I now present, Summer.

Summer. It is a beautiful thing. So far ours has been filled to the brim with adventures. We left Minnesota and traveled through the fly through states down to Knoxville, Tennessee. Trip and destination - both quite the adventure.

Claire wasn't fond of the view.

On our way down, we got to stop in Chicago and were able to visit Isaiah's sister Alexandra. It was my first time in the windy city, and I loved it!

Alexandra, Isaiah, and Claire

My two loves

We unloaded our crazy load in Knoxville and then headed straight down to Grayson, GA. As a graduation present from undergrad at BYU, my parents got Isaiah and I a cruise! We graduated exactly a year ago, but that is the same week we had Claire - therefore we postponed our cruise for a time when Claire could stay with grandma and grandpa, and oh had that time arrived. The trip got an extra flare of drama when we realized we did not have Isaiah's passport where we thought it was --- after some tricky engineering and multiple plans, Isaiah's sister came through in the clutch and faxed Isaiah's birth certificate from the Utah department of Health to the port in Miami. Close call, but it made it that much sweeter to sail off into the deep blue --

We even got to see the famed Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. We determined we will be back again one day. Some day. 

Meanwhile, Claire ruled the roost at Nana and Grandpa's. 

I'm incredibly grateful for the thoughtful gift and the opportunity I had to spend with Isaiah seeing the Carribean. 

And from that relaxing beginning, summer has continued to smile down on us here in Knoxville, TN. 

Claire's First Birthday

It has been quite busy around here and it is only getting busier. The countdown to Knoxville is two and a half weeks! But, before the future zooms up anymore, I'd like to take a moment and share a monumental occurrence in our household.

 The star of our home shows...

...who me?...

....of course me...

has recently turned one. April 14th Claire sprung into this world a whole month and a half early. Little did we know how fitting that would be for her. Her first birthday began much like any other day, eating grahams.

Due to the sad, but peaceful passing of my grandpa Jack, Claire spent her birthday in her birth state, Utah, so we could attend the funeral. Since the funeral was on her birthday, it was a celebration of life day, really - I'm sure these two spirited characters wouldn't mind sharing such a day. 

Since I failed to bring Claire's bib down to breakfast, grandpa Tom suited her up with a nice cowgirl napkin to protect those little whale pajamas. 

It was much needed. 

While it may have been a bummer to have your first birthday on a funeral day, it was actually very sweet. The whole extended family was there to celebrate with Miss Claire, complete with a couple different kinds of cake thanks to the kind ladies who put together the funeral luncheon. (If you can make it through my loud birthday singing, Claire's face is priceless when Isaiah goes to blow out the candle...)

Then came cake time - a chocolate delight and a green jello cool-whip kind. It was messy and wonderful, a day that is sure to bring fond memories to her the rest of her life. 

And now our little toddler is just so grown up. Luckily, I am not worried that she will always remain a kid at heart haha. 

Other things of note: 

In Utah, I got to see my BFF for life for the first time since I dropped her off at the MTC. I was oh so happy. I am also oh so happy that she is dating my cousin. Potential family - !!!!! Haha. Just kidding. But really.

And lastly, but not leastly, the newest issue of SquareTwo is now live! 

http://squaretwo.org/squaretwoarchives.html#spring2012

Enlighten your mind, challenge your assumptions. Or, if you are bored, just take a peek. (:

The Fool of April

Ah, so much better is it not? Many thanks to my dear sister for sprucing this bad boy up.

Our trip to Georgia was wonderful - it started off with a biscoff cookie adventure on the airplane. Claire doesn't like to be confined, so Isaiah and I had our hands full. Literally. The well-meaning flight attendant gave us a handful of biscoff cookies to keep Claire entertained. She was hooked with the first one...soon gooey brown stickiness coated her hands and face. I tried to keep her at an arms length as I held her, but really, an arms length is nigh impossible on an airplane. Isaiah discovered that if he could get Claire to clap, large chunks of biscoff goo would land on me. Pretty soon her excitement turned into knocking my drink into the diaper bag. Isaiah was laughing so hard there was tears. But I guess better him than Claire eh? As we got off the plane, I pulled the window shade down to find a brown streak of dried cookie goo left by little fingers. Classic.

