Little Red Wagon

Nana & Poppy got Claire a classic red wagon for her birthday, and she LOVES it!



Daddy & Claire playing with the wagon.



She liked it so much she wanted to take her nap in it! :-)

-- Via Kate's iPhone

Mama's Helper

Claire Ella helps Mama do the morning sweeping.




-- Via Kate's iPhone

Frugal Decor

I love decorating. I'm not the most original, but I know what I like and usually have a pretty good idea how to replicate it for cheap.

Take our living room mantle/fireplace:



I wanted a large mirror for above the fireplace, but was shocked by how expensive gaudy mirrors were, not to mention nice ones!

So we went to a model home auction, courtesy of my blogging friend Julie, and there I bought a huge bright yellow gold mirror. It was fairly hideous, and certainly didn't go with my decor.

But there were nice lines, and for the money it was worth a try!

I was planning on spray painting the frame with some oil rubbed bronze spray paint, to soften the look of the mirror. My mom had the idea to then use some gold Rub'N'Buff to antique the frame and add some dimension.

So for the cost of the mirror at auction (I can't remember the exact price, but it was a steal!), a $3 can of spray paint, and some Rub'N'Buff that my mother already had I now have a mirror I love!



Another thing I had seen and liked was the look of multiple squared off vases put together for a centerpiece. I had 3 glass vases from Thanksgiving and a 50% off coupon from JoAnn Fabrics. I bought 1 stem of silk hydrangeas, but couldn't stomach the price they wanted for glass pebbles for the bottom. Instead I went to the dollar store and found some irregular shaped glass pebbles that I think just add interest to the piece. All in all it cost me less than $5.



Lastly, the fireplace screen, which I love, came from my friend Karen. She had moved and no longer had a woodburning fireplace. She was going to give it to GoodWill but offered it to me first. Score!

These ideas are specific to my house and taste, but I don't think it is too difficult to find little touches out there to make you house a home.

Next week I am going to try combining 2 different quarts of paint samples to make a shade of red I like for an accent wall in a bathroom. We'll see how that works...

-- Via Kate's iPhone

Little Runner

Claire and I played outside today, and Claire took off running. It's so cute seeing her so mobile.






-- Via Kate's iPhone

Claire's First Birthday Update

Dan, Claire, & Kate at the Feast of Tabernacles, 2009 in Lake Tahoe, CA. Classic Sandwich Kisses!

This is over a week late, but between being in California for 2 weeks over her actual birthday and then coming down with the plague, this is the first chance I've had to do this.

The Ambrose Family (Dan, Kate, & Claire) at Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, CA on October 7th, 2009 taking a family hike for Claire Ella's 1st Birthday.

Claire's 12 Month Update:

Claire Ella, 12 Months Old, wearing a dress her Mama made before church.

Words:

1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Nummies
4. Nana
5. Poppy
6. Hi
7. Ball
8. Duck
9. One
10. Two
11. Star
12. Bowl
13. Baby
14. Doll
15. No
16. Yes
17. Knock
18. Bow
19. Spoon
20. Cup
21. Toes
22. Button
23. Down
24. Bye bye
25. Bob
26. That
27. Here
28. Juice
29. Turtle
30. Tick Tock
31. Hot
32. Boo
33. Book
34. Moon

Signs:

1. Book
2. Nummies
3. Thank You
4. Please
5. Bath
6. Sorry
7. More
8. All Done
9. Finished
10. Water
11. Gentle
12. Dirty Diaper
13. Drink
14. Waving

Sounds She Can Make (She Can Identify All These Items Too):

1. Horse
2. Cow
3. Chicken
4. Monkey (with arm movements)
5. Elephant (with arm movements)
6. Sheep
7. Snake
8. Donkey
9. Cat
10. Dog
11. Lion (with arm movements)
12. Tiger
13. Bear (with arm movements)
14. Pig
15. Bee
16. Bird
17. Car
18. Fire Engine

Claire on the beach for the first time, Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. On her first birthday, October 7th.

