Santa, Gingerbread Train, & The Grinch

Because we were all sick, we missed our ward party this year. This meant we missed seeing Santa there. Luckily, Santa came back to town and was at one of the stores downtown one Saturday. We took Claire down to see him and weren't quite sure what to expect.

At first she was kind of stoned faced and just stared at him.

Then she kept looking at us, the photographer they had, and just around the store. She did this for about 5 minutes, despite our attempts to get her to smile.

After awhile, something finally made her laugh and she giggled/smiled for a good couple of minutes. She was quite the little ham.

And then she started pointing and talking to Santa. It was like she was explaining to him what she wanted. Cute! These pictures aren't as good as the ones we got from the photographer, but they tell the story better.

A few days later, we did our annual gingerbread night. Steven and I have done a gingerbread house together since we were dating so it's because somewhat of a tradition. Last year we did a mini village that turned out to be not so much fun, so this year we decided on a gingerbread train. It was much better! Claire was zero help, but she was there. I had given her a wooden spoon and pot to play with while I made dinner earlier and she was still pretty entertained by that. She was interested in the candy, go figure, so she got a taste or two. I thought our finished product turned out pretty cute. We were especially proud of our caboose full of "coal" (my idea) and the "smoke" (Steven's idea) coming from the engine. We are excited to continue this tradition again next year and see if Claire will be more into it or not. One evening a couple of days before Christmas, I was busy wrapping caramels and Steven trying to get a few presents wrapped. Claire was busy getting into EVERYTHING and so Steven decided to put on How the Grinch Stole Christmas for her. He put her in her bumbo and gave her a couple crackers. It was so funny to watch her and she was so into it. At first she didn't even notice we were taking her picture. A few nights before this, Steven had built a blanket fort in her room and we all got in it and watched Merry Madagascar together. Isn't he the funnest dad?! Claire loved that too and, of course, I didn't get a picture. That seems to be a theme around here.

I still have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to post and like I said before, I told myself I'd do it before the end of the year. But, Steven came home early today and wants to go on a date tonight, so it probably won't happen :) Eventually it will. Have a safe and happy New Year!!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

***I have some serious catching up to do here, so please bear with me. I promised myself I'd at least get this month done before the end of the year. Nothing like waiting till the last minute :)

We had planned on getting our Christmas tree up the Monday after Thanksgiving for FHE. We had the tree and all the decorations out and ready; but for some reason or another, it didn't happen that night. So, we planned on the next night. Needless to say, Claire and I were sick the next day. Then Steven got it, then Claire again, and so on. We finally got around to doing it on Sunday, December 5th.

Claire was such a big help getting all the decorations out for us. She even played with and tasted them to make sure they were all ok :)

She actually was really fun. She got to put her very own "Claire's first Christmas" ornament on the tree, but I forgot to get a picture of it. (Don't worry that she got 3 more personalized first Christmas ornaments! I have no idea what I'm going to do with them all, but it just goes to show how she's not spoiled AT ALL.) It was fun helping her put the ornaments on the tree and even more fun trying to keep her from taking them right back off. Eventually she got bored and decided she liked a small snow globe better. At least it kept her busy long enough for us to finish decorating the house. I have to give Steven a shout out on the outside decorations, too. They were great! Sadly, once again, I didn't get a picture. I know, I'm that awesome. All in all, our first Christmas decorating experience with a small child was a success!

Claire's 1st Halloween

Our Halloween week was a super busy one! We had something almost every night last week and for us, that's very rare. I had CPR recertification on Tuesday night and Steven was on call. Becky and Dylan came over to hang out while I was gone and to watch Claire just in case Steven got called in. Wednesday I spent most of the day in the kitchen making cinnamon rolls for our ward party. Thursday and Friday were filled with chores and laundry and Friday night we had family pictures taken in Lovell. (I can't WAIT to get them!!) On our way back into town we stopped and got Pizza on the Run and then came home to carve our pumpkins. Claire loved watching us and "helping" with her pumpkin. She had to go to bed before they were done so she was excited to see them and play with them the next morning.

