It's been a while...

The last time I posted was July...here's a few more June/July photos.

Trying on a kuspuk from Grandma V.

Playing in the kennel.

Trying on a snowsuit. As cute as it is, Clara outgrew it before we had a chance to use it.

Los Pirineos

Work sent me to Spain again! Spring was in full bloom in the Pyrenees. Wildflowers, trees, running rivers, and birds. It was so beautiful. It felt like a once in a lifetime trip. The days were long and the geology was great. James gets to experience this same trip later this year. I wish I could somehow go back and do it all again. I ate a lot of meat, drank a lot of coffee, tasted a lot of wine. I'm surprised I don't weigh twenty pounds more. Enjoy some Spanish photos.

We go Cali

We finally made good on our promise to visit Courtney and Sean in Cali. Putting sweaters and jackets on was a nice break from near 100 degree temps in Texas! More importantly, it was the best spending time with our pals. They were the best hosts and live in such a cool neighborhood. I was wondering why we don't all live there! Seriously, Whole Foods, rooftop picnics, lakeside walks, farmers markets, good coffee...wooo WOOOO!!!!!!! We sure loved our time there. Can't wait to visit again.

The gang and Golden Gate.

Clara says, "It's really windy!"

Just the girls.

Clara always wanted Courtney to hold her. Courtney was so good with her! Clara sure loved on Auntie Courtney.

One Year Old

Clara Bear turned ONE! We had a birthday party a few days early...and then had some fun at the park on her actual birthday.

The Grands and the Birthday Girl.

Party Girl

Crawling Party Girl

My mom and Gram made Clara Bear a parka!

Swing Time at the park.

Family Photo

The funnest imperfect family photo. Clara had fun trying on her kerchief and we had fun giggling with her.

Spring Parade

Clara had a Spring Parade recently. She showed me her parade hat made from a bowl and some flowers made of her handprints. Then she wanted to eat everything. Happy Spring Time to you!

Went to Rodeo

Mom, Clara, and I went to the Livestock and Rodeo Show in Houston. We didn't see livestock or a rodeo, BUT we walked through dozens of BBQ parties and a carnival. We really smelled like smoked BBQ when we left. After Clara was in her stroller or on my mom's back all afternoon, Mom let her walk around the parking lot.

Little Drummer Girl

This girl likes to drum with Daddy! Even shakes her head...and at the end, she decides her 'drums' need a little bit of shining.

Loves My Pups

Clara loves to sit and play with her toys, BUT every now and then she takes off and crawls super fast. Not until I look up do I know she's heading for Otis. She sure loves her pups.Crawling to Otis.
Clara and her pups. Otis tolerates her for the most part. He likes when she plays with his toys and tries to play Keep Away from her after he gets them back.

T-E-F-ahhhh

Clara has EIGHT T-E-F-ahhhhh. :) She showed off her two big front teeth. Four are in, and four more are coming in...that I can tell. She may have more big teeth in the back coming in! She likes to grind them...bleh!

Mukluks and Parka

My mom brought my baby mukluks that my Great Grandma Anna (my Amouk!) made when I was a baby. My mom helped Clara try them on on Christmas day.
A few days ago I had to check if Clara would fit in my parka in case I amak (uh-mock meaning pack her on my back) her while we're in Alaska. We hope to make it up there this winter!

Pretend

When Ayuu was here, I was reminded what it was like to play Pretend again. Pretend the string of lights is a fire and we're roasting marshmallows on it...Pretend this recycled trash is a car...it was good fun.

Well now, since I miss home, I pretend things here are what they are at home. Our current town is full of trees that surround the roadways. I pretend I'm driving on the road just past the North River Bridge at home where the trees surround you on either side of the road. Pretend my Honda SUV is a Honda 4-wheeler. "I'm taking the Honda to the store." Pretend the waterway is river at home. I try to find the Pretend in things now to ease my homesickness. Thanks Ayuu!

Swing Kid

We finally took Clara to swing at the playground by our house! Swing kid! She thought she was in a jumper when we first put her in, so her little legs were going and going. Too funny.
Clara and Daddy had fun on the slide.

Big Bows

Our little girl has to wear the big bows now. She's got really long hair in the front that falls into her eyes if it's not clipped out of the way. She'd been wearing little clips for a while. But now she has to wear the big bows, so she won't choke on the little clips.

When someone gave the bows to us while I was still pregnant, I thought, "Ew. I'll never put these in my daughter's hair." Well now I have to. Clara's new thing is pulling things off and putting them in her mouth. Things like socks and little hair clips. So now she's wearing the big bows I thought she'd never wear. And I have to say...they are kinda cute on her after all.

Eight Month Check-In

Clara is eight months old! I thought it's time to update on her latest. She's practicing with solid foods. We discovered she hates purees, loves to feed herself, and prefers steamed veggies smooshed a little. Apples make her get that face of 'it's so sour' with one eye half shut and her shoulders shuddering. It's so funny. She's increased the amount of milk she can drink lately. I think it's due to her increased physical activity. She's scooting around and can go from laying on her tummy to sitting up. Busy girl!

What else. Clara likes to cross her ankles when she's sitting. She loves technology. Phones, computers, iPods, tv. Sometimes she says 'ma-ma' and 'da-da' if she's really upset or really excited. We're not completely sure she knows what she's saying. Her other new thing is grabbing one hand with the other and resting them on her tummy. It's very proper for a baby girl. :)

Clara got to meet her Uncle Merle recently. They were so cute together. Here they are in front of Clara's first Christmas tree.

A-Y-U-U and Kiiriq came to visit!!!

We're SOOOO glad, thankful, and grateful Tera and Matt came down to visit with their girls! What a beautiful time together. We so enjoyed seeing all the girls interact together. Ayuu was so sweet with Clara, always wanting to squeeze her face and kiss her. We sure had fun playing pretend, building things out of recycling, and crafting goods with Ayuu. One night Matt took Ayuu out with glow sticks and slayed dragons with them. It was nice to play out at night again! I smiled to myself later when we all came back in for a break, and Matt got up and said something like this to Ayuu, "Let's get our shoes on, slay some dragons, and then come in and go to bed."

Kiiriq was so fun to watch especially since she was so close to crawling! We were hoping she'd crawl here first. Clara loved watching her cousins and listening to them. And when all the fun girls would go to sleep, Matt, Tera, James, and I hung out and laughed and talked. What good visiting!
Pretty Kiiriq and Tera.
Swimming girl! Ayuu, you need to come back so you can swim some more!
Tera and Ayuu baked some Halloween cupcakes. I'm sad they're all finished.
The gang trick-or-treating.
The girls with their dad's.
Ayuu was such a good trick-or-treater!
Silly girls at the dinner table.

big fish

James loves to fish whenever he can on the weekends or at night. He caught a five-pound bass! No one was around to take his picture with the fish, so he stuck his toes in. :) He sure gets excited about his catches. First he tells me and then as soon as he can, he tells his dad, but only louder than when he told me.

Gained a little weight...

As they say...Everything is bigger in Texas. I put on a little weight!


I JOKE....GOTTA LOVE THE IPHONE APPS!!!!!!

Oh well...

Even though the Red Sox stunk it up at the end of the season, we're still fans.

A Home Project

We have two chandelier contraptions in the kitchen with awful lampshades. I searched for new ones that would fit and that I liked. Impossible. Well impossible for a reasonable price. Finally, we bought plain white ones from Ikea for cheap, and I painted them to kind of match other lampshades we have. 5 are done. 6 more to go. Here's the before and after.
BEFORE
AFTER