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Showing posts with label Clara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clara. Show all posts

7.01.2015

Clara is 2

I can't believe this little girl is two today!
She has been so excited for her "purple birthday."
I guess we do birthdays in color now?
And I'm sure you guessed her favorite color is purple.
 
First you should know that Clara Amy Kelly is named after this amazing lady, my Aunt Amy.
She's not just an aunt, she's like a mother to me, a sister, a best friend and so much more.
She has always been there for both me and my family. All five of us adore her!!
Clara and Amy even share the same birthday!!!!
(We planned that one perfectly!)
So happy birthday to both Amy and Clara!!!

This sweet little girl came into our lives at a time that we were hoping to expand our family, but at a time that we didn't expect such news.
We had literally just started to try for another baby and then Miles passed away.
A baby was the very last thing on my mind at that point.
It was exactly two weeks to the day of his passing that we found out we were in fact pregnant.
I had wondered and worried that if I was pregnant, that my body would reject the pregnancy due to such high stress my body was experencing at that time.
But Mark and I put our trust and faith in the Lord, and wouldn't you know it, this strong, independent and vibrant little Clara not only prevailed but brought something special and unique that our family has flourished from over the past two years.

Clara is sweet but sassy all at the same time.
When she has something in mind she wants to do, she never backs down without accomplishing it.
And she never wants help.
She always says, "I do it, I do it."

She has more energy than any of my children thus far.
And requires little sleep or food for such energy, which amazes me.
She's like the energizer bunny actually.

She is straight up funny!
She is constantly cracking us up around here....even herself!

She really has no fear when it comes to anything....except dogs.
She is leery of dogs, especially small ones, and some bugs.
But heights, fast things and anything that gets the adrenaline going is what she is all about.
She truly gives Mark and I anxiety at times. Oh not to mention those casually observing her in public. They are all in shock of her.
She is capable of far more than you would think from her tiny little body.
She's kind of amazing that way.

She is literally always into and doing something.
She really doesn't sit still for long.
So she keeps us moving around here.
(I think that was part of God and Miles' plan. 
Send her to us so we wouldn't have time just sit and cry.)

She has the best laugh, and she loves to laugh.
She also loves to make others laugh.
She also loves her brother Miles and loves to wear anything of his!
She calls him "Mi Moe."
(This is his old rain jacket that each of the three kids have worn.)

She tags along with and copies her big sister...always.
If Vivian is at school or a play date, she cries the entire time and asks me every five minutes, "Vivi...back?"
They really are best friends!

She has a very creative mind and is always making us laugh with the things she comes up with.
She literally carried this little toy vacumm up a slide and got onto the trampoline herself.
Then she began to vacumm it.
I think she's a little OCD like her mom and brother.

Clara is the life of the party.
She beats to her own drum.
She's full of life, loves to snuggle, and loves her "mimi" (blanket). 
She also gives the best big kisses while grabbing the back of your head so you can't pull away.
Generally speaking Clara is a very happy girl.
Clara, you came into our lives during the hardest and lowest point I hope to ever know.
You have brought such a sweet spirit into both our home and hearts.
Thank you for chosing us as your parents!
We love and adore you more than words can express!!
Happy Birthday sweet girl.

2.25.2015

This Girl Clara

For those of you who follow me on social media, you have a little glimpse into life with Clara.
But let's just talk about this girl for a minute.
Clara came into our lives at a time that I didn't know just how much we needed her.
(We were trying to expand our little family, but had no idea that we actually were until exactly two weeks after Miles' passing.)
My pregnancy with her was truly one of the hardest I have ever gone through so far.
The physical, mental and emotional exhausting was more than overwhelming.
But I have to say it was worth every second!
This girl truly beats to her own drum.
I have never had a child so determined, so busy and so fearless.
I say it all the time, but I truly believe God and Miles sent me this little one so that I wouldn't sit still feeling bad for myself and cry all day long. She truly keeps me running each and every day!

Clara is the sweetest little thing.
She naturally says "Thank You" whenever someone gives her something or does something for her.
It melts my heart.
She LOVES her "Hee Hee" (Vivi)!
She is also a very snuggly little girl and has a strange obsession with stroking people's arms (specifically your bicep). It's a comfort thing, and she is a little more than obsessed! 
It's funny how it really puts her in a sort of trans and just calms her. Weird, but funny.

Clara is curious about everything around her.
She is exploring everything around her each and everyday.
And she really is smart as a whip.
I forget how young she is because she is capable of much more than she really should be.

Clara truly has brought a new dynamic into our family and lives.
I can't imaging life without this sweet little girl.
Her features are striking and her personality just tops it all.
Oh how I would love to see how her and Miles would behave together.  One day!
I'm so grateful that this sweet girl came into our lives just when she did!
She truly is a little miracle baby for us.
Oh how we love you Clara!

1.22.2015

Sister Kitties

Lately Vivian and Clara like to pretend they are kitties.
They love it....sometimes after hours of being clawed and meowed at I don't especially love it.
But it's their thing right now.
And it keeps them entertained, so kitties it is. 
On this day last week one kitty rode the other.
They were cracking me up!
I seriously didn't even tell Clara to put her arm in the arm.
She's just naturally brave like that. 



They did this for almost an hour.
It was so fun to watch them having so much fun together.
I'm so glad I grabbed my camera and captured these moments!

Now for some reason this week they are fighting like cats and dogs. 
Not really sure what happened, but it's proving to be a long week of learning to share and speak nicely to one another. Oh the life.

10.24.2014

Family Pictures 2014

Our dear family friend, and almost family, Alex Hawker took our family photos this year.
We ran into her at a store in town one day and she said she wanted to do something special with our family if we were okay with it. (I will tell you what in just a second.)
I told her we wanted family photos anyway so let's just do it all at the same time.

