Update

I took Claire in for her 1 year check-up this afternoon. The Dr. said she was a delight, and she qualified that by saying she does not tell everyone that, she really means it! Claire is doing very well. I was right when I guessed she was about 18 lbs., she weighed in at 18 exactly. The Dr. wants me to increase her calories with things like more cheese, avocado, and peanut butter to try to compensate for her higher activity level now that she's walking since she's on the lighter side (10%ile.) After talking with the Dr. we decided to hold off on the MMR, Hep A, and Chickenpox vaccines for this check-up and just give Claire the flu shot. (Can you believe they were prepared to give them all to her today!!)

The nurse didn't want to give Claire her shot because she was so happy and smiley and she didn't want to be the one to make her cry! But Claire only shed one tear, and then blew the nurse a kiss, which she said made her day! So, we had quite a pleasant appointment. The worst part was leaving work in Orange (which is down the street from the Dr.'s office) and driving to Newport to pick Claire up from the baby sitter, and then driving back to Orange for her apt. Unfortunately there was no way to avoid the extra back and forth.

Happy Birthday!

I am so amazed that this time last year I was sitting in a hospital room meeting Claire for the first time. Throughout these last 12 months our lives have been filled with friends and family. Claire's life has been rich with love from so many wonderful people caring for our family. During Claire's party we had an opportunity to allow others to pray for her. The prayers offered up for her future life, her friends, her decisions, and the ways she would change the world for the Lord touched me deeply. The world is spread out before you my love, and you will never walk through it alone.

One Year Portraits

Here's some of the good ones!

Claire's First Birthday Party

On Saturday we celebrated Claire's first birthday. We had such a great time! We decided to have the party at home, which lead to some creative maneuvering to hold all 50 people (give or take) that were in attendance! Claire wore a special shirt made for her by her (fake) Auntie Tammi. All the amazing decorations were also handmade by Tammi. When I told her I was not going to do a theme or any real decorating due to a total and absolute lack of talent and motivation, she was appalled! So, she saved the day with her mad skillz! The cake and cupcakes were made by Claire's (fake) Auntie Whitney and they were wonderful, of course! We had food from El Toro Bravo, a little hole in the wall tortilliaria in Costa Mesa. The food was sooo good! Carnitas, carne asada, fresh tortillas, etc.! Claire's wonderful (fake) Uncle Andrew and Auntie Kristin made my favorite sangria recipe ever. Delicious! My parents and Claire's (real) Auntie Vanessa and cousin Lucy came all the way down from Northern California, and Kevin's parents and Claire's (real) Uncle Kristian and Auntie Taylor made the drive from the central valley. And of course, (real) Auntie Mikkele made the slog in from 16th st. (a few miles away) to help get the party off its feet and keep Claire entertained. All in all it was a huge family effort (both real and fake, haha!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

We all had a great time visiting, eating, praying for Claire, watching her demolish her cake, and opening presents. Of course, she was most fixated on a little box that one of her gifts came in, but she attended long enough to open every gift, say "ohhhh!' and sign "thank you." Overall it was a total success! Here's some pictures:

The happy birthday girl sporting her special shirt. The theme was birds because "bird" was one of Claire's first words and first loves.