I just love my little muffin cake

Awww....could being a Mom get ANY better than THIS???

Time for Fall!

Which means, a new wreath I just made. (and it only took like 10 minutes to make!)

Very traditional, I have to say. But I like it.

Time FLIES. Claire at 8 Months

Claire is getting SOOOO big!! I can't believe how time flies. From one day to the next she advances, and from one week to the next, she gets TEETH!! Crazy!! Here are some of her milestones and quirks :)

1. Claire likes to ham it up for the camera. Now, she ALWAYS smiles for it!! I didn't even know she knew what the camera was or anything--guess they catch on pretty quickly!(EVEN when she TOTALLY has a boogar bubble coming out of her nose...she's a baby, she doesn't care!)

2. She is the biggest flirt. All throughout our trip to Chicago people would smile at her in the airport and other places and she always smiles and giggles at them.

3. Jordan likes to do the "I love you" hand sign to her practically every day, and without fail, she'll grab his finger an insert it into her mouth...

4. She is starting to insist on feeding herself. In fact, the entire time in Chicago she would NOT eat from a spoon!! She was teething and that probably had something to do with it, but she'd only eat finger foods. She likes yogurt melts, nutrigrain bars, freeze dried strawberries, apples, pears, bananas, cheerios, and to drink, likes apple juice, ice water, and gatorade. But if it's a "good enough" puree...she'll eat from a spoon :)

5. Especially when she's getting tired, she likes to...."vocalize." She makes what my friend Rachel describes as a "baby dinosaur hatching" noises... sometimes we call her "Clarasaurus" or "Claradactyl" because she really sounds like one...especially the pterodactyl.

6. Kind of annoying, but when you pick her up to hold her, she will push off of you incessantly until you've turned her around into a sitting position against you, so she's facing out as you walk around with her. So spoiled!!

7. I think I've mentioned her razor-sharp nails before??? Well, even clipping them doesn't help...then they're just shorter razor-sharp nails. The problem is that she REALLY likes to pinch and gouge my skin. Especially when she's nursing, she'll put her little fist up on my clavicle area and start gouging my skin with those nails!! OWWW!! Or she'll grab hold of my relief society arms and pinch the fat! It's awful. I have scars!

8. She now has two bottom teeth. They broke through within a week (a very LOOONG week!) and now her little fangs may bite me...I hope not...but am preparing for that...

9. Now, when she cries in her crib (ok, so she's been night-waking...the whole teething thing, traveling thing, etc...) she actually sits UP or stands UP in it!! AHH! And tonight she's in her crib but I'm a little worried bc I haven't lowered it....hopefully she doesn't take a nose dive when she wakes up!

10. Speaking of sitting and standing up, I very commonly find her holding onto objects, chairs, etc. and pulling herself up. Today, she was eyeing the STAIRS. Woah nelly... *update: since it took SOOO long to finally post this...she already crawls up like 3 stairs now...

And Finally, Downtown Chicago!

On Tuesday, the day before we were to leave, Ann-Marie so thoughtfully volunteered to take Claire for the day while Jordan and I went downtown. So we went on the train with my brother, who works at the Willis (formerly known as Sears) Tower, and arrived early in the morning! My SUPER nice husband chose to forgo the Science and Technology museum for my preference, the Art Institute! How sweet. It was amazing!! However, that doesn't open until 10! So, we went to a farmer's market and I got an apple from my home state (MICHIGAN!)...apples are SO much better fresh, don't you agree?? And then Jordan and I played with his SLR for an hour, taking pictures of each other in the gardens by the Art Inst. We're cheesy, I know, but for posterity, I'm posting them (the OK ones, not the ones that totally portray that I am in dire need of going on a diet AGAIN and losing at least 10 more pounds...)



My husband is very sexy, I have to say...

A dorky expression for Jordan, but turned out kinda good bc my face doesn't look so...chubby :)

And then 10am rolled around and we went to the museum. It was AWESOME. It reminded me of a mixture between the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum (my FAVE) in London. This painting by my favorite artist, Renoir, is something I copied in my oil painting class when I was about 14... I was just starting to learn how to do portraits and my teacher wanted me to find a "person..." very odd I picked this little boy (yes, it's a boy, not a girl--a boy in PINK!) but anyway, so when I saw this at the Art Inst. I was like "OMIGOSH! It's the original!!)

I also ALWAYS enjoy a little ancient jewelry. Check out these INDIAN PRINCESS ones!!! Awesome. Natalie, do you think they'd sell these at Tar-jay?? :)

There was also this lame "I-could've-painted-that-with-my-eyes-closed-and-then-opened-them-up-and-hated-it" paintings and "things" in the modern art section that aren't even worthy of a picture....

