Rory & Claire

These two are becoming inseparable lately and it's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen.  They follow each other around all day long pestering one another equally.  Rory has learned the best place to be during meal times is right under Claire's highchair.  Claire likes to sneak her pieces of food and giggles uncontrollably when Rory reaches up and licks her toes.  Claire loves to lay on Rory and give her hugs & kisses all the time.  Rory loves to lick Claire and follow her around the house when she walks from room to room.  They've found a good rhythm.  I'm so glad they get to grow up together.

Zoo Day!

Yesterday Bryce and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary of marriage.  A few months back we talked about some ideas of what we wanted to do to celebrate our anniversary and one of things was to go to the zoo.  We actually went to the zoo on our honeymoon so we thought it would be especially fun to go on our anniversary this year and take Claire with us.  It worked out perfectly since Bryce is on spring break and has school & work off all week.  I was a little worried at how the day would go since Claire has been having some pretty rough days lately from teething, but she was so happy and excited the whole time we were there!  We decided to head down in the morning when Claire normally goes down for her first nap.  We stopped for breakfast at Einstein Bagels before we drove down to Salt Lake and then Claire slept for almost the whole car ride down.  It worked out perfectly!  She woke up right when we pulled into the parking lot, ready to get out and explore.
We showed her the giraffes first.  She was very intrigued and just kept staring them down.  It was funny to see her try and figure them out.
This giraffe was sticking its tongue out all over the place.  It was so funny to watch.
After we showed Claire the lions we had to take the classic Hogle Zoo photo by the lion drinking fountain.  Claire inspected all of its teeth and tongue thoroughly after our picture was taken.

We stopped by the gorilla & orangutang exhibit and took a few more classic zoo photos.  You can't leave the zoo without a picture by the gorilla measuring wall.  They have a tiny 4 month old orangutang right now that is so adorable.  It was curled up taking a nap so I wasn't able to get any good pictures of it but it was so cute!  

Claire was in awe, I'm sure, at the enormity of the elephants.  She would point at them excitedly and shout in her gibberish language.  While we were visiting the elephants the workers were out with them having them do tricks and perform for us. It was so neat to watch.  Bryce and I both wish in another life we could work as animal trainers at a zoo.  I really think it would be such a cool job.  We also got to watch the seals perform and do lots of tricks at their exhibit but I was having too much fun watching so I didn't take any pictures.  

Claire loved these tiger statues!  She scampered right up to them and kept patting them and giving them loves.  Bryce picked her up and sat her on the smaller one for a couple of minutes and you can see from her face in the last picture that she thought it was the funnest thing ever.
The gorilla in the outdoor exhibit was playing hide & seek with us.  He was laying right up by the window and kept pulling the blanket up over himself & then he would pull it off and pop his face out.  Claire wasn't really sure what to think of this massive black furry thing popping his face out at her.

Bryce's favorite animal is the tiger.  He was so excited for Claire to see it.  All day long he kept prepping her and asking her, "What does the tiger say?"  Then she would smile and let out her little growl.  I was even able to get a semi-decent picture of them in front of the tiger while it was prowling around. 
My favorite animals at the zoo are probably the zebras with the elephants coming in as a close second.  The zebras were all pretty far away so Claire & I just got our picture taken in front of their exhibit while they were grazing around.  I think Claire's favorite thing was getting to see all of the other kids running around all day.  She kept walking up to random kids all day trying to play with them.  It was the cutest thing.  We seriously had the best time.  It was such a fun day!  Claire slept on the drive home and then we used a gift card we had been saving and picked up Costa Vida salads for dinner so I didn't have to cook.  It was a great way to celebrate our marriage and the family we've created together.  Bryce and I are planning on going on a real date this weekend as well with just the two of us.  We think 3 years of marriage is definitely worth celebrating twice in one week!

Sunday at the Park

Sunday afternoon after church & Claire's nap we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and take a trip to the Beus Pond & the park.  We walked around Beus Pond a few times and showed Claire the ducks and geese.  After we had walked around for a while we stopped at the park before we went home.  We put the Claire on the swings to see if she would still like them.  The last time she tried the swings was back at the begging of September when she was just 8 months old.  At first she was a little unsure about them and almost started to cry, but after lots of clapping and reassuring "yays!" from us she warmed up to them.

After Claire was finished swinging Bryce took her around on the playground and went down a few slides with her.  She was pretty indifferent about this.  She didn't love the slides but didn't necessarily oppose them either.  I'm sure in a few months time this will change.
After swinging & going down a few slides we made sure Rory got some good exercise.  Bryce played fetch with her while Claire and I walked around stopping every now and then to explore bits of leaves and twigs.  It was a perfect family afternoon and has really made me look forward to the warmer months coming!

Portrait 9.52

Portrait 9.52 

Claire catching a few rays of sunshine before nap time

"A portrait of my daughter once a week, every week, in 2015."

Scenes from a Wednesday

We finally had a much needed snow storm earlier this week.  I love snow, so I was very excited about it.  However, the colder temperatures have kept us from going on our daily afternoon walk the past few days.  We've stayed tucked inside and entertained ourselves by making cookies, watching Winnie the Pooh, and playing with toys in the nursery.  Here are a few scenes of how we spent our Wednesday cozied up inside:

Claire loves her abacus toy.  She'll spin and move the beads around for a good ten minutes.  I'm actually kind of surprised sometimes that something this simple entertains her so well. When she plays with it Bryce and I joke that she is already becoming a little mathematician.
Claire is always trying to swipe our glasses, especially Bryce's since he wears them all the time.  I was wearing mine today and decided to oblige her by letting her try them out for a bit.  She thought it was hilarious. 

Claire is such a cuddly and affectionate little girl.  She walks up to me holding her arms out for me to pick her up and cuddle her all the time.  She loves to snuggle up and lay her head on my chest while I rest my cheek on the top of her head.  It's one of my absolute favorite things.  I hope she never grows out of it.  She also loves to give hugs and kisses to all of her stuffed animals & dolls.  She gave her bear lots of love today and carried him all around the nursery.  She was not happy about having her diaper changed earlier so we compromised and I didn't try to keep her still long enough for me to pull her pants back on (the struggle is real!).  Who needs pants when you're staying warm and cozy inside all day anyway.  

Happy Birthday Rory!

Yesterday was Rory's 2nd birthday.  In the morning before Bryce had to work we took her for an extra long walk.  Going on walks is her favorite thing!  We actually have to spell it when we use it in a conversation so she doesn't get overly excited thinking we're going to take her on one.  When Bryce got off work that evening we had a little party for her.  We wore party hats, played fetch & keep away, and then we surprised Rory with a gigantic bone.  She can chew up a small bone in a matter of minutes so Bryce made sure to get one that would last her awhile.  I think he succeeded.

My (not so ) little furbaby.  I can't believe you are already 2 years old.  You are the fluffiest, goofiest, cuddliest, funnest dog ever!  We love you so much and don't know what we'd do without you  Happy birthday Rory Girl!!