Memorial Day & Projects

We visited family's graves on Saturday this year. I was glad to get pictures of Clara next to the headstones of both the people she is named after. It's always fun to go visit with family outside. We visit 4 different graves ranging from Bountiful to American Fork. We then have a BBQ at Jeremy's parent's house. We had such a great Saturday. This one was so cute, the two youngest cousins (besides the baby) wanted to sit next to baby Timothy. It always fascinates me how much little kids are attracted to babies. On Monday we went to Jeremy's brother's house to watch movies. It's just not the same with kids though. We were planning on watching 2 to 3 movies. We only got 1 1/2 in. After the 2nd one had started Clara was done, and so was her cousin Timothy.
I also got a lot of projects done this week. I finished a cross-stitch that I had been working on for a very long time. I think I started it almost 2 years ago. I quickly dropped it off to get framed, so I will have to post pictures of that later. I also made Clara some shorts, which she is wearing in the last few photos. Along with the shorts, I made matching shorts for our neighbor's little girl. Her 1st birthday was Wednesday, so I made those and a cute little jumper outfit for her birthday. I didn't get a photo of those before I gave them away. Oh well.
These last 2 pictures have a little story to go with them that I wanted to share. I wanted to get pictures of Clara in the shorts I made for her, but she was too interested in the camera. So I started running away from her, turning around, took a picture really fast before she caught up to me. She is a fast little girl, so it took quite a while of doing this before I could get any good shots. It soon became the best game ever and she LOVED chasing me all around the house. You can tell by her face in these pictures that she really did have a ball!

Shoes

Clara has always had a fascination with shoes. She has now discovered that she can make anything shoes and even walk in anyone's shoes. Such a big girl.She loves playing with her daddy. He had more time at home than usual on Sunday, so he started playing with his little girl. I loved watching them. Here is some video of what they did.
And here are some pictures of how Clara imitates me. It's pretty rare that I'm not doing something else while I am on the phone, so Clara always sees me with the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I'm busy doing other things.

Things I've learned

Here are some things that I've learned this week.
1) Clara gets car sick.
2) I didn't really learn this one this week, but after learning #1, I remembered it. Gas station bathrooms are always in use when you need to use it ASAP. And it seems to take the occupant longer than normal
3) Clara really can go a day without a nap. Yesterday and today she just played in her crib with her blanket and pillow for an hour.
4) It helps to read the monthly Relief Society calendar that I get on my door handle at the beginning of every month.
5) Jeremy is a great cleaner. (Is that even grammatically correct?)
6) The very cute football ribbon I bought can't be used for anything I had in mind when I purchased it. The footballs wash off when you put it in the laundry.
7) One class can still produce a lot of homework. So when you were hoping for more time with your husband over the summer, it still doesn't happen.
8) Clara is good at hiding toys. She has a hard time sharing some days, so she just hides her toys from the kids we have over. The problem is that I even have a hard time finding them....
9) No matter how cute an outfit is, it will be out grown before you are ready to pack it up.
10) Kids really do copy EVERYTHING you do. Sometimes Clara is such a mini me in all her actions. I don't realize how much I do something (like hold my phone to my ear with my shoulder to free up my hands) until I see Clara doing it.

Mother's Day

Clara gave me a great Mother's Day gift. She let me put pig tails in her hair. She hates it when I do her hair. She's gotten so good at swatting my hands away and then running so that I can't ever do her hair anymore. She squirmed this morning, but at least I got them in! She looked so cute. Her reward was getting to wear my watch and necklace. She loved them and even posed for me. Jeremy gave me the pearl necklace for Mother's Day. Thanks babe!

I just want to thank my own mother for giving up the prime of her life to have children. She has recently graduated from BYU-I, something that would have been a lot easier when she was younger. But she felt it was important to start a family and give up some of her desires. Now that I am a mother, I can partially understand what it is like to give up so much of what you want for your child's best interest. Thanks Mom for all you've done!

I also want to thank my mother-in-law for being a great Mom. She has accepted me as part of the family and loves me for who I am. I also am so grateful for her raising the man that I love so much. I know he is the perfect husband because of the things he was taught as a youth.

Temple

On Sunday this week, we had some free time on our hands. As I was thinking about what we could do, I realized that we have never taken Clara to see a temple. So we loaded up in the car and drove to the Mount Timpanogos temple. Clara loved it. I don't think she quite caught on we were there to see the temple and not the flowers, but at least she was excited to be there. It didn't rain while we were there, but it had been raining off and on all day. Clara loved the puddles of water the most. She was soaked by the time we left to go home. It was a great way to spend our Sabbath evening.

Baby Animal Birthday Party

My sister Rachael was in town this last weekend. One of the things we did while she was here was to go to Thanksgiving Point's Farm Country. They were having a birthday party for all the baby animals that had been born. Jed (who is 3) loved it the most. Clara loved watching the animals, but as soon as one would come close to her or even make a noise, she would start backing up away from the fences. It made me laugh.There were games that the kids to play and could win prizes. This is Clara's cousin Adanya playing one of the games. If the kids made the hula hoop onto the "animal's" head, they won.This is Clara trying to get a closer look.The highlight of the whole day was getting to ride the ponies. The line was pretty long, but the kids sure loved it once they got their turn. Clara's cousin Hyrum is only 3 months younger than she is. This is what both he and Clara did when we tried to get them to ride the pony.

Cleaning

So I know this might sound strange, but I love to clean. It's not the actual process that I love, but the end result. A few times this week I have been so grateful for a clean house. When I mopped my floor this week, I just sat and enjoyed the smell. I love the fresh lemon scent that goes all throughout my little apartment when I mop.
Later on in the week, after the clothes were all folded and put away, I admired how on the next day I could have any pick of clothing I want. I find that my favorite clothes get worn first and then I can't wait for laundry day to come so I can wear them again.
I am also obsessed with keeping my bathroom clean. A dirty bathroom is one of the most disgusting things to me. The only thing that grosses me out more are dirty feet. Anyway, it's a good thing I keep my bathroom so clean because Clara decided she just didn't want to stand next to the sink to brush her teeth, she wanted to get into the sink. She is so silly!