the bright side

We've Moved!

2011-12-26T23:47:00.005-06:00

www.ethanandkristen.wordpress.com

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T10:14:00.000-06:00

Griffin is crawling!

2011-11-23T14:28:00.000-06:00

I seriously can't believe how fast Griffin is growing. With Claire, we seemed to approach each new stage with anticipation. With Griffin, we are hitting stages so fast I feel like I'm behind!

Griffin is a great baby. His personality has continued to mellow out and he loves when we are out and about. He seems so much happier now that he's crawling and can get around more easily. He has so much energy it scares me.

Griffin has the best laugh ever. He gets really worked up when we tickle him and I adore that laugh. His eyes are as big and gorgeous as ever. Everywhere we go people ooh and ahh over him and his crazy long eyelashes.

He's eating finger foods now and loves banana, sweet potato, blueberries, cheerios, yogurt and tomatoes.

He thinks his sister is the coolest and loves is when she plays with him. Now that he's moving around she is enjoying playing with him much more these days. Love my little man.

Every stage with Claire of the past couple of years has seemed more and more fun. She is a riot. Her speech has improved so much over the last month which makes things pretty funny.

Claire is loving preschool and is doing really well. She loves art and music. Dress up is her favorite game around the house. The outfits she comes up with are hilarious.

She's perfectly potty trained at home but we are working on going out without a diaper on. She forgets to tell me she needs to potty when we are out and about.

Claire is so good with her little brother. Not sure if I've documented this or not, but she called Griffin "Bubby." We called him brother the first few weeks of his life and she turned that into Bubby and it stuck. She loves helping with Griffin and for the most part is always gentle and sweet with him. A few weeks ago I found her on the floor in the middle of "changing Griffin's diaper." Messy, but funny. She also loves helping me around the house - dusting, sweeping and washing the windows. I hate dusting and window washing so it works out well. :)

We are still enjoying many play dates with all our buddies. I'm so blessed with a great group of friends who are in the same stage of life as I am. Makes for some awesome play dates and girls nights.

October ...

2011-11-22T22:38:00.000-06:00

October was a fun month. Despite battling some sickness, we enjoyed the fall festivities.

Ethan's parents (Grandma and Grandpa) came to visit at the end of the month. They were able to join us for Cowboy Day at Claire's preschool. Since I've worked at the church I've seen them put on cowboy day a few times and I was so excited for Claire to be a part of it this year.

When Claire arrived at school, she immediately grabbed the stick horse and started galloping around. She's a riot.

Claire with her two best school buddies, Summer and Sophie Kate

Claire and Sophie Kate

Claire singing song with her class.

Claire and Miss Laura, her teacher.

Griffin hanging out at cowboy day with Grandpa Holland

Singing Cowboy songs

Griffin, Grandma and Grandpa

There were so many awesome activities for the kids.

Cowboy day is REALLY well done!

Claire loved the petting zoo

Griffin and Grandma

She was the first in line to ride the pony.

It always amazes us how brave she is with animals.

Poor rabbit. :)

We spent Halloween with our friends the Thornton's and the Pulley's. We're creating a tradition of having dinner at the Thornton's then dressing up and heading out Trick or Treating in their neighborhood. It's always SO fun.

My sweet little monkey man

Claire was a monster - she was too cute.

Griffin adores here. He thinks she is the coolest.

Family Photo Shoot ...

2011-11-14T19:07:00.001-06:00

I'm behind and am making a serious effort this week to catch up with our blogging. Jumping back to October 22nd.

We had a family photo shoot on South Congress with our friend Carrie. Carrie is an amazing artist and photographer. Check out her work at www.sweetlouisephotography.com.

We had a lot of fun - here are some of our favorites!

Road Trip ...

2011-10-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, kids and I took our first road trip alone to visit my parents in NW Arkansas. The kids did really awesome on the drive. We stopped every couple of hours to let them get their wiggles out.

Thankfully, no one was sick or ended up in the hospital this trip! We had a great time and the weather was wonderful. Mema and our cousin Amanda came up as well for a few days.

Swinging in the backyard with cousin Amanda.

Bouncing in her pull-up. Can't get this girl to leave her clothes on. :)

Claire pushing Griffin in the swing. Mimi and Papa have a great backyard.

Love them.

The kids could swing back there for hours.

Papa reading bedtime stories.

Claire was obsessed with Papa this trip. She wouldn't let him out of her sight.

Sweet G. He's such a fun baby.

Griffin and Mimi.

