when i slow down and take it all in, it’s the everyday things that mean the most. like afternoon coffee runs with my favorite little person. she babbles and entertains me in the backseat. and i can’t help but smile at those polka dot tights.

a little peek into claire’s world… she absolutely loves trying to sit on her own. i use her boppy pillow as a trainer and added support. but she is pulling herself forward and waving those arms around and most of all enjoying it! she is getting very good at it and i hope someday soon she will be steady all on her own. here’s some photos of her play time:

oh and please forgive the messy hair. claire is a chronic offender of bed head. detangler is her best friend.

i’ve been slacking again. honestly i really haven’t felt like writing in some time and taking pictures hasn’t been a priority lately. sorry.

things have been up and down around our house. claire is still on the diet, still having seizures. don’t get me wrong, we have seen major improvements. there are many times she wakes up and doesn’t have them, but sometimes she still does and they can be pretty strong ones. she also has stopped tremoring periodically in her right arm and doing little “jolts” like she used to. she learned how to babble about 2 weeks ago and talks to us every day morning and night! she is also trying to sit on her own, she likes to try and i am very confident that someday she will get the hang of it. she has been super smiley especially in the mornings, which of course makes my day. overall, we are happy with the small changes we have seen and plan to stick to the diet. the doctor reccomended increasing her medicine to see if the combo of it with the idet will work better. so we increased in a few days ago and are hoping we see more improvements.

here’s something else claire has learned to do:

she likes to tell us when she is sleepy. so sweet.

and get ready here are LOTS of pics of just being cute. to catch you all up on the last month.

she likes making funny faces.

the following are pics adrian snapped of us having a girl talk.

she loves bath time.

until her paci falls out.

family pic at schnepf farms festival.

what a cute smirk!

my silly girl.

halloween night. she was a claire bear.

and wanted none of it.

she was not happy with us. and did not get to trick or treat. because she screamed instead. bummer.

at least one vender girl enjoyed her costume.

that’s it for now! congratulations on making it through this looong post! i’ll try to add the pictures to flickr soon so they link up and you can print them if you want!

seriously people. she is the best ever. do you read her blog? if you don’t then i am so mad at you right now. it is eye candy yumminess every day. her pictures make me smile, make me get teary, make me think, make me appreciate the beauty in this world. go! go right now and devour every post!

awhile ago, we received the final pictures that she took at claire’s first birthday party. i have been bugging adrian to help me embed them here but he is so busy, so instead you’ll just have to follow this link to see the slideshow. they’re amazing, huh? i can’t wait to get big prints and hang them all over my house (if you want any, there is a shopping cart icon on the bottom right). and i can’t wait to do a family session with misty in the future. especially now that claire is off the sleepy medicine and so much more awake.

hope you enjoy the pictures and misty’s blog!

there is nothing sweeter than a daddy with his baby girl. there are no words…

heart. is. mush.

more on SD vacay 2009 later.

hooray for football season! at the vender house we are HUGE arizona state fans, go DEVILS! we had the amazing opportunity to attend the home opener as a gift from our sister-in-law’s  parents. alex’s dad is the president of idaho state, our opponent of the night. he treated us to great seats in the 14th row, a sweet parking spot and we even got to attend the idaho state pre-game party too! it was so nice to see Alex’s parents again and to take claire to her first sun devils game. of course, our devils did not disappoint and won 50-3!
claire was in absolute heaven for the entire game. i’m telling you, this girl is born to be a musician. she could not stop smiling every time the marching band played or music blasted through the speakers and she even cracked up at the fans cheering and clapping. she was a smiley, wiggley little girl for hours! it was so fun. here’s some pictures from the night and a little video of her grooving a bit:

our attempt at a self-portrait, sorry claire!

the family, aren’t matt and yasmine looking so cute?

my cute little cheerleader

snuggling with papa.

claire and her papa rich.

we attempted to capture her smile so many times but this girl would not sit still!

and here is a video of her having fun, this is only a tiny glimpse of her silly self!

claire has emerged from her keppra coma. i have never seen so many smiles, so much awareness, i feel like she is allowed to finally experience her world. i hope whatever medications we try in the future never take her away from me again. just look at her eyes, they have come alive.

“I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
Jeremiah 31:13

thank you Jesus.

adrian, claire and i ventured up north to flagstaff last weekend for a little overnight stay with our friends- mike, jina and baby lyla. let me start by saying the weather was DIVINE. i cannot imagine living in a place where the sun shines but you don’t feel like you are roasting on a spit. in fact, it felt so nice that i forgot to wear sunscreen and burnt my arms. ouch! we wanted to go to the cardinals training camp but the crowds were absolutely insane. i mean 10s of thousands of people insane. so we set up on the first practice field and relaxed in the shade. we got to see big red the mascot do some crazy backflips with a giant bird head on. it was pretty funny. here’s our little cheerleader:

then we walked around dowtown flagstaff and ate some amazing crepes on this cute little patio outside. nutella, ghiradelli chocolate, raspberry preserves and whipped cream? yes, please!

then we stopped by the famed macy’s coffee. my cappuccino was perfect!

after that we hung out at the hotel, played some pass the pigs with the olbinski’s and marveled at our 3 foot deep, reclaimed water, liquid/solid buttoned toilets. they were an experience to say the least.

the next morning we trekked back down to the heat with a little pit stop at the anthem outlets, yay!

it was a nice, restful weekend. claire was an angel on both car rides, was a little cranky at the hotel but then let us sleep most of the night. it was fun to get away with friends!

another of claire’s most fabulous birthday presents was from her aunt alex and uncle ryan. a super cute dress from babymae couture. it’s the talented handiwork of their close friend- danielle axtell. danielle’s line is going to be featured in a few baby boutiques soon and is also available on etsy. congrats danielle! i am in love with the colors, the print and the cute flowy shape! it is even more adorable in person. claire was being my little model one afternoon and i snapped these shots of her being gorgeous as always.

our friend and photographer, misty, posted a recap of claire’s first birthday bash on her site. check it out here!

here’s a little preview.

i can’t wait to see all the pretty and fun images misty captured for us. she is super talented, nice, pretty, smart, creative- i could go on and on singing her praises. but seriously guys, if you are in the valley and want an exceptional photographer then contact her! thank you misty!!