Obsession!

So, I may be just a little obsessed about my baby...Don't judge, if she were your baby you would be obsessed about her too!

I think she definitely looks more like Ryan, but sometimes I think she might look a little bit like me? Maybe?

Oh, a cute little fact about Claire: She is a flirt!! She will flirt with anyone and everyone. She gives them a sweet little smile and then ducks her head down like in the picture above! Oh man, I just can't get enough of her!

I just love her beautiful eyes! So precious!

GRRRrrrrrRRRRrrr! The Tiger Bear comes out! (That is Ryan's nick name for her...long story!) Ha, she is so cute because she likes to make these crazy faces. Oh man, I just love this girl!

Rocking out with Grandma

My mom is obsessed with Owl City lately. I enjoy their music, but I think Claire LOVES it! Mom put her head phones on Claire and Claire just thought it was awesome!

She would even cry when we tried to take them off.

Pure Preciousness! Just had to document her cuteness for prosperity.

The Big 2..4..!

Last Sunday was my 24th birthday. It was one of those incredibly awesome days! Nothing particularly special happened (except I got to eat a whole bowl of brownie dough. I will explain later) but it was just wonderful to spend this day with my family. I just feel so incredibly blessed!

(Kids-Don't try this at home...)

The week before mom had asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner. Well, ever since my pregnancy food just isn't appealing any more. It kinda destroyed food for me...anyways, so I told mom the only thing that sounded good was brownie dough. She thought I was joking at first, but then she realized I was serious...dead serious. So on my birthday everyone else had ribs and potatoes I had brownie dough...Oh was my day complete! As you can tell, I was quite thrilled :-)

I think for the most part everyone else was disgusted...Hehe, to each their own.


And YES I did have brownies for my cake. I really dislike cake, but I sure do love brownies. Oh and YES I did blow out all 24 candles in one breath...I am not old yet!!


Brownies and M&M's...can anything be more divine?



This is my baby on my birthday. I can't have a post with out a picture of this girl.
I love how much my dad loves my baby! He is such a sweet grandpa!

Man, I LOVE this girl! I am so blessed!

Little Miss is 4 months old!

Ahhh! Claire is 4 months old! Everything is going great. She is becoming such a happy, sweet little girl. Her Daddy and I just love her to pieces. At 4 months Claire loves singing. She will sing along with the radio, with people or just sing to herself. She puts her WHOLE heart and soul into it!

She also has been tri-pod sitting and rolling around. She is doing great with grabbing things with her pudgy little hands. And the other news about little Claire Bear is at 4 months she is now growing out of her 9 month clothes...She is just so long and chubby! She is going to be a tall girl! Hopefully she will carry on the family tradition and play basketball!

I love it when she is not fully clothed! She is so precious!

I just love her eyes! When I look at then I always remember the first moment that I saw those precious eyes, and it makes me so grateful to have her! She is the biggest blessing in our lives!

I woke up early this morning before church just to do a photo shoot with Claire. She was not a happy camper but we still got some cute pictures!

I love the look on her face! She is like, "Really, mom? How many pictures do you have of me?"

When i take Claire out to the stores I get a lot of comments on her. My latest favorite is, "Wow, now that is a doll baby!" I love it!

She is just in love with life these days!


I Just can't believe how fast 4 months flew by! It just reminds me how I need to try to enjoy each moment because they are gone before you know it!

Today

It is funny how much one small day in your life can affect so much of it. Today was one of those days. Today:

We made another bid on our "dream" home

Ryan accepted the E.R. position (that is a HUGE change from where he has been working)

Ryan registered for classes today and we found out just how expensive Grad school is...

These three things are going to greatly affect our lives. We are super excited for all the change but we are also a little nervous to see how everything works out. It just seemed so overwhelming to start the day off by figuring out what would be the best career path for Ryan to take. It is exciting but there is going to be a huge learning curve for Ry. Then right after we decided that our Realtor called and told us the bank wanted a bigger offer on the house (we are buying a house that is in the short sale process. What a HEADACHE!!) Anyways and then we realized that we needed to register for Ryan's classes and the reality of the work and price that is going to be really set in.

After a day like today I am just grateful for personal revelation and the peace it provides. I would be a lot more worried and nervous if it weren't for the Holy Ghost and knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for us.

