Friday Funday

We started the day by playing on the floor, like we usually do. Claire still has bedhead and her hair is getting so long now! I love that you can see her two chompers coming in on top. And this is a typical face for her, not usually caught on camera. See that little nose scrunch - it's just so cute!

Now we're on to playing 'I'm gonna catch you!" You can see Claire's excitement in her expression as she looks back to make sure Mami is still playing. (Still in our pajamas, so there's no need to button our pants.)

At the splash pool, I couldn't move fast enough for her. She wanted to go, go, go! I think this photo captures that. :)

She sure didn't want to stop for a picture with me! Claire wouldn't even look at the camera at any one of my many attempts at this shot, she was just too interested in the fountains around us.

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Claire and Norah are both one year old! Look at how much changes in a year though - Claire still looks like a baby, and Norah (who will be 2 in October) looks like a little girl. We have a fun year ahead of us!

And that has been Friday, August 6, 2010...Friday Funday! It's definitely the simple things. We left the pool at quarter past noon, Claire fell asleep in the car (which rarely happens on in-town trips), and then again on the way home after a quick stop at the grocery store. Swimming must have worn her out! Those 15 minutes gave her a second wind though, because she was raring to go for another two hours. :) Just looking at these pictures brings a smile to my face. I'm gonna miss days with my little girl when the school year starts - one week of summer left! And boy are we going to enjoy it!

Best Part of the Day

Homemade Carrot Cake - voila!

"Whaaaat? Yes, I already got all the frosting off, but half of it's on my bib...

yes, I have my party hat on."

Daddy, Mami, Claire - August 1st, 2010

August 1st, we celebrated Claire's first birthday! We had family and close friends over for burgers on the grill and cheesy potatoes, among other sides. For dessert, Omi made chocolate cake, Grandma made salted nut roll bars, and Mami made carrot cake, including a little Claire sized cake for our birthday girl. I have to say that my carrot cake was delicious and all from scratch (Yes, Onkel Alex, I even peeled and shredded the carrots. No, I did not grind the flour.). I was impressed by the presentation and will surely make it again! A few people played bags outdoors, but most just stayed in the AC and chatted. We did the traditional birthday song, as well as "Zum Geburtstag viel Glueck!" and everyone watched Claire eat her cake. She didn't smash into it nearly as much this weekend as last weekend, when we had a faux party with Aunt Chris. It was a busyyyyy afternoon, but we had a great time and are happy that many important family members and friends made it to celebrate with us!

The best part of the day was in the evening. Matt, Claire and I were all hanging out in the family room, which was decorated with streamers and balloons and "happy birthday" signs. Claire was so fascinated by each of our party decorations and we had the longest simple conversation about balloons and streamers. We kept pointing them out, Claire leading the conversation by pointing at different things and Mami narrating. "Yes, those are balloons! What colors are the balloons? Green, and purple, and pink. That's right! ... Yes, that's another balloon. That's a big pink balloon. ... Yes, those are streamers! Streamers are fun!" Daddy thought this was silly and told us so, but it didn't bother us. We were enamored with the balloons and streamers. :)

Some things Claire is up to at a year:

• She's totally excited to see Matt whenever he gets home from work! We hear the door rattling and she stops whatever she's doing to pay attention to who's coming. She gets a big smile on her face for Daddy. This has pretty much been all summer! Mami must get a little boring to her all day, every day.
• Claire signs more, milk, and dog. That's thanks to lots of exposure to dogs at Omi and Opa's house! :) Amber and Sage played with Claire yesterday while I worked in my classroom for half a day and said that Claire combined two signs, more and milk! Godmother Amber confirmed that this is possible at 12 months. What a smart girl we have!
• We're still working on the signs eat, please, thank you, bath, outside, inside, and look. We added these later, but I don't think it will take a long time for her to pick them up because she just started signing milk back on her birthday and she's already a pro. Now she asks for milk all the time...hmmm.
• Outside, kisses, no, etc. (I'll fill this in later when I remember more.) Claire understands these words. When I say "outside" she looks right out the window. When I ask for kisses, she sometimes gives them, depending on her mood.
• Matt pointed out this week that Claire has grown particularly fond of her 'Schmusetuch' which she sleeps with. She always grabs for it now and is holding it when she's standing in the crib waiting for us to get her.
• Claire points now all the time! I think she loves this newfound control. She points and we go over to the object and talk about it. This is really neat! I like this especially because it tells me exactly what she's looking at and I'm learning new vocabulary as we go. ("Air snake" is streamer in German, how cool is that! "Colored band" is ribbon. Sometimes German makes so much sense, and then other times the language balances itself out.)
• It's fun to see her personality emerging more and more. She is an excellent talker! When we get together with other friends and their babies who are about the same age, she clearly likes to talk more than most. She also likes to scream to get her point across. This should get interesting as she gets older. ;)
• Claire's entering into the stage of knowing what she wants and this includes letting us know she isn't happy if she doesn't get what she wants. She arches her back and whines or tries to roll over and get away during diaper changes. This has been within the last couple of months.
• She stood up in the high chair for the first time today. I was only three feet away, but was busy trying to get the cheese package closed (complicated I know). I glance up and there she is standing. I firmly told her no and that "we only sit down in our high chair," but she seemed to think this was funny and tried it a couple more times. Lunchtime was over at this point!
• At other times, she is starting to follow directions. For example, she found a pea on the floor and was bringing it to her mouth today, but when I told her no, she stopped and went on to a different activity.
• She loves stairs! At our house, we only have the one step to go up and down, because we don't let her play on the hard basement stairs. The first time she went upstairs was playing at the mall in June, in the kids' section. Then in July, she had fun going up and down at Omi and Opa's and Grandma and Grandpa's. Everytime I've walked with her today (taken her hands while she walks), she's gone straight for OUR stairs too. It doesn't hurt the knees when Mami is holding her hands so you can stand upright.
• There are lots more things I'm forgetting I'm sure, I'll get to those later. :)