Body Parts She Can Identify:

1. Head
2. Hair
3. Eyes
4. Nose
5. Mouth
6. Tongue
7. Teeth
8. Chin
9. Cheeks
10. Ears
11. Neck
12. Chest/Nummies
13. Belly
14. Belly Button
15. Hands
16. Fingers
17. Elbow
18. Arm
19. Knees
20. Legs
21. Feet
22. Toes
23. Bottom

Claire holding her new Baby Doll, on her 1st Birthday (a wee bit sunburnt from our hike)

Skills/Abilities:

1. Walking (Beginning to Run)
2. Blows Kisses
3. Rubs/Sniffs Noses (Eskimo Kisses)
4. Tells you how old she is (holds up 1 finger and says "One")
5. Calls all circles/spheres "Ball" (her favorite word)
6. Can identify (not say, but point to or select) square, heart, triangle, star, circle
7. Can identify (not say but point to or select) red, blue, orange, yellow, green
8. When asked, "What does a Claire Bear say?" she will go "rawr" with her hands up
9. Waves Hi & Bye Bye
10. Points the correct body part when asked, "Where does the bow/hat/so
11. Can correctly point to every item most of her books, especially her Baby Colors book
12. Obeys "Head Down" directive, even when she's in a fit (which usually calms her)
13. Knows the letter and sound "Z" and will make the "Z" ASL sign when she sees or hears the letter
14. Gives Hugs & Kisses on request
15. Loves "round & round"
16. Can identify most animals and make their sounds
17. Fills in words she knows in songs/books/rhymes
18. Has great association (hears bath, points to a picture of a sponge or rubber ducky; sees ballet shoes pulls out her book and turns to the page with ballet shoes)
19. Can identify people she knows in pictures (Nana, Poppy, Aunts & Uncles especially)
20. Has lots of games/jokes she's made up (pretending to nurse from Dada is her favorite)
21. Pretends to feed her dolly
22. Gives her dolly love (hugs/kisses)
23. Points to individual letters to ask for identification
24. Points to identical letters in different places (2 girls were wearing different sweat shirts and Claire pointed to the letter "R" on both of them)
25. Follows simple to semi-complex directions (ex: "Go to the fireplace and get your orange circle out of the blender then bring it to Mama."
26. Climbs the stairs with supervision (can go from the basement to the 2nd story without stopping and then asks for more)
27. Trys to feed herself with a spoon
28. Stirs and "helps" Mama cook/bake
29. Turns light switches on/off
30. Sees clocks and goes "Tick Tock" and wags her fingers to the seconds
31. Says "dumba dumba dumba" as filler conversation
32. Understands the concept of on/off (lights as well as hats on/off the head)
33. Knows what glasses are, moves Mama's glasses to Dada's eyes
34. Blows on hot food to cool it down
35. Trys to tickle adults
36. "Boops" people's noses
37. Repeats longer words
38. Knows what "inside voice" means
39. "Ssshhhh's"
40. Brushes her own hair and other people's
41. Brushes her teeth
42. Empathizes (will give spontaneous hugs/kisses when people are sad)
43. Communicates what she wants to eat (points, gets excited, or goes MMMMMmmm when you mention what she wants)
44. Obeys "no touch" very well, shows an incredible amount of self control and memory for what she's been told

Claire by a huge cedar tree, at Emerald Bay, October 7th her 1st Birthday

Favorites:

1. Books! Books! Books! She is obsessed with books!!!
2. Her shape sorter (a blender)
3. Her Orange Circle (she carries it around constantly)
4. Pretending to drive
5. Music (she dances, bounces, sings, etc)
6. Ceiling Fans
7. "Drawing" (with pens, pencils, crayons... anything she can get her hands on)
8. Pulling things out of baskets or containers
9. Pulling Kleenex or wipes out of their containers
10. Bows!
11. Baths!
12. And her very favorite in the whole world? Nana! :)

Claire & Dada on our hike at Emerald Bay for her 1st Birthday.

Dan & I are so blessed to be Claire Ella's parents. We adore her, and are so proud of her development and most of all her sweet and loving spirit. We pray that we are able to stimulate, challenge, direct, and guide her to be the best Claire she can be; most of all to love, honor, and fear the Lord.

Claire & Mama on our hike at Emerald Bay.