Saturday we cleaned up outside in the yard a little and then made sugar cookies to decorate. Too bad we never got around to decorating them. After that we got Claire decked out in her Halloween costume and headed to the Trunk or Treat. This was the first one we have gone to. It was crazy! We got one of the last parking spots left at the very end of the parking lot and we still ran out of candy about 15 minutes into it! It was fun to see kids from our primary classes dressed up. Claire was closely watching all the kids reaching in the bowl for their candy and eventually dived in for her own piece!

After watching the costume parade, we headed to Lovell. Claire got quite the stash of candy for a nine month old who can't even eat it! First stop was Great Grandma and Grandpa Christensen's house. Claire had a great time sitting on Grandpa's lap eating a roll and watching Grandma make her a goodie bag. She gets super excited when she eats and grabbed the roll and took a couple quick big bites before we could get it away from her. We didn't realize she had actually gotten any pieces in her mouth until a few seconds later when she started full out choking. Scary! Luckily we were able to get it out quick. After that we decided we should probably head out :)

Next stop was Uncle Jordan and Aunt Angie's house. (Jordan got married for those who didn't know! Post about that coming soon!) Claire had fun playing with them and once again got a goodie bag. Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Hitz's. Claire was excited to see her favorite cousin Ross the vampire and had fun with grandma and grandpa. She had the most fun with grandma's dog Libby. She loves following her around and gets super excited when Libby plays with her. I don't even like dogs, but it's pretty cute!

Claire got spoiled with candy again. By the time we headed back to Powell we were exhausted, but it was a fun night and I think Claire had a good time on her first Halloween! For our actual Halloween night, we spent it over at our friends house for dinner and fun with lots of friends. It was a busy busy week, but lots of fun!

Claire - 6 1/2 Months

Claire had her 6 month check up today. A little late, but not my fault. There were only 2 doctors taking new patients here and they both happened to be on vacation for the past 2 weeks. Here are her stats from this appt:

Weight - 11 lbs 15 oz (Less than 5th percentile)

Height - 24 in (Less than 5th percentile)

Head - 15 3/4 (Less than 5th)

In other words....She's TINY! We had been noticing over the last month and a half that she was losing her belly and rolls and were slightly concerned about her weight. They weighed her 4 times just to be sure. The Dr. said he's not overly concerned about it since she is eating well and is very active, but he wants to see her for a weight check again in a month. In he meantime, he said to fatten her up with larger amounts of cereal and vegetables. He said "I think she's just a compact little girl". I prefer petite over compact :) She's wearing mostly 3-6M clothes, but some 0-3M still fit her. Anything 6-9M she drowns in, obviously.

Claire actually turned 6 months old on July 28th. We went on a little mini vacation to Denver and for her 6 month birthday took her to her very first Rockies game. She loved it! We sat club level for the first time which was nice. It's a lot cleaner up there! There was a little boy 3 days younger than Claire sitting in the row in front of us and it was his first game, too. Claire was about half his size, but much more vocal! She was loving being outside and talked the whole game. It was a good time even though the Rockies disappointed us and lost. We also went to the afternoon game the next day. It was really hot and during Claire's naptime so she was a little whiney, but overall did well. We had to head back to Powell for Steven to be at work the next morning, so we left the game a little early and listened to the rest on XM while driving. Rockies won! Anyway, it was a quick trip but fun for our first little family vacation. We are looking forward to going to the Oregon coast next summer!

Claire's first tooth broke through the day before her 6 month birthday and her second tooth a few days later. She isn't the most pleasant teether, but who can blame her?! It took her a few days after her teeth popped through to figure them out. Her tongue was constantly hanging halfway out running along those little buggers!

