how to hold a crayon the right way- at 13 months!

I'm sure with practice she'll get even better!

The First Teeth!

2011-06-06T14:38:00.000-06:00

Claire is 14 months old and just received her first teeth. That's right, teeth - plural. She has been so grumpy the last couple of days and we have something to show for it! Two teeth on the top halfway back, one on each side. I'm not sure if they would be considered molars or not...

This is not a good picture, but it's the only one that she would let me take after we discovered the two white little mountains. You can kind of see both of the teeth on each side if you look close enough!

Happy Birthday Love!

2011-06-05T14:24:00.004-06:00

26 Years ago Kelland was born and now I get to spend the rest of eternity by his side. He's been my best friend and we have grown into a great duo. Since his actual birthday is on a Sunday we celebrated on Friday evening with Dinner at the Texas Roadhouse (Never been there before, but you can be sure we'll go again!), Nickelcade, Ice Cream and a One-night stay at a place called the Roseland Cottage, which we received as a gift from our cast at Sunset Junior High.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt for watching Claire overnight - and I'm so glad she was an angel!

Yes, I know that I'm wearing a skirt...at an arcade.....

This place was SO much nicer than we were expecting!

Happy Birthday my love! I'm looking forward to many more in the future!

Our Super Saturday!

2011-05-28T19:04:00.005-06:00

Best Saturday ever! Kelland spent last night at a Father/Son activity with a boy from our ward. Needless to say, when he got home, me and Claire were pretty excited. He hasn't been on an overnight camp out and left us behind before! Yes, I know. We've been married for a while but I still miss him way too much when he's gone. What can I say? We're super in love!..... and I'm kinda needy :)

Our family "Super Saturday Activity" was spent along the Ogden parkway enjoying the shade and getting some good walking time in. We parked our stroller and played catch, even involving Claire. She grew pretty attached to that baseball and insisted on holding it all the way back to the car. We picked up a lovely dinner from Zupas (food to die for!) and watched a romantic comedy after Claire went to bed.

I feel so blessed. :)

Even Daisy got to come

Claire and her baseball! See the drink holder to the right? The whole walk back Claire insisted on putting her ball inside and then would get super frustrated when she couldn't get it back out again. "It fits too perfectly. That's where the ball must go." Over and over again.
What a determined little girl.

Anniversary # 3

2011-05-16T11:49:00.007-06:00

Today is me and Kelland's 3rd Anniversary. That's right folks, we have been married for 3 big ones and somehow ended up with a kid along the way. It's fun to look back at old pictures and watch our wedding video and realize how far we have come. I can't imagine my life without Kelland by my side and we have grown into a such a great duo!
(Also - Not only is today our wedding anniversary, but it's the anniversary of our first kiss a year before :)

How we met: Footloose

It's only gonna be better from here!

Daddy/Daughter Outing

2011-05-15T17:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Kelland took Claire to the hardware store with him to pick up a sprinkler part while I helped a young girl in my ward prepare for an upcoming audition. He returned no lie, almost 2 hours later! What took so long you ask? Apparently while they were out they went to a "Pirate Party" at the grocery store. They made a hat, played games, and won their contest. They also browsed a yard sale and came home with a Disney Princess quilt. When I asked him what the quilt was for all he said was, "I don't know. But it had Princesses on it." Did you hear that? I'm not the only one who makes our little one so girlie.

Spring is in the air!

2011-05-11T22:16:00.000-06:00

This spring is the "Year of the Yard". We are attempting to make our yard more presentable. In all honesty, we haven't done anything to our yard but mow it since we moved in. Yeah, we're those neighbors. We have no idea how to take care of a yard and people take pity on us when they see us out "working" in the yard. There is a house 1 street over from us that has a yard that I am slightly obsessed with, and we're trying to copy parts of it. We've put in flower beds and planted actual flowers. That's right flowers - hopefully they'll last for longer than a week! Next is sprinklers and maybe even sod. Our grass is pretty sad, probably past repair. We might just rip it out and start over. Here is our family taking a break in the backyard which also needs some love, but one project at a time right?

Also - I totally made this dress with hardly any fabric at all - sewing for kids is super cheap!

Cousins!

