Claire. . .Clear and Bright

What a special day! We blessed Claire on Sunday, October 12th at Grandma & Grandpa C's house.

We were so blessed to have so much of our family there. So many aunts, uncles, cousins, and all of Claire's grandparents were there. Even two sets of her great grandparents were able to share the day with us.

When we all gathered into the family room for the blessing, there was such a sweet feeling in the room. Uncle Nate gave an opening prayer, followed by everyone singing "I Am A Child of God". Courtney gave her a beautiful blessing. Afterward Uncle Ronnie offered the closing prayer.

Our bishop, Bishop Fukui commented afterward about the strong spirit that was present, and the love that was in the room. I think everyone could feel that. It was so wonderful to have so many of the people whom we love and who love our little family together in one place.

Since Claire's birth, we have felt so humbled and blessed. We have been overwhelmed at the love and prayers given in behalf of Claire and our family. I think her blessing day was the culminating event of the past few months of love that has been given and expressed to us. For Courtney and I, it was an incredible day of celebration and gratitude for the blessing of not only Claire, but all the blessings we have been given and have become more deeply aware of the past few months.

Claire was given the name Claire Kelly. Courtney heard the name Claire shortly after Emmy was born and just loved it. (When we went on trek as a Ma and Pa, we even named our family's "baby" Clara. ) We kind of knew if we had another girl, she would be a Claire.

I really wanted to use the name Sally somehow, after my Grandma Sally. We thought about naming her Sally Claire, and even tossed around a few other names, but Courtney just kept calling her Claire.

One day we were sitting in Sacrament and he just looked at me and said, "She's going to be a Claire. That name just keeps coming up."

Then one day a month or so before Claire was born, Courtney came home from work really excited. He said he knew what we should name her- Claire Kelly. I totally shot it down. For one thing, I really did want to use the name Sally. And another thing, I told him I felt like we should name the girls after someone really amazing, which I am not. I closed the door on that idea and didn't really even consider it. Every time we would talk about names, he would bring it up, and I would shoot him down. After Claire was born, I was still leaning toward using Sally, but Courtney finally just said, "I know what I want. I think she should be Claire Kelly."

In the end, he obviously won. He's not the type to be very opinionated unless it really matters to him, and so I felt that if he felt that strong about it, I should let him choose.

In the end, I guess it's the right name for Claire. My friend Darcie recently sent me the meanings of our girls' names. The meaning for Claire is "clear and bright". I love that.

And Kelly? It means "brave warrior". I don't know if I'm all that brave, but so far, it seems like it fits Claire. She radiates such a calm, steady spirit. I know it sounds crazy to say this about a baby, but it just fits her. She's a brave little fighter. She's already changed how I think about life. I guess you could say my perspective is a little bit more clear. . .a little brighter.

I'm so thankful for all our our girls and for what they add to our family. They are each teaching me so much about life.

Ryenne Ashleigh. . .little ruler.

Kate Jeannett. . .purity.

Emmy Summer. . .industrious.

Claire. . .our brave little warrior, clear and bright.

Little Claire, we are so happy you're with us.

Sept. 20, 2008 My Journal (kate)

Today is a very odd day. It has been raining and it is sunny too. Ryenne and Emmy had a sleepover at Grandma's. Dad is laying bark in the flower beds. This is the best day. Emmy hast to stay in bed.

Two Months Old!

I took Claire for her two month appointment yesterday. She's doing great! She weighed in at 11 lb, 9 oz and was 22.5 inches long! She had to get her shots too. Yuck. Emmy had to get her kindergarten shots too, and she was a trooper. Five shots in one sitting! Dr. Brown asked if we wanted to do it all at once or do a few yesterday and the rest in a few months. She told him, "Let's just get it over with." She was really brave, but has been limping around like an "old granny" ever since!

We can't believe how fast Claire is growing and changing. We just love her so much and can't get enough of her smiles. She is such a sweet little baby and is so calm and happy all the time. We can't imagine what we ever did without her.

decisions, decisions. . .

Ryenne has been throwing a few ideas around for Halloween costumes. Unfortunately for me, her latest request is a Star Wars Clone Wars costume of some chick with funky looking horns on each side of her head.