Mema watching the kids play.

Mimi, Papa and the kids.

Mimi and Griffin

Papa and Griffin - my dad has crazy eyes in this picture ... :)

Griffin verses Mouse

2011-10-23T22:27:00.001-05:00

Griffin loves to wrestle stuffed animals. And I love added cheesy sound effects to videos.

Behind ...

2011-10-13T22:24:00.001-05:00

Honestly, the title of this blog could apply to a few different areas of my life.

Mostly - I'm behind in the blogging of our adventures.

But in the spirit of "behinds" I could touch briefly on potty training. Claire is doing well at potty training but lately has her days when she says she "Don't likey pee pee" and wants to wear a pull-up instead. We're getting there ... I try to remind myself that she's only just over two and is not at all behind. Side note: I wasn't prepared for how gross potty training would be - messy.

So needless to say I'm still wiping little behinds and trying to keep up with life.

(For those of you who are pregnant with your second and wondering how life with two in diapers will be ... it's truly not a big deal. I love my babies being so close in age.)

Perspective is so incredibly important at this stage in our lives. It's funny to think back on the things people told you when you were having your first, and then your second child.

Things that other made you feel like would be "just awful" really .... aren't.

I've been changing diapers for over two years, haven't had many uninterrupted nights of sleep in 6 months and we're doing great. Seeing the big picture (this is a season that will go by far too quickly) makes our lives sweeter.

We've been busy.

Claire is loving pre-school, she's become very imaginative and is still our silly girl.

Griffin is sitting up, scooting and rolling.

Both kids are a blast. So playful and fun.

Work has been really busy for me - I tend to forget how crazy the beginning of Fall is. I've had some late nights trying to get work done after the kids go to bed, but I've had some really great opportunities. I received my first screen credit for the work I did for the documentary this month and that was really exciting. Several freelance opportunities have sprung up the past few weeks, which is awesome, it's just added a lot on top of my normal work for the church.

Thankful every day God's given me my dream gig that I can do from home.

I've jokingly referred to Griffin as "Griffin 2.0" lately. He had a rough first few months of life but has turned a corner this last month and is very content and mellow - much like his sister.

He still loves his Mama, but thankfully he now loves other people too. :)

Griffin is all boy. It's fun to see the instinctive differences between he and Claire.

If I give him a stuffed animal, he'll wrestle it to the floor, growl and bite it.

(Kind of like a puppy ...)

We spent the afternoon at the park a couple of Saturdays ago.

This girl LOVES her Daddy.

We met some friends at My Gym a couple of weeks ago and had so much fun.

Claire loved the free play and many of the activities were awesome for improving coordination.

(Plus, it just plain wore her out which is a plus for any mama of a toddler!)

Claire modeling her outfit that Mimi and Papa brought her from Nepal.

Claire loves art time. Which makes this artist mommy very happy.
(She's painting with a cooking brush - we paint with different things to see the different patterns left behind.

Claire's "I'm ignoring the camera" face.

Playing at the park - there doesn't seem to be anything she won't try to climb.

Still loves swinging ...

I'm sure this will embarrass Ethan but I had to post it. He's a great playmate!

Griffin swinging for the first time. He can't get enough.

My big sitter! Still a little wobbly but he seems to enjoy a good tumble.

He couldn't be any sweeter.

Saturday night dancing ...

2011-09-25T23:18:00.006-05:00

So behind on blogging about what's been going on with us. Just trying to keep up with two kiddos and a crazy schedule.

If we haven't mentioned it lately - we still really love living in Austin. Yes, we're over the heat and ready for it to NOT be 100 degrees anymore - ugh. Ready for boots and legging weather!

However, we're still having fun outside. Saturday night we went to Ski Shores on Lake Austin with our friends who have a little girl who is almost 3 and a baby Griffin's age. The girls had a blast playing on the playscape and dancing to the live music.

We really appreciate how family oriented Austin is. There are a ton of restaraunts (non-fast food) that have plascapes and live music. Makes for a fun evening out with friends!

Here are a couple of videos of Claire and Miss Bella dancing it up this Saturday night.

dancing on the lake from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Our babies ...

2011-09-02T20:58:00.001-05:00

The last few weeks have flown by - I seriously can't believe how fast the days go by when I'm taking care of two! Griffin is a ball of energy, grins and giggles lately. Claire is really enjoying playing with her "bubby" and helping to take care of him. She likes to help with everything involving Griffin - sometimes it doesn't turn out so well for G.