In most areas Claire is an incredibly easy baby. She is compliant and wants to please. She is intelligent; able to understand most directions and communicate her needs/desires through words and sign language which alleivates many areas of frustration.

Her biggest areas of struggle are is sleep (she still is no where near sleeping through the night, nor does she take long naps during the day) and submitting to her nails being trimmed (where she throws a HUGE fit every time).

Claire's Birthday Dinner

For her first birthday we had a small dinner with close friends and family at the Feast. We specifically requested no presents, since we don't want birthdays to become overwhelming or make birthdays about the "stuff". She had her first taste of refined sugar and dairy as well on her birthday, in the form of carrot cake and cream cheese icing. She wasn't all that excited. :)

Poppy holding Claire Ella, and being a good sport on Claire's Birthday. Lovely Hat! :)

Her friend, Connor Hollon, came and they had fun giving each other kisses and playing with balloons.

Nana gives Claire one of her presents, a tiny gold heart necklace--Claire's first jewelry. Claire loves it, as well as the adorable Bear Card! :)

It was a very casual and fun party, and the birthday girl was totally exhausted after! :)

I can't express the amount of joy you've brought us, Claire. Happy First Birthday, Baby Bear. We love you so much!

It's Been A While!

After almost a full 4 weeks without being on the computer (save the iPhone email/Facebook aps), I ventured back to LJ today.

My motive was a rather strong Text from a dear friend, telling me I really needed to check out her journal, where she had posted a pregnancy announcement a few days ago. Yeah, I can't believe I missed that!

Now I'm wondering what else I missed?!!?

Things are going better around here. Claire's ear infection is better, Camp Outreach is over (and was a crazy success, BTW, check out the links below), and we're no longer hosting boatloads of people.

I do feel totally disconnected though, these days. There's just not enough of me to go around. I can't seem to keep the house together, Claire taken care of, and have any spare time for Dan, let alone friends. I wish I could be one of those moms who can just handle it all so well. Cuz guess what? I don't. I stink at juggling.

But my heart is being continually pulled toward weeding out the less necessary things and focusing on my family and home. I will still be around, but much less. I've made my peace with that.

Links to Camp Outreach News Articles:

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?s=10714470

http://www.fox59.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=9b6a9e44-e629-45d7-ba1b-c4bb2d576c4d&cat=empty&src=front

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/region_1/Camp_Outreach_fixing_up_Indy_community_20090713

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090715/NEWS/907150372/Camp+Outreach+in+town+to+fix+residences

Plunk?

I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.

No one can be this happy and blessed. It's just not fair to everyone else.

Wonderful, loving husband. Check!
Adorable, sweet baby. Check!
Supportive family. Check! (On my side, at least...)
True friends. Check!
Enough "stuff" (income, food, etc.). Check!
Opportunities to enjoy life. Check!

Life is abundant. Life is blissful. Life is busy.

Blogging... is not a priority.

Perhaps I'll be back more after the summer. Although, every other time I've made a post like this, I've started blogging a ton more the very next week. Who knows what the Lord has in store, but for now I'm going to stop feeling guilty for not keeping up with online stuff (blogging, posting pictures, etc.) and just enjoy what I have!

Until next time.

Father's Day Update, Part 1

Father's Day for the Ambrose family was wonderful. We spent the day picnicking at the park with all the family except Sarah & Jason (who live in Lexington).

It was so lovely, not too muggy in the spot we picked, and such fun having everyone together and celebrating the amazing Fathers we had among us (Poppy and Danny).

My father is the best example I've ever seen of a Christian father and grandfather. He is a strong leader, without being anything close to a dictator. He is sensitive, caring, not afraid to show love and affection; but never comes off as wimpy, weak, or effeminate. He has wisdom and leads by example, allowing his children to grow, leave and cleave without too much interference while still providing support. Most of all, the grandchildren just adore their "Poppy"!

