Our Sunday

Today was Claire's first day of Nursery. She LOVED it, but this is what happened when we got home. She was out, cold!
After church and her nap, she wanted to be naked. So then Mike told her she had to be "Modest Girl". Apparently this is what he thinks is modest.
Do you like her "modest" workout outfit?

Our January happenings

Noble, I decided is one of the happiest babies ever! He is always smiling and cooing! I just can't picture life without our little guy. (Look at his chubby belly, I love it!)




Claire as always is doing new things everyday. She still loves to cook, especially making her "Ba-bo" which in her mind translates to Popcorn. She loves the air popper. We make popcorn EVERY day. (I liked this picture because of the way her hair looked after her nap)

Playing with cousins (Lexi). She and Lexi gave each other hugs and kisses, it was really cute!


Use Daddy's gloves to mimic oven mitts.

Wear her new Batman shirt from Aunt Ali and her shoes from Uncle Juddy!

And last but DEFINITELY not least.... Claire went poop on the potty!!!! She was showing us that she was "so big" after going on the potty. Now she is obsessed with everything and everyone going poo poo. We now have to change all of her dolls and stuffed animals because they went poo poo.

Claire loves to help buddy do lots of things...

Tummy Time, where she joins in. It was cute the other day I saw her on the floor with Noble calling "No-me" which translates to "Noby"(a nickname of Noble), encouraging him to look up at her during Tummy Time.
Sit on the Couch. He is enjoying it much more now that she has learned to not choke him in the process.
Bounce in his chair. We are still working on bouncing SOFTLY!

Our little Chef, our little smiley man and other random but cute happenings

Claire has recently started LOVING to help cook. As can be seen below, she is quite fond of her apron and licking the spoon.

Note: The 2 pictures above are separate occasions

Noble's latest development is that he is CONSTANTLY smiling. The cutest is that he looks at Claire like is he totally in love and gives her the best smiles.

I know he isn't smiling, but I liked this pic of our little Buddy. It is a very Shields look in my opinion

Claire has also started being nice to Noble, which is a change from previous behavior. We are all happy about that around here.

This is the first time she ever wanted to hold him for more than 5 seconds. Don't worry, she only choked him a little.

She loves to give him kisses.

Claire has also started copying everything I do with Noble. I had him in the front pack so she stuffed her doll down her shirt to create the same results.

Last but not least, over Christmas we were doing the Wii Fit. After we came home Claire kept getting our Frisbee out and standing on it. Finally I realized she was copying the Wii board.

Christmas Break

We had an eventful Christmas break. I am sorry to say, we didn't capture much of actual Christmas on camera. We will have to get pictures from everyone else. Here are some of our adventures. Here is Claire getting ready to leave Logan for a Saratoga Christmas.


We blessed Noble on December 19th. It was a very nice occasion.

Noble met his Grandpa Frank for the first time. They look alike...
in lots of ways
Noble got to play with his christmas gift... until Claire stole it away and claimed it for her own.
Claire got to play in the snow for the first time.
Here she is all ready to go outside, she loves those mittens!
Sledding in the back yard with Daddy
Sledding with Uncle Juddy who Claire affectionately calls "Dud"
She wasn't too sure of the whole snow thing. Every step she took you had to brush the snow off of her boots.
Lastly, Noble decided Christmas time was the perfect excuse to pack on the pounds. About 2 weeks ago he weighed in at a hefty 13lbs 3 oz. He goes in for his checkup on Monday, we will see what damage he has done since then.

2 Kids = No time to Blog

We welcomed our newest little Blakesley into our family on November 3, 2009. He was 7 lb 5 oz and 20 in. We named him Noble Lee Blakesley. He is such a sweet little boy. Perfect in every way. Claire has been fairly welcoming to our new addition, well until this week that is. Now the jealousy has set in, so wish us luck. Here are a few pictures from the past month or so. It has been an adventure, but fun to say the least.


While Mike and I were occupied, Claire decided to start a load of wash. (Note the 2 jars of peanut butter that Mike and I heard tumbling in the washing machine)

Claire loves the computer and "helping" while I do the bills.

Logan has gotten really cold lately. Claire loves when we put on "Buddy's" Coat.
Claire has a new affinity for boots. She insists on wearing these boots at all times, including over her PJs to bed.
She had lots of fun with Grandma Jo here for 2 weeks. Claire got to dress up lots!

Lastly, this is pretty much what a day at our house does to you.

Pumpkin Picking

Lately Mike and I have been switching off planning our weekly dates. It was my turn this week. My friend Christina told me about the Paradise Valley Orchards, so seeing as Claire was joining us this week (like most other weeks), I thought it would be fun. It was a very cute place. Any pumpkin, any size is only $2.00.
Claire loved that they gave you a wagon to go get your pumpkins.

Note the apple in her hand

I think what Claire loved the very most was the small apple she found in the wagon. She wouldn't hold still to take the next picture because she wanted to pick all the apples. I think next year we will have to go back and do the U-pick apples.

We decided that we will have to bring Grandma Jane to pick her McIntosh apples next year.