They are sweet siblings.

Watching Toy Story together. Claire is Buss CRAZY. She loves him.

She gives bubby kisses on her own all the time.

Glad we don't have to force her to love him - ha ha.

Griffin is eating two meals a day - he's a hungry boy.

Claire was helping me feed brother ... messy.

So Claire was given some colored bubbles as a birthday present. I've been saving them because I've heard how messy they are. Last weekend Ethan opened them for her and the mess was unreal. The liquid seriously looked like blood - it was a sticky thick mess! But she loved it.

Silly boy.

Already a lady killer.

First Day of Preschool ...

2011-09-02T20:44:00.000-05:00

Claire started her little preschool class this week! She attends two mornings a week and she is loving it. The preschool is put on by our church and I has been running for 24 years. Some of the college kids who work with our student ministry were telling me they went to the same preschool - so fun!

First day of school brekky!

Arriving at her new school

She's really not sure why we are taking so many pictures

since we are at church all the time. :)

Her bestie Sophie Kate is in her class this year!

So proud of my big girl!

Dancing and jumping with her buddies.

Washing her hands with Ms. Shonda.

Her cute little cubby.

She's pretty excited about her classroom.

Giving Daddy a goodbye hug - and her adorable friend Summer.

"Mo Beans Peeez"

2011-08-28T18:07:00.000-05:00

Claire loves refried beans. She also loves black beans as well, but tonight we had refried beans with our chicken enchiladas.

When she sat down in her booster seat and saw the beans waiting for her on her plate, in the most excited high pitched voices she said "Hi Beans!"

She quickly finished her first serving and asked for another, "Mo beans peez."(More beans please)

After three servings she was still asking for more. So I offered Ethan more before just giving her what was left in the bowl. As he served himself Claire's face scrunched in terror afraid he was taking them all. "Mo beans peez ... Mo beans peez???"

We were rolling. Then I handed her the bowl and received a very grateful "Thank you, mommy!"

Love our bean girl.

Mustang Island ...

2011-08-15T22:03:00.001-05:00

We had the opportunity to get away for a long weekend and head to Mustang Island! We went with my cousin, Amanda, and her sweet family and had THE BEST time. We look forward to another trip with them next year! We stayed at a great condo with nothing but beautiful dunes between us and the ocean. It was perfect and hard to leave.

The boys relaxing in the morning

The view from our balcony

Claire loved the ocean again this year. She ran and played for hours.

Claire and I riding the waves in our tubes

Griffin was in nap time heaven - sea breeze and waves crashing.

Ethan had a blast

How beautiful are the dunes? Amanda brought some bunting she made and we hung it between our cars.

Claire and Ellie!

Our beach spot.

Ethan, Griffin and Claire

Griffin loved sitting on our laps in the shallow water.

We went out for some family photos one evening but our camera lenses fogged up.

Here's a cute one of my boys.

Silly boys ...

Claire loves her pretty white dress.

Amanda and Ellie

Moonrise over the ocean

Big stuff ...

2011-08-08T22:08:00.000-05:00

We had a big week last week. Griffin is cutting his first tooth which seems so fast even though he's turning 4 months old on Thursday. Time is flying by.

Miss Claire is officially in the trenches of potty training and it's going surprisingly well. I bought a potty seat when she turned 18-months old just to get her used to the idea and we've been working on learning how to use it. Twice over the past couple of weeks I let her wear big girl panties and told her to let me know if she needed to potty. On Thursday we started only wearing bug girl panties when we are at home (when she's awake) and she lets me know when she needs to potty! So proud of her! We still have some training to do before we give up diapers completely but we are on our way and she's doing so well.

Seems things are always changing quickly around here and we are keeping busy. We are headed to the coast for a couple of days and can't wait.

Weekly iPhone Dump ...

2011-08-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

Copying some friends here but this is a brilliant way to recap the going-ons of our life as I'm always snapping away photos with my iPhone. Gotta love Instagram!

I'm going to try to get into the habit of compiling the photos (thank you InDesign) I take each week and posting them here.

Our Little Man ...

2011-08-01T21:33:00.000-05:00

He's getting so big. He weight 16 lbs at almost 4 months old. He's a hungry fella.

He's got a super sweet personality and is full of coo's and giggles. He smiles all the time - but every time I get the camera out his smile fades as he studies the lens ... stinker.

Had to show off his killer eyelashes a little ...

And again ...

He LOVES his sucking on his hands ...

and his rolls are just yummy

And he's just as awesome as his big sister ... silly girl.