Reflecting on this past year, we have so much to be thankful for!

God, thank you for blessing us with a daughter. Thank you for using her to teach me more about how a parent loves his/her child. This has helped me to better understand how you love us. It makes me think about the Bible story when one son returns and they feast on a fattened calf because he's back. The other son doesn't understand why they're celebrating so much for his brother, when he's been there all along. I get it now God. It's like the father is overwhelmed with happiness that the son has returned. I can't really explain it well though, but I realize how a parents loves his/her child. Thank you Lord for making the simple things in life the best - for walks on a summer evening, for trips to the grocery store, for Claire's excitement whenever Matt returns from work, for wet open mouth baby kisses and hugs and loving each other. I ask for your continued guidance in raising Claire. Give us wisdom when making decisions and help us to know when to let go and not worry about the little things. Thank you for deepening our marriage and making us a better wife and husband this past year. Bless us with another joyful year. Help us grow deeper in our relationship with you. We know this is not in our control, but is in your plans for us - plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. I love you Lord. Be with us, protect us. Amen.

RAGBRAI virgin

What do you get when you combine 20,000 cyclists, 65 miles of blacktop in a day, 102 degree heat index, small Iowa towns, and fields upon fields of corn and beans? That's right - it's RAGBRAI.

I was inducted into a new culture this week - I went in a RAGBRAI virgin and came out, well, a veteran I suppose. Matt and I rode day 3 of the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa this year from Algona to Clear Lake. My first experience with this ride was something! Despite the fact that I was about the keel over and die on the last 20-some mile leg from Garner to Clear Lake (I am kidding, barely), we made it together. Matt wouldn't leave me, though I kept telling him he could go ahead and I'd meet him there. Against the wind, he rode right in front of me to make it a little easier for me as we crept along at 8-9 miles an hour. Lessons learned: 1) Maybe I should train for this next year? 2) My husband is the best and we stick together! 3) Even when working really hard, one can have a great time and make fabulous memories!

For the record, Matt also rode on day 4 from Clear Lake to Charles City too. He said it was easier and I would have been fine. Me? I was glad that Claire needed me on day 4. ;) Thank you Omi for babysitting on day 3!!

Ready for the day! At the start just outside of Algona with Mark and Brenda.

This isn't so bad! At the first stop in Wesley. About 14 miles into the day and still cool.

Look at the thousands of cyclists!! This picture doesn't really even begin to tell the story.

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A yummy french toast breakfast in the first town! We chose this because of the short line, but it was tasty too.

Bountiful Harvest

"Hmmm, Mom. I don't know about this carrot from your garden. It's fine for me, but you and dad are going to starve! Is this really the only carrot you grew?"

And that's how my garden is going. I was so excited to have one this year, but quickly learned how much time they take, and mine was just a small plot! The weeds really 'grew like weeds' and I didn't take enough time to work on it. Maybe next year! Until then, thank you Onkel Willi (and anyone else willing) for sharing your produce and thank you to the growers at the farmer's market!

Dirt & Mosquitos

Claire and I ventured outstide on Friday. We don't often play outside (usually we just take walks). I know I need to take her out for fresh air and just to spend time in nature, and my excuse is a bad one - that we've got to lather up with sunscreen and that she'll get all dirty. I told you it was a back excuse! ;)

So like I said, on Friday, we 'played' outside in the grass. I plopped her down in the shade and started to pick weeds (there are a lot!). She took an interest in the rock bed next to her and began to bring them up to her mouth, one by one. Each time, I'd try to stop her. Inevitably though, she got a little dirt in her mouth. Then, I noticed a big monster mosquito on her nose. I swatted it away, but by this time I was rethinking playing outside.

Moral of the story:
We need to start going outside more often...a little dirt and mosquitos never hurt anyone!

Daddy Post!

You read the title correctly, its time for a post on the blog from Dad.

You (the reader) are about to be taken on a literal adventure, think of it like a flight - please observe the no-smoking sign and prepare to fasten your seatbelts

Strap in.

