her party

Clara's 1st birthday party!

 

invitation designed by Sydney Barfuss

there wasn't a specific theme beyond a spring birthday brunch
in mint and gold and pink

the menu:

strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting

cinnamon rolls

lemon crinkle cookies

curried chicken salad croissants

mini frittatas

smoked gouda cherry salad

fruit, yogurt, and granola

pink lemonade and old-fashioned root beer

 

my mom made the burlap banner as well as the fabric pennant banner

 

she was not supposed to touch that candle

but she stuck her finger in it when we were posing for a picture

I freaked out more than she did

and we caught this awesome candid shot...

and this time she ate her cake!!

 

we invited friends from our ward as well as Dustin's co-residents

gifts were a group effort

happy birthday, baby girl!

May 1st

Clara's birthday...

(Dustin's parents flew in the night before to spend the week with us... this was their first visit to Chicago!)

we started off with our favorite breakfast-lunch at Over Easy
(don't worry I didn't let her touch it- and so she cried)

an afternoon at Navy Pier (the ferris wheel is one of my favorite ways to see the city)

a pile of presents (thank you, grandparents)

and her first cake (strawberry with strawberry cream cheese frosting!)
(first dessert ever, actually... or so I thought until Dustin confessed to slipping her bits of cookie)

she cried for a second time when we wouldn't let her touch the flame*
and then took a lick or two of frosting before tossing the whole thing on the floor
I'm sure it won't last long that she likes veggies more than cake

followed by a bath that she didn't really need because cake smashing wasn't happening

*during her party (next post!!) she stuck her finger in the candle when we weren't looking and didn't cry one bit. 

one

a birthday!
my baby is one.

sometimes I look at her and think, how did you get so grown up so fast?
and then some days (usually after long sleepless nights) this feels like the longest year ever.
but my (our) best year yet.

Clara,
you're beautiful
and silly
and sweet.

thank you for your patience (we're still getting the hang of this- probably always will be)
your cuddles and smiles (someday you'll learn kisses...)
and for bringing so much love into our lives.

several attempts at a family photo... (sitting still was so last month!)

@ 1

she crawls!!

but wants to walk everywhere (with assistance)

throws little fits when you change her diaper

or don't let her chew on the keys or your phone

has 5 new teeth!

(they all popped in over the last few weeks, poor thing)

says bye-bye, mama, dada, nana, grandma/pa, hi, pop, and many other things we can't understand

still takes 2 naps around 9 am and 1pm

goes to bed around 7pm and wakes up at 6am

eats pretty much everything
feeds herself with a spoon now!
and still loves breastfeeding (4-5 x a day)

fits 6-12 month bottoms
12-18 month tops (big buddha belly)
and 3-6/6-12 month shoes (itty bitty feet)

loves to be outside

and around other children

stats:

height: 30.5 inches (90th %)

weight: 20 lbs. 2 oz. (58th %)

head circumference: 18.2 in (85th %)

or not

saturday we found out that the place we were super excited about moving into a month from now just sold. and the new owners plan on gutting and renovating it over the next year. 

what luck!

so they've cancelled our lease and we have 4 weeks to find a new place before we're homeless.

heartbreaking and frustrating.

here we go again...

on a happier note:

it was gorgeous this weekend. 

so we went to the zoo and ran around the park.

and took a few pictures of it all.

 (Clara's latest obsessions: sunglasses and walking)

moving

not wanting to stay in our current situation (impending construction), we started looking for a new place
the rental market is crazy here and anything decent is usually too expensive or immediately taken
well, last week we were super lucky (blessed) and found the perfect little home

we had a real estate agent e-mailing us a few properties
this one popped up and I told him I'd love to take a look
Brooke just happened to be in town to watch Clara so I could drop by
and I happened to be the first showing of 20+
and I took it before anyone else had a chance

so we've signed a new lease
June 1st we'll be living here
on the first floor (the owners live above)
with a white picket fence
a fancy new kitchen (with a garbage disposal!)
and a backyard!!

it's smaller cozier than our current residence
but newer and a bit less creepy

in a cute neighborhood called Roscoe Village
(sadly in a new ward)

dreading the packing
but excited for the new start!

with Brooke

My youngest sister had a break between semesters at BYU and flew out for a short visit. We all know she really came to get her fill of Clara. (The two of them are adorable together. Lots of love and giggles. We've always thought Clara looks the most like Brooke.)

 Clara has five teeth coming in right now... hence the sideways chomping smile

 Brooke was patient and kind enough to spend half her trip walking jogging Clara around 

We promised her a trip to the Art Institute. We'd be meaning to check it out ourselves. Just needed an excuse to drop the $$.

It was incredible. Worth every penny. The museum is huge. We only made it through a fraction of the exhibits. But loved it and will return.

 We grew up on this game and every painting from it is housed at the Art Institute. Brooke and I had a grand time trying to find them all.

boo-boo, we miss you!!

she swings (among other things)

this past week was the first hint of spring we've felt so far. the temperatures were still coat-worthy but we took advantage and strolled to the park. and clara had her first encounter with the swings.

when you have a child you get to experience everything again for the first time. slides and swings and tulips blooming- it all takes on new meaning when seen through the eyes of your baby. you get excited about and intimidated by and find adventure in the littlest things. and feel the need to document them even if nobody else is likely to find them interesting. 

it's one of my favorite parts about being a parent- feeling more like a kid again myself.

and seeing the world differently. 

on a more frustrating note...

cubs season begins today. baseball season might officially mean spring. but it also means impossible to park on streets and noisy drunken fans. if I could do it all over again I wouldn't live anywhere near Wrigley.

 (I snapped this as I was driving by the other day- yes my windshield was disgustingly dirty)

or house is about to become a construction zone. or not- if there's anything we can do about it. our original owner sold the place and we thought we were lucky when the new owners decided to continue renting it to us. until they informed us of their plans to renovate the back staircase that connects the basement to the attic, to create a room in the attic, and to finish the basement. work is supposed to start next week. well, my upstairs neighbor (with three kids and one on the way) and I have decided to put up a fight. we might be forced to leave, but I'd choose that over living through the noise, dust, debris, loss of storage, and complete loss of privacy. 

plus, the apartment complex next door likes to party all night long and prevent us from sleeping. (I love being startled awake to "chug, chug, chug...") we finally called the police at 2 am sunday morning. which did nothing. 

do I want to move? not really. but it might be happening.