Claire can sit up on her own, but usually doesn't for very long. She much prefers being on her belly. For the past week or so, Claire has been up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth. Yikes. She then moves her legs forward and pulls herself forward with her arms. Once she's figures out how to get those arms going at the same time, she'll be full out crawling. Yikes again! She's pretty much been getting where she wants to go by scooting for a couple months, but now she's so much faster! And can only get faster once she's crawling. I really need to baby-proof this place! I need to get some video of this, too.

As I mentioned before, Claire is a talker! She loves to make high-pitched screechy noises. Right now she says baba, nana, mama(unfortunately I don't think she's referring to me), and gaga. She also does this thing where she lets her tongue hang out while she does a fake belly laugh/cough. It's pretty dang cute :)

We can't believe Claire is almost 7 months old! It has gone by so fast, yet we can't remember her not being part of our family. She has brought so much joy to our lives. We love you, Claire!

5 months

Claire is now 5 months old. Plus two weeks. She is still as cute as ever, and actually, I'm pretty sure she gets cuter every day :)

Claire is doing all sorts of fun things at 5 months:

• Loves to play with her feet. She is constantly checking them out, and more often, sucking on her toes. Super cute. When she's doesn't have them in her mouth, she is kicking her legs nonstop. Again, super cute.

• Has become a bit of a Mama's girl. Most of the time I like this, but sometimes Mama could use a break! Other than her dad, she really only lets women (Grandma's really) hold her. She pretty much refuses to let Grandpa Hitz hold her, but will flirt and smile at him from a distance. She does this with her uncles, too. They've learned not to take it personally because usually no matter who has her, it's only a matter of time before she wants Mom again.
  
  
• Loves to be outside. Whether it's going for a walk, sitting on the swing, or even just helping me water plants, she loves it.



• Loves bathtime and could stay in there for hours if we let her.



• Pretty much sleeping through the night now. Usually from about 9PM-7AM. If she does wake up, it's just once to eat and then she's right back to sleep. She is also FINALLY in a pretty routine schedule as far as naps go.
  
  
• Likes to touch your face. She does this a lot while she's eating and when she just wakes up.



• Gives lots of smiles and has started belly-laughing. We love seeing what silly things we can do to get those laughs. Too cute! She also has the world's best pouty lip. Once she gives that, you know she's done. Seriously, I have to get a picture of it.
  
  
• Studies and watches everything we do. She's done this since she was tiny, but now it's like she's really studying and trying to figure out how she can do whatever it is we're doing, too.
  
  
• Scoots and rolls all over the place! She is definitely keeping me busy lately!
  

The past five and a half months have gone SO fast! I can't believe she will be six months old soon. We just love her and can't get enough of her!

4 months

Claire turned 4 months old on May 28th. Yes, that was awhile ago but we've been busy! We were actually in the process of moving out of our apartment in Cheyenne on that day. Anyway, better late than never. Claire had her 4 month checkup a few days before she actually turned 4 months because I wanted to get it done before we moved. At her appointment she weighed 12.5 lbs and was 23.4 inches long. I can't remember the exact percentiles (don't worry, I wrote them in her baby book) but both were around the 25th percentile.

All smiles on her 4 month birthday. Even though Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma were busy packing and cleaning.

So exhausted from all the hard work!

Just playing and entertaining herself, which is basically what she did all day. She even put herself to sleep for naps. She was such a good girl!Last night in Cheyenne. It was a long day for her, too!

At 4 months, Claire is learning and growing more everyday. She started rolling from her belly to her back about 4 days before she turned 3 months old. Soon after that, she was getting really close to rolling from back to belly. Well, the day after her 4 month birthday she did it! It was minutes before we left our apartment. I guess she wanted to reach that milestone before we moved! Now she sometimes rolls around, but mostly once she gets on her belly she scoots forward and in circles. She's getting more and more mobile everyday and it scares me!

She started out under the toy on her back. It only took about 5 minutes for her to scoot to where she's laying in this picture.