The day couldn't have been more perfect. 
(Well expect for if Clara felt better, that would have helped.)
We woke up super early in the morning and drove out to Terreton, ID, an hour and half away from where we currently live.
It was overcast, no wind and pretty warm for this time of year.
Out in Terreton it gets really windy. 
Like REALLY windy. So honestly we couldn't have asked for a better day!
We are thrilled with the way our pictures turned out!
The colors are amazing.
Since it's a farm town, we embraced its beauty.
(When I was a little girl we lived out there. I have wonderful memories of the town.)

These are even my uncle's straw stacks. 
Cool backdrop huh!
It's fun to have some family ties in all these photos!

Clara wasn't feeling too well that week.
So we are happy with what we got of her.
She really didn't want anything to do with photos.
She just wanted wrapped in the blanket her Grandma Kelly made her.
It's one of our favorite blankets!

If you notice Miles' beloved Monkey, yes he named him Monkey, is in almost all our photos. 
He always will be from here on out.
Alex captured this sweet moment with Vivian and Monkey.
I love it!

I just love this girl.
She has helped us through so much, she may never even know it.

And this sweet blessing came to us during the hardest time in our lives.
It's rare to capture her so still.
But she's as sweet as they come.

This photo is taken at a Pellet Mill my grandpa and his brother built decades ago.
The contradiction of happy and sad in this photo just grabs at my heart.

More at the Mill.
We will be going back there again someday for more family photos. It's amazing!

Okay, now the proposed project of Alex's.
She said she loved the photos of our family at Miles' grave on his birthday, but was sad our whole family wasn't in them. 
She asked if she could take our family's pictures at his sacred transformation place. 
Mark and I were so humbled and touched by this thought.
Thus, out to Terreton for family pictures it was, because that is where our son rests for now.

We took out some of Miles' favorite toys and played around his headstone, while telling the girls stories about their big brother who now watches over them from above.

The girls never tire of Miles stories, and neither do we!

The girls also LOVE to play with his things!
Mark and I love seeing them and holding them again whenever we get them out.

Thank you Alex! You are so thoughtful! I'm not sure I would have ever thought of doing this by myself. We will always cherish these photos. We must do it again!

If you want to check Alex out you can find her here at
(just click for the link)
She's based out of Blackfoot, ID is very reasonability priced. She
 does a great job and is as sweet as can be!
Love that girl!

I can't wait to get these up on my walls!!

10.03.2014

Proof

Just so you aren't too worried that we are crying our eyes out all day lately.
We are in full throttle Halloween gear up this year.
It's getting wild around here.

9.18.2014

Jumping & Front Flips

For Miles' birthday we took the girls to an indoor jump house.
Miles LOVED those places!!!

Needless to say Clara was totally in her element.

Vivian was too.

The girls were coming up with new tricks of sliding and climbing up crazy things.

We totally took advantage of the foam pits.
Hello sweetness!
Dang I wish we had one at our house!
The girls jumped into like crazy girls.

Plus we would toss them in the pit at crazy high altitudes, while being safe of course.

Then the front flips began.
Mark started us all off.
It soon became a family affair.

That is once we wrangled Clara from the restricted area.
Cones don't deter this girl. No way.

Everyone was pulling the flips out.
This shot makes mine like dinky, bad angle. I assure you I had some good air.
I blame the camera man.

Then it was to the kid zone for the little ones to pull out the flips.
Vivian got really good at them!

And of course Clara had to be in on it as well.
Did I mention the girl is doing back flips off my sofa now?
With my assistance of course.
But come on girl, you are only 14 months. Simmer down just a little.

I love this photo of the girls. 
They really are the best of friends. 
Just like Miles and Vivian were/are.

We had such a good time and spent a solid two hours here just jumping, flipping and forgetting about the hard things in life. I'm pretty sure Miles was there laughing along side of us, giving us pats on the back for each new trick performed. It was a good afternoon!

8.07.2014

Rainstorms & 10 Years

Since moving here to Pocatello we have had three flash flood warnings.
Two of which have been the last two days.
This is crazy people.
Well if you know us at all, we can't let a good rainstorm go to waste.
Miles would be so disappointed if we did.
So I grabbed the girls jackets and boots and we went out.
After all the torrential down pour was over of course. Safety first.
We went knocking on all the neighborhood kids doors that we knew
 to see if they wanted to join in on the fun.
This is in the grass on the side of our house.
Seriously....look at how deep that is.

Clara was enamored by how much water was gushing out of the downspout.

This was the parking lot just behind our house.
It was more like a swimming pool. Seriously.

Clara kept sitting in it like it was a wading pool.
She was soaked from head to toe.
Literally, her poor feet were purple at the end.

The girls had a blast.
We all had a blast. 
I wouldn't lie if I said I didn't get in and have some fun myself.
There's nothing like a good rainstorm and the way it makes you feel inside.
It's been a good couple days.

On another note: 
Today Mark and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage.
I can't believe it's been 10 years. 
Where has time gone?
We have been through some amazing ups and some seriously low lows.
Sometimes I feel like we have gone through more than some will ever go through in their lifetime.
Yet in 10 short years we have experienced so much.
Unfortunately I know we don't get a hall pass from future trials and pain.
Even though I think we deserve one now!!!
But I do know that if we have made it this long and this strong we are bound to make it through whatever life brings our way.
We are blessed with three amazing, beautiful children with only more to come (not yet people, not yet).
We have so much love and happiness around us.
We are lucky to have each other!!!
Here's to eternity.