But the BEST part was.....drum roll.......

THE THORNE MINIATURE ROOMS.

Our FAVORITE part of the museum (besides the Impressionist gallery with Renoir!) This was an afterthought, and we visited this gallery last, the whole time wishing we would've had more time! But don't worry, I'm planning on getting this book someday when I feel like I have money to burn: (ok maybe before that. would make an awesome coffee table book)

A library some year....don't remember...but I thought the little books were sooooo cute....

And here's a miniature entryway. Sooooo amazing. I wish I could post ALL of the pictures. Basically it was a corridor-type exhibit where you'd walk down a hallway, and there were picture frames on either side, and basically the picture frames just framed out a glass enclosure that you looked inside to see the room....it was awesome.

Then we went to eat lunch at the Hancock Tower, but we were late (DANG miniature rooms!!) by like 10 min. and they wouldn't seat us :( But we totally saw the view anyway, and that's all that matters.... But ANOTHER reason we were late was that there was a HUGE crowd on the Magnificent Mile for Oprah's 24th show! Ok, WHY 24 years...don't people usually celebrate 25? I mean really. Ok, so we were walking down the sidewalk toward the tower and I look to the left of me and there is a small trailer type vehicle and there on top, interviewing someone was OPRAH. I was so close to her I could've thrown her a chicken... (Jordan's analogy...anyway...) We were walking on this bridge...there's Oprah's "Arena."

I obviously didn't take this picture.

So we ate at Giordanos again... (we'd eated this Chicago-style pizza--our first time, with Ann-Marie and Nathan. YUMMM-O.) And if you don't know what Chicago style pizza is--besides a WHOLE lot of delicious fat and calories in a single food item...this is a picture:

I obviously took this picture. We read the paper while we ate. Not. Jk.

As you can see, the sauce is on TOP, cheese and toppings in the middle, and the crust is more....pie-crust-ie...

Random pic...

And here is Navy Pier. This was our LAST stop. Seriously, there was so much to see it was so hard to pick!! We did hit Crate & Barrell and that was fun...on the way to Navy Pier.

By the end of it all, we were pooped. As you can see from the expression on my honey's face.

Very fun. Now I'M pooped from writing this blog post!

Carthage

We also went to Carthage. What an incredible experience. Visiting Carthage jail really strengthens my testimony and reminds me of the incredible sacrifice Joseph Smith and other early church members made for future generations and in essence, the salvation of their posterity.

Underneath the window Joseph fell out of when he was shot

In the Carthage visitors center

Jordan and Claire in the "debtors prison" room at Carthage...funny that Claire is smiling. The little ham!

The door to the jail-keepers' bedroom (that is in fact where the men were...the family that kept the jail (can't remember their names) were worried about the mob coming and wanted to move the church leaders to their bedroom because it was safer there)

The window Joseph fell from

Being in that room was just such an amazing experience. The spirit is so strong there. I would say the spirit there is as strong as the spirit you feel in the temple. It truly is hallowed ground.

Nauvoo

So, while we were in Chicago, we decided that it would be awesome to visit Nauvoo! I've been, (back in the stoneage - high school) but Jordan hadn't, so since it is about 3.5 hrs. away from my brother's house, we all thought it would be a "travesty" if we didn't go, at least for a couple of days. And to top it off, Ann-Marie and Nathan really wanted to sponsor our trip, to which we are EXTREMELY grateful!! You guys are awesome--we wouldn't have gone without you :)

On the way to Nauvoo...Claire is stretching her legs from the drive :)



Claire's first taste of Root Beer (yeah, we're awesome parents...)

So we took this wagon ride around the historical part of Nauvoo. You'd think Claire would LOVE it....well, she was hot...and tired... in fact, she got a little heat rash that day. It was so sad! She isn't used to all that humidity! Anyway, so we're on the ride, and she will NOT stop crying. So, finally, Jordan took her, jumped off the back of the moving wagon (yeah, the Sister Missionary narrating didn't exactly give him permission.... but it turned out OK) and walked VERY briskly behind the wagon until Claire fell asleep. It was nap time and the height of her teething fell on that day, actually. She falls asleep really easily when you walk around with her, especially fast :)

Can you guess which house was Jordan's FAVORITE?? The Browning Gunshop, of course!

Browning was VERY innovative and from the stories we heard about him, I couldn't help but think about how much Jordan is very similar...maybe they would have worked together back in the day ;)

Me (looking like I have a huge sunstone in my belly) in front of one of the 30 remaining sunstones from the original Nauvoo temple

In front of the gravestones of Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma Smith

My two babes

My parents have this "Hanson Classic" in porcelain at home, and this is my first time seeing it "in the flesh." Love this!