2011-05-11T09:42:00.000-06:00

My sister Annette happened to visit Utah a couple of weeks ago for a wedding and we got our little kids together - Claire and Hyrum. Only 4 months apart. My other sister Andrea has 2 twin little girls, Emma and Jane that are only 7 months younger than Claire. Sadly though, I don't have any pictures of Claire with Emma and Jane because we've never met them. I've seen cute videos and pictures of them, but never seen them in the flesh. In just over a month we get to have a family reunion in California and Claire gets to see all of her cousins at the same time! The whole family! All 28 people (15 will be kids) at Disneyland. There will be lots of catching up and chatting along with bawling and endless diaper changes I'm sure, but what an experience it will be!

1 Year Photo Shoot

2011-05-09T13:53:00.003-06:00

We finally have Claire's 1 year photo shoot pictures back!

(It's not like we were super on top of it either, it took us several weeks to take her in)

She did great for about 8 poses, then she was ready for a nap. Once she started rubbing her eyes, there was no going back and no convincing her to be happy and smile for the camera. Look at my little chick is starting to become a little person!

Can't help loving her gorgeous eyes and coy little smile :)

The Month of May

2011-05-09T13:10:00.005-06:00

Can I just say how much I LOVE the month of May? Not only is it FINALLY warm outside, but this whole month carries so many memories for me that I get to reminisce for 31 whole days!

This is the month where me and Kelland met, went on our first date, fell in love, and got married. Not all in the same year of course....we're not those kinds of Mormons :)

How we met: We were both in the summer musical Footloose for Clearfield City and played opposite of each other. I guess you could say that we fell in Love on and off the stage. We're coming up on our 3rd anniversary and we have the cutest little princess ever!

Lots of good things to come in the next few weeks!

Alice In Wonderland Jr.

2011-04-29T15:55:00.003-06:00

Ahhhh - we did it! We finished another show and it was successful. This is our second year directing at Sunset Jr. High, and I think we are here to stay. The staff is amazing and the kids just plain rock! It's always such a bittersweet feeling when a show closes. It's a relief to take a break and shove another thing off your plate, but the people are what always makes the difference for me.

Claire was fantastic during the whole process! She came with us everyday to the class and loved the kids. Even though I wasn't planning on it, I had 57 instant babysitters that would take turns and volunteer to watch her. She is so loved!

Sadly, I did not take one picture during the whole process! We had a photographer come and take pictures for the kids and she is supposed to send us a copy - hopefully we'll get it soon!

Big Talker!

2011-04-29T05:35:00.001-06:00

Claire is finally mobile enough that I can say that she makes messes faster than I can clean them up! I do have to say though, it's cute watching her be so destructive, it's a new phase. Give me a month and I might not be so thrilled! :)

Still no crawling for this little chick, but she is a master scooter! She sits on her bum and pulls herself around with her legs. She's gotten really fast at it and I've had to start baby-proofing everything. Our doctor said that since she has found a way to get around without having to go on her tummy (this little monkey has never liked tummy time) that she probably won't crawl but scoot until she walks.

I do have to say though that her language skills rock! She can say Mama, Dada, Dog, and a few other constant sounds that I still need to place. However limited her language is, Claire likes to pretend that she knows how to talk and have "conversations" with me where I fill in the words.

Excuse me and my sister talking at the beginning, I think I forgot I was taking a video :)

Latest Project:

2011-04-26T14:16:00.003-06:00

My parents are turning in their mission papers in the fall and for a last huzzah before they leave for a while they have decided to take all of us kids and our kids to Disneyland in June. For those of you that don't know me, I absolutely LOVE anything that has to do with Disney. I have a Disney Princess keychain and had a Disney Princess poster that hung on my door all through high school. (The poster is from a high school Disneyland trip where a small group of us bought Disney princess shirts and crowns and hung the poster on the outside of our hotel door)

Me and Kelland also have a special tie to Disneyland - going there twice with groups of friends, being proposed to in front of the castle, and spending a day there on our honeymoon. Needless to say, we're both pretty excited.

Even though Claire won't have a clue what is going on or why Disneyland rocks yet, I decided to make her a little outfit to wear in the park:

I might make her one more shirt to wear.... you can never have too many right ;)

My Growing Girl!