DIY for the kiddos ...

2011-07-27T21:48:00.001-05:00

I follow a lot of DIY Design blogs these days. I have about half a million DIY projects I'm dying to try but no time for them. :(

When we were visiting my parents my Mom had pulled out all of the old toys she had saved. Many of them are very cool because they are from the 80's. Love it. She had found a couple of sets of vintage puzzle pieces but couldn't find the puzzles. I wanted to use them for the kids so I'd been trying to think of a way to re-purpose them.

I also had a magnetic/dry erase calendar that I'd been trying to find a use for.

So I found some scrapbook paper with a cute design

I used doubled sided tape to cover the calendar with the scrapbook paper.

I used hot glue to attach magnets to the back of the puzzle pieces.

Griffin watching intently while eating his fingers.

Finished product. Claire got really excited about it when she woke up from nap.

Trip to Arkansas

2011-07-26T21:51:00.000-05:00

We took a trip to see my parents new place in Roger, Arkansas at the end of June. We stopped at my grandparents house in Bismarck, Ark. on the way to visit them. We also got to see my Mema. It was a great trip overall. Griffin did get sick with an intestinal virus and he and I spent 4 1/2 days in the hospital in Rogers trying to get better. Although it wasn't ideal, the kids really got some great one on one time with Mimi and Papa. They took turns sitting with us in the hospital holding Griffin. They also took turns taking care of Claire at their new house. The kids loved it.

Griffin and Great-Grandad

Griffin and Great-Mema

Griffin and Great-Granny

Granddad took us out for Mexican

Claire and Mimi

Playing in Mimi and Papa's big, beautiful backyard

Mimi and Papa's backyard

l-o-v-e

my sweet boy

Mimi, Claire and the girl next door

Mimi and Griffin

silly girl

celebrating Claire's birthday a little early

Griffin wants cake

Papa napping in shade

Love those baby blues

Claire's Birthday Video

2011-07-18T14:28:00.001-05:00

Here's some highlights from the past year. It's so amazing to see how much she's grown and changed this past year. There were too many pictures to choose from and I keep thinking of events and people that we left out. We love you so much Claire Bear. Can't believe you've been ours for TWO years!

Claire's Second Birthday from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Better late than never ...

2011-07-17T23:42:00.000-05:00

We had a great Father's Day weekend back in June. Lots of fun with Daddy and he got to go golfing on Sunday.

Claire's Birthday Party!

2011-07-17T23:37:00.000-05:00

Claire turned two on Thursday ... it's really hard to believe. We had a really fun party up at a new splash park in Leander. Some of her best buddies came and we really had a great time ...

Her Birthday Invitation (Front)

(Back)

Birthday Car

Boat for Claire and Griffin

Birthday Breakfast - swollen eye and all.

Getting ready for her party - trying out some goodies.

Setting up for the party

Brother hanging out - he slept most of the party - wild and crazy guy. ;)

Daddy and Claire trying out some water guns.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Porter - he's adorable.

Opening presents with Porter, Sophie Kate, Emmy and Boone!

Opening presents.

Emmy and Boone - so cute!

Boone

Sophie Kate

Uh oh ...

I wish we had gotten more pictures of the kids in the splash park but we were busy having fun. :)
We came home for a nice nap and then I helped Claire get fancied up for her first movie-date with Daddy. They went to see Cars 2 and she loved it - for awhile at least. They ended up leaving before the movie was over but they had fun and made a great memory together.

Peace ...

2011-06-22T14:30:00.000-05:00

As you can imagine ... things are often "peaceful" in our house right now. It's fun and we love it - but quiet is not something we encounter much these days.

I wish I'd been better about keeping a prayer journal over the past six years of marriage. Hindsight is one of my most favorite aspects of adult life. It's amazing to see God working in amazing ways as he asked us to do things that meant we had to hold our breath and take a huge leap of faith. Or even through friendships and strangers he put in our path. We wouldn't be in Austin if God hadn't used our good friends in Tulsa to point us this direction.

Ethan has some cool opportunities stirring at work - and we've been drowning them in prayer the last couple of weeks ...

I had a really stressful morning after taking Griffin to his Chiropractic treatment. My car has been acting funny this past week and the failing transmission barely got myself and the kids home this morning. Ethan has an important interview at work this afternoon and I kept thinking "why today?" I don't want to add to his stress!

