Weekend Bananas and the Park

One of the few foods that Claire can feed herself without requiring a bath afterwards is bananas, which also happen to be a favorite. However, she does love to shove as much of the banana in her mouth as she can possibly fit. She does the same thing with bread, goldfish, and cheerios.

Eating the banana like corn on the cob.

Saturday was a beautiful day out, high 60's and sunny. We decided to head to the park which was thoroughly packed because it seems that everyone else had the exact same idea. We first tried Claire on the swing, but she hated that idea. So we climbed around on some of the playground and went down the slide a few times.

Surprisingly, this playground was mostly wood. I thought that these types of playgrounds were a thing of the past.

Claire also liked just walking around on the mulch watching all of the other kids play. She is highly entertained by other kids.

Then on the way out, Claire was insistent that she continue walking and helped to push the stroller from the playground, all the way to the car. She only stumbled once. She did a great job walking. Everyone that passed commented on how cute she was helping to push the stroller.

Here she is, head down, full speed ahead.

Milestone!

My 1997 Chevy Malibu has slowly been approaching the 100,000 mile mark. I finally hit the new milestone this week while running errands for work.

Sunday Dress

These pictures are at least a week old, but they are cute and we wanted to share.

Now that Claire has turned one, we have been working with her on feeding herself. This is one of our first attempts, and they almost all still end with her needing a bath.

Last week we finally had a beautiful sunny weekend after a dreary winter full of rain and cold and four snow storms! We celebrated by dressing Claire up in a nice new dress and taking her outside for some pictures before we left for Church. Unfortunately, there was something more interesting going on off to the side.

These next two are classic Claire faces.

Claire's Weekend

We finally had a nice weather weekend around here. Saturday was blue skies, sunny and decently warm (mid-60s). So we took advantage and went for a walk. We wound up at a park where Claire tried out the swing.

She was not sure what to think of the whole swinging thing.

Then on the car ride back, Claire munch on her new favorite treat, Goldfish!

She ate nearly half the bag!

Then when we got home, she decided it was time to play in the tupperware cupboard.

Arizona Trip

I had a great time in Tucson visiting my family. The only downside was that Casey was not able to come. Hopefully he will be there next time! We spent a lot of time playing with kids, eating, playing Wii and board games and just having fun.

Claire really enjoyed playing with her cousins. She love little kids. Here they are helping her walk. She is getting much better and yesterday walked across the whole bedroom on her own.
I tried to get a picture with all the kids, but as you can imagine, its a little tricky. 5 yr old is holding 18 month old's head still and I'm trying, unsuccessfully, to keep Claire still.
Claire and her buddy cousin enjoying a meal together. If they sit too close, they will steal each others food.
Another attempt at a group shot.
I also got to see an old mission companion who lives in Tucson now. Her little boy is super cute and just a few months younger than Claire.

I thought this was a funny shot. She is just going to rip the keys away in one second.
The weather wasn't perfect, but it was so fun to see all the kids and my parents, and my brothers and their wives. I wish we all lived closer, but I guess we'll just have to enjoy the moments when we have them.