2011-04-25T16:40:00.000-06:00

I'm still doing this whole "Mom" thing and Claire is still alive - a pretty good sign:)
In all seriousness though, being a mom rocks! Don't get me wrong, I've never lived for vomit or blow-outs but when I look at this face, I'll clean up a thousand messes!

How can you not smile by looking at this little face? Ahhhh - I could do it all day, and I think I will.

Claire is loving her special Easter bag!

She is awesome! I love spending my days with her and greeting her first thing in the morning. Such a happy, happy baby! Unless it's close to nap time or bedtime, then it seems like the world is ending :)
How I just love my precious little Claire Bear!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:53:00.005-06:00

Spring on the way, Easter Egg hunts, new clothes, and the beautiful gift of our Savior. What a great day!

Yes, I made our families' ensemble. Two matching dresses, tie, hairbows, and necklace. Yep, I know, I'm one of 'those' kinds of moms. Total cheese bucket!

I also have some of the CUTEST pictures of Claire that I decided needed their own separate post tomorrow - check back soon!

The Shoot

2011-04-07T12:43:00.003-06:00

I've been waiting for the cameraman to email me some of the awesome pictures that he took on the set so I could put them up here. And I'm still waiting. So now you get to hear about my "shoot" without any good visuals. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go back two posts to hear about my "movie" role)

Saturday was the filming for the children's movie "Welcome to School". It was an all-day process! I left my house at 6:20 a.m. and I came home at 5:00 p.m. That's right, no General Conference for me and no Saturday chores like cleaning and grocery shopping. But I can't complain on getting too behind in my duties, because it was an awesome experience!

There was a costume team who had irons and steamers to make our outfits look nice and there was a hair/makeup lady named Lisa. Let me just say, leaving the house with absolutely NO makeup on my face is something I haven't done since I was 11. No mascara even - I had to give myself a pep talk. Lisa curled my hair and put in so much hairspray that I was considered flammable. During the different shots Lisa would run in and re-powder my face or spray my hair - Just like the real movies.

They fed us breakfast, lunch, and lots of snacks. The 5 kids in the movie pigged out on all the junk food that they never get to eat at home.... which I also found myself doing. Mint Oreos are my weakness.

There was a massive green screen that we stood on, huge lights that melted us, and a whole crew watching us sing and dance and being super animated. How exhausting!

During the shoot I was told that Lex said "She is absolutely perfect for this part!". The director said, "You have perfect Disney Princess hands, and I know because I have had to draw them hundreds of time in animation. And right before I left Lex De Azevedo hugged me and said, "You are a great performer." It's great doing something that I love and would do for free and then getting paid for it. I'm expecting a check in the mail. Best of both worlds.

I came home sweaty, feet-sore from being in heels all day, and with a big smile on my face. Thanks hubby for being supportive and for the great foot massage afterwards and my awesome parents for watching Claire all day. It was a relief to know that she was in good hands :)

Look Who's Getting Big...

2011-03-31T13:38:00.005-06:00

Not Claire, that's for sure! We just had her 1 year check-up and we have such a little peanut here. She's gonna be small for probably the rest of her life - just like her parents. Here are her growing stats:

Weight: 17.6 lbs. .... 4%
Height: 27.4 in. ..... 8%
Head: 38%

Claire has maintained her little "spot" on the growth charts and is always within the same 3 numbers. This means that we won't be switching to a new car seat anytime and that she gets to pack in the calories and fat. Though I'm not sure what good that will do her - even when I was expecting her I had a hard time gaining weight. Must run in the family.

She did so good considering how long everything took and how many times they had to poke her! Seriously, I think that all the waiting at the doctor's office is completely pointless. Kelland has a friend in Med School and when he "Job Shadowed" a family practice the staff spent 5 minutes with each family and then 15 minutes checking email and facebook in between. Tacky! I don't mind waiting in the foyer. Of course, I do make an appointment to get in at a certain time, but it is what it is. And I don't mind waiting for the actual doctor - I'm sure they're fairly busy. But I HATE waiting for the nurse after the doctor leaves to give my child a shot. Seriously, we waited for 25 minutes for her to do a proceedure that took 2.

We were at the doctors for 2 hours and we were the second appointment of the day. Way too long for a child who is healthy!

