World Series 2011

Justin and I had the opportunity to go to game 3 of the world series this year in Dallas.  Justin's friend Chris was able to get us tickets with fantastic seats.  Chris was an umpire for 8 years so we had a fun time listening to baseball stories throughout the evening.  Unfortunately, our Texas Rangers lost that night to the St. Louis Cardinals, but not without a lot of really great hitting.  We were able to witness Pujols' three home runs that night, the first one opening the game.  We left after the 7th inning when the score was 14-7.  We were pretty disappointed by the loss, but we had a fantastic time anyways.

 Ronnie Dunn sang the National Anthem and during the song they rolled out the American and Texas state flags.  It was an awesome sight.

 This is the view from our seats (during batting practice)



Back on the Blog Train

I decided (a long time ago) that I need to start blogging again, but the thought of catching up on 8 months of our lives was a bit overwhelming. This blog is basically a living scrapbook of our lives and I have every intention of having it printed and bound into a book. It's my way of journaling. So, it's important that I keep it up.

I thought about just starting new with today and forgetting about playing catch-up, but I want the events of the last 8 months to be recorded so here's a recap:

March - Justin had to make a trip to Florida (20 minutes from Orlando) for work so the girls and I tagged along. We spent a day at the Magic Kingdom and had a blast. Grace was in awe of everything. When the castle came into view from the monorail her face was priceless!! I can't wait to go back someday and spend more time visiting all the parks. We also drove along the Gulf Coast for quite a ways on the way home. We stopped in Destin, FL for the night and it is now on my list of places to visit for more than just to sleep.

April - We took Grace to see a pediatric GI specialist in Shreveport for her ongoing issues with constipation. She ended up having a procedure done to test for several different causes. She did very well and we got a lot of great video footage after they gave her some medicine to "relax" her. It was pretty entertaining. She had a large mass/blockage that the doctor removed. They took some samples of her nerves and also some samples fro her esophagus and small intestine which all came back normal. FYI- 8 months later and we're still dealing with constipation and trying to potty train. Potty training has been the most difficult thing I have had to deal with thus far as a parent. Justin's parents came for a visit at the end of April and we were able to celebrate Claire's 1st birthday and Easter with them. I also had the privilege of speaking in Sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday.

May - We flew (as a whole family!) to California for the Memorial Day weekend to spend it with my family. My sister was Graduating from California State University Stanislaus with a Master's in School Administration. The kids absolutely loved being with their cousins. Grace spent every waking moment outside since the weather was so pleasant (it was in the 100's already at home).

June - Not much exciting happened in June, except that we had triple digit temperatures for the entire month. THE ENTIRE MONTH!! The youth in our stake participated in "A Texas Sized Jubilee" and we were able to make a trip to Dallas to watch the production. Our youth did an awesome job and had an amazing time.

July - The girls and I flew to Utah to spend some time with Grandparents and cousins. Justin drove up a few days later and spent a week with us before making the trek back to Texas. We played at the Discovery Gateway Museum, played in the dirt, went to the pool, attended our first Petersen Girls Night Out, went horseback riding with Aunt Bailey, got together for a quickie roomie reunion where we got to meet baby Lucas, played in the sand and water at Bear Lake, and drove the combine with daddy and Grandpa during the wheat harvest!

August - We started the month off by driving from Utah to Boise where we met my dad and drove the rest of the way to Oregon to spend a week with my parents. My nieces Sierra and Marissa were also staying for the week. All the girls had so much fun playing together. They rode scooters, went to the spray ground, swimming at the aquatic center, scavenger hunt at the library, dilly bars at DQ, and a horrible 2-day experience with Pasco, WA airport. Once we got home we had an entire month of excruciating heat and no rain! We spent a lot of time with our new friends the who moved down the street and into our ward. They have two little girls that are the same ages as Grace and Claire. At the end of the month I started going back to school two partial days a week. The girls go to an amazing babysitter and enjoy their time at Ms. Helen's.