When we finally pulled into the driveway I just started to cry - I didn't want to be stuck in the heat on the side of the road waiting for a friend to pick us up. Immediately, I was reminded what a ridiculous blessing having two cars is for our family since it's really difficult for us to share a car with Ethan working 30 minutes north. And what a blessing it is to have friends nearby who can drop everything to come helps us.

The leap of faith we took when we felt God calling me to stay home with the kids has proven to be a huge blessing. With that blessing comes many opportunities for spiritual growth and character building. We don't have many extras these days but all of our bills are paid and we have food on the table. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling particularly stressed and bummed about finances, one of the blogs I follow had a post about a single mother of three children living in the Philippines in a "house" that was the size of our master bath. (Which isn't all that big). The pictures were of the kids napping on the floor as the mother had to step over them to prepare dinner. It was humbling as my babies slept in the next room in their beautiful beds filled with blankets, pillows and stuffed animals.

In the midst of chaos - there is a tremendous amount of peace that comes with knowing we are right where God wants us to be and he provides even when things seem impossible.

My car is being towed for diagnostics this afternoon and we have no idea where the money will come from to fix it. And, have no idea what will happen with Ethan's job this week. I do know that God is taking care of us and I'm humbled with much peace when I pray about these things.

The Haircut ...

2011-06-21T22:15:00.001-05:00

Claire went in for her first "real" haircut on Saturday. By "real," I mean not a bang trim from Mama.

She loved it, sat perfectly still and had a blast. However, there was a slight miscommunication between myself and the hairstylist. She cut Claire's hair and bangs WAY shorter than we asked.

Getting ready for her cut. Sitting in the fire truck watching Toy Story 2!

All of her hair (post pigtails)

This is the picture I took in to show the stylist what we'd like

Here it goes ...

This is when I started to get worried :)

The finished product the next day.

She is adorable and it is a cute cut - Ethan and I were just upset/in shock

at how much hair the stylist took off!

Sister and Brother photos

2011-06-20T21:36:00.000-05:00

Rather than filter through my round of shots and posting the best one I found this series of events too funny not to post ...

Claire is really excited to hold her brother ... Griffin's not very excited to be held.

Trying to wiggle away ... Claire holds on tight

Trying to keep him from falling, her hand ends up in his mouth ...

Got him!

Trying to hold his head up ... or choke him.

Choke hold ...

There we go ... everybody is happy.

Sweet kiddos.

The one about Griffin ...

2011-06-20T21:27:00.001-05:00

Griffin: I wanted to take a minute to apologize to you. I'm sorry that you already have less blog posts than your sister ... and pictures for that matter. Frankly, life was easier and we had less to do when Claire was a baby. You, my love, have entered the world right in the middle of what often feels like a toddler tornado. I love you more than life itself, even if you don't have equal amounts of blog posts to prove it ...

There is so much to say about sweet Griffin, I don't even know where to start. He is adorable and cheeky all at the same time. He melts my heart with his little grins. He "talks" to me after he eats with the sweetest coo's and gurgles.

I know someday that kid is going to break my heart when he takes off and starts a life of his own. Or maybe he won't ... he can stay home and be my baby forever. :) (and live in the basement playing video games all day ... er ... on second thought, I don't want him to be that guy.)

He's come alive this past month. He's very alert, sometimes to my disadvantage, but for the most part it's fun watching him get a look at the world around him.

Griffin loves his sister. He loves watching her play, dance and wrestle him. The rougher she plays with him, the funnier he thinks it is.

The boy loves to eat. At his two-month check up he weighed in a 14 pounds and 23 inches long. I've had to buy several onesies in the 12 month size for this kid. I love having a chubby baby. Despite dealing with some reflux, he's a great eater.

Everywhere we go people "ooo" and "aahh"over his big blue eyes. His eyes are dark blue and he has the most strikingly long eyelashes to go along with them. Several people have said to me "He's too pretty to be a boy!"

He's good natured most of the time. He does like to know where mama is and doesn't like going to Target. Which is a pity, I love Target.

Griffin is constantly being drug around to play dates, appointments and we are up at the church about three times a week. Like I said, the poor kid has come into a crazy schedule.

Last night, he slept for 8 1/2 hours straight before waking up to eat! We'll see if it continues. On Saturday night, he slept in the nursery with Claire - which is the plan once he's sleeping through the night on a regular basis.

I love this kid to death. When I was pregnant I often felt guilty wondering if I could love another baby as much as I loved Claire - little did I know I had plenty of room in my heart for this little guy.

I adore my babies to much and am thankful to be home with them every day.

