Beautiful Girl - 6 1/2 Months Old

Getting Around....It's a Feat!

Goal: Reach the Baby Einstein Star (one of her favorite toys)

Ok...here goes nothing...

Maybe if I do some swim strokes, I'll get there easier...

Almost! Almost!

Ok this is a bit anticlimactic, but....she never actually made it there on her own. Jordan said she got so close pretty fast, but then spent a half hour trying to get it when she was like a foot away, but then gave up frustrated! Sad baby girl!

Just Hangin' Out

Daddy likes to take pictures on his SLR. A lot.

Graduate!

Claire is now big/old enough to fit in the big-kid shopping cart seat! Now I just need to remember to bring sanitizing wipes to clean up the whole seat before she gets in! Or maybe not. I want her to form lots of good antibodies, right? It's a struggle to find that balance.

About to Crawl....

Here she is at Grandma & Grandpa Taylor's house rocking on her knees! Apparently, this is the step right before crawling!!! AHH!! I am going to need to child-proof my house more AND put a gate up!

Getting a little too smart too soon....

So, the other night I was feeding Claire some YUMMY peas. Hey, I happen to like them! (Let me clarify though--these are pureed frozen peas...not that disgusting canned variety) She did not. Like them. So, I decided to do the typical switch-a-roo that moms everywhere do: give her a spoonful of fruit and cereal and then a spoonful of peas...so she doesn't know what's coming NEXT!

It worked. For like 2 bites.

Then she got smart:

She decided she wouldn't open her mouth for EITHER of them UNTIL I put the spoon up to her lips, thus, allowing her to figure out which of the foods it was before opening wide. Crafty. Clever. Shrewd. Sharp. Ah!!

Any tips??

Mmm....new foods!

Mmmm....this is different....

Pretty good!

And, I'm so crafty...

So, just wanted to show off the fabulous WREATH I made recently!! After months of my friends teasing me that I had my Christmas...ok, "Winter" wreath (it didn't scream Christmas, honestly!) on my door until....now... I finally decided to make myself a new one!

Ok, well, what made me make the change really was that one day I opened the door and lo and behold! My wreath was on the ground! It had fallen off the door. I viewed it as an omen...that if I didn't get rid of my Christmas wreath, I would be struck down or something. SO, I went to Michael's, got the ready-made twig wreath, and then added some awesome silk flowers! I think it turned out so cute...and not cheesy, right??

Oh, and I also needed to post about the flowers I got for my yard :) Got some Dahlias for the porch and some Impatients and some kind of purple filler flower for the shepherd's hook/basket combo... I think I still need a ton more, but this is a start!!

I'm so trendy....

Just rollin' with the celebrities, you know me....

Mainly wanted to post this because I was so proud of myself for being able to actually DO it to myself! With NO help! I'm usually so bad at doing my hair.... Anyway....

Claire's 6-Monther

Claire in Daddy's tie dye creation he made her over the 4th of July at the cabin :)

This morning we took Claire to the doctors' again for her 6-month checkup!

Here are the stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. 15 oz. (30th percentile)
Height: 27 inches (78th percentile)
Head circ.: 16 inches (53rd percentile)

All of her percentiles have gone down. But she's gained 3 INCHES in height since her last checkup two months ago!

Once again, she got shots. That sucked as usual. She was a trooper. Cried for a minute and then was just fine! And was just fine the rest of the day!

Ok, and here is what she's doing right now:

1. She has been practicing the "army crawl." She scoots around on her belly. It's pretty funny!

2. She can sit great, with help, and for a few seconds sans help....we're working on that one.

3. She likes to eat sweet potatoes, peas (the frozen kind I make for her), carrots, bananas, pears, peaches, rice cereal, and...prunes. She's been a great eater so far!

4. Claire goes to sleep by herself! In fact, she doesn't fall asleep so much when I nurse her anymore, so I generally lay her down in her crib awake and she falls asleep on her own.

5. So, about 2 weeks ago, I decided it was time for her to sleep through the night :) So, I put Claire down at 8, closed her door, closed my door, and turned on the rain sounds on my alarm clock and slept. Set my alarm for 6am, went into her room, and found her awake and happy. Not sure if she woke up during the night, but this way, you can only wonder..... Did a few days of that, and now she sleeps like a pro! (except when she's not feeling too well, but that's not often) Actually just read that babies wake up between 3-6 times in the middle of the night, and it's up to the parents to leave them alone so they can learn to fall asleep by themselves. So, that's what I did :) It would've been WAY too hard to hear her crying....hence the rain sounds!

6. She jabbers on constantly. Especially when she's tired. Baby language I guess. She has definitely discovered those vocal chords!