Claire has definitely found her voice and talks and sings all the time. She's been laughing more the past few weeks, too. It's been fun for us to see what different things can get her laughing. She's still super slobbery and usually wears a bib all day so her clothes don't get soaked. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth and usually only wants her pacifier to chew on during the day and only really uses it for soothing at night now. Last week, her gums were quite red and irritated and she was SUCH A BEAR for a few days, so I'm thinking it won't be long until a tooth breaks through. Not sure how I feel about that yet, it seems pretty dang early for teeth.

Her sleeping habits have definitely improved since we've moved. Now that she has her own room and her own crib she's only spent one night in our room with us, and that was when Steven was gone overnight. It was definitely time to get her a crib as she was outgrowing her bassinet. So far I think she likes it. I think she's enjoying actually being able to move around in her bed :) She slept through the night for the first time on June 9th! She went down around 9:30 and didn't get up until 6:30. It was so nice! Sadly, it hasn't happened since :( She is also starting to get on more of a schedule as far as naps go, which is nice for mom.

As far as eating goes, Claire is still exclusively nursing. Her doctor in Cheyenne recommended waiting another month or so to start any cereal since she is still thriving on breastmilk. We are planning on trying cereal after she turns 5 months, which I guess is only a couple weeks away now :)

I could go on and on about all the fun things Claire does everyday but I won't. I just can't believe how big she is getting. We love our baby Claire and are enjoying watching her learn and grow!

Graduation, Mother's Day, Birthday, Moving, etc etc

This girl needs a crib!

Wow, we have been busy and have lots of blogging to catch up on! Where to start...Steven's graduation I guess. Steven graduated May 8, 2010 with his Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. His graduation was held in the Arena Auditorium with the other Health Science programs and was first thing in the morning at 8:30. We(Us, Steven's parents and Dylan, my parents, and Steven's grandparents) all had to leave Cheyenne by 6:45 AM which was not the most fun part of the day. Anyway, Senator Enzi was the speaker and then luckily the School of Pharmacy was the first. Claire was a trooper and slept from when we left Cheyenne until about 10 minutes before Steven was hooded, and then about 5 minutes after he was done she got hungry. Perfect timing baby! It was exciting to watch Steven achieve a goal he has been striving to reach for so long. All of his hard work, late nights, and super early mornings paid off. We are so proud of you, Steven! It was nice to have family here to support him as well.

blurry, but getting hooded

Yay, no more school!!

The next day was my first Mother's Day! Baby Claire woke up at her usual 7 AM, but Daddy got up with her and let Mommy sleep until 8. It was wonderful! When I got up and came out of the room, Daddy had dressed Claire in a special outfit. It helped that Grandma and Grandpa Hultgren and Dylan were still here, so Daddy was able to make breakfast for everyone. It was yummy and Mommy sure appreciated not having to cook for everyone! After saying goodbye to everyone it was off to church. Claire was a perfect angel at church and didn't fuss at all. If only my primary class had been angels that day, too :) After church, Steven had to get ready to head up north to start his new job the next day. But not before giving me my gift from him and Claire. I got an adorable homemade card, a cute book, and a gift certificate for a necklace from The Vintage Pearl. I picked this one. After Steven left, Claire was such a good girl for the rest of the day and was super cuddly. I am so lucky to be her Mommy! My first Mother's Day was great and definitely one to remember!As I said before, Steven started his job in Powell the Monday after graduation (May 10th). So far, he loves it but we knew he would! His day off the week was Tuesday so he went looking for a place for us to live. He ended up finding us a brand new, never been lived in duplex. We were kindof hoping for a house to rent for awhile before we buy, but this place was too good to pass up! Once we get moved and unpacked, I'll post pictures. Claire and I made the long drive to Lovell on Thursday and I must say she did AWESOME! She slept and played and only fussed a little when she got hungry. It took a little longer than usual because of having to stop to feed her, but she was great. Friday after Steven got off work, the two of us left for Billings for my birthday. We left Claire with Grandma Becky overnight! I was pretty nervous about it, not because I was worried she wouldn't be ok, just because it was the first time. I was proud of myself for not calling every hour! We only called once in the morning to see how her night was. For my birthday, Steven got us a jacuzzi suite for the night and we relaxed all Friday evening. It was nice to be able to get some good sleep! I have been in desperate need for new clothes but wouldn't let myself get any until all the baby weight was off. I still have about 5 lbs to go, but on Saturday morning Steven took me shopping. I got tons of good stuff and even hit some great deals! It was nice to be able to spend some alone time with my husband and I enjoyed it very much! We headed home around 1:30 and were both ready to see our baby girl! Becky and Steve said she was a good girl and they had so much fun. Unfortunately, we have no pictures to document this first in her life. Oops. Sunday was my real birthday and it was also a wonderful day filled with family. My mom made me a delicious dinner and I got some fun gifts. Thanks to everyone for making my 25th a great one!

