Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Weekend

This past week we all came down with the stomach flu. It was awful. It is my least favorite of the common sicknesses. I came down with it on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Sam ended up coming home early from work on Wednesday to take care of me and the baby because I couldn't keep anything down (such a sweet husband). He became sick the next day, and he literally thought he was going to die. Thus, despite the fact that he is extremely busy at work right now, he took even more time off. We took turns taking care of each other and the baby and somehow made it through the worst of it. The saddest part of the entire ordeal is that Klair even succumbed to the sickness. She didn't get nearly as sick as we did, but even witnessing the slightest amount of her discomfort was heart breaking.

There was some silver lining in the experience though. As stated previously, the stomach flu is, in my opinion, the worst sickness. I would rather have a headache, sore throat, stuffy nose--any other common ailment before feeling nauseous. Thus, this was the hardest thing I could imagine having to go through short of a real emergency or crisis--and I know that Sam agrees. Yet, somehow we did it. We got through the ordeal of being extremely sick while tending to the needs of a sick baby. I feel triumphant! It's as if we've passed some sort of test--like being sick with your family is all part of the initiation. Welcome to parenthood. You are now a REAL Mom, complete with all of the ups and downs, for better (or in the case of the stomach flu) for worse.

Due to our illness our holiday weekend was pretty low key. We opted to avoid any family gatherings and mostly stayed home. On Saturday the call of the beautiful spring weather was just too tempting to ignore, and we found ourselves outside at a nearby park. It's amazing how thrilling it can be to sit at a park and watch your dog play fetch. In fact, it's amazing how thrilling just being outside in beautiful weather can be after a long winter. I love spring time!

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the resurrection of the Savior than to spend the beginning of the season of re-birth with the greatest gift God has ever given me--my family. I am one blessed woman!

Oh and for the record, it was incredible to watch my baby play in the grass for the first time! I think she really enjoyed spending time at the park. She was so content just sitting there, watching Rosie and hanging out with her parents. At one point I ran my fingers across the blades of grass and she mimicked me exactly. She also used the fact that we were sitting on a slight incline to her advantage and practiced rolling. She was only able to get to her side on her own, but she was able to completely roll over with a little help (something she seemed very proud of). She is growing up so fast, I can't believe she is already 4 months old!














Pictures from Klair's First Month

Klair in the Hospital








Smiling at a Few Days Old 

Grasping Mommy and Daddy's Fingers


Bath Time at Home



Daddy's Girl


 She Gives a Whole New Meaning to "Ausam"








Christmas! Beautiful Christmas Dress and Enjoying her Present:



 My Little Thinker


We are the Luckiest



February (Month 2 for our Klair Bear)

Klair at 2 Months: 











Klair's Baby Blessing:











First off I feel it important to mention that we had a successful baby blessing on the 10th. Before the blessing I mentioned a bit of nervousness about having 50+ people attend, but I can confidently say that things went extremely well. The Saturday before Sam and I spent the entire day preparing. We vigorously cleaned the house, baked cupcakes, made soup, set up chairs, and basically tried to ensure that everything was ready to go for the next day. We were up until the wee hours of the morning preparing. I of course didn't sleep well that night because I couldn't help but go over everything in my head (repeatedly), and I was up bright and early at 6 a.m. to give myself plenty of time to make sure that I, the house, the baby, and, well... everything... was perfected. So, needless to say I was running on little sleep. Luckily my best friend Sharydon (who happens to be an amazing hair stylist) showed up early in the morning to do my hair, and she also helped with the food. Oh and she ALSO brought some really cute cake stands, supplied me with the frosting tips for my cupcakes, and she did my dishes/cleaned my kitchen after the party. AND, she brought Klair a present with some adorable clothes. Could I possibly have a better best friend? I submit that I could not.

I also received help from a number of other people for the luncheon. My mom, my mother-in-law, my Grandma, Sam's Aunt, and Sam's Grandma all brought food. We did a buffet of soups with some side salads, and my sister made home made rolls. All in all the food was great, and it seemed to be the perfect amount--there was just a little bit of food left over when all was said and done. My own food additions were the cupcake dress and my husband's personal favorite, creamy tomato basil bisque.

Here is a photo of my cupcake dress creation and a link to a post that explains all about it:

Cupcake Dress 





Valentine's Day:

For Valentine's Day we swapped babysitting gigs with my sister. Her husband had to work on the big night, so we watched her boys the Monday before. Then she watched Klair on V-day and we were able to go out. It worked out nicely :) Sam and I had both agreed not to get each other any presents because we are going to get a nice camera once we get our tax returns. Apparently neither of us could actually follow through on the agreement. I made him some cookies and got him a few other treats. He made me some cute love coupons and he remembered that I love these yummy chocolate truffles made locally. We also went to sushi which was a gift to me, as he really doesn't love the Japanese cuisine. He has recently discovered he likes Vegas rolls, however, which I am grateful for as it makes going to sushi much more enjoyable for both of us. We went to a tiny sushi place we had heard great things about, and waited for about an hour to get a table. It was worth it though. The sushi was great and extremely affordable for the quality. It was so nice to get out with him, even if it was just a dinner date. It was a Valentine's perfect in its simplicity.

Here are the photos of my Valentine's creations, complete with cheesey sayings:





Klair's First Real Laugh:

Tuesday the 19th is a day that will forever live in awesomeness. My baby girl laughed. Now, I know that I have blogged before about her laughing, but this was her first REAL laugh attack--complete with the cutest giggles and squeals any ear has ever had the privilege of hearing. And the best part? We got it on video. It is absolutely delightful in every way. It made me cry. I still tear up when I watch it.

Sam's Birthday:

Sam is officially the big two-five!  He got his big birthday present a little early because he really needed a new amp with everything he has going on with his band. Despite this I couldn't help but celebrate on  his actual birthday with some small gifts. I made his two favorites--brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Both recipes came from my friend Sharydon and turned out awesome, I must say. I also prepared a candle-lit dinner complete with champagne glasses filled with his beverage of choice--Mountain Dew. He had to go to Vegas on a day trip on his birthday, so he got home around 8:00 at night. Once the baby was sleeping soundly we had our romantic dinner and enjoyed the evening together. I know he would have liked to have gone to a movie under different circumstances, so I got him a "rain check" of movie tickets. I also bought him the acoustic Justin Beiber CD on a whim because he actually likes Beiber (a fact that usually results in him being made fun of and I couldn't help but exploit this a little).




The next night we didn't just go out to dinner, we had a dining experience. Sam had heard from some people at work about "pop-up restaurants." Apparently chefs travel around setting up shop in cool places and dishing out unique 10 course meals. They usually only have a few tables so you have to reserve in advance. And, although the food is pricey, it's worth it. You're essentially eating culinary art and I therefore felt justified in supporting artists. For our experience they were set up in a small art gallery in downtown Salt Lake and the most amazing thing to me was that they didn't even have an oven. Their make-shift kitchen consisted of burners on a counter top and toaster ovens. Impressive.

My personal favorites were the rattlesnake, the smoked Waldorf salad in a jar, and the drink that was somehow both hot and cold at the same time. Oh and the Pop Rocks in one of the other drinks was a nice touch as well, it reminded me of being a kid. (I forgot how much fun those things are!) Here are some photos from the night:





Then Saturday night we had a get-together at our place with a few friends for Sam's birthday, and Sunday we had his family over for the brownies and cookies I made. Overall it was a fun birthday weekend, and a good way to celebrate the fact that my husband is now a quarter of a century old.

And that marks the end of February, and the end of the last full month of winter. Spring time? Yes please!