Claire's first Christmas!

Claire enjoyed all of her presents, but the wrapping paper was her most favorite of all. We had a great time in Utah this Christmas. It was so great spending time with family and friends. Much love to you all this holiday season!

Opening presents

Christmas with the family

Fun in cousin Ian's car

Getting a taste of the open road.

I wasn't speeding I swear!

A three hour tour...

At first I was a little worried at the thought of navigating such a complicated boat alone.

But I'm a smart girl and found confidence soon enough.

With oar in hand I set out on the high seas ready for adventure.

Family dinner for four generations

I'm a helper

I love to help mom get her work done. I find I'm especially good at eating expense reports.

Just playin...

Me and mum

Bundled up

We bundled Claire up tight after church so she wouldn't get cold. One of Joseph's hometeachees said that she looked like the larval form of a baby... I think she looks perfect.

Indian food with some of my favorite friends!

On Friday we went to dinner with Jason Boyd, Mike Wasden, and Jenny Heap. Mom ordered the Lamb Saag (how boring is she, that's what she always gets) and I munched on the most wonderful red napkins. I don't know what dad ate. It's sure fun when friends come to town!

Kind of a goober

Baby's Best Friend

Someday we're going to have a real dog but for now this one works great. I don't know any other pooch that would be quite as willing to let her suck on its nose... or its tail. I think that this probably the only instance where mom and dad don't mind either.

A tub and toes

I love a tub. And I love my toes. They're hard to eat when wet but that sure doesn't stop me from trying.

Heartbreaker

She's already asking for a cellphone. With those eyes, I'm pretty sure she's going to get one.

Songbird

Most babies at this stage are into sounds such as "baba, mama, gaga." Not Claire. She sings...all day long. If you didn't know it was singing you'd think it was high pitched shrieking-- we know better. She sings when we play, when she eats (good times), and when she's put down for a nap. You can hear her wherever you are in the apartment. When she wakes up in the middle of the night... she makes beautiful music. We had contractors at our complex last week reshingling the exterior of our building. As such we moved Claire to the walk-in closet in our room to get as far away from the banging as possible for naptime. Above the hammering, the sawing, the fans we turned on to drown out the noise, and two closed doors I could hear her sweet reverie. Watch out Renee Fleming.

I voted!

My first election. I can't lie, I don't care much for the political scene out here in DC as of late. The partisan politics have been downright ugly. Everyday this past week we've gotten phone calls from "John McCain, Jim Webb, George Allen, Kermit the Frog..." They're nice but it will be better when they have other things to do.

To each his (or her) own...

Claire likes to suck on her binky sideways sometimes. So young and already thinking outside the box. Trouble.

Our little pumpkin

Claire thoroughly enjoyed her first Halloween. When she wasn't smiling she was trying to eat the other pumpkins. She's apparently not a big fan of competition. Though she's too young for trick or treating she did make the rounds at both mom and dad's work. It's hard to resist a giggling squash.

Family picture

Auntie Heidi

Chillin with one of my favorite "aunts." She comes and plays with me from time to time so mom and dad can go on dates, go to meetings, or play at weddings.

Eatin...

I don't really care much for rice cereal and would fight mom whenever she tried to get me to eat the nasty stuff. But she finally took some advice from Grandpa Sorenson and mixed in some applesauce. Yummm.... I cleaned my bowl!