7. Claire absolutely loves the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Patty Cake." She also loves hiding under blankets (JUST like her Mommy did when she was a baby). In fact, she'll put her blanket over her face and just lay there like that for...a lot longer than I'd like her to...I end up taking it off. I guess it's a good way to do "Peek-a-Boo" which is something she also likes!

8. Ok, getting worried about this....she is getting less interested in breast feeding and MORE interested in what I'M eating!!! She always stares at my food... She's getting so OLD!

9. Today, when I got out the camera to take a picture of her, she automatically started smiling--I think she'll be quite the poser.... I mean, this may have been a fluke, but still!

10. I cannot keep her nails cut short enough!! I have all kinds of sharp nail injuries (short-lived of course) from her gouging me!

11. Claire has always loved playing with blankets...in fact sometimes she buries hers
elf completely in it to the point that I ask her "Did you want to breathe any time soon?" She then proceeds to shake her arms and legs while covered, like a snow angel, ha ha!

Happy Birthday to......Me!

Ok, so I'm trying to remain positive about this birthday business...even though I'm PRACTICALLY 30!!!! Seriously. If you count the 9 months of my life in the womb, I'm 3 months away to being 30. Depressing. (except...well...those of you reading this that are over 30, it's totally not depressing...you're still young...ok, foot in mouth...I just can't complain about my age, I guess, until nobody is in fact older than I am...and in that case I guess I'll just have to wait until I'm over 100!)

But...I still had a good birthday!

Saturday: Birthday. My cute friends came to visit me. I was in the shower with Claire. Oops. I guess it's the thought that counts. Rachel came by after though, and brought me.......a HUGE cinnamon roll, and well, a Cosmopolitan magazine!! (ah!) Her husband is in Iraq. 'Nough said :)

Then, my parents and brother Joe (last day in town) came by and took Rachel and me to lunch at the Olive Garden. It was great, as usual, and they sang some dorky song to me. Too bad they don't give out free desserts like they used to (even though I was totally stuffed...I could've brought it home though!) Sorry, no pics of this one :(

Jordan was planning to take me to the temple and to dinner, but his coworker had to not come into work, last minute, and if one isn't there, the other HAS to come in on time...so Jordan's idea of going in a couple of hours late wouldn't work out. So, raincheck on that one!

So, I spent the night at home. Natalie came by and hung out with me for a few, but then we both went to bed early. I prepared for my gospel doctrine lesson, and the prospect of getting up really early to practice a song with my sis, Kristin, to sing in sacrament meeting. Busy weekend.

Sunday: Sang in church with Kristin, old reliable "Blest are They..." I totally messed up like 15 times, scooped on the high notes, etc, etc.... I have to say it wasn't my best moment, but hey, in my ward...I hate to say this, but if you heard our choir.... (BUT there are certain individuals in the ward that are REALLY talented...) Gospel doctrine was pretty good...odd lesson because it was all church history. Tried to do a good job. People said it was good, but you know how people are...they're just nice!

Then went to the Taylor residence for birthday dinner!! It was great. I had "whatever I wanted" to eat for dinner, which was my mother-in-law's delicious chicken rolls or pillows or whatever they're called, this raspberry jell-o salad thing that is so delicious that my sister-in-law, Jessica made, and Aunt Vicki's pina colada cake--YUM! Also got some nice gifts from all, including jewelry (they definitely know me!) Jenn gave me a gift certificate to Goodwood BBQ and FROGURT (my FAVORITE!) but I think, all in hopes that I'll pig out and not lose weight... she and I are always trying to lose more weight than the other since our babies were born. Hey Jenn! I think I'll use the GC AFTER I lose like 5 more lbs. as a REWARD! Your little plan has backfired already....

Ava with her cute hairdo!

Nikki (Jessica's friend) and Jessica - all matchy...

Jordan and Claire - isn't that the CUTEST outfit? Thanks to my mother-in-law :)

Making a wish - you know, the usual "I wish I had no bills," "I wish I weighed 20 lbs. less," etc.

Jordan showing off Claire's mad walking skills!

Monday: Still doing birthday stuff! Today my boss (tried to make it a surprise but failed when a coworker accidentally spilled the beans) took me, along with two of my friends, Jasmin and Monica that also work with me, to the Cheesecake Factory. YUM-O. Had some Thai lettuce wraps and coconut cream cheesecake. I think I gained 5 lbs. today because I also had this amazing chocolate cake Monica brought in for my birthday. This post is really becoming a food journal. Seriously.

From left: Monica, Jasmin, Sydney (my boss) and me!