Dan has grown as a father in the 8.5 months we've had Claire by leaps and bounds. Every day I see him becoming even more godly and strong in his role. He loves and protects his family before anything else, putting their needs and even wants before his own. He provides amply, and places a lot of importance on being a hard worker. He loves his daughter, and shows her that love every day. He changes diapers without complaint, he sings, plays, helps with baths--he does all the day-to-day stuff as well as the "big" stuff, never considering any task or job beneath him. He is the best husband and father I could ever have dreamed of, and amazingly enough he just keeps getting better. I see the fruits of the Lord's work in his life, and I thank God for giving my children such a wonderful Father and giving me the most wonderful Husband.

Pictures to come.

I'm so grateful to my parents for making the day very special for Dan, especially considering the circumstances he deals with (no, I won't go into it more; I'm not angry, just sad).

Mom & Dad have really stepped up to the plate, and love him as their own son (and vice versa). I couldn't be more grateful for a loving family, especially when it provides my husband with steadfast, unconditional love and a good Christian family example.

P.S. Dan loved his Father's Day presents: the new iPhone and a hand painted birdhouse from Claire (complete with hand print).

Claire's Father's Day present for Dan is almost done.

I need to get on that girl about her work ethic, she basically made me do it all. Sheesh. :)

2 weekends ago we visited our dear friends, the Phelps family, in Cincinnati. It was a lovely, if not exhausting weekend. It's taken me this long to find the time to post some pictures. Whoops! :)

Here they are:

Our wonderful hosts, Mike & Laura.

Claire falls asleep on Daddy during a walk, Sunday.

Mama refreshes Claire with some water at dinner after a fun and hot day at the park, Sunday.

Claire falls asleep at the park, Sunday.

Daddy & Claire have fun outside Sabbath evening.

Claire & Mama are ready for church, Sabbath.

Claire gets a "hug" from her new friend, Ciera.

Claire wasn't a fan of the hug. (Yes, I got these pictures instead of immediately rescuing Claire--I have known Ciera's mom since childhood, and I think these are pictures we will laugh over with our grandchildren!)

Family picture at the park, Sunday (forgive my looks, we were playing hard that day, and I didn't bother with makeup or doing my hair.)

And finally my favorite picture of the weekend. Kelsey and Claire playing on the swing set Sabbath evening.

May The Farm Be With You!

Cute Claire Story

Today Claire was playing nicely by herself, so I decided to take advantage of that time and grab a quick shower. Claire was in the sitting room, which is within earshot of the master bath, even with the door partially closed (not latched, but mostly shut).


Our Big Girl June 7th, 8 Months Old, at the Park in Cincinnati on the Slide

I got in the shower and enjoyed hearing her play. A little while into my shower the bathroom door swings open (to my utter shock) and a little baby's head peeks through. Claire sees me in the shower, grins the biggest "I found Mama!" smile, and army crawls right into the bathroom all by herself!

It's amazing that she was able to crawl that far, in such a short amount of time, especially without getting upset and frustrated. Further, she didn't see where I was going, so for her to hear the water and figure out where Mama was is nothing short of genius! Then to know that she could push the door open and find Mama... well, you won't be surprised when I say I think my kid's amazing!

Leaving, Again!

We're off to Ohio for the weekend.

While we're gone our Church is hosting Sabbath Brunch at our house. Hopefully that is blessed and goes well. And the house isn't too destroyed when we get back... ;-)

Kidding, my parents are housesitting while we're gone to supervise the brunch, so I'm sure it will go wonderfully.

Life seems to be going so quickly I can barely catch my breath...

Claire Update

Claire got her first tooth this morning!!! She barely fussed getting it, but around 2AM she sounded like she was in pain, so we brought her in bed with us. She nursed much of the night, and in the morning there the tooth was! I'm so proud of her!


Here's a video of Claire Army Crawling to Nana.

More videos to come soon!

New Bedtime Routine

My daughter finally fell asleep after an hour of screaming, as she's now learning to go to sleep without nursing to sleep. This is the first night of our new routine (we're still nursing, just not to sleep... usually).

Now all I want to do is go pick her up and cuddle her.

This might be harder on Mama than it is on Claire-Bear... But I'm not sure, it seems to be pretty difficult for both of us.

Is it pathetic that I'm actually looking forward to her 3 AM feeding because my arms miss her so much? I can't help loving that sweet little girl!

Today is a day of a lot of firsts. And strangely enough, a lot of blog time!