Mommy hood confessions ...

2011-06-13T23:25:00.001-05:00

As with most of life's big changes ... I don't think you are ever fully prepared for parenthood until you dive head first into the chaos that you soon learn to cherish. I can't imagine my life without Griffin and Claire, yet less than two years ago I didn't know either of them. Some days are crazy, but most are pretty fun and full of sweet moments I'm already clinging to as they continue to grow and change despite my protesting. :)

This day was crazy. Claire had a fussy morning. We had two doctors appointments for Griffin this afternoon. Naptime was rough and I had two kiddos melting down as I was trying to get dinner ready that Claire later refused to eat. Then, minutes later everyone was happy and we were cuddling up on the couch watching Toy Story and waiting for Daddy to get home. We had a fun bath/bed time and everyone went right to sleep. Then I spent the rest of the being neck deep in laundry, packing lunches and getting all of our stuff ready for a pool playdate tomorrow morning.

So I find myself on the brink of 29 years old married to my best friend who i love more every day, with a little girl and a baby boy I adore and a part-time career that I have always wanted (and wish I had just a teensy but more time for). My house is no longer as clean as I'd like it to be and elaborate meals have taken a backseat for the time being to simple quesadilla's. I don't feel 29, or old enough to have two kids I'm responsible for every day.

I read this post on a blog I follow tonight and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. In the midst of chaos I try to remember these things and what really matters when it come to my children and my personal goals as their mother.

"I love my children with heart-wrenching imperfection. But I have a death-grip on the truth that He is ever-changing me.

So I will run hard after Him. I will choose to do hard things. I will choose challenge over comfort.

My love, patience and mercy have limits. So I will push those limits. And they will grow, by His grace.

I will not waste my time nurturing my regrets. They are worthless and limiting.

I will recognize my mistakes and declare revolution on my failure, pursuing the only One who gives victory.

Like an athlete who spends years training for that one moment of Olympic glory, I will train my knees to bend and my hands to raise every morning in desperate prayer that my children will fall in love with Him too.

I will fight for their faith until they have faith enough to fight for themselves…and others."

Update ...

2011-06-11T16:25:00.002-05:00

I'm a bit busy these days ... can ya tell? :)

We are enjoying summer so far! It's hot so we've been spending time at the pool or the fountains.

The last month has been a little rough for Griffin - we've figured out that he has reflux and torticollis. After several visits to the chiropractor he's feeling MUCH better. With his pain under control he's been smiling so much. It's so fun to watch him come alive. He couldn't be any cuter with all his chub. I had to buy him a pack of 12-month onesies this week because he's growing so much. This week we've seemed to find our stride a bit as Griffin is moving into more of a normal baby routine. He has

Claire is still doing great with him. She's a little mama when it comes to Griffin and loves him so much.

Here is a collection of photos from the past couple of weeks! Love my babies!

Uncle Brandon came to visit!

Feeding the birds and turtles with uncle Brandon.

Sister and Brother

2011-05-03T21:55:00.000-05:00

Everyone has been asking how Claire is doing with Griffin. I can honestly say she's been fantastic. There were a couple of days that first week she sort-of ignored the situation that was "Griffin."

The past two weeks have been amazing. She is such a little Mama ... always making sure he has a paci (that he usually doesn't want) and a blanket. She knows what makes her feel good and wants to be sure brother is receiving the same luxuries in life. :)

She pats him on the back when he cry's and says "Kay?" (Okay?) She gives him hugs without being prompted and has made a couple of attempts to pick him up before I nose dive to save him. :)

I know that someday they'll bicker and at times I'll want to pull my hair out ... but for now I'm really enjoying the sweet moments.

Griffin's Birth Announcement

2011-05-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

Little G ...

2011-05-03T21:45:00.000-05:00

Griffin has his two-week check up last Monday. He turned three weeks old yesterday. Three weeks?? Too fast! I know I always say that. But truly, my babies grow up too fast.

Griffin weighed in at 8 lbs 13 oz. last week. A whole pound over the two week goal of returning back to his birth weight. Proud Mama ... As of this week we've moved onto size 1 diapers - swaddler's no more. New born clothes are a bit of a tight squeeze.

Griffin still has his furry ears and lots of hair! His eyes are big and amazing and so curious when they are checking everything out. I love his little face.

Both kiddos are doing really well. Griffin is really mellow and a great sleeper. Claire LOVES him and is always so excited to see him when she wakes up. She has been a huge help and a great listener the last couple of weeks. She's the sweetest kid.

