still so mean

woke up a little toooo early. she really was asleep. perhaps more proof she is my child?

oh yeah

not to brag or anything, and i know that i sometimes talk about what a 'monster' she is, but seriously- coolest baby ever. she figured out HOW TO WHISTLE. shes been doing it for a while without really knowing what she was doing, and she just figured out how to do it on her own. whenever she wants. booya.

(so theres nothing to see because we were in a dark car... the first part is joe but the rest is alllll her. promise.)

what a mean mom am i?

i guess she was more tired than i thought? she was drinking her bottle where she normally does before her nap, and the next thing i knew she was gone. she usually finishes then comes over to me and lets me know shes done. not today.... which is funny because she has a hard time sleeping there normally- i can't put her down. she only sleeps in her crib! whatever.

just for kicks heres a little extra proof my child is a monster: she grew an inch in less than a month. at 10 months shes wearing 18 month clothes. and she wears size 5 shoes! sheesh. she is allllll her daddy.

oh my

shes reading already? when we handed her the menu we thought she would just throw it on the floor like everything else. not this time: she took that menu like shes been holding menus her whole life, and gave that thing an intense look-over before chucking it at the closest passer-by. should we be looking at Harvard yet?

labor day

we spent some of the weekend staying in my brother's FIANCE's (yes, finally my brother is engaged!) family cabin up in the mountains. it was so nice to just get out of provo for a little bit and enjoy some pretty surroundings! we had tin foil dinners, played some games, explored on the ATV, and just hung out. claire was her usual self, mostly happy, but was having a hard time sleeping... no naps and had to sleep with us. oh well....

the happy couple! we are so excited for them!

so this was funny: claire has been a little, er, extra monsterish lately. she has four teeth coming in on top, so i guess thats to be expected (she finally cut one yesterday...) on top of that she has been particularly funny about going down for naps and bed time after having a nightmare one night (we think...) shes been very defiant, very 'i'm gonna do what i want' attitude. we were driving home after running a bunch of errands yesterday and she yelped at me like something was wrong, but nothing was. by the time we got home, claire was totally out. she did not want to nap, and her face seems to show it! to me it looks like she kept saying to herself 'i will not go to sleep, i will not go to sleep.....' but she was so out i managed to get her out of the carseat and upstairs and in the crib without a peep. thie NEVER happens. she does NOT like to be moved when she sleeps!

yeah i know... needs a new carseat. she has for about a month. shes in the 95% for height. its on the list

end of summerness....

... and on to the fall. and days upon days of lonely while joe works and goes to school. and so i entertain myself with testing out what claire likes

found out she LOVES brownie mix. just like her momma

she threw a fit when i took it away from her.

ps: i started a little video blog. nothing fancy, but i just wanted to have a little motivation to share more videos of her, but i don't want this blog to get bogged down every time it loads because we've got a lot. anyways, check it out if you're into seeing my cute baby do cute things (like being miss sassy pants and saying hello over and over again)

just because

today i am grateful for:

-good deals
-school
-a peacefully sleeping baby
-air conditioning
-water that comes out of the fridge (and my sister-in-law that pointed out to me that it works again! thanks laura)
-jeans that fit
-fresh bread
-a comfy couch
when we have clean air (utah air= yucky right now!)
-when i have a craving for healthy food
-a car that works
-good music- and that claire likes to listen to it and dance

and more. what are you grateful for today?

and one more thing- although ive never won a giveaway, i like those too. wanna enter a fun one? check out http://just-cook-already.blogspot.com/ and enter!

only a sister

going through some pictures today and found this one from when we went home for the reception/last fam time for two years/marsh's farewell etc. weekend, and i love it for what it is.

{we sat and just took pictures of ourselves for ten minutes while my mom was cleaning the carpet at around 11 at night, and we could NOT get one we were satisfied with, and somehow ended up on the floor like this.}

i was thinking about how the relationship you have between sisters is completely different than any relationship. and i totally love it. anyways.... just wanted to say thanks to linds for always stepping in and helping out whenever i need it!

what a goober-bub-a-chub

she makes me laugh all day long. i love 'tricking' her by making the red flash go and waiting to actually take the picture. she always squints when she sees the red light!

bashful

we've been seeing a lot of this lately

she thinks its it hilarious to look between her legs

can't figure out why! but it makes us laugh a lot

the crazy continues

although the traveling is over the whirlwind of 'life' goes on. among work, we squeezed in a ward party, errands, and a camping trip this weekend. woah- camping? yeah, we got a tent two YEARS ago right after we got married, and this weekend- the weekend of our anniversary- we finally put it to good use. i think joe was a little surprised with how well i did while 'roughing it'. it had been an extremely hot day but a coming storm and being up in the mountains made the weather perfect. thanks to lindsay for being a champ and watching claire for us!

as ive mentioned a few times, my little brother is leaving for his mission tomorrow. can hardly believe the time is finally here, and im sure he will be coming home before we know it. if you are interested, you can follow his journey here.

can hardly believe that school starts next week- is summer really over? i don't think i am ready for fall just yet! i know a lot of people are ready for fall, but i haven't quite gotten my fill just yet. i am a HOT weather kind of girl. although i might be *slightly* excited for some really good football games...

have i mentioned what today is? just a little anniversary for my love and me. when visiting home a couple weeks ago and helped throw a reception for my friend, we commented several times about how so much has happened in the last couple of years it seems like its been so much longer, but at the same time its gone by so quickly. either way, i really, really love my hubby. i love where we are and can't wait to see what the future brings.