Mirror, Mirror on the armoire....

As if she doesn't get enough kisses from Mama.  I literally smother her all day long with hyper kisses, tickles, squeezes, and squeals.  The squeals are mine.  Sometimes I get so worked up I have to make myself squeeze the throw pillows.  Or Rich, if he's around.  Love these mirror kisses.

Christmas at Grandma Laura's

A few more fun Christmas pictures to share.  This first one is super cute.  I think she was yawning at the time, but it sure looks like she's excited about Christmas.  Okay, the second one is super cute too!

Claire walking with her push toy

We showed Claire her push toy and here's her first try walking with it.  10 minutes later while we weren't looking she crawled over to the wagon, pulled herself up, and walked all the way across the room by herself!  I have another video I might add after editing it to make it shorter.

Yes, you caught us listening to "The Forgotten Carols", how embarassing!!! 

  

Christmas presents

Christmas morning was quiet and we stayed in bed as long as possible.  I think Rich made pancakes for breakfast.  We happily sang Christmas songs.  We got Claire this little push toy (cheap on craigslist).  Lots of pictures, I couldn't choose. 

Later in the day we packed up the car and drove to see Rich's family for the weekend.  We had game night, exchanged gifts, and saw a few friends.  Rich went hunting, then later I met up with a friend of mine and left Rich to put Claire to bed alone for the first time.  I guess she cried for a couple hours.  :(  Then, she was extra clingy to me for the next few bedtimes.  It was our first Christmas spent with his family, so it was nice to share the joy of the season.   

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve I poked my head into the nursery and saw this sweet scene.  I can't believe how big Claire is getting!  I love that Rich is so very bonded to baby, rocking her to sleep is one of his favorite things to do.  So peaceful.  I love this man.

Such a round baby: round cheeks, round chin, round belly.

Late Christmas Eve I got a burst of energy and decided that if I was going to get my Christmas craft done this year, I had to just stay up and do it.  I'd wanted to make big paper chains for the nursery, but I ended up making a miniature version.  Good thing, because this took hours.  It turned out really cute.  I have a lot of decorations for a big tree someday, but we're just going with simple this year.....like last year.....and the year before.....  I had so much fun wrapping presents this year and making our house look like Christmastime. 

I'll have to ask Rich if we did anything else Christmas Eve.  I don't have enough brain power to remember anything myself.  I do remember a couple nights we went driving in the snow with our 4-wheel drive up through the hilly streets to look at Christmas lights.  It was nice, though Rich was annoyed at me panicking at the tops of the hills and reminding him we had a baby in the car when he tried to do donuts and fishtails.  Poor guy doesn't get to have any fun. 

Christmastime

Claire didn't have much reaction to Santa.  She loved the jingle bell ornament, but I was sure she would suck the bell loose and end up choking.  I saved the jingle bell for singing Christmas carols in the car.

Rich reflected that since he's no longer at UPS, he can actually be around for Christmas.  Yeah!!!

Baby, it's cold outside.  We loved having a White Christmas!

As soon as we set Claire down on the snow, she toppled over and had to wait for us to help her up.  She's still smiling.  7 mo.

SATB

I'm the ward chorister at church right now.  My biggest challenges are #1. picking songs before Saturday (ideally it should be 1 month in advance and our organist hates my procrastination/forgetfulness) and #2. making it to church on time.  My closest call was when I got to the chapel and the first hymn's introduction was already playing!  I stashed the baby in her carseat at the front row, grabbed a hymnal, scurried up to the stand, dropped my sunglasses, panicked as the organist paused for me to lead everyone in while I still hadn't found the page (wished she could've played an extended intro), I started directing anyway only to realize I was directing the wrong time signature.  Ahh.  Halfway through the first verse I got on track.  A few minutes later the Bishopric member conducting the meeting welcomed everyone to church and thanked the organist and I saying, "she just swoops right in here and does the music for us."  Haha.  

So, the Bishop asked me if I could put together a few ward choir songs for a Christmas program.  I was excited to pick out some different arrangements and be able to slip in something other than straight hymns into a church meeting.  At our first rehearsal I said it would be more of a collective since I've never directed a choir before and I welcomed everyone's input/critiques/suggestions.  But, our ward is not very musical and we only had 1 soprano, 2 altos, 2 tenors, and 2 missionaries who may or may not be singing with us.  I had to scrap 2 of the songs I had chosen because "O Holy Night" needs strong sopranos and the other was a 4-part men's song.  So, there was a lot of begging people to join the choir and we ended up with 15 performing.  We sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" to a totally different tune with beautiful harmonies, the women sang a lullaby called "Baby in a Manger", and we sang "The First Noel" a capella.  Everyone sang so beautifully, with feeling, and my big emphasis was singing at various levels of volume.  It sounded wonderful and we heard tons of compliments.  The Bishop approached me and said, "Can I just say, WOW, that was amazing."  He later told Rich that that was the best ward choir he's ever heard.  Another Bishopric member told me, "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but that choir has never sounded so good."  Yay!  So, directing my first choir was really energizing and it would be fun to do again.  

