Lily and Claire, What a Pair!

Lily and Claire have been having a lot of fun together lately.  Claire is 6 months old now and really interested in what Lily is doing.  Lily makes Claire laugh all the time now.  It is so fun for me to see how much they love each other.

Claire is getting to be such a cutie!

Claire's New Dress

I made a new dress for Claire.  I got a really cute jacket for her at the GOTHE (Gift of the Heart Exchange), a clothing swap for MBA spouses.  I didn't have anything to match it so I sewed this little number for ~$3.  She didn't want to model for me, but here it is.

She wore it to church today and the sunny yellow just made me smile.

Snow Canyon

On our trip we stopped in St. George for a couple of days to visit Jeff's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin.  Lily had a great time playing with her 2nd cousins and exploring outside.  We went to Snow Canyon State Park as a family while we were there.  We went on a little hike to Jenny's canyon, a little slot canyon, and ate a picnic lunch.  Jeff and I really enjoyed the hiking, but the girls didn't love it as much as we did.  Lily got tired and Claire was not liking the wind.  We'll have to go back in a few years when they're older.

The trail was only a 1/2 mile long and most of it was easy enough for Lily to do on her own.

Jeff carried Claire in the baby carrier.

Lily and me walking in the canyon.

The walls of the canyon had eroded into very delicate patterns, almost like lace.

Lily and me at the end of the canyon.

Jeff and the girls at the end of the canyon.  We couldn't get a family picture all together so we had to take turns.

Here are some pictures at an overlook of the park.

Trip to Grandma & Grandpa Decker's

Jeff had a few days off from school so we decided to go visit family.  Our first stop was Page, AZ to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Decker.  We had a great time with them visiting and reminiscing.  Lily was nervous at first, but it didn't take long for her to warm up to her great grandparents.

Lily's new favorite saying is "The castle is too far away".  We told her that the castle at Disneyland is too far away to go visit right now so we'll have to wait until the summer.  Here she is explaining that to Daddy.

Jeff's Haircut

Jeff has taught me how to cut his hair and I've been cutting it since we were dating.  I don't really like doing it, but I do it to save $$.  This time he told me he wanted a different style: slightly longer on the sides and longer on top.  Well ... my first attempt didn't turn out how I'd expected.

Kinda reminded me of a flat-top.  I fixed it and it turned out great.  In fact, Jeff said he had a couple of guys at school ask him where he goes to get his hair cut.

Lily's Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Lily's birthday on Saturday because Jeff's family was able to come into town.  She officially turns 3 on Wednesday.  For her birthday, we decorated with a pink & princess theme.

I thought it would be really fun to make ice cream cone cupcakes because Lily loves ice cream cones.  They turned out cute, but I had the hardest time making them!  Seems simple, but it isn't!  I had to make some regular cupcakes to make up for my ice cream cone failures.

Lily enjoyed the cupcakes.  That's what matters most.

Here are some photos of everyone enjoying cupcakes - except my siblings.

Lily's favorite part was opening her presents.  

Grandma and Grandpa Butler got Lily a lot of princesses and stickers!

Jeff and I (and Claire I guess) got her a booster seat, pillow, and finger paints.  The finger paints were a big hit.  By the way, I made that lovely flower.  Lily (with the help of aunt Andrea) just wanted to make hand prints and fingerprints. 

Claire's First Food

Today Claire got to try rice cereal.  It reminded me of Lily's first attempt at solids.  Lily's picture is first, Claire's is second.

I had an idea that it wasn't going to be a huge success when we were at the health clinic today getting Claire's vaccines.  She had to take one orally and the nurse commented that she'd never seen a baby spit so much of it out.  What can I say, Claire has a gift.

She maybe swallowed 10% of the bites I offered her...maybe.