Griffin is growing more alert everyday. He's had quite a few outings and is adapting well to our busy schedule. I love getting to experience a baby boy. It's already so much fun.

Our babies ...

2011-04-16T15:15:00.000-05:00

We do love how much Claire and Griffin look alike as newborns.

It's so amazing to see yourself in your babies.

Baby Ethan

Baby Kristen

Baby Claire

Baby Griffin

Griffin's Newborn photos ...

2011-04-16T15:04:00.000-05:00

Griffin is here!

2011-04-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

Griffin Liam was born on Monday! What a fast week it's been! He arrived at 1:27 pm on April 11th after a pretty quickly labor and delivery. We are thankful he arrived quickly and healthy. We are head over heals for this little guy. We brought him home on Wednesday afternoon and so far he's super sweet and pretty mellow.

Claire came down with strep throat Sunday evening so she wasn't able to come visit us in the hospital. I missed her so much. She is doing really great with little brother and is pretty proud of him when introducing him to new people. At the same time, the last couple of days she's been ignoring him. She likes to help cover him with blankets, change diapers, offer him toys and show him things but she hasn't wanted to hold him yet. We are not forcing anything and letting her warm up to the little guy.

Griffin is still in his reverse cycle phase but each night is able to go a little longer between feedings. After watching Claire grow up way too quickly the past 21 months - I'm really soaking up every late-night moment with him.

Here are some photos from his first couple of days:

2011-04-03T23:21:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend that went by far too quickly!

On Saturday, we drove down to the San Antonio area to meet up with our cousins from Dallas! They were staying in a beautiful resort and we got to go swimming for the afternoon. Afterwards, we went downtown for a wonderful dinner at La Margarita!

Getting ready to go swimming!

Daddy and Claire headed to one of the pools!

It's crazy to me that when we were swimming in September Claire was a baby and now she's a toddler!

Claire playing on the resort playground.

Sweet Ellie watching Claire play

Ellie trying out the slide ...

Handsome hubby

The beautiful resort hotel

Only days away ...

2011-03-31T22:09:00.000-05:00

We are staying busy these days ... much to do before little bub arrives! Thankfully, I'm seeing the end of my to-do list and hopefully will have almost everything wrapped up by the end of next week. Claire has been amazing and gracious during this busy time.

This week has flown by ... on Monday afternoon I was surprised with a gift card shower from a bunch of my girl friends and co-workers. It was a huge blessing. Gift card showers are amazing!

We didn't get a group picture but this was right after they surprised me.

I've been decorating and working on some projects for the little guy, but haven't taken any pictures of anything. My how things change from the first pregnancy! He's got a closet full of clothes, a new bassinet and many adorable blankets waiting on him! All we are really needing at this point is a dual camera video monitor we can use for both kiddos. We've found a great one at Sam's - just saving up for it!

Tuesday evening we had a girls dinner/gift card shower for our friend Sheryl who is due in May. I ended up taking Claire to the dinner and she had a blast. She is such a social butterfly - it's hilarious to watch her work a room. Ethan came and got her when he got off work so I had another hour to just hang out with my girlfriends - it was wonderful.

Some of our favorite cousin's came into town yesterday and spent the night with us! We had a nice lunch and fun hanging out with them. We are planning to join them in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon for swimming in a lazy river and a yummy dinner! (as long as bub stays put for a little while longer) Claire was really sweet playing with her 9-month old "cousin" Ellie. She was doing better with her sharing - but had her moments. Claire doesn't understand that not all babies can walk. She squats down to their level, tilts her head sideways and pats them on the back before extending her hand to them to help them stand up. It's hilarious but we usually have to intervene and let her know they can't walk like she can quite yet.

We are only like 11 days out from our due date. We had a bit of a scare on Monday evening as I had some contractions but I decided to lay down and drink some water and they eased up. This pregnancy is very different that Claire's so we aren't really sure what to expect with this little guy. For now, I'm just gaining water weight and cracking up when I see pictures of myself. I forgot how bloated pregnant women get at this point - I took this pic tonight of Claire and myself. My faces is so puffy that I have squinty eyes. ha ha.

As I said, I'm wrapping up a lot of things including many design projects before I take a bit of a leave. One exciting project I've been working on has been the movie posters for the documentary Makarios: A Rising Tide. I designed the logo a few months ago and it's been fun to tackle movie posters.

Here is the poster we are using in the U.S.

Here's the one we are using for China!

My sweet girl ...

