Clara's Birth Story

Well Miss Clara,
You are only almost 7 months old and I think this is the first I have written about you on our blog. Sorry!
Your pregnancy was wonderful! There was no worry about you coming early (okay just a little but Nothing in comparison to Bennett). You were a perfect angel just waiting patiently inside until we were ready for you to come. When I was 38 weeks, our doctor stripped my membranes and said if she is ready, she will come, if not she won't. Well that day I had tons of cramping and by that evening I told you dad we needed to go to the hospital. Grandma Downing came and stayed with Ava and Bennett and it was nice because we didn't have to worry about waking someone up in the middle of the night to come watch them. We got to the hospital and I was checked and I was in labor. They gave me the epidural and then I ended up mostly sleeping through the night at the hospital after they broke my water. The next morning super early you were ready to be born! Your delivery was as easy as your other siblings with about a push and a half. You have been the sweetest little angel ever since you arrived. You barely cried when you got shots and pokes in the nursery at the hospital and you only fuss when you really need something. It takes a lot to make you full out cry. We have seriously enjoyed every second with you.

You sleep in a crib in the nook in our room which we have turned into a nursery of sorts. You don't sleep through the night but it hasn't been too much of a bother becasue in every other way you are perfect. You take good naps during the day and most of the time I can just lay you down to fall asleep. You love love love your sister Ava and you tolerate Bennett being in your face all of the time pretty well! You just started sitting up at about 6.5 months. You started baby food at 6 months and have done a great job with it! You are a good eater. Now we just need to figure out how to make that stick. You are a little thing in the 20th % for height and weight. You seem much chubbier than our other 2 though. You are so loved more than you can even understand. You fit perfectly into our family sweet pea.

Valentine's 2016

No I don't love Ava more...she wanted a different Valentine for every person in her class...which didn't happen. She did let me take a whole bunch of pictures of her for it though and I had fun making a bunch of different ones for her to use. :) 

April

April Fools' Day is always fun with kids! I didn't get great pictures but I did make a pizza in a bundt pan to look like cake, and ice cream to look like mashed potatoes with green and orange skittles on the side to look like carrots and peas. The kids loved it! I always love a reason to get creative and change up the ordinary days that seem to happen most of the time.

Bennett loves this rocket and plays with it more than any toy.

 It snowed in April! I was a fun mom and actually let Bennett go outside and play in it. We built a pretty great snowman. :)

 We also went swimming with some friends in April! It was a super cold/super hot April this year!

Silly faces from my silly kids

Spring 2015

Crazy Hair day,

Flowers blooming,

dying Easter eggs,

celebrating our Savior Jesus Christ

and the wonderful gift of the atonement,

Soccer and baseball,

Fresh new beginnings.

It was a good spring :)

1st day of school 2015

Ava has Mrs. Laurel Christensen for 1st grade. She rode her scooter to school and is riding it home today. She is just growing up too fast!

 Ava just got home and it was so fun to hear about her first day! She had three recesses where she saw lots of old friends. She saw her best friend Peyton and also met a new friend PAyton and they all played together. I feel like I am going to have a lot of Peyton's to keep track of this year. She also saw her old friends Ella, Rylee, Kate and Jocelyn. She lost her bow which her friend Kate found. While going to the office to find the bow with Rylee and Kate her necklace broke so her friends had to help her pick it up. She ate pizza in the lunch room, jump roped at recess, did some math, colored, and celebrated her birthday. She also successfully made it home by herself with lots of other kids walking beside her the whole way home. That sure was nice to not have to interrupt Bennett's nap to pick her up! I can't wait to hear about tomorrow!

Ava and Ella