Ohhh Baby Baby

My cute friend, Marie, had her second baby on Saturday so Claire and I went up to visit them yesterday. Little Allison is so beautiful!

Marie, Allison, me, Claire

I had to snap a few photos of Marie's two little girls - Olivia and Allison. Don't you love Livvy's hair? She was definitely playing the role of big sister.

Marie was my roommate all through college and one of my best friends in the world. We met our husbands within weeks of each other and the four of us hung out non-stop. We even went on a few trips to Cali together during college. Lots of fun times with the Doughertys!
I'm so happy for them! Congratulations!

Photo Dump

We've been busy the last few days and I have been seriously slacking on posting pics. I thought I'd do a little photo dump for all Claire's fans...(namely her Grandmas)

Here's Claire just waking up from a nap. Every time I walk into her room she gets this huge smile on her face!


We got Claire this little walker to practice walking with and I was so excited to give it to her. At first, I think she liked all the toys and noises it made, but then it started moving and she did NOT like that.


On Valentines Day, we met Nate for lunch at Goodwood Barbeque (so yummy). Claire was on her best behavior, which is a first, at the restaurant.

I love her face in this one...she looks like she's a little confused, but still wants to smile.

I couldn't get her to look at the camera.

That night Nate had to go to the temple with the Young Men in our ward (seriously, who scheduled a Young Men activity on Valentines Day at 6 pm?! Luckily not Nate...or he would have been in big trouble). So my little brother, Brandon, came over and made sugar cookies with Claire and me. Or should I say I made sugar cookies while they played. She absolutely LOVES her Uncle B-man. Here's a pic of them dancing.

She also discovered the dishwasher that night...excellent.

Nate and I went out the next night to celebrate V-Day. He really wanted to go spend a night away, so we had our first night without Claire. How did I do this you say? I'm still not sure. Let's just say it was a lot harder on me than it was on her. She stayed at my mom's and did awesome. (Thanks again Mom!) Nate and I stayed at the same place we spent our first married night together...the Marriott Downtown. Its right next to the Wells Fargo Building, where we had our reception. We had SO much fun! In fact, we had so much fun that I only got two pics the whole night:

This is the other pic - this sign was right outside the elevator and I loved how it explained what the alarm sounds like...

Here's a random photo of Claire getting in the bath. That girl's got rolls everywhere.

Last night we celebrated my sis-in-law's, E'shell, bday. Of course, I didn't get any pictures of her, just millions of the grandkids. They were all in their white onesies together which screams photo-op. Here is Drew, Corgan and Claire:

Close-up of sweet little Corgan...(the poor kid has scratched himself up!)

And finally, I couldn't finish off this photo dump without an Edward moment. Summit Entertainment finished casting the main characters of Twilight the movie!! Here is the entire Cullen Family: Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, Edward, Carlisle, Alice and Jasper. I think they did a pretty good job on casting the right people except Emmett. I thought he was supposed to be "bear-like"?

Anyway, that was our week! Whew.

All I need is you, my Valentine (think Martina McBride)

So a bunch of my friends have tagged me lately with a post all about my husband. Since today was very fitting, I thought I would wait until today to comply. So you guys are all going to learn a little bit more about Nate:

What is his name? Nathan Jay
How long have you been married? 4 1/2 years, we’ve known each other for over six.
How old is he? 29 (old man if you ask me)
How long did you date? 1 year and 5 months until we were engaged, 3 more months until we were married.
Who eats more? Seriously, is this even a question? Nate could eat truckloads if I put it in front of him…although from looking at him you could never tell. Not fair.
Who said I love you first? This is actually a pretty funny story. He did. And I was so nervous that I said it back and then told myself that I really didn’t love him. So after having a long, heartfelt discussion with my roommate (Nate is still mad at you Marie)…I took it back! What a jerk I was huh? Well, it was about 4 months later that I said it again and this time I really meant it. :)
Who kissed who first? He kissed me, but he took SO long that I almost did it myself! (Ok, it was really only 10 days after we met, but we hung out every day so it felt like FOREVER to me!)
Who is smarter? Nate Dogg all the way. He never forgets one thing he reads. He knows the most random facts because of this. It’s amazing.
Whose temper is worse? Mine…definitely. If it were up to Nate, I’m sure we’d never argue again.
Who does the laundry? We both do. Actually, I think he does it more than me.Who does the dishes? We both do, but I’d have to say that I do them more often.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, but not every where we go. I always sleep on the side of the bed that is farthest from the door. Why? Because I’m a baby.
Who pays the bills? I pay all our bills but one. This is a secret credit card that Nate has so he can buy me birthday and Christmas presents and I can’t peek into our account to see what he’s bought me.
Who cooks dinner? He used to made dinner WAY more than me, but since I stay home now I pretty much do most of the cooking.
Who drives when you are together? Nate (and I can honestly say I NEVER open my own door when he’s around).
Who is more stubborn? Me. Poor, laid-back Nate has to put up with my stubborn ways…but I must say there are a few key things he’s stubborn about and I like it when he is. It always makes me laugh.
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, but just because his parents live in Seattle.
Who proposed? Nate, at second dam in Logan Canyon.
What is one thing you love most about your man? Nate rocks. I can’t choose just one thing…so here’s a few.

• He is the most unselfish person you will ever meet; always thinking of others before himself.
• He is an awesome dad.
• He has an incredible testimony of the gospel and knowledge of the scriptures. It goes back to “never forgetting anything he reads.” He can quote scriptures right and left.
• He always takes care of Claire and me and never wants me to have to do anything once he’s home. He gets mad if I tell him I’m going to shovel the driveway because he thinks that’s his job…so he ends up scrapping ice off the driveway because its dark when he gets home.
• He is very dedicated and loyal. You can always count on Nate.
• He listens to me go on and on about nothing and always acts interested.
• He is a HOTTIE!
• He is extremely thoughtful. In fact, every time he eats a pack of fruit snacks, he pulls out the purple ones (my favorite) and saves them for me.
• And he is everything I never knew I always wanted.
  

I LOVE YOU BABE!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Climbing the stairs

We put Claire on the stairs on Friday and low and behold...she can crawl up them!

Here's a little play by play...

I think she's feeling a little overwhelmed right now...

One leg up...

...then the other...

Both legs up!

She made it to the top! (With a little incentive...her binkie!) So proud of herself!

I think it's time to invest in a gate...

Poor Claire

My sweet little girl had to get her blood drawn today. And instead of just getting her foot pricked, she had to have it taken from her arm like an adult. The nurses had to put the needle in FIVE TIMES (once in each arm, once in her hand and twice in her other hand) before they finally got enough blood. Poor Claire was screaming. I felt so bad for my little girl. It's so hard to watch her cry and not be able to do anything about it.

But once we got home and she had a little nap, this is how she looked...

I'm so glad she's such a happy little girl. When the nurse put the needle in the first time, Claire was still trying to smile-even through the tears. Now, hopefully she'll stay this way...especially through the teenage years. :)

Breaking News!

Breaking Dawn,

the fourth book in the Twilight series,

has an official release date of

Saturday, August 2, 2008!!

Anyone want to camp out with me at Barnes and Noble on August 1?

One of the best sounds ever

Here is Claire getting a kick out of a piece of plastic wrap. Nate would hold it out to her and when she'd reach for it, he'd take it away. She thought it was hilarious!