As a side note, today the kids in the musical sang to Claire for her birthday. She hasn't been to rehearsal for the last couple of days, so they had to delay her "party". They sang, had cookies, and even had a gift for her to open. We are the luckiest family ever and our little one is so loved!

I'm a Movie Teacher!

2011-03-29T11:02:00.004-06:00

Aright, now that the word is out, and things are rolling along, I guess I better share some fun news. I've been given an awesome opportunity to be in a Children's video produced by Lex De Azevedo. When I do shows in the community, I get to mingle with lots of fun people from all different backgrounds and different talents. A parent of friend that I've done shows with is on working terms with Lex De Azevedo and has helped him with different movie projects.

Lets back up for a second though. "Signing Time" is series that was produced by Lex's company (Two Little Hands Productions) and it turned out to be a huge success, being made into DVD's and shown on PBS. They've decided to make a different series about school..... and I get to play the TEACHER!

When I was asked to come and audition by my friend's mother, I didn't really think anything of it. First of all, I didn't understand exactly what I was auditioning for, and when they said that they were going down to BYU the next day to look at some Young Ambassadors, I thought there was no chance. But I couldn't complain, the audition experience was awesome! Normally at auditions, you pin your arms to your sides and move as little as possible. They don't want to see you dance, they just want to hear you sing and get you out of there. For this audition I was required to sing AND dance at the same time. "Well, you sure can sing" he said when my song finished. I guess I put a lot of energy into my song:) Afterward, they pulled my hair into different hairstyles and took lots of pictures. Then, I stood by Lex De Azevedo while he played the song for the pilot and I sang along with him.

With all the other competition I didn't think that I would get it. But I guess he saw something that he liked because HE PICKED ME!

Yesterday was our first rehearsal to learn our choreography and blocking so we can go straight to shooting on Saturday with a green screen behind us. (Pilot, shooting, green screen, I'm still getting used to all this "movie" lingo) There are five adorable kids, and me. Their teacher. We had a great time being animated and cheesy and making sure that we were facing the right directions for the camera angles, definitely something I'm not used to. Don't try to explain to me where the frame is going to cut off! Just tell me which way to face and I'll try to do my thing.

Recording came next. This was the part that I was the most nervous for! Acting cheesy is one thing, but I was worried that I would concentrate too hard and miss the mark of what they wanted. I found myself in a real-life recording studio with the microphone and the screen cover in front of it and headphones. They only thing I could think of was all my old Disney singing sensations and I had to refrain myself from acting out their music videos.

We did several takes of each section and they seemed really pleased. Lex and the recording guy said things like "Perfect!" after the first take and "This is going really fast" and "we're going to be outta here in no time." Huge sigh of relief. The only other time I've been in a recording studio was for the Day of Celebration for the church and I just had to talk slowly into the microphone. Singing is a whole different ball game.

When I left he walked me to the door and thanked me for the fun experience. I went to shake his hand at the same time that he went to give me a hug.... I guess everyone has those awkward moments, even people in show business ;)

Saturday will be hair, makeup, filming, and probably super exhausting!

Happy Birthday Claire!

2011-03-27T15:35:00.024-06:00

My baby is a one year old! One. Where has the time gone? I've been doing this "Mom" thing for an entire year, and sometimes I still don't know what I'm doing ;)

I went from having a baby who looks like this:

To a little girl who looks like this:

Today during her nap time when dad was at meetings and I was home alone, I browsed through pictures of the last year, feeling slightly weepy that time is going by so fast. What an awesome ride this year has been! Claire is getting so big and hilarious - she's gonna be just like her dad and make people laugh.

On a sentimental note: I can't believe how much I LOVE my little chica! Seriously, she's awesome. I try to think back on the person I used to be, and I was nothing compared to the wonderful experiences that she has given me. She's increased my happiness level. You parents know exactly what I'm talking about. When you're single you think you're happy. Then you get married and think, 'Now I'm REALLY happy!'. Then you have a kid. That's happiness dude. Something you don't understand until you experience it.

To celebrate our monkey's special day we decided to have a "Bathtime Birthday!" Party. Kind of a random theme. When she's 3 we will throw her an awesome Princess Birthday party, But right now, the thing that she loves the most is bath time, and since the party is for her, what better way to celebrate?

