One Whole Year!

I can't believe our little girl is one year old! She's getting so big! We had two birthday parties for her, one Friday after Thanksgiving and one on Sunday. She got so much fun stuff that she loves to play with.

Here she is in her birthday outfit Grandma Sue gave her:
Opening Presents:
Playing with the wrapping paper and bags more than the actual presents! Is that a gift bag sled?
Enjoying her cake:
She needed a bath after this!
She had her 1 year Dr appointment today - 19 lbs, 10 oz, 27 1/2 inches long. Only in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th for height. But she's still my perfect baby!

Favorite Toy

Clarissa's new favorite toy is...her daddy's shoes!We're going to give her old shoes, magazines, Tupperware, and boxes for her birthday! It's what she seems to like best!

Ten @ 10

Ten Fun Facts at 10 Months
1. Clarissa just got back from her first trip to Ohio!
2. She can click her tongue now.
3. She can roll her tongue too!
4. She's getting really good at crawling.
5. She has tried to feed herself.
6. Her hair is growing in nicely.
7. Her Daddy says her new favorite movie is Animal House, but she doesn't like it as much as Men In Black 2.
8. The dogs will let her touch them a little, but then back away.
9. Unless Orion is styling her hair!
10. She's finally outgrowing her 6-9 month clothes!

New Trick

Clarissa has been learning all sorts of new tricks lately. Crawling, talking, etc. Today she showed me a new one.

I was feeding her and the dogs were going nuts, so I got up and let them outside. When I turned back around, this is what I saw:She had grabbed the spoon and was feeding herself! As you can see by the food on her face, she needs a little practice! And, of course, all I had was my camera phone nearby, so I didn't get quality pictures, but at least I got pictures!

Hair Styling by Orion

We have a famous hairstylist at our house. Maybe you've heard of him. O'rion. He's studied all over to perfect his craft. Claire was lucky enough to get an appointment with him.
Still can't see the style?
How about now?

State Fair

We went to the MN State Fair on Saturday for Grandpa Greg's birthday. Greg has listened to AM1500 for years and really loves the Baby Walk they have every year at the State Fair. Well, finally he had someone to enter, so we brought Clarissa in. What happens is that the hosts decide if the name of the baby is approved or not. They don't like weird spellings or unusual names. Grandma was worried about "Clarissa" being approved or not. I think we would have been in trouble, but the little girl before us was named "Salior". They said they'd accept almost any name after that!! So now we have an approved certificate! You also got to put your name in for a drawing for Twins tickets if you were approved. My name was drawn!! Todd and I are going to the new stadium (never been before) on Tuesday when the Twins play the Tigers. We're in the 2 level behind home plate. Grandpa and Grandma are excited to babysit!

I didn't charge my camera before going, so it was dead when we got there! I'm still kicking myself on that one! I did take a couple of pictures with my phone.
A tired baby finally fell asleep on her daddy!

Nine @ Nine

Clarissa at Nine Months:
1. Loves tags - even better than the toy itself.
2. Isn't quite crawling yet.
3. Love the water.
4. Thinks the dogs are funny.
5. Favorite movie is Men In Black 2 (I think your Daddy has something to do with this one!)
6. Loves all foods - but still doesn't like bananas.
7. Definitely lets us know when you're not happy!
8. Notices every little detail - the trim on the neckline of my shirt, the nightlight behind the rocking chair, etc.
9. Says mama and dada to no one in particular.

And a couple of quick pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Playing in the bathtub:
Playing with her toys and wearing the hat from Grandma Vickie:

CHARGE IT!

Last Saturday was Clarissa's first trip to the Mall of America. I was a little nervous, but knowing that I had Grandma Sue and Auntie Breanne with me helped. Also, knowing that she comes from a long line of shoppers didn't hurt either!

Clarissa did really well - she was amazed by all of the people and everything to look at. She even made it through Mom finding an outfit for her reunion and some other clothes!

We decided to have lunch at Crave, where Clarissa had her first pickle:
Needless to say, she loved it! It must have been only sour in one spot, because she made a funny face! The server said she was the best baby he ever had! I was a proud Mama for sure - and will try to remember that when she throws a fit in a restaurant later in life!

Then we went to the Disney Store where Grandma Sue tried to see if the Minnie ears would fit. They didn't.
We then went to Ikea, where Clarissa slept most of the time. She did really great! I guess we'll have to do more shopping when Daddy is out fishing for the weekend!

8 Months

Clarissa turned 8 months on the 24th of July. She is now rolling all over and scooting too! She is a really good sitter now. One of her favorite things is to splash around in her little pool.I hadn't really taken many nekkid shots, so I thought I'd take a couple. This would be why her daddy calls her Rolly-Polly-Ollie. :) She must be practicing yoga - I think this is downward dog!Gotta love a cute baby butt!

Nighty-Night

Every night I put Clarissa to sleep on her back. Every night, she then rolls over and sleeps like this:
She won't pull up her knees to crawl, but she will to sleep!

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's day at Grandpa and Grandma Crum's house. We used the new smoker that Todd and his dad bought together - it was really good! Grandpa even put up a swing for Clarissa at their house. She seemed to like it! Yes, I know this is a picture of feet, but I love how she's got her foot on his!

6 Month Check-up

Claire went in for her 6 month check-up today. She weighs 15 lbs and 5 oz and is 25 3/4 inches tall. She's grown 7 inches since she was born! Her weight is, of course, perfectly average in the 50th percentile, but she moved up to the 75th percentile in height! Not-so-average any more!!

This is her new trick that she did for the first time today at the Dr's office. The Dr asked if we could do that, I told her that I didn't want MY feet in my mouth. And no, I can't. :)And here she is just being her smiley self. She cried a little after getting her shots, but really didn't do too bad for having her appointment during her nap time!

6 Month Pictures

Tomorrow Clarissa will be 6 months old! I can't believe it! I took her yesterday to get her pictures taken. She wasn't in a smiling mood, but we did get a couple of good ones!
Photos were taken at Clix in Maple Grove. I have a card for free 8x10 if you are interested in going to one of their locations. Let me know!

9 Years and 5 Months

Saturday, April 24th was Baron's birthday. He turned 9. Can't believe this big baby has been around for so long. He's getting to be an old man, but still acts like a small puppy lap dog.Nine things about Baron at 9 years old.
1. He's always had a blue collar.
2. His favorite toy is the man, but we can't find it right now.
3. He loves cheese.
4. He'll sit on your lap if you'll let him. It's not too comfortable since he weighs 85lbs.
5. He loves getting a belly rub.
6. He's scared of just about everything.
7. He doesn't bark that often.
8. He gets jealous easily.
9. He's much softer than Orion.

He's not good at sharing, but he had to on Saturday. Clarissa turned 5 months.
Five things about Clarissa at 5 months:
1. She loves to suck on the two fingers on her left hand that she is holding out a little in the picture below.
2. She has eaten rice cereal, green beans, peas, squash, carrots and bananas. She likes everything but the bananas.
3. She can roll over, but doesn't do it too often.
4. She laughs, but usually only when both dogs are barking.
5. She has a "talk show" every morning with her stuffed animals. It can sometimes last an hour.