Where do I begin? I suppose I can summarize the events which have been going on in our lives over the last few days/weeks: Claire is now 11 months old, it is crazy to think that its been almost a year since she was dropped on our doorstep by a stork. A stork which was almost a week late (doesn't the stork association understand how "due-dates" work?) Actually, now that I think about it, that stork which dropped Claire on the doorstep looked a little bewildered, maybe he got lost and thats why Claire showed up almost a week late. Or maybe because of the slow economy the stork association had layoffs and were behind in their deliveries. It's a mystery, an unsolved mystery at that.

Either way, the little tyke showed up on August 1st, 2009. Which was really quite fortunate, because she got to be born in August, which everyone knows is the best month to be born in. Whats that reader? You didn't know August was the best month to be born in? Well, let me educate you.

August - also known as "Auguste" by a small part of southeastern France - is the month in which probably the most important people in history were born in. For example - Thomas Edison (guy who invented the glass, airless sphere with a small wire wound inside of it - aka, the light blub) was born in August.

Another great American icon - Hulk Hogan - was born on August 11. Wow. I dont know how you can even put into words how important this person is to America. I mean, the guy's theme song is "I am a real american." There's no argument to this fact. Here is the link to the song on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj7izIKF-Oo&feature=related

Also Kobe Bryant, probably one of the most dominat NBA players ever was born in August. Maybe you have heard of him, he just won another champoinship a few weeks ago.

So, what does this have to do with Claire? Everything. We have just learned that Claire will be a hybrid of Thomas Edison, Hulk Hogan and Kobe Bryant. So she will be an amazing athelete, incredibly smart (probably invent something, like world peace or something important) and if we are lucky, she will be a real american - just like Hulk Hogan.

Now on to other thoughts. I want you to think of a a key resource of the earth - water. It can be used for good - like hydration, boating, showering and in the winter - ice hockey. But it can also be a deadly foe. This is the water we encoutered a few weeks ago - the evil kind. Water invaded our basement and damaged our newly installed (2 years ago) finished basement flooring. It had to all be pulled up and is now in the process of being replaced by an experienced contractor - me.

Claire is moving, she is pretty quick too. She really enjoys crawling and anytime she can get close to an object taller than herself she stands up on it. She really likes to stand up and has gotten to the point of letting go and standing by herself without support for 30 seconds and longer. Lauren says she attempted to move a leg forward the other day and fell over. Wow, if she starts walking soon then I think measures will need to be taken to protect the house from Claire (or is it to protect Claire from the house? I am never sure).

We went home to Mason City over the weekend. It was the 4th of July, if you are not aware of what this holiday means, then maybe you need to watch the youtube link I posted a few lines above again (see hulk hogan section). What did we do? Well, if you are patient I will tell you.

The weekend consisted of visiting lots of relatives. Almost all of them. Laurens family from Germany (the motherland) was in town. They were over at Lauren's parents house on Sunday night for a great feast of pizza. What kind of pizza? All kinds. 5 different topping combinations, including, but not limited to, hawaiian, pepperoni, combo, and two other pizzas with veggies on them (one with white sauce). After the relatives departed for the night we watched the fireworks on TV.

This morning (Monday, July 5th) we watched the parade in Clear Lake. This is a grand parade, it lasts almost 2 hours. There were many excellent floats and plently of candy to go around. I even saw a few people I knew, including our friend Jeff who gave us a good helping of frutie tooties. After the parade we went to Lori's house in Clear Lake for some of the most american food you can find - thats right - KFC. After the feast we conversed, took a walk, and around 4pm we left for home. Its good to be back home, and I am not looking forward to work in the morning. But who really gets excited for work anyways? Santa Claus - thats who. His job is awesome, he works one day a year and they takes the other 364 days off for vacation to rest up for the next time he has to work.

I dont know how to post pictures, but I hope to amend this post with some.

I found this song the other day, I really enjoy it. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HoDRbZvOcM

98 cents

Blueberries, die blaubeeren, el arandano!




Whatever you call them, they're delicious! At 98 cents a pint, they're a steal. I came home last night with five pints. Yes, 5. Minutes later, four were in the fridge and one was rinsed and ready to eat. Matt asked me if it was really healthy to eat a whole pint, to which I replied "healthier than a pint of ice cream." 24 hours after purchase, there are two pints left.

Claire LOVES blueberries! For breakfast, we whipped up some blueberry pancakes. These were delicious. I love buttermilk pancakes, but these were a nice change. The orange juice in the recipe made them so sweet that they didn't need a thing - no butter, no syrup. I'd highly recommend trying the recipe! As you can see from the picture, we enjoyed them thoroughly. Claire's tongue, tooth, fingers, and parts of her legs were stained blue from all the blueberries.

She also had blueberries and 'Puffs' for a snack this afternoon. There was no monkey business during this meal (i.e. dropping food on the floor - opps!), blueberry after blueberry went straight into Claire's mouth. She, Sadie, and I finished another pint.

Blueberry Pancakes -http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222282