I love that I'm rediscovering singing and to be able to sing with Rich is enchanting.     

Bang your head!

Rich says: Metal health will drive you mad.

Eileen says: She's found her head-tail connection.

Handel's Messiah

Rich and I have been rehearsing for the last 4 months with a choir to sing for a Christmas concert.  We learned 7 songs from Handel's Messiah and various carols too.  We absolutely loved it.  We took Claire to our twice weekly rehearsals and laid her out on a blanket right in front of the front row where we stood.  In the beginning she was laying on her back, then she was rolling over for tummy time, then scooting toward the edge of the landing she was on, next she was crawling and climbing the step to suck on people's shoes.  Occasionally, she was passed around the soprano section - everyone loved her.  I passed one choir member in the hall before the concert and she said, "Hi........Claire's mom!".  Our director printed her name in the program as a *Special Choir Member, which was up there with other starred names of the professional soloists.  It was so nice of him to think of her and to welcome her to every rehearsal.

Before the performance my neighbor friend and fellow alto came over and did my hair and make-up.  Good thing she suggested it, because I haven't had energy to come up with those ideas on my own.  I guess it's the first time Rich has ever seen my hair curled!  He said, "Wow, we should get a picture."  Okay, okay, I need to put some more effort into my appearance.  I just remember spending so much time trying to curl my hair in high school and it would be straight again in an hour.  Thanks to hair products the curls stayed the whole night and I thought it looked great.  

Singing Handel's Messiah was a wonderful experience.  Before we sang, the choir director asked for another prayer to invite the Holy Ghost and the angels to sing with us.  While I was aware of the few mistakes heard, I got chills while singing and I was happy with the performance overall.  After the concert we walked outside and it had snowed.  A perfectly magical night!  Every tree was beautifully frosted in white.  Late that night I rocked Claire to sleep at my breast, hoping I will never forget that peaceful moment of taking in her soft skin, rosy cheeks, and beautiful perfection.  

Helping with a smile

Claire helped me make homemade dinner rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.  

We spent Thanksgiving in the Tri-Cities with both sides of Rich's family.  This trip we spent alternating days with different parts of the family, which was much more pleasant than trying to see everyone a little each day.  Rich went pheasant hunting with his friend Matt and he also did the annual GABDATTS with his dad and all his dad's buddies.  GABDATTS stands for Guns and Beer Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot - minus the beer for Rich.  I know, what a stupid combination of activities!  I told Rich he MUST be the designated driver and I was relieved when he was home.  I've gone to the GABDATTS and shot clay pigeons before, but according to Rich I've turned into an old lady and don't do such things anymore.  (Plus, it's cold outside.)    

For at least a month prior, I geared myself up to be ready to leave Claire with a babysitter.  We left her with each grandma for about an hour while I got my first pedicure and while Rich & I went on a date.  I teared up both times I left Claire, but Rich & I had so much fun on our dinner date.  Here we are, and I'm thinking we need to find some new poses for taking our picture together.  

First Foods

Claire's first taste of baby rice cereal. Mmmm. Just over 6 months old here.

I understand this feeling, Claire. Rich will tell you that I make a similar expression when I've had enough of the same taste of food.

Giggles

We have so much fun getting Claire to giggle.

Claire thinks this is especially funny. She twists, turns, and flips during diaper changes. I did want to teach her how to do handstands - something I'm still trying to master.

Dancing and Yoga

Claire has fun dancing on Rich's stomach.  We call this one "The Claire Monster".

We have wood floors so I put my yoga mat out for Claire to play on every day.  It's great for her baby yoga too.  Downward-dog, cobra, cat-cow (actually just the cow), plank, child's pose.  I'm amazed to watch her little body do all the poses perfectly.  

Autumn leaves in Leavenworth

We took a day trip to Leavenworth and met up with Rich's family.  The drive was gorgeous as there were still leaves on the trees.  I'd thought it might be too late in the season because we'd gone to a pumpkin patch a few weeks before where the autumn leaves were past their prime.  It was a relaxing drive - talking, reading, me napping, practicing our Handel's Messiah songs.  It was like we were back in Utah taking one of our escapes into a canyon.

In Leavenworth we went to a Christmas store, a quilt shop, a home accessories store, a fudge shop among others, and we always have to hit the Cheesemongers Shop for some mango-ginger stilton.  This time we also tried some cranberry-chipotle cheddar.  Yum.  Here we are with Maggie & Lance and Laura & Don.  Laura was excited to get in a little grandma time with Claire for just one day.