Friday Finally

Ok, I'm not the best title maker-upper. A little news for those I haven't seen in a while. I started a new job with Target Construction here in Vegas. We specialize in dirt: grading, digging, blasting and the sort. I really like the position and the coworkers are old friends Nick Day and Brent Neel. I'm still not sure if any work gets done, but I've been here for a month and so far so good. I'm in estimating, cool office not the hot outdoors. I still manage to detail cars on a part time basis, the cash is good ya know? I mean holler if you hate cash...

The reason for the title: it is friday and I'm going home soon to play with Claire. I made up a new game with her last night. It's called "hide and seek." Let me know if you like the title of that one, not bad eh? Anyway, I took some video of the entertainment. It consists of us crawling around the ottoman hiding and seeking each other. Her laughing and giggling is so fun to me as a daddy. Now the bad news: I can't post the video because my pants are a size or two too big and I "cracked" the camera if you know what I mean. Ahh the joys of weight loss.

The Dress

Awhile back, I wrote about making Claire a dress but never posted any pics. So, I had Claire wear the dress again on Sunday since she might grow out of it. I need to try to make another outfit soon!

9 Month Check Up

Claire was technically 9 months old on June 17th, but we had her check up today. No shots, thank goodness. Just a prick on her big toe to get a drop of blood to test her iron levels - passed with flying colors.


So, here are the latest stats:

Weight - 20 pounds (50-75 percentile)- actually about the same weight as at 6 months

Height - 29 inches (90 percentile)

Teeth - two bottom, and two cut through on the top (big chompers by the looks of them)

Favorites - giving mom a heart attack by putting EVERYTHING in her mouth and then choking on said item; laughing with a cute scrunched up nose, and trying to eat anything that mom and dad are eating

New tricks - mimicking sounds like "hi", "uh-oh," and coughing sounds (Matt will cough a few times and then Claire will cough too); Crawling and pulling herself up on furniture - I guess she is "cruising" now.

Mom or Dad? The contest is still on for which she says first -she makes ma-ma and da-da sounds all the time, but not really designated towards me or Matt just yet.

Destination: Singapore

My little brother Matty just got his mission call on Friday - he is going to Singapore, English speaking. He leaves for the Missionary Training Center on September 3rd. It was pretty cool to have him read us the letter - I was one of 3 siblings calling in, so Matt had us all on speaker phone.


I had no idea where Singapore is - so I did a little Wikipedia search and found out that it is actually in the island state of Malasia, south of Thailand and Vietnam - they speak English there because it was a Brittish Colony. I started a family blog for his mission so we can keep tabs on him - and post his letters, photos, etc. So, for all those interested, bookmark MattOnaMission.

Makeover: Strawberry Shortcake

I love a good makeover. Some of my favorite shows involve them - of course, What Not to Wear on TLC, and then there are movies like The Princess Diaries, The Breakfast Club and Miss Congeniality.

However, I am a bit sad about some recent changes to the classic toys that we grew up with. I never really liked Barbies, but I did have Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponies and a much-loved Cabbage Patch Doll. I would love for Claire to play with these toys instead of say, Bratz dolls which make me afraid for society.

So check out what they are doing to Strawberry Shortcake. This NY Times article that my SIL showed me tells all about the new toys that are coming out - remodeled versions of our classic toys. I guess it's still better than other things out there...

Crawling

So I was talking to my sister Becky the other day and casually mentioned something about Claire crawling all over the place and she said - WHAT? she is crawling?! So I guess I didn't tell anyone about it.

She has been crawling about for a week or more now - maybe two. This video is one of her first days where she got her arms and legs going at the same time. She is doing a great job - not too fast yet, which is fine by me. She is very determined to get where she wants to go, even if that means getting into a make up case, pile of magazines, under the table, or over to the pile of shoes by the front door.

Yes, we need to babyproof our house. Our pediatrician told me to do that at 6 months just to get ready -I guess I was in denial. So now I have to get really organized and put everything away. Fun.

Ode to Basketball

Even though I am currently playing on our ward's volleyball team (go Pinnacle Ward #2!!), my heart definitely belongs to basketball. I was driving home from playing basketball last night, thinking that nothing else would keep me up until past 11 pm on a work night. After 9 months with a new baby, during which Matt taught early morning seminary and was up at 4:45 am every day, we get to bed early when we can.

Anyway, I digress. I have played basketball since I was in the 5th grade - I love to play, don't like to sit on the sidelines. I always played with the boys and didn't care that that wasn't very "girly." I played for as long as I could when I was prego, then came back a few months after Claire was born. The sad part is, I'm still out of shape and the sport kicks my butt every time. But that's kind of why I love it - it requires physical and mental skill and stamina. Plus, it's fast paced and never boring. Baseball - boring. Golf - boring. WWF Wrestling - boring (that one was for Matt).

So, my goal is to get in shape and run so I can become yet again worthy of my favorite sport. The NBA finals were such a let down - I don't even like the NBA that much anyway - so now my own girls night on Thursdays will be all the basketball I need. If you live in Vegas, let me know if you want to play. Thursdays at 8:45 pm.