Claire and I came back to Cheyenne Monday morning so that I could be to work Tuesday. Steven will come home tomorrow night and we'll spend most of the weekend packing up our apartment. He has to go back to Powell for work Mon-Thurs and will fly back here next Friday. My mom is coming Wednesday to help me with the baby and last minute packing/cleaning. We are hoping to get the U-haul packed up Friday night and get on the road Saturday morning. We have really liked living in Cheyenne, but are really excited to be in Powell closer to family and start a new chapter of our lives there. I'm pretty sure I won't get around to posting anything again before we move, but once we get everything set up in Powell I'll get right on it! I'll leave you with a picture of our little cutie in the bath!

Back Blogging - Claire's Blessing

We blessed baby Claire on Saturday April 3rd in Lovell. We had decided it would be a lot easier for us to go to Lovell than have all our family come to Cheyenne, and honestly we aren't particularly close to anyone in our ward here. We had originally planned on doing it the weekend before that but Steven's rotation schedule didn't really allow it. Since it was Easter weekend, we were able to have an extra day at home so it actually worked out better. However, it was also General Conference weekend so we weren't able to do it during a sacrament meeting. Instead we did the blessing in the Relief Society room before the priesthood session Saturday evening. Steven gave Claire an amazingly beautiful blessing and I'll always remember the things that were said. Of course it made me cry, as well as about every other woman in the room :) Before everyone got there Claire had started to fuss so I took her in the bathroom to change and nurse her but nothing would calm her down. I finally got her settled down a little and she was fine until about 1 minute into the blessing. Then she started screaming! Steven had to stop and find her pacifier but then she fell right asleep. I was so glad she didn't cry through the whole thing. After it was over, of course it was picture time. In the rush of getting her ready, I forgot the camera! Ugh, I was so mad at myself! Luckily, pretty much everyone else had their cameras so there definitely wasn't a lack of pictures. That's partially why it took me so long to blog about this because I was waiting for pictures from family. After way too many pictures, the guys went out into the cultural hall for priesthood meeting and the rest of us were trying to get ready to go. I realized I had left some stuff in the bathroom so I ran to get it. When I came back into the Relief Society room, Steven's mom was holding Claire's dress up. Apparently while I was gone, she had a major blowout! The worst one up to that point. I guess that's why she was so upset! Luckily Becky was able to save her dress, but her onesie and tights were pretty much covered in poo. We had to completely undress her and it took all the wipes I had to clean her up. I had to wrap her up real good in a blanket to get her back home, it was awesome :) Definitely memorable! Anyway, it was a great evening and we were so blessed to be able to have so much family there to support us.

Nobody got pictures of just Claire in her dress and I was going to do it after we got home from the church. But then the whole blowout happened, and I had to try to take some when we got back to Cheyenne. Every time I tried, she was NOT interested! These are the best I could get!

She's thinking....Seriously Mom?

With Grandma Becky right before the accident!

Claire and Grandma Hitz

Claire's other grandma (my second mom) Kathy

I'm hoping my mom has a better picture of the three of us, cuz this one isn't that great.

My sister got her this pacifier just for her blessing. It says "Heaven Sent". I thought it was adorable.