Claire loved walking around with her daddy looking at all the pumpkins.
Note Claire's new hairdo, the pigtails, while posing with her handsome dah-ee (daddy). We decided that her "fountain" aka the top of the head ponytail was no longer working. It was about 3 inches tall and stuck straight up.
We had lots of fun at the pumpkin patch, even though it was a bit cold (note Claire's new winter coat). We will definitely return next year!

When we got back Claire and I decided to warm back up on the couch while doing some light reading.

This past week....

Has been a very eventful one in the life of Claire.

First, she experienced her first Aggie Homecoming. Mike insisted that she needed a game-day shirt, which he then insisted be turned into a dress. Also note the Aggie bull tattoo on her cheek that Mike purchased for her to wear to compliment her new outfit.

Second, Claire loves "helping" daddy use his tools.

Third, Claire got her new toddler bed set up. She thinks its pretty awesome.


Fourth, she has learned to climb up on our chairs, which has presented a few problems for Mike and I.
Exhibit A - She can now access the computer when the chair is left away from the desk. (Now, this is what I discovered after leaving the room for approx. 30 seconds)

Exhibit B - She gets stuck under the desk when the chair is pushed in.

Fifth, She has a new love of buckets. She carries them around, filling them with various items, only to discard those items in random places when more desirable items are discovered. Occasionally she likes to sit in the bucket.

Sixth, she discovered oven mitts. She did so during dinner and insisted on finishing her dinner with her arm in the above position.

Finally, Claire learned that Logan is COLD. This week our weather went from 80s to 50s in one day.

Fall is on it's way

We just returned from spending a week in Southern California. It was a fantastic trip! Pictures will follow soon. We returned home to Logan to find cool weather and signs that fall is on its way in. Here is Miss Claire, walking and all!


Since learning how to walk, Claire consistently looks like a zombie. Almost all of the pictures of her are zombie-esque.




PS Claire LOVES her smoothies and insists on having her own cup and straw.

Claire's Summer Adventures

Claire learned many, and may I stress MANY things this summer.
She started the summer with Aunt Allison teaching her about swimming pools during our last minute trip to California in June.

She learned that Papa Jimbo has lots of fun flowers in his garden.

Feeding the dogs turned into a daily activity. (The result of which is that Claire now loves to "feed the floor" at home)

Eating "Real People Food" is WAY better than baby food, especially when it is Spaghetti.
She even mastered the art of noodle sucking.

Sunglasses are make me look cool!

You can climb into the drawers/baskets where the toys are kept. Why play outside the drawer when you can sit WITH the toys? (Thanks Judd)

Climbing ladders open up a whole new world, even in your own house.

When you yell into a cup, it sounds really cool. (Notice my teeth that finally came in)

Daddy's tools are awesome.

It is fun when Grandma Jo and Grandpa Frank come to visit.

They bring fun toys that play music and have a monkey inside!

When you get big enough Daddy lets you ride on his shoulders. The best is when he lets you use his ears as handles/a steering wheel.
Cameras are really cool close up.
Playing in the dirt is awesome. It is fun and it insures that mom will give me an extra bath, a win-win!
When you get older your hair gets long and crazy!

We had a pretty great summer. Claire has been learning tons this summer and we have been loving it. We can't believe we have a 1 year old now!

My Adventures this Summer

This summer was definitely busy. Here are just a few of the things that made it busy, but fun!

Wedding cake - My good friend Shari got married in July, and this is the cake I made from her.

Crafting - Mike and I discovered the USU Surplus store where we purchased these lovely napkin holders, which were originally chrome and black, but we painted them with the help of Amber. I think they turned out cute.

Destruction - Claire's new love has been what has kept me the busiest, but I wouldn't trade it!

And its a ...

BOY

Claire is going to have a little brother in November!
We had our ultrasound today and we are excited to have a little boy this time. It will be a big change, but we are very excited. Everything is great with our little one. We couldn't be happier!

Warning

It has been quite a while since I have last posted, therefore, I have marathon posted to catch up. First, here are a few cute pictures that Aunt Charley took of Claire.

Claire Bear

Mike and I occasionally like to go to Yard Sales. We decided a couple weeks ago to try our luck. All in all, most would say that coming away with a .50 cent stuffed bear is a fairly unproductive hour of time, but after we realized what we had, we know it was well worth our time.

As showcased above, Claire loves her new bear. We fondly call it her "Claire Bear". You can just ask her where Claire Bear is and she will search until she finds it. "She" as Mike insists, is the only thing that calms Claire down when she is irrational. She absolutely loves Claire Bear. By far our best purchase of the year so far!

Bath Time is still a favorite

(Bath Time with Grandma Jane)

She may be in the 20th percentile in weight...

(Check out how big she opens)

But boy does she know how to eat! Claire has been eating a BIG bowl of cereal and a container of baby food about 4-5 times a day lately, with cheerios in between. You would think she would be a bit higher on the charts. She is still trying to get back to her 6 month weight! Every since she started crawling she has lost weight, now we are at least maintaining.