Constant Beginnings

It was such a gorgeous day today that I thought I'd take Claire swimming in our pool; however, she was very obviously tired, so a nap was in order. I decided to hang out with her in my bed for a bit and see if she'd fall asleep. Buuuutttt, she didn't exactly fall asleep, but instead, fell out of the mountainous bed---HEAD first onto our hardwood floors!!! I could have died. She cried and cried and cried and I cried and cried and cried. I definitely lost my "mother of the year award" today. It was miserable. All this happened after I watched a news clip on TBI's this morning. I was freakin out to say the least, but gained my compsure enough to handle the situation. After the tears stopped flowing (5 minutes or so), she seemed okay. Her eyes weren't dilating abnormally, she wasn't irritable, no blood, etc. I went through my little manual to check the signs/symptoms to watch for, but she seemed okay. All she had to show for her fall from the sky was a big...

        In honor of Claire's first birthday, we bought our little princess a custom made tutu. We are going to have her one year pictures taken in it, but I couldn't wait. Claire and I had an impromtu photo session on Friday. Claire wouldn't exactly cooperate with the poses, but these are what we got. Hopefully the professional shots turn out a bit better, but I'd say our princess is simply adorable.

        Claire loved Ava's wheels. She climbed in and out like a pro. She definitely needs a car of her own.

    I have a few pictures to post from our trip. Jessica bought Claire this adorable little outfit for her birthday, along with another cute dress. This outfit has a short little denim skirt with a coordinating plaid booty cover. Claire was too cute in it. My Mom, Claire and I stopped at my Grandma's house on the way back to our house. I put Claire down on the driveway as I unloaded the van. Claire b-lined it over to the golf cart and hopped on. I walked over to find her pushing the pedals with her hands. She loves rides.

      While we were in ND, Claire, my Mom and I stopped to visit my best friend from childhood, Nicole. She and her husband, Kevin just welcomed a baby boy into their family. They already have an adorable 4 year old girl, Abby. Nicole and I have such a strong friendship that it is one where we don't need to talk or see each other often, but when we do get together or chat, there is no akwardness or uncomfortableness. It is just as though we've been together each and every day. She truly is a great person and a life long best friend. I love her like a sister and my family feels she is a part of ours. We had a great day together, visiting and meeting baby Kennon. He is such a good little guy. Claire was very curious about him. When he started to fuss a bit, Claire started rocking his chair. Such a good little Mommy.

      Claire has changed so much in the past week, I thought I had better blog it before I forget. She woke up on her birthday saying "outside, outside." This word is truly one of her favorites. She loves it outside. Her cousins have a Little Tikes car that she loves getting in and driving. Claire is also a huge fan of swimming. In addition to going up stairs, she can also go down the stairs. This new found mobility is fantastic---at least from her point of view. She is attempting to shimmy off beds, up on retaining walls and anything else that used to contain her. Claire can now drink out of straws. This was a very recent discovery. She loves to try again and again and again. Claire has also begun to get her first molars, actually all four. She is a bit more clingy than usual, otherwise taking it all in stride.

       

        On Thursday we went to Ragin' Rivers water park in Mandan. It was so much fun. We spent the entire day there and Claire LOVED it. She cruised down the lazy river, played on the equipment just for kiddos, but spent most of the time in the water where it gradually deepened. She splashed, laughed and splashed some more. We definitely have a water baby.

        Olivia is a faithful reader, so it is only fitting that I make a separate post just for her. Here is the photo play by play of her hitting the gas pump. Chris and I were walking toward the house when we heard the crash. We both turned to look just in time to see Luke and Olivia jumping ship as quick as they could. It was so funny. Like a trooper, she got back on shortly after some consoling from her Papa. Keep your eyes on the road, Olivia!

       

        We stopped at the farm on Monday before we headed to our other farm on the opposite side of the state. We had a blast driving 4 wheeler, checking out the cows and visiting with my Grandma. Olivia and Luke both drove the tractor. Olivia had a bit of an issue as a gas pump mysteriously jumped in front of her while she was driving the tractor. Luke didn't go incident free either. He managed to clip some tires that were laying beside a building. Chris and I took our turns on the 4 wheeler too. He didn't trust my driving as I am a bit more wild than he'd like. It was fun.

        Chris loves feeding/petting animals. He tried to introduce Claire to his fascination, but she wasn't so sure. Thankfully the goat cooperated and didn't try to eat our baby. After our visit to the zoo, we went to "The Forks." This is where the Red River and the Assiniboine Rivers meet. It was an interesting little place full of interesting people, okay, odd people. We had a great time. It was definitely a fun trip.