Monday night--sitting here, blogging. Birthday was great. I feel old now though. And tired. That's what happens I guess!

ps. Sorry this post was so incredibly boring and journal entry-ish. (but I guess if you were really bored you wouldn't have even made it this far, right? But maybe you did and you're trying to gouge your eyes out by now?) Ok next time I'll try to be more....entertaining in the next one...or maybe just less detailed. Either or. I might just be more exciting when I'm actually 30 though?

The Bachelorette......Contrived? Fake? Misrepresented?

Yes, yes, and YES. I hate to say that I watch this show--but honestly, it's mainly for the humor in it all...the silly drama, the cheesy romance, and the fake tans. I really did think it was all pretty contrived, but I must admit I didn't know HOW contrived it was until now!! I mean, there are crazy things going on behind the scenes with Ed, Wes, and Jake...

Especially Wes. Come on. Would he really be THAT stupid to come on the show and confess to all the guys he has a girlfriend and that he's only there to promote his music? Ok, after watching years of American Idol auditions, I know that ANYTHING is possible, and yes, there ARE people like that out there, but still....

Just wanted to share an interview that Wes gave to "Reality Steve." Very eye-opening... For all you bachelorette-watchers out there, this is a MUST "listen-to."

http://www.realitysteve.com/

Let me know what YOU think! Does this make you change your mind about Wes?

ps. I like Reid the best. He's funny. Not that it'll last or anything--he's probably only had like 10 compiled hours with Jillian over the whole season, honestly.

4th of July at the Cabin!

Last week, Jordan and I spent time with my family at our annual reunion at my parent's cabin in Oakley. It was so fun to see everyone because a lot of my family, I only see once or twice a year! Thank you, Mom and Dad, for such a great time!!

The Fam.

Oops, left the umbrella in there! Yes, we took family pics on the only rainy day up there! (ps. notice how everyone's looking at the camera and smiling, except Gavin (front row, dead center) who is drilling for gold...ha!! So funny!!)

The cabin from behind--how...serene it looks! (but not inside our mad house!)

Our Little family :)
There was a better picture than this where Claire wasn't all squished...but sadly, her massive, size-of-her-head, 4th of July bow was covering Jordan's face....oh well! It was worth it!! SO CUTE!

Some fun pictures and memories:

*Hanging with Ann-Marie and Ian. I don't get to see Annie and Nathan and their kids but once a year, so it's always good when they come!!

*Seeing how much fun the kids were having doing their crafts! The girls made 4th of July watches with Auntie Michelle

*Watching Baby Mama - that movie NEVER gets old.... in fact, "It's still funny!!" (that's a line from the movie...)

*Grabbing and kissing little Gavin against his will

*Listening to little Nieve talk. She is soooooo cute!! And has the cutest little...what is it, a lisp? Anyway, LOVE this pic. She is a babe.

*Watching Claire grab at Joe's whiskers, and seeing him love on Claire!

*Playing Mexican Train Dominoes with the family (I have no clue as to what Fill and Michelle are doing in that picture, but it doesn't look pretty..... - ok Michelle you look pretty, but Fill? Scary face is more like it!)

*Joe beating us all by thousands of points in the dice game

*Playing Boggle with my only worthy opponent, Michelle :) You are the only one that challenges me!!

*Riding on the ATVs with my hunk of burnin' love ;)

*"Talent Night" with me having to play Pachelbel's Cannon (TERRIBLY, since I didn't practice enough) and hearing Kaylin sing the "I Need a Nap" song.

*Seeing everyone just eat Claire up!! It was awesome :) Isn't it great when other people love your child too???

*Going to the bath-water-warm Kamas indoor swimming pool. So fun!

*Horribly singing and dancing to "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base, for Karaoke night, and having Bec as my backup dancer! As you can see in the video above, we're AWESOME.... esp. because preggie Bec was tight casted for the part seeing as she is in reality wanting "another baby" :)

*Getting to hear Phil's "I Will Survive" karaoke number again--Huh-LA-RIOUS.

*Hearing Andrew's "Sweet Caroline" karaoke number....LOVE the cheesy winks and "da da da...." bit

*Nathan's amazing "Nessen Dorma" Ha! Very nice...

*Making snow cones every day and Kaylin not wanting to put ANY high-fructose corn syrup...I mean, "snow cone syrup" on hers...she just wanted plain ice! So funny...

*Making homemade ice cream every day!!

*Joe putting WAY too much gel in little Zach-Zach's hair!

*Being woken up by Claire at the crack of dawn (ok, 5:30-6:00 am...but that's early when you went to bed at 1!) and hangin' out with the other early-riser-by-his-own-accord, Corbin!

*Having the extended Gollaher family up for the 4th for a BBQ and Trina's baby shower! (Here's Claire with great-grandma Fern!)

Cutest Little Eater

Jordan took this little beauty :)