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!
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!
to demonstrate how completely shallow and ridiculous i can be some times, i give you this:
rebecca minkoff, knocked up baby bag in leaf. $695. sold out.
i am obsessed. literally. i spied it in the newest Cookie magazine and i am head over heels smitten with it. can i afford this? absolutely not. but that doesn’t mean i can’t dream. i adore kelly green and i adore functional mommy bags that don’t scream “inside this bag are two wet diapers, a crusty bib and the snickers wrapper from my lunch.”
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!
i have quite a few reasons to smile this monday morning-
returning from a relaxing overnight trip to flagstaff with friends (some pics/details soon)
i’m not sitting in the hospital with claire (keto diet visit is delayed due to insurance mess, it will work out soon, no worries)
and finding this on another blog:
Photo of the Day: Hiking by Lake Minnewanka, Melissa Brandts and her husband stopped to take a photo by some rocks. Intrigued by the whirring sounds emanating from the camera, a curious ground squirrel popped into the shot just as the timer expired and the photo was taken.
anyone who really knows me knows that i love lists. making lists, checking lists, top lists, whatever. i like them! so i thought for fun i’d start a top three thursday category (and believe me i need some fun.) and i want you to share your feedback and own top threes in the comment section of course!
so to kick off, the theme is albums you have on heavy rotation right now.
here’s mine:
1. franz ferdinand, tonight. i have a serious love for rock music with a dance beat. if i need a pick-me-up, i play this album and boogie in the driver’s seat. yes, i car dance. and i am quite good at it.
2. shawn mcdonald, roots. this album has basically kept me sane for the last year and a half. the song winter captures exactly where my soul is right now and the song captivated is a constant reminder for me that there is beauty even when i feel pain.
3. justin timberlake, futuresex/lovesounds. do i even need to give a reason why? oh and claire may only be a one year old but i can tell she already has a jt crush too.
1. this is the coolest, freshest way to blog a recipe that i have EVER seen! i am in love with this blog. plus the author just traveled to paris, swoon.
2. speaking of paris, i am going to go to this french bakery/cafe in scottsdale ASAP. i am dying to know if their croissants come close to the undescribable perfection of france. i am crossing my fingers because the husband and wife duo who run it lived there for years. plus he is a fashion photographer and she is a former model for LV, YSL and Hermes. ACK!!! i think i might have found my favorite place on earth and it is only 25 minutes from my house! macaroons, espresso, croque monsieurs, quiche lorraine and crepes+fashion+photography=nicky heaven.
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!!
if you know me, you know that i LOVE to plan a party. and the fact that this party is my little girl’s first birthday makes it ten times more exciting than any party before. my head is a tornado of ideas and soon my hands will be sore from the amount of crafty things i will be creating but to me- it is pure bliss. here’s a little peek into my delightful madness:
- the colors are hot pink, bright orange and lime green. very punchy, very summery, very girly.
- i am taking it upon myself to create these flower pinwheels to display in metal buckets filled with gerber daisies. cute!
- i am also planning on hanging these paper flowers from the rafters of the park ramada.
- the food will be an all american bbq. that means skin-on hot dogs and buns from von hanson’s. no crappy grocery store wieners here, but authentic minnesota meat! (how cool is it that they have one lonely store out here in chandler?!) bbq beans and sides from our own joe’s real bbq, yum. and a few other dishes that i will put together.
- did i mention mini cupcakes yet? i’ve discovered that mini cupcakes are the WAY to go for parties. less mess, easier to eat and the silly skinny-mini’s who say “i don’t want dessert” can’t even resist a tiny bite of cake perfection. come on!
- there will be singing. yep. our good friend and church worship pastor, stephen cole, is helping us make the evening extra special by leading us in song. they will be songs that celebrate the gift God has given us in claire, reflect on the journey this has been in our lives and ultimately tell Him how much we love Him. and if you are a guest and don’t sing? expect to be STRUCK DOWN by lightening. just kidding. but really i might give you the evil eye and you DO NOT want to chance that.
so there are some of my fantabulous plans. i cannot wait to have our close friends and family there to celebrate claire and what an amazing little miracle she is in this world.
1. there are tons of new pics in the photo section, enjoy!
2. my friend josie has an awesome new site, hey little birdie. she’s helping us find affordable, stylish gifts!
3. speaking of josie- she recently became the owner of one of my dream gifts. a kitchenaid artisan stand mixer. oh sweet baking gods, if only i could see one in my home some day soon. which got me thinking…my 30th is coming up next month! i am officially making it known that the only thing i want is williams sonoma gift cards so that i too might be the proud owner of this beautiful piece of culinary perfection.
5. my super smart, super talented, super nice, super cute little brother, ryan, is graduating with his MASTERS from ASU this weekend!!! yay! seriously ry, back in the day when you used to blow up our dog’s poo with firecrackers, i never thought you would turn out this genius. i am so proud of you!
my cute little cheerleader