Her previous ideas are sounding pretty good right now.

Park City . ..Thanks Ryenne & Kate!

Ryenne & Kate have always been dedicated thumb suckers. Until now, none of our efforts to help them quit have helped. (Kate did once suggest we put mosquito repellent on her thumb each night, but we didn't think that sounded very safe.) This summer, Courtney & I were telling them that they needed to stop sucking their thumbs, or they would eventually need braces. Kate immediately said, "I want braces." Courtney and I quickly tried to explain how yucky braces really are, but it didn't seem to help convince her. Finally, Courtney said, "Braces cost lots of money. They would cost as much as a fun family vacation would cost. Wouldn't you rather spend that money doing something fun, rather than having to go to the dentist?" Well, the girls and their dad worked out a plan. He told them if they would quit sucking their thumbs, we would go on a fun family vacation.
Well, within a week or so, the girls had quit. Cold Turkey! Whenever anyone asked them why, they would tell them, "Because my Dad and Mom are going to take us to Costa Rica if we quit." This is because around this time, we had been talking to my OBGYN about Costa Rica, and she had said it was the best family vacation they had ever taken. So, of course, the girls decided that Costa Rica sounded like a pretty great reward! It sounded pretty great to us too, but unfortunately, is a little out of our budget. I asked the girls, "If we can't afford Costa Rica, where would you like to go?" Ryenne immediately responded, "Bear Lake!" After a little discussion, we settled on Park City. So, this past weekend we headed up the canyon for a little family fun, thanks to Ryenne and Kate. We'll have to keep saving our pennies for Costa Rica!

We arrived on Thursday night, and the girls were thrilled to have their own room to sleep in. Kate was mostly impressed that their room even had a microwave. All weekend, she kept saying, "We can even make our own nachos in our room!"

Friday morning the girls played a few games of cards, and then we headed up to Kamas to the swimming pool. They have a great indoor swimming pool that has slides, a lazy river, and a fun playground. The best part about our swimming was that it was homecoming night at the high school, so we had the pool to ourselves! The lifeguards told us it was our own private pool party. The girls had a great time. We topped off the night with pizza and put the girls to bed.

Saturday morning we headed up the mountain with a Gondola ride. The leaves were all turning, so the scenery was beautiful! Ryenne and Emmy were a little worried about being so far off the ground. Not Kate! She thought it was great!

Once we got to the top, we spent a while hiking around. It was gorgeous and the weather was perfect. The girls loved collecting all the different colored leaves that had fallen. My idea of a perfect day is hiking (or in this case, walking) in the mountains on a beautiful fall day. It doesn't get much better!

After lunch, we headed for the Park City Mountain Resort, where the girls and Courtney spent the rest of the day having all sorts of fun adventures. We bought them all day passes, and they loved racing their Dad on the Alpine slide, jumping on the trampolines, and riding the Alpine Coaster. Kate even tackled the climbing wall. Claire and I had some great people watching! They all had a blast and were the last ones on the Alpine slide before it closed at 8:00 pm! Ryenne got to be a pretty crazy driver on the slide, and almost beat her Dad and Emmy! (She probably would have, but she was going so fast she almost went off the track on one of the corners!) Of course, Emmy spent the rest of the night talking smack about how fast she was. The highlight of the day was seeing a black bra in the trees from the chair lift. The girls decided someone must of gotten really hot while riding up the hill.

Ryenne and Claire recovering from a busy day.

Sunday we reluctantly checked out of our room and headed for home. On the way, we stopped at Temple Square. The flowers, of course, were beautiful. We enjoyed the visitors center and listened to a bit of the organ recital in the Tabernacle. (Kate said that she had heard the organ before, but it had never sounded so "beeeeautiful".) It's always nice to visit Temple Square.

Emmy, our budding photographer took this picture. I bet you never would have guessed.

Thanks Ryenne and Kate for a wonderful weekend!

School Pictures

The night before school pictures, I mentioned to Ryenne and Kate that they might want to pick out the clothes they were going to wear. When I went to tell Ryenne goodnight, I had to laugh. Lying on her floor was a life size model of her planned attire for the next morning. She didn't miss a thing! If creativity were a subject in school, I think Ryenne would get an A+!