Forth of July Picnic

This year, like last year, Ryan had to work for the forth :( But he stayed up late to go to the branch picnic. We had a lot of fun and ate a lot of good food!

This is Ry-guy doing an homage to Lion King...What a cute goof ball!

This would have been a complete family picture if Sophie would have behaved. Oh well!

I just love the little Claire Bear!

This was Anna, mad about something...Even when she is mad she is beautiful!

Us sisters, plus Claire. I am really so blessed to have such great sisters and live with them!

My daddy-o had oral surgery this week but he is doing great other than some swollen cheeks.

We are just best buddies! I can''t get enough!

This is my other best buddy! I love Katrina!

One of the most beautiful people ever! Inside and out!

All in all it was a great day. Claire and I bugged out on fireworks because she goes to sleep by 8:00 and is absolutely miserable if she isn't sleeping when she should be. I also thought the sounds might be too loud.
The forth of July is one of my absolute favorite holidays! I am so grateful for the country I live in. It may not be perfect but it's the best one out there!!!

They Grow Too Fast!

The last week or so, it seems like everyday she looks older and bigger so I just thought I would take some pictures of here today just to try to catch the changes. Here is my little sweetheart!



This is her dolly that her Grandma White got her. It has stripes and dots and makes all kind of jingly and crackly noises. She just loves it and can play with her for ever! (And of course anything she loves she has to put in her mouth :-)

Claire Bear, we love you to pieces!! Thank you for being you!

Quick Update

Everything is going great.
Ryan is preparing for school starting in the fall and he is still working.
He actually just got two job offers in a Medical ICU and in one of the biggest and busiest Emergency Departments in the state of Ohio. He thinks the the ER job would be a great way to prepare more for becoming a nurse practitioner, but he wants to think and pray a little more before deciding for sure which job he will take.
He is such a hard worker and will try working a couple days a month while in school.
Ry-guy, you rock our world ;)

Claire is just exceptional :-)
Doesn't every parent feel that way?
Well, I definitely do!
She is starting to prefer me over anyone else, which I gotta admit makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
She loves her daddy and already thinks he is a really fun guy.
She loves her Grandma and Grandpa a ton and her aunts and uncles all make her laugh and talk a lot.
Logan, her sweet cousin, LOVES to love on her and pat her back and bounce her. We have to be careful of the bouncing and pats...hehe.
Something, Ryan and I have noticed is how precious her smile is. I call it a slow-cook smile because she does this think were she slowly smiles and it grows and grows and then...BAAMM! Sunlight shining smile, there you are! I really think it is so sweet.
She is starting to enjoy peek-a-boo, believe it or not, and I can get her chuckling hard core from that.
I have started to get comments from people at stores and church like, "Does she ever cry?" "How do you get her to be so still and good"--Let me tell you...exceptional parenting!!!! Ha! Just kidding! Those comments make me laugh because if you had met her a few weeks ago, no one would have said anything like that. And it is definitely not anything I have done to get her to act so sweet and calm, she is just figuring life out.
I also get a lot of comments on her sweet, beautiful blue eyes. She definitely got those from her daddy. I love them so much!

I (Jeni) am doing really well. I have gotten back in to running more and biking a little and exercising a lot. Those are some of my passions. I definitely feel like if I spend a little time a week doing some of those things I feel more balanced and ready to take on what ever life throws at me.
We are still living at my parents and it is wonderful because I just wait for nap time (Claire is still keeping to her schedule!!) Then if my mom or dad or sibling (usually mom, thanks mom!) is available then they listen to the monitor while she is sleeping and Ryan and I head out for a run or bike ride, or I just do an Insanity Workout DVD in (I highly recommend those). It really works out great and I feel spoiled living here with so much help.
I am just digging the whole mommy thing. It is amazing! Don't get me wrong. Life is not always peaches, but I can get through the rough times because of how great the good times are. I am learning a lot, as a person, and growing even more.

It has been so nice to live here for close a year. My parents don't let us spend any money on food or anything like that and all we have is a 40$ phone bill and gas to pay. We have been able to save enough money that we just made an offer to buy a house in cash! I cannot express how much I owe to parents. They have helped us get so far in so many different ways! Thanks mom and dad.

All in all, life is great and we are just so blessed! I am excited to see where the next few years take us!