Oh Christmas Tree!

Even though Clara is only one, we get excited to start family holiday traditions. One thing I've always done with my family and want to continue to do with our kids is go pick out a Christmas tree. So, this was the year to switch from fake to real!

We headed out on Sunday afternoon to the Christmas tree farm. It was the warmest day of the weekend and we know it probably won't get any nicer. We weren't there for too long, but we found a good tree to bring home. 

Clara had a smile on her face the whole time we were there. The girl loves to be outside, not matter what we are doing. We were just happy she left her hat and mittens on.

After we paid for the tree, we even got to say hi to Santa (who got a high five from a safe distance). 

 So far, Clara is pretty well behaved around the tree. We purposely chose a prickly one :)

 

Clara The Cow

Yes, we dressed our little girl up as a cow for Halloween :) She loves to tell us that a cow says moooo! and we put a bow on it so she'd look a little more girly. Because she's tiny, I think she'll avoid a complex from being called a cow!

We took a few pictures last week when it was still warm out. Tonight we stopped at dad's & mom's work, trick or treated at a few neighbors and went around to visit some family and friends. 

Clara especially liked it when she got to try fruit snacks and Twix bars and stay up past bedtime. That's what Halloween is about right?

For the record, this is what happens when mom tries to take pictures of an active 15 month old cow before dad gets home:

Happy Fall!

Last weekend we took Clara for the traditional pumpkin patch visit. We went to a small spot in Waterloo (perfect for Clara's current attention span!). It was a beautiful day and just fun to spend some time outdoors together as a family. Clara thought the pumpkins were pretty entertaining!

We love this kid!

Clara at 15 Months

I keep saying it...but this is the best age :) Clara is a lot of fun right now. Less of a baby and more of a little girl every day.

She LOVES to be outside. If she even hears the word, she is at the door pointing like a mad woman demanding to be taken out. Sometimes she's nice enough to get us our shoes :) We spend a lot of afternoons after work outside playing with her giant purple ball, her wagon and sidewalk chalk. She learned the fun game of "throw the ball towards the street". It makes the adults run fast!

She's also reached the age where she is in to everything. By the time she goes to sleep at night, everything she can possibly reach in our main level has been taken out and scattered around the floor. Although it can be exhausting, its a lot of fun to watch her discover new things. It seems like she's learning something new almost every day. She also tests us all the time. If we turn around for a second, we'll find her in our front room checking to make sure we closed the gate to the stairs. If we forget, she's up the stairs like a shot!

  
It's been fun as she gets a little older as it has gotten easier to go do things. She's been to a few Panther tailgates this fall and we took a trip to Hartman Reserve a few weeks ago. She loves to see new things and now that she can walk she loves to explore. 

Her other favorite thing to do is sit on our laps and read - finally! For a long time it was hard to get her to sit down and read more than a few words. Now, it is really sweet when she grabs a book, walks over and holds it up until we'll read it to her. Her favorites are books with flaps or things to touch on the pages. I think we've read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" 10,000 times over the last few weeks!

It has also been nice as she's able to communicate with us a little more. She's only saying a few words (dad, hi, ball) but she definitely gets her point across and it seems like she understands a lot of what we say to her. She loves to tell us what a cow says (mmmmmm..) and where her hair, nose and tongue are. Her "opinions" also make things more challenging as she's a girl that knows what she wants. I wonder where she got that? She has the sweetest devilish grin when she's doing something we've told her not to. It is really hard not to laugh and stay serious. One of her favorite games is to be chased or chase us. It's pretty sweet when she comes running into our arms.

We've also been trying to teach her to be gentle with her babies as the only way we can think of to prepare a 15 month old to be a big sister. Any other tips from experienced parents out there? We've started to clean out our third bedroom to make it her "big girl" room. Although I know she'll grow up a lot before February, you better believe she is staying in her crib!

Fall Colorado Trip

Brad and I got away for a long weekend in Colorado earlier this month. About a day after we found out we were expecting, we both came to the conclusion independently that we needed to take vacation while we still could :)

We spent about a day in downtown Denver and a few days in Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a beautiful time of the year in Colorado! The trees are a vibrant yellow and the weather is awesome.  

We learned we've gotten old when we were up with the sun and ready for bed at 9 even while on vacation! We did lots of hiking, had some picnics and read a few books. It was the perfect mix of activity and lots of rest. Plus meals at our own pace and no 14 month old to feed :)

We caught ourselves looking at pictures and videos of Clara a little too often, but she did great while we were gone. We're thankful to have gotten the chance to get away and recharge!

One Year Pictures

It's nice to have a personal professional photographer! :) Our friend Ashley does an amazing job. Here are a few of Clara's one year pictures. We felt lucky to find a night that wasn't unbearably hot in the middle of July!

This photo captures Clara's enthusiasm perfectly!

Minigolf

We only have a few days left with uncle Jeff in town before he leaves for college, so today we headed out to play minigolf and take advantage of the beautiful weather.

Clara loved it - especially when we got her a ball of her own she could hold (and throw).  Her favorite part was when we let her grab the balls out of the cup when we were done with a hole. 

 Next year, she'll be in the game for sure. 

We'll miss you uncle Jeff!

Birthday Celebrations

We had so much fun celebrating Miss Clara over her birthday. We started the long weekend when Grandpa Jerry arrived on the 4th. Don't let his relaxed look in this picture fool you. Brad soon put him to work digging out the hill in our backyard and building a retaining wall to go with our new deck. They worked HARD in the 100 degree heat!

We had a birthday party for her on Saturday and were blessed to have lots of family and friends join us. Clara was a little intimidated by all the people in her house, but she warmed up pretty quick. Check on the cake pops my mom made...I think she should go into business.

Clara was a little slow to start in on her cake, but once she got started, she couldn't believe we let her play with such a mess! A little frosting made it in her mouth...and on Brad...and on the floor :)

That night the heat finally broke and we got to go outside and enjoy. Clara and her cousin played with her new water table and the adults got some fresh air!

We opened a few gifts closer to her actual birthday on the 11th. Like most kids, she liked the envelopes and the wrapping paper the most.

It was fun to take the time to remember back to a year ago and everything we've learned in our first year of parenting Clara. We are so thankful for the gift that she is. Thanks to all who helped us celebrate!

One

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl. We are so lucky to be your parents!

And a very special happy birthday to Andrew Meyerkorth born today! Birthday buddies!!

A Great Day!

Happy Family Day to the Schmitzes!

We are so happy for you! We're praying for a wonderful first few days together as a family and smooth travels on the way home. 

Clara is excited to welcome you to Cedar Falls..the best place on Earth :) 

 Can't wait to raise our kids together!

Happy Dad's Day!

Happy Father's Day! 

Clara and I are both lucky to have great dads. We had a fun day celebrating with both of them today with lots of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We didn't get to see Grandpa Jerry but he'll be here in a few weeks!

Twins?