There was an AMAZING limited-time exhibit at the Nauvoo visitor's center!

Family Picture in front of the Nauvoo Temple

Amazing view from the temple (Joseph and Hyrum on horseback)

It was great!!! It'll be fun to go again with our kids one day!

Chicago Baby!!

Some of my loyal readers may have wondered why I have been absent from the blogosphere over the past 2 weeks!! It's just such a hiatus for a dedicated blogger such as myself :) Ha!! Anyway, the reason is that Jordan and I have been planning on visiting my brother Nathan, and his family in Chicago this year, and we finally did it!! In fact, United Airlines called me and told me that my frequent flier miles would expire on August 31st so it was perfect timing. I had exactly enough miles for Jordan's and my tickets and Claire is free of course ;)

So we were off! It was SO FUN to visit Ann-Marie and Nathan and their kids, Corbin, Max, Ian, and Chloe, and in their element! :) Ann-Marie said that she figures now they have "fallen off the pedestal" of "perfect family" now that we've seen them in their element. I think NOT!! But, there were some fun things we learned about them:

Here goes....

1. Corbin is a cool dude. When you ask him about football, he is a neverending stream of information :) Ha! He definitely got the sports bug from his daddy. He also loves playing X-Box and would very willingly go up against Jordan during our time there! He was also SO sweet with Claire:




2. Max: Max is a cutie. He is very detail-oriented and observant. He also plays football and loves to play X-Box with his brothers and dad, but he is really more of a "brain" :) He was really interested about Jordan's electrical work (Jordan was doing homework while we were there) and he'd ask him how the electrical circuits worked and how things were put together. He's a really smart kid!


3. Ian: He is a sweetheart. Yes, his favorite colors are pink and purple and he likes glittery shoes, but he will grow out of it :) He was hilarious, and referred to us as the "sleepovers!" He was so cute with Claire and would give us lots of hugs and kisses!




4. Chloe: Chloe is...well, "Chloezilla..." :) She is definitely the only girl among BOYS!! She LOVED the life out of Claire. We couldn't leave those two alone, or all of the sudden Chloe would be "hugging" claire around the NECK... it was crazy!! Now I know why my Mom told me that the last worry on her mind when she got home from the hospital with the new baby was SIDS or something awful like that...it was the 2 year old at home!! Ha!! But all joking aside, she meant well, and by the end of the trip was VERY gentle with Claire, and would just pat her head softly . It was really cute. She's adorable!
5. Ann-Marie: Let's do the adults too :) Ann-Marie loves Diet Coke. She said at one point that I am a "light weight" because she'd drunk l like 2 or 3 DC's in the time I drank one. ;) Ha!! Maybe she'll hate me for saying that, but I have to be truthful, right? :) She also loves cookie dough ice cream. I do too. But, all food and drink aside, Ann-Marie is very fun. She has the best sense of humor and is a great Mom. Annie and I saw Julie & Julia on a "girl's night" one night (VERY funny btw.) and it did not make her want to cook more like it did me (Jordan says that "won't last") but she did cook while we were there!! Some AMAZING dinners!! You're awesome, Annie :) Oh, and she and I also got a pedicure, and that was so fun. Ann-Marie's favorite things are: pedicures, ice cream, and when someone (like ME) plays with her hair (which basically means, pulling the life out of it...practically pulling it out of her head--she likes that!). She also played with my hair, which was divine :)

6. Nathan: Last, but definitely not least! It was fun talking to Nathan about his job. He really loves working at Ernst and Young, and apparently, they love HIM too :) Nathan played the "how do you say {insert word, like "cucumber" or "kneecap"} in Portuguese?" game with us but refused to play Rummikub :( :( Yeah, that's DOUBLE frown... guess I'll have to go to Vegas again soon to get my gaming on!! (and not the way you think--referring to playing games with my sister Michelle :) . Anyway, we all sucked a bit at the portuguese game. It's been too long! Nathan also coaches Corbin's football team, and it was fun to see him "in action." One of his co-coaches was pretty hardcore! Nathan and Jordan share a love for peanut butter/chocolate combo foods (like Moose Tracks ice cream and peanut butter cups) and Stargate (Sci-Fi trash...I mean, show).

P.S. This was the ONLY picture I had of Nathan (and I didn't even take it--boys got a hold of my camera I guess!) but hey, it's him DOING THE DISHES!! WOW! Annie, you're going to have to frame this one :) Far cry from Nathan hiding in the car after dinner one time to get out of the dishes when we were growing up. Ha!

More on Chicago to come!! It was so fun staying with Nathan and Ann-Marie!! They are wonderful hosts and we couldn't be more grateful for their hospitality!