Rusty's 29th Birthday

Rusty's birthday was extra special this year because it fell on Martin Luther King Day. He was pretty excited that he got the day off from work. We celebrated with my family on Saturday by going mini golfing at Trafalga in Lehi. It was cosmic mini golf. If only the picture showed off the bright lights. Then we had lunch at JCW's.

 Rusty opened some presents from my parents after we ate.

On Sunday we celebrated both Rusty and Jenn's birthdays since hers is two days after Rusty's. We had a pizza party, and it was lots of fun!

Rusty's opened a couple presents from me on his birthday morning. Claire helped a little.

We had a delicious dinner at Mi Ranchito in Orem.

Claire has recently discovered that she really enjoys drinking from straws.

On a side note, Claire went to the doctor on the 23rd for her 15 month visit. Here are her latest stats:

Weight: 18 lbs. 15 oz. (17.5 percentile)

Height: 30.25 inches (39 percentile)

Head: 17.75 inch (33.6 percentile)

Another side note is that I chopped off all my hair the following day for Locks of Love. I decided back in the spring that I wanted to donate my hair since it grow pretty fast and it's kind of thick. I thought someone would enjoy having a wig from my hair. I got anxious and decided to just get it over with. My hair ended up being shorter than I thought, and I am slowly adjusting to it. It will be a fun change, but I don't think my hair has ever been this short, so it feels kind of weird, especially in the shower when I hardly need any shampoo. Here is my before picture the night before my hair cut.

Here I am after my hair cut with my pony tail that I sent in to Locks of Love.

Christmas 2013

We had an excellent Christmas this year. Claire got to wear this cute dress the Sunday before Christmas. It actually is Makenna's, but she had two dresses for the holiday so Claire was lucky enough to wear one. 

We celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve. Kristen thought she would be working at the hospital Christmas day, so we made brunch together and opened presents.

That evening we went down to my Grandpa Wilson's house for our annual Christmas Eve party.

Kristen won a pack of eye shadow that had so many different colors. Rusty decided to try it out on Claire, and then he insisted on putting the same bring color on my eyelids. 

Claire opened a few gifts from Rusty and me Christmas morning. She some shoes, pajamas, and a mini hippo pillow pet.

 Claire got some cute kitty cheetah print pajamas from my parents.

 Here I am with my gift.

 Claire helped Rusty open his presents. 

My parents and Kristen came and visited us Christmas morning before we went down to Rusty's parents' house to have a party. Claire loves her new stacking cups that she got from my parents so she can build towers.

It was a very fun Christmas this year. It was nice because Rusty got Christmas vacation for both of his jobs so we got to spend extra time together for a couple weeks.

What Happened Between Claire's Birthday and Christmas

Somehow over two months have gone by, and I haven't written anything on here. We've had a good two months filled with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and lots of time spent with family and friends. Claire was a lady bug for Halloween. The Palmers (the people we live below) let Claire borrow their cute costume.

The three of us went to a UVU basketball game back in November. It was a first time experience for all of us.

During Thanksgiving week Rusty sister Rachel came and visited from Arizona with her two boys. It was fun to spend a lot of time with Rusty's family while they were here. We went mini golfing at Trafalga. Unfortunately no pictures were taken. On Thanksgiving all the Mendenhall grandkids were together. Here they all are.

Claire has really taken off walking. Around Thanksgiving she was taking a step here and there, and Rusty and I would try and get her to walk. But all of sudden when she was about 13 1/2 months she decided she could walk, and now that's all she wants to do. She had a little trouble adjusting to wearing shoes while walking, but she caught on quite quick. Sometimes she looks like a little drunken sailor when she walks, and it's very entertaining.

Here are some other fun pictures of Claire from the last few weeks. One day I was watching Makenna while Cara had a work meeting. I noticed the two babies had opposite outfits.

One day Claire decided she liked her sunglasses again. It didn't last long. Usually she pulls them off her face as soon as we put them on. 

Occasionally I find Claire has done odd things when she wakes up from her naps. This time she had thrown everything out of her crib, including her pants and sock. 

 This day she somehow got her arm out of her shirt. 

 She loves to smile and wave to herself in the mirrior. 

 Keith found the only safe spot by Claire, a place where he couldn't be seen.

 Claire gets so happy when Rusty pulls her around in the laundry basket. 

She wore some awesome overalls one day.