We had two different families parties and transported the games and cake back and forth.
Game #1 - Water Search n' Find. We put Claire's bath toys in a bucket of water and blind folded the kids. They had to find certain objects in a certain amount of time to win a prize.

Game #2 - A Rubber Duck Walk - 20 laminated duck cards with numbers that the kids hopped, skipped, and jumped around until the "Bathtime" music stopped. If they were on the right # - they won a prize.

Game #3 - Don't Take my Bubbles! - Exactly like 'Don't Eat Pete!' but played with different pictures of Claire in the Bathtub.

Bubbles were handed out to each of the kids to enjoy after the party

Birthday Cake:

Birthday Tutu from Aunt Brook - fit the bathtime theme!

Opening Presents:

Claire's first doll with pajamas and cute blankets from Aunt Brook. In this picture Claire is showing us how she knows where the eyes and mouth are.

Hooded Bath Towel from Grandma Valerie

Breakfast Cake:
In my family growing up it was a tradition to have this cake served the morning of someone's birthday, and we've carried that same tradition into our family.

Opening her first birthday card from Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt with her first dollar.

More Presents!

We celebrated with both sides of the family and had a fun-filled birthday weekend!

Happy Birthday Claire - thanks for helping us realize what REAL happiness is!

It's Tongue Time!

2011-03-20T19:54:00.002-06:00

Over the last 2 months Claire has become obsessed with her tongue! Everyone keeps telling me that it's just a stage and that she has "discovered" her tongue, but I don't think so. I think that my daughter will perpetually and unconsciously stick out her tongue for the rest of her life. You've seen those romantic comedies where the girls sticks out her tongue in thought and the male lead finds it really attractive? That's going to be my daughter. Attractive to all men ;)

She sticks it out mainly when she is in deep concentration, in a playful mood, and even when she smiles. And only on the left side. That's my little girl - growing up and developing her own little quirks.

BookWorm!

2011-03-07T11:36:00.003-07:00

Guess who is finally starting to understand how awesome and entertaining books are? That's right, my daughter. When she was younger, sure she would sit still and look at the pictures but she wouldn't last very long. Now, when we pull out books she starts giggling and settles down to listen. Her favorite books are the ones where she gets to interact with the pictures. Lifting the flap to show a hidden animal or pull out a pop-up page. I used to get so nervous that she would ruin all of our interactive books before she could even talk, but she is so gentle with them! She treats them like they are made of gold. And to her, they might as well be :)

Like Mother, Like Daugther!

2011-03-07T10:57:00.004-07:00

I secretly LOVE to sew! I like 'finishing' a project and having something to show for it. Now, don't misunderstand me. I like to sew, but that doesn't mean that I'm great at it. Don't look too close:) And now that I have a daughter who doesn't speak yet to voice her own opinion, I can make her anything that I want! I have to monopolize on this time before she starts thinking I'm uncool and refuses to wear anything homemade.

I bought fabric to make pillows to match my living room, only to come home and wonder what I was thinking. You'll know why when you see the fabric. Don't judge. Great for a spring dress, but not for a subtle living room. With all of this left-over fabric I decided to make matching dresses for me and Claire to wear. That's right, I'm one of those kinds of moms. It was quite an undertaking, having to start my dress over 3 times. I should be much better at reading patterns from now on. And I made Claire's dress without a pattern - which I think turned out rather well!

Next on the menu is making a birthday dress for Claire and Easter outfits for the whole family. We'll see if I can get Kelland to wear a tie that matches us :)

Can you tell that it's just about bedtime?

Also - notice how good our dog is with Claire

Also - here's view of some of our St. Patrick's Day decoration. I seem to fit the same theme...

Spring Fever!

