Rain, Rain, Rain

After a bit of a long week, we've had a wet and rainy Memorial Day weekend. Last week our daycare provider was out of town Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This meant my heroic husband stayed home with Claire for Wednesday and Thursday, and I brought her with me to school on Friday (deciding unilaterally it was take your daughter to work day--of course I checked with my principal too). The students all loved getting to see her; Claire was a little wide-eyed at first, but by second period she was babbling away at everyone despite it being in the middle of her normal nap time. I'm in the middle of winding down the school year so have all the extras that means--award ceremonies, graduation, senior final papers, etc. We finish this Friday, and I am looking forward to a more relaxed summer schedule.

Because of the rainy weather this weekend, we've had to come up with some creative ways to entertain ourselves. We actually went to the mall, an unusual activity for this household--well, Nate dropped Claire and I off while he ran some other errands and sat in the car talking on the phone. We also loaded everyone up, including Hem, and took a walk around Three Forks on the pavement since everything out by our house is a mud pit. While we've been cooped up inside, Claire has decided that wearing her shorts on her head is great fun; they are her new favorite toy. I'm reading a mystery by a local writer, Jamie Harrison, and doing some baking. The next four days until I finish my last grades will be crazy, so I'm trying to store up some energy for the week ahead.

Oh yes, I forgot to report on Nate's successful turkey hunting trip. He got one bird in South Dakota and two in Montana. This picture is in Eastern Montana where he hunted in Custer National Forest.

Suddenly Summer

After a long, cold spring, this weekend has suddenly become summer. We had temps in the mid 80s today, and forecasts for even warmer weather tomorrow. After deciding to ignore our "To Do" lists, we took advantage of the warm weather and headed to the mountains for a hike. We like to explore new areas, so today we went about an hour north to the mountains outside of Helena, the state capital. The trail was only ten miles outside of town, but the last five or so were Subaru-worthy miles. We managed to hike about four miles, enjoying some vistas of various mountain ranges, a few wide open meadows just barely greening, and the beginnings of summer wildflowers.

After the hike, we headed into town for a late lunch. Claire was ready to move around after being confined to the backpack, and since we had the outdoor patio to ourselves, we let her roam. Of course she was filthy in about 30 seconds. I'm discovering as we spend more time outside that maybe I am ready for her to start walking. A crawling baby and sidewalks, concrete, our dirty front porch just don't mix well. (I'm trying to favor letting her explore over keeping the cute clothes clean, can you tell?)

Mother's Day

Last year I felt lucky to be able to spend Mother's Day with my new daughter AND my mom, and this year I was blessed enough to repeat the experience. While Nate is hunting, my parents are keeping me company and helping with Claire. We've had more cold spring weather (it's only 44 degrees as I write this), so we've been a little house bound, aside from some time Saturday morning cleaning up the flower beds in preparation of the perennials maybe beginning to show up by June.

Claire loves being outside; she often whines when we come in and whenever the front door is opened, she will make a beeline for it! Here she is enjoying some time with dirt.

My parents are watching Claire at home while I'm at school in the morning. This means Grandma is enjoying some extra cuddles, and Grandpa introduced Claire to one of his favorite treats this afternoon--ice cream.

I'm not sure who to blame for her fascination with beer bottles, but maybe she'll get it out of her system early? (These are empties; I promise.)

Changes for a One Year Old

We've been commenting this week how Claire suddenly seems more and more like a toddler and less like a baby since turning one. She's had her official one year appointment (20 pounds 10 ounces, 29 1/2 inches; both = 50%). She has moved into a different car seat. She's imitating our words and actions more and more (time to watch what we say and do I guess!). She now has two more teeth, for a total of six. And the big change for both of us, I'm in the process of weaning her. She isn't walking yet, but makes her way along the furniture more and more and loves to climb the porch stairs when we are playing outside.

We enjoyed a hike today along the Madison River. Things are finally starting to green up a little here; trees and bushes are just starting to bud. I did spot a few wildflowers on our hike, which makes me excited to get some color in our planters.

Nate's looking forward to his annual Spring turkey hunt in Eastern Montana and South Dakota next week (which he missed last year because of Claire's birth), and I'm thankful my parents will be here visiting to keep Claire and I company part of the time he's gone.