two months old

Claire turned two months old today! It seems like we have known her forever though. The second month has been even more enjoyable than the first. Claire is a sweet baby. As long as she is well fed, we never hear her cry. As you can see from the pictures, she is indeed well fed. We love having her sweetness around our home. We love her soft skin, her floppy head, and even her drool. We just can't get enough of her and we are so glad that she is ours forever!

I love you, Claire. The bond between a mother and her infant is incredible. I am so awed that we can understand each other without words. You are the flowers to Hallie's sunshine. You make our life even more beautiful than it was before.

And for this picture . . . all I can say is, um, WOW!

Our Living Room

We are really making progress on settling into the new house. I will be posting a few pictures over the next several weeks to give you a little glimpse of our humble abode. Then, when we are completely settled we can have a little online housewarming party! Sound fun? {Queu the crickets} Well, it sounds delightful to me.

Here are pictures of our living room/library. It is so fun to snuggle on the leather chair and ottoman and read a book. My current reads are Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman and The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.




Just pretend you are here with us. I'll even let you sit in the leather chair and I will curl up on the couch and we can chat.

If you have any notes or suggestions, drop us a comment. We are malnourished in the comments section as of late. :)

Claire's blessing

Our primary reason for our recent trip to California was so our Claire could be blessed. We elected for California because the majority of both our families still live there. On Wednesday evening, the Hinkson and Skaggs families assembled at my parents home and Chris gave Claire Caron a beautiful blessing. Claire was quiet the entire time (about four minutes). She wore the same dress that Hallie did. It was one that I had sewn myself my Senior year in college. It was so special to have so many sweet family members present-- particularly two of Claire's great-grandmothers (Grandma Nelly and Grandma Norma).

our sweet girl

three generations

Claire and my sweet grandma

Daddy and Clairey

my little Claire bug

the men that participated in the blessing

Claire and her Skaggs grandparents
Daddy and Mommy and Claire on her special day
Skaggs crew Hinkson fam

Hallie's First Movie

Chris and I thought it would be special if Hallie's first trip to the movie theater was a date with her Daddy. So, on Thursday, June 4, Daddy and Hallie went to an 11:00 show of Up. Daddy bought Hallie popcorn, candy, and a drink. Most of the movie Hallie sat on Daddy's lap. She was entertained the entire time. She finally started to get restless at the very end of the movie but she stayed quiet and well-behaved. After the movie, Daddy and Hallie walked together to McDonald's next door and shared chicken nuggets. When I went to pick up the happy couple, Hallie was beaming. I am so happy that she could have such a special date with her dad.

Tinker Hal

When we visited at my Aunt Diane's, my cousin Brooke was great at entertaining Hallie. She let Hallie play dress-up in all her old clothes. Hallie's favorite costume was Tinker Bell. Diane and Charlie's house is so amazing that it looked like Hallie was really in Neverland. When we were all done with visiting (and eating Diane's amazing parnesan chicken), Brooke told Hallie that she could keep the Tinker Bell outfit and enjoy it at home. She was so thoughtful. When Hallie was a baby she had a Tinker Bell outfit but she has since grown out of it. It will be so fun to have a little fairy to flit around the house again.

Cinderella (or Hallerella)

When Hallie was at Grandma and Grandpa's house, she had a delightful time playing in cousin Amanda's dress-up dress. Hallie called it her "pink Rora dress" (for Aurora from Sleeping Beauty). After Grandpa hosed down the backyard, Hallie did the most clever thing. She picked up a scrub brush and started singing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" just like Cinderella.

Here is a video of Hallie singing while Brittany and I tried as hard as possible to contain our laughter. My favorite part of the song is when she sings "you wind blows will come sliding frew" as opposed to "your rainbows will come shining through."

Clarabelle

I need to post pictures from California. I am going to be honest-- there are a lot of pictures to go through and the task seems a little daunting at the moment. So, in the meantime I will present you with our little Belle (short for Clarabelle-- which is long for Claire).

Dear Claire,

You make me so happy! I love to hold you and hug you and kiss you. Daddy and I love your snuggles and smiles. Your big sister thinks you are the funniest thing ever. Sometimes Hallie will just sigh and say "I love her" while she looks at you. We are loving getting to know you. We are so happy that you could join our family. We love you Claire-Fairy!

Love, Mommy

At Claire's doctors appointment on Monday she weighed 11 lbs. 5 oz. That is a four pound gain since birth. She is in the 50th percentile for height and head circumference and the 75th percentile for weight. When she got her shots she cried for several seconds until I could scoop her up. After her shots, she was a sweet but sad girl until yesterday. Today we have our happy baby back and we are glad her shots aren't bothering her anymore.

I can't pick my favorite picture-- each one is so cute. So you can enjoy them all.

Fun Summer Theme Party

Our lovely mother, Judy, celebrated her birthday in May. Since she was vacationing in California on the big day, we celebrated with her when she returned to Colorado at the end of the month. For a dinner theme, I decided on "Judy's California Girl Birthday Party." Mom grew up minutes away from where I did. She loves California! Here are some of the featured menu items:

Beach Bum Cupcakes (I piped on melted white chocolate for bathing suits)

Life Preserver Meat Loaves and Mashed Potato Sand Castles

Seaside Gelatin Salad

Sailboat Deviled Eggs

Other menu items included "Sunny Side Salad" (with sliced boiled eggs to represent suns) and Garlic Bread rafts. The menu was so fun. Mom was delighted and very appreciative.

Hallie and Mike look on right after Mom blows out her birthday cupcake.

Having fun!

We are having fun, enjoying the great things that Southern CA has to offer-- Disneyland yesterday and the beach today. We'll tell you more when we get back!

California Trip