Georgia was wonderful - Claire loves to be with nana and grandpa. She even got to live it up at the world of Coke.

She's a natural. Claire also got an extra kick out of Bexley and London arriving. She loved to scramble up to Bexley in the bouncer and say "HIIIIIIIIIIIII." Startled the little sweet sweets everytime. You just can't squelch enthusiasm at such a young age though ya know?

The flight back was great as well - Claire's best flight yet I'd say. We got to sit next to a pilot on the plane - not just any pilot, but the first young, female pilot I have ever witnessed. It was an honor. Haha. She told me about a group of pilots who are moms with babies so they pump while they fly. Now THAT is a story for le leche league. I thought that was awesome. Can you imagine?

As far as the title of this blog goes, I must confess how I got my brother this year. Since Max is serving a mission for our church in Armenia right now, I write him once a week - usually Sunday night - so when he is able to respond to his emails on Monday I get a quick response. Well, lo and behold Sunday night came and I had yet to pull any big April Fools jokes. I reread what he had written me the week before, laughing when he randomly asked when the next zirkle junior would be in the works. I knew I had him. So I wrote back "Max!! That is so crazy, I don't know how you knew but...I'M PREGNANT!! We haven't told anyone yet, but I figure since you're in Armenia it wouldn't hurt to let you know..." yadayadayada...tried to make it believeable. Then I wrote the rest of my letter and ended it - and several spaces below that i added P.S. - April Fools! I am NOT pregnant. (Seriously for those reading, I repeat, I am NOT PREGNANT). I thought I was so crafty. I eagerly checked my email repeatedly the next morning to see if I had gotten him or if he knew all along I was tricking him. His email came and I instantly knew he definitely had not read the part where I said April Fools. It was the sweetest congrats email ever though, so really - who feels like the fool now - haha. Sadly, I must wait til this upcoming Sunday to write him and make sure he knows it was a joke....I can just see him happily telling Armenian people on the street the good news. Ohhhhh geez.

Well Claire's first birthday is in ten days. April 14th is going to be such a happy day here! She is growing up more and more everyday, such a beautiful soul. Her birthday was supposed to be May 25th, so it can get confusing, but I wouldn't trade the extra month we've had with her for anything. (:

For the sake of blogging

Good heavens. I'm writing this to let the blogging sphere know I am still alive. Haha. I have taken a lengthy hiatus, but I will make my come back...my grand hope is that when I got to GA next week and my sister comes, she will save the day by teaching me the blogging tricks I have been waiting for. And then there really are no excuses.

Life is going well in Minnesota - the frigid winters everyone warned us of passed over us this year (knock on wood) and I am oh so excited for Spring. Isaiah got a residency at a hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee for this summer so we will be heading down south for a few months come May! Right in time for Claire to learn her first words with a little southern accent. Oh man, so cute.

Claire is the light of our lives - she makes me laugh everyday. She is known for always being camera ready, loves to laugh, is a very quick crawler, and extremely curious. As in hide your valuables and stow away the breakables cause she WILL find them. Her sweet spirit is evenly matched by her inability to sit still. It is a very funny combo...makes church especially eventful! She can now wave her little hand, play peek-a-boo, has her two bottom front teeth, and loves to pull herself up to a standing position on anything in sight - including other kids so look out - haha. I pride myself on teaching Claire about the strength and equality of women, however, I've decided I'm preaching to the choir. At a recent play group I found her kneeling on a little fellow, pinning him down, with his shirt clenched in her tiny fists. Hahaha...yeah, you go girl. Even the doctor noted she is a fighter when it took two doctors to hold her down to get a look into her ear...they repeatedly commented on her uncanny strength for her size. I attribute it to her difficult start in the NICU and our morning workouts with Sean T. You know how we roll.

Well, here's to posting again before 5 more months go by. Wish me luck.

(Claire and her friend - to prove she is not truly a play group hooligan...)