Merry Christmas from Miley Cyrus and the Clawson's

This Christmas will be our fourth as a married couple, but our first tree. What better way to do it than in double time and with a little holiday teeny bopper pop tunes. Chas actually paid $2 for this song. But it was so worth it!

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Miley Cyrus and the Clawson's

Thanksgiving in AZ

Chas and I went to Arizona for Thanksgiving and it was so much fun. Both of his Grandmothers are there and lots of other relatives. His Grammy Walton turned 89 on turkey day so we had a huge family/feast/fiesta with the Walton side. Olive liked meeting her distant relatives but she liked WALKING more. That's right my sweet 9.5 month old took her first steps in the desert and has been progressing every day since. She also picked up a few words that we have been working on. This past week she started using them much m0re frequently and clearly. Her word repertoire consists of the following:

dada
light
ball
up
(sign) milk
(sign) all done

she also loves to do the sounds for sheep, doggy, and cow

BAAAA WOOF WOOF MOOOOO

it is so freaking cute

here are some pics from the trip

Chas thought there were too many pictures...he might be right but it's for posterity so just skim :)

Four generations

Corbin and Alice (Chas' brother and his sweet wife with a baby in her belly)


Many of the grandchildren

The turkey roaster, called the China Box. It was very efficient (5 turkey's at once) and probably the best turkey I've ever had.

My baby and me

Pretty cake for the woman of the hour

The next day we went to the Mesa temple and after had a fun time at Gary and Fran's. Olive liked playing on the various scooting devices and we had fun scooting her around.

Family Portraits

Olive and I got a chance to visit family a couple weeks ago. We went to California, Seattle and Utah. While in Seattle I took some family pics of my sister's cutie family. They are so fun and Olive loved getting to play with her big cousins.

Here are a few of the goods.

lame-O-rama

I thought I was doing pretty good on the blog front. I guess I let it get to my head though because I completely fell off the blogosphere. Anyways, Olive is now a 9 month old baby and we have lots of pictures and catching up to do.

First things first...Halloween numero uno. The pictures speak for themselves but I do have to toot my horn and mention that I did sew this costume with the help and guidance of my sweet mother in-law. It turned out great and if you know anything about my abilities in the craft department this is big.

Ta daa! Olive as an Olive.





Here are a few from the pumpkin front yard. It can't really be called a patch since it was down the street in front of the local Methodist church.

happy birthday 6 month old baby

How did this go by so fast. I am six months and becoming such an independent mover and shaker. The past month things have really changed for me.

Check these off the list of things I can now do:

I can roll over and back and over again
Sit up
Play with toys and reach and grab
Say dta dta (I say what sounds like da da but I prefer the "t" sound to the "d") I think that guy everyone calls Dada likes this.
I can drink a bottle and hold it on my own (somewhat)
Pick up the pacifier and put it in my mouth all by myself
I enjoy the cinema (Babies First Sign by Baby Einstein)
Avid reader and eater of board books
Speaking of which, I'm expanding my culinary pallet. I have been known to eat something other than moms milk. A little rice cereal and pureed spinach or prunes. These are not my favorite and the rice makes me a bit constipated hence the spinach. Too much information?


Here I am eating prunes, don't worry not chocolate pudding.


To do list for the next six months:
I have a secret plan to do away with afternoon naps. The trick is to slowly wake up earlier and earlier until mom and dad don't know what hit 'em.
Stay awake on my morning walks with mom
Crawl or walk whichever one I like best.

Until February...

Bath time

We love bath time at Mema's farm. This is Olive in the kitchen sink. They are a little blurry but you get the idea.





Now that Olive can sit up, bath time is way more fun. I can set her in her little tub in the tub and she can play with things and splash. She can even roll over and end up on her tummy to get a face full of water. I watched he maneuver into tummy time all on her own and realized how fast she is growing. Her little legs almost hang over the edge of the baby tub, and before I know it she will be maneuvering all over the big tub on her own.

Here are a few baby bath pictures a proof. When her first boyfriend comes to the house this blog will come in handy. Blackmail should be a permanent chapter in the parenting handbook. Hopefully that won't be for like 25 more years. Don't you just want to pinch those little buns.

Morning Walks

Olive and I like to go for walks. It is the best when we make it out the door when Daddy leaves for work. It is nice and cool then and the sun is not blazing on her little legs. Getting out the door at 6:30am is hard work and more the exception than the rule. She almost always falls asleep, but does a great job of supporting me on the long, steep hills. She is my water girl and sometimes entertainment. I always find myself looking much more at her than the beautiful surroundings. Here she is in her six month old glory.

I want one

When Chas and I were first married we lived in California in my Aunts guesthouse. Auntie is an avid dog lover and has had many adorable pooches over the years. When we lived with her she and Zola were in show business. Zola is her German Wirehair, and she was a great show dog in her day. We got to go to one of the dog shows and I fell in love with the sweetest show dog ever. I want an Old English Sheep dog! They are beyond cute...I know I know puppies and dogs are a lot of work, but before you try and talk me out of it...just look at this picture.



And this one...



and one more



Who can argue with those faces. Luckily Chas' only requirement for a dog is that it is smart. From what I have read Sheepdogs are definitely smart. Not to mention protective, cuddly and great with children. Hopefully one day this blog will have some pictures of our very own puppy, which Chas happens to surprise me with on a lovely day in May called our anniversary. :) A girl can dream.

Milk Shake Landing

What happens if you combine a baby, a full belly and the infamous airplane maneuver? Lacey happened to document the answer on her iphone five minutes ago, I happened to experience it!

Not too cool for the pool

Olive had her first large water experience in Mema's big tub at the farm. She liked that a lot so then we tried the lake during the family reunion. She did great at the lake, I'm not sure if it was the little fishes nibbling at her toes or the huge life jacket from 1980 that came up so high on her she could suck on it. Needless to say I wasn't worried about a swimming pool at all, so lately Olive and I have been frequenting the pool at our new apartment complex.

It is usually empty during the day so it seems like we have a private pool all to ourselves, including a private lifeguard. We usually don't last long because she gets pretty tuckered out after taking a dip, but we are working hard on floating on our backs and blowing bubbles. When we're not splashing around in the pool cute swimmers and a swim suit from Aunt Taralyn, Olive likes to sport her white rim sunglasses from Uncle Corbin and Aunt Alice. Together, they are quite the fashion statement, but she pulls it off.

Today we were lucky enough to have daddy home to come with us. He is the best swim partner and likes to practice all kinds of new tricks. She likes to be tossed in the air, jump off the side (not quite but we do the motion), make tug boat noises and get the bubbles that pop up from splashing.

Some people use their nose to hold up their glasses...I use my cheeks.

Ready to go home for lunch and a nap.

Olive can also sit up all by herself as of one week ago. This means she can now play with toys around her. Yay!