September - Justin spent a lot of the month on the road. Grace started gymnastics again (and is loving it way more than she did earlier this year). I spent the month trying to get back in the "school" groove and balancing my responsibilities at school, home, and church. We spent a lot of time wishing fall weather would come our way. A lot of East Texas was on fire for a few weeks. The longest draught in Texas history combined with strong winds from a tropical storm in the gulf resulted in many, many wild fires around here. The fire departments worked tirelessly to put them out and protect the residents.

October - I can't believe this month is almost over! We spent two weekends painting the exterior of our house. The Yamboree has now come and gone. Justin and I were fortunate enough to get tickets to Game 3 of the World Series (stay tuned for a separate post on that one). Claire is officially 18 months old. She weighs 29lbs (96%) and is 33 inches tall (90%). She's been attending nursery for the last two months since I teach during the third hour of church and Justin is always busy with his calling. We're looking forward to wrapping up this month with Halloween and a visit from my parents (wahoo!).

Brandon and Bailey Got Hitched!

A few weeks ago we were able to go to Utah for Justin's brother's wedding. We had a great time visiting with family and celebrating with Brandon and Bailey. We're so happy for them and that they found eachother. Bailey is such a sweet girl and we're excited to have her as part of our family and get to know her better.

They were married in the Logan, Utah temple on a very cold January day. They took their sweet time to join us all outside for pictures

Chatting with my MIL trying to keep warm!

Brandon and Bailey with all the Nessen neices and nephew.

Brandon going for the garter.


The girls stayed with my parents at their hotel while Justin and I went to the temple. Here they are all ready for the reception.

Valentines

I decided to make some Valentine cards/treats for Grace to pass out to her friends and teachers at church this year. I found the cutest idea from my favorite blog, I am momma hear me roar (Cheri is seriously awesome and talented. Go check her out. She posts everyday. You won't be disappointed, especially if you have little boys). I knew that I could make them easily. I followed her directions exactly and they turned out GREAT! They didn't take much time to do either and all it cost me was a couple bags of Hershey's Kisses. I had everything else (baggies and cardstock).

They're so cute and personal, yet simple and inexpensive. Get the tutorial here.

Happy Love Day!

9 months

Claire turned 9 months old on January 21. She had her 9 month well baby check up that day. Her stats are :

23.4 lbs (97.88%)

28.25 inches (75.31%)

Head- 17.5 inches (65.33%)

She's growing like a weed. I really should go back through Grace's stats from her first year and do a comparison. I think Claire has her beat in weight and height, but has a much smaller head circumference.

We had a great appointment - no shots!

Claire is such a happy, easy-going baby. We just love her to pieces. She loves to babble and blow raspberries. She loves nap time and bedtime. Whenever I put her down she snuggles up with her blanket and has a big grin on her face. She's not crawling yet, but working on it. She's having a hard time lifting her tummy off the floor (can you blame her?!). She's trying really hard to pull herself up on all the furniture and toys. She loves to eat, especially table food. The only foods she doesn't seem to like are peas and green beans.

Claire recently went swimming for the first time. We were in Utah last weekend for Justin's brother's wedding. My parents drove down from Oregon to visit with us and they were generous enough to watch the kids while we were at the temple with Brandon and Bailey. They were staying at a hotel with an indoor pool so they took the girls swimming. Apparently, Claire had a blast and splish-splashed all around. She also cut her first tooth the day of the wedding, which explained the fussiness which isn't like her at all. I think she's working on another tooth now. She has swollen, white gums. Luckily for us, she hasn't been too cranky over it and is still sleeping well.

Claire has such a sweet demeanor about her. She's always happy with she wakes up and will give me a good squeeze when I pick her up as though she's trying to hug me. She loves to give kisses and we love to give her kisses. She totally leans in with her mouth wide open. Her favorite toys are Grace's little Disney Princess dolls. They have rubbery dresses that come off and Claire loves the feeling of them in her hands. Claire also loves to dance. She wiggles all around when she hears music, or if you just tell her to dance. It's so stinking cute!

I just can't get enough of this little girl. She has brought so much joy to our lives, and I can't imagine our family without her. I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by. They grow up way too fast and it literally hurts inside to know that they will only be my littles for such a short amount of time.