2011-03-04T23:20:00.007-07:00

I am so ready for the snow to leave for good and to bring back out my flip flops and sunscreen. I miss being warm all the time and not having to constantly wear a coat! Today the weather hinted at spring and our little family couldn't help but walk to the park to swing and play on the toys - even bringing our dog to make the celebration official :)

90-day No Eating Out Challenge

2011-02-25T20:51:00.005-07:00

I can't believe I did it. 90 days. No eating out. A HUGE accomplishment for me! Let me just say, that eating out is my favorite bad habit. I love dollar menus, being seated, and no cooking or cleaning up. Ah - it never gets old! And Kelland likes to keep me happy - which came with lots of takeout food. We realized in November how out of control our eating habits were getting. We found ourselves eating out almost every single day. And once we discovered that Del Taco had 39 cent tacos - there was no going back. We were both in school, a little baby, directing a musical, involved callings and lots of homework - eating out was a happy relief. Not only had we developed a really bad habit, but we were wasting a lot of money; Eating out is pricey - even the dollar menu options, and we were throwing out lots of expired groceries, meaning lots of money down the drain. After many attempts to slow down our binge eating, we discussed goals to refrain from the fatty foods we loved. When Kelland suggested we go 90 days without a single hamburger, taco, or takeout pizza, I thought he was crazy. Sounded a little extreme to me - its all about baby steps right? Kelland got me motivated and we started that very day.

That first week was intense, and the second was a killer. I wasn't used to cooking that much, and oh the dishes! All I wanted to do was "pick something up" and shove it in my mouth. But I knew that we were in the long haul to complete our goal, and we used paper plates for a while to make me feel better.

During the third week of our challenge, my sister Annette graduated from Weber State and my parents took us all out to Golden Corral to celebrate. We were really conflicted. We were 23 days in, and I certainly didn't want to start all over again. We decided that 1) we didn't decide to go 2) we weren't paying for it and 3) it wasn't replacing the cooking we would have normally done. So, without any guilt, because we didn't cheat, we went and enjoyed ourselves, resuming our eating out fast.

The tricky part was holidays. What about Christmas? New Years? Valentine's Day? We made a compromise to buy food at the grocery store that we wouldn't normally buy - making it a special occasion. With lovely decorations and candle lighting, I forgot we weren't at a restaurant.

Around day 47, eating at home became much easier. It became a habit to cook, and I wasn't nearly as tempted. That's not to say that my cravings completely disappeared. The hardest days were when lunch was late and we were out and about or we forgot to pack snacks between school and rehearsal. Those billboard posters sure look appetizing when your tummy is rumbling.

Soon it was day 48, 53, 65, 82 - I couldn't believe that the days were just rolling by and we were still hanging on strong! Yesterday was day 90. That's right. 90 full days without eating out. 3 months. I did it! Funny thing is, we have no immediate plans to do so. I thought that when we reached our goal we would run out the next day to a nice restaurant. 90 days is an awfully long time, but now that it's been so long, I can't say that I've missed it enough to jump right back in. We wanted to break our regular habit and make eating out an occasion. Something special. Rare.

Kelland has asked me on a date for next weekend, and I think that we will probably get something to eat. That's right, someone else will cook and clean up after us. What a special occasion indeed.

Our Special Song

2011-02-22T19:30:00.001-07:00

Claire and I have 'singing time' every night before she goes to bed. We sing lots of Broadway songs, and for some reason whenever I draw a blank on picking a new song, it turns into one from Mary Poppins....great show, but I've never liked it that much. We also sing hymns and lots of childhood favorites like Popcorn Poppin'. Claire is starting to participate with me, and claps along with each song - so precious! That's my little girl - born to be a star :)

Right before I lay her down, I sing our "Special Song" - Goodnight Sweetheart. I don't even know if that's is the real title to the song, and frankly I don't even think I know all the words. It comes from the movie Three Men and a Baby with all the men surrounding the little one and singing in harmony. When I was a kid and when I would get scared or have leg aches, my parents would let me sleep on the floor next to their bed. That's right, they drew the line on sharing their bed, though I don't blame them. And when I would lay 3 feet below my mom on the floor she would say, "Sing me song." And for some reason, it was always that song. I would repeat the round over and over until I got sick of it or until I fell asleep.

I didn't plan on making it the song that I sing to Claire before bedtime, but it's kind of stuck. The other night I tried to end with "I Am a Child of God" and Kelland threw a fit! "What? That not her song! Let's sing the other one!" and sometimes he'll join in and we'll have a little duet by her bedside. Don't get me wrong - we totally promote hymns and belief in God, but I guess the other song is a little more catchy. Don't judge.

Meet Daisy!

2011-02-11T17:00:00.003-07:00

Ah- I can't believe it. I'm a dog owner! Throughout our dating and nearly 3 years of marriage Kelland has wanted to get a dog. I've never been a pet person. When we lived in an apartment and couldn't get a dog, we got got cats because Kelland claims that a 'home isn't a home without a pet'. But Kelland really never wanted cats he just wanted a dog - and after we had a baby and the cats wanted nothing more to do with us, it transitioned back into a dog. After lots and LOTS of discussions he wore me down and we agreed to get a dog when we had a son because Kelland claims that: "Every boy needs a dog!" We settled on this agreement after watching the movie My Dog Skip - what tragic movie! Kelland must have know it would break me!

I had a few big things on my list of why I didn't want a dog: 1- They shed! I hate going to houses with dogs and leave with hair on my coat or when I find Claire's blanket covered in fur. 2- They are big and smelly! They can ruin furniture, knock down my baby and they get really dirty. And 3- My parents are allergic to all cats and some dogs and the last thing that I would hate is for my parents to not be able to enjoy Claire because their noses and eyes are running (yeah, we didn't think about this until after we got the cats. In a way, we're lucky they ran away).

That's when Kelland found dogs that have nothing on my "bad list". They don't shed, which means that they have hair not fur, making them also hypo-allergenic. Yes, that's right. Hypo-allergenic. A Dog. What is this world coming to. And they are also small. It didn't help when our good friends got one of these dogs (A Shorkie) which finally made me cave. That's when we got Daisy (Thanks a lot Annie and Shelby.) She is a Maltese mixed with a Shihtzu Poodle and she was Kelland's Christmas present.

At first, it was just like everyone said it would be - suddenly I found myself with not one but two babies! She needed constant supervision and help with potty training. After a while, it became a little too intense for me and it came down to either getting rid of the dog (which would break Kelland's heart) or learning to love her. Since we still have her, you can assume I chose the later.

Well, things are definitely looking up for me and Daisy's relationship. We enrolled her in puppy school, where she gets oohed and aahed over, and we have lots of training sessions at home. She can come, sit, lay down, roll over (my absolute favorite and most pointless trick), stay, wait, leave something alone, heel on walks, and my crowning glory: ring a doorbell to go outside to go potty. I know. I didn't think a dog could learn to do it either. She rings one to go out and rings another one to come in. Also - she is the best cuddler!Someday, I will feel confident enough to take her to parades and soccer games and have my obedient like furball trail along beside me. And people will just love her - like they already do.

Beauty and the Beast

2011-02-07T22:57:00.003-07:00

We just finished up directing Beauty and the Beast Jr. at Mount Ogden Junior High. People wonder why and how we could possibly keep up with and enjoy a cast of 60 teenagers - but we LOVE it! No, honestly, and I'm not just saying that in case one of their mothers stalks this blog. We love working with this age group. Our job is to make it a fun and positive experience. We want them to love doing shows and have a heck of a time; teaching them theater skills along the way. Easy right? Sure, it comes with struggles of playing quiet games and dealing with the constant flirting, and gossip of who likes who, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Our show is over, and it's accompanied by bitter-sweet feelings. This was the most difficult show that we have had to deal with. Not only is the show itself hard; it requires intense costumes, a large set, and adult emotions; but there was a lot of junk that happened behind the scenes, making things complicated. Politics, Micro-managing, and losing 9 of our kids including 2 leads a week before the show opened. What a headache!

But at the same time, we also had some of those "bubbly" moments that make it all worth the effort. Watching our Belle come alive with depth once she stepped in front of an audience, seeing the awkward kid nail his lines with confidence, and helping several of them develop comedic timing. What an honor to be apart of and have a chance to make an impact on them!

Here are a few pictures of our show - sadly, my camera battery died and only allowed a few pictures.

A few of our awesome teens! I'm sad that the quality stinks!

Our Belle and Beast - Greg and Hannah. They were awesome!

Claire also grew to love these teenagers - coming with us to every rehearsal and being so patient while we taught the kids. My parents watched her during the performances - making our life and hers so much easier by letting her keep the same bedtime! "Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for watching me so that I could get my beauty sleep during the performances!"