2011-03-16T20:28:00.001-05:00

With only about 30 days to go until Little Man arrives (assuming he decides to stay put that long) I've been reflecting and cherishing the few weeks Claire and I have together as "just us." In the midst of Claire and I being sick, trying to wrap up several projects for work and frantically wrapping up decorating and shopping for the little guy- I wanted to be sure to take a minute to blog about my 20-month old.

While she is a toddler and all that this implies, she is honestly a REALLY great little girl. Overall, she has maintained the same laid-back personality she's had since birth. She seems too big now and is such a sweet little person. She has a day now and then where she pushes the limits, but I'm thankful for my years working with children as it's made me realize what a sweet spirit Claire has.

She's been shaking her head "no" for quite awhile but after learning "nose" she quickly learned to say "no." Last Friday, almost all I heard all day was "No, no, no Mama!" About everything ... even sno cones.

Outside of that, she listens to me very well. She's patient and follows instructions (we'll see how long that lasts!).

She loves babies and has been really excited about some of the things we've brought home lately for baby brother. Sometimes, when we ask her where her baby brother is, she points to her own belly instead of mine. So when she knows I'm doing something or buying something for brother, she gets excited and points to her belly. Ha ha.

She still asks to go to bed or nap on a regular basis. She loves routine and finds getting ready for nap/bedtime fun. She has almost always fallen asleep on her own, rarely have we ever had to rock her to sleep before putting her in bed.

She loves to help me clean and pick up her toys. On Monday she noticed there were a lot of smudgy hand prints on one of the windows (guess whose?) and I watched in amazement as she went to get baby wipes and started cleaning the window.

Lately, it seems I'm usually the one who ends up getting hurt when we're playing. Getting whacked in the face with a hairbrush or taking a left hook to the eye ... I can only imagine the battle scars I'll have with two kids! But, when she can tell I got hurt she cocks her head to the side and makes and says "ooooohhh" and pats or rubs my arm. It's so funny.

She still loves people and thrives in crowds. She's always good for a smile, laugh or hug and will perform some of her favorite dance moves for perfect strangers just for a laugh.

She's a tree hugger - all on her own. She loves the trees in the backyard and frequently runs around hugging and patting each tree.

I haven't been feeling well at all the last few days and she's been very sensitive to that. She's been in the BEST mood, well behaved and very sympathetic. She's been giving me lots of hugs and pats. This morning she brushed my hair and gave me lots of hugs for about 20 minutes.

While we are struggling to learn to share with some of our best buddies, she loves playing with other kids.

We are head over heals for this little girl. She is constantly keeping us laughing and on our toes! We can only imagine the joy and laughter we'll soon share with two kiddos running around!

My poor Nikon hasn't seen the light of day for probably a month now. So here are some iPhone photos I manage to get as I chase around my lively toddler!

Claire loves the double stroller!

Poor little sick sweetie ...

Lunch date with Daddy on Saturday ...

Feeling artistic on a Saturday night so naturally we got out the sidewalk chalk!

Ethan was actually tracing Claire on the pavement even though it looks like she's falling. :)

Sno cone date with my girl ...

Sticky ...

2011-02-17T12:44:00.000-06:00

I love this little face. After I put her to bed last night, I was changing out of my clothes that were somehow covered in her dinner and reflecting on the day. We had a great day today ... we have a lot of great days. We met friends at the park this morning to play. We rode the train, had a picnic lunch and then came home for a nice, long nap. (She naps ... I try to get work done) :)

Although she had a couple of uber-dramatic fits, and I usually end the day feeling like I need a shower to get all of the dirt and sticky fingerprints off myself ... I wouldn't change it for anything. Our days are sometimes chaotic trying to play, get my work done and keeping the house clean ... but we have the best days.

Dance Class Clips ...

2011-02-15T19:14:00.000-06:00

Claire is loving her class. Here are some highlights from today.

As with anything regarding toddlers - you have to embrace and love the chaos!

(Disclaimer: this video is entirely too long)

Dance Class from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Snow day ...

2011-02-05T20:47:00.000-06:00

It snowed on Friday! After growing up in the Midwest, Ethan and I have a true appreciation for snow days in Austin. First, they shut down school as well as major highways for only an inch of snow. Usually the snow has melted after several hours so you can still get out later in the day. Ethan didn't go into work on Friday mostly because Austin drivers are crazy when this happens and the major highway was closed that morning. So we had a wonderful day together!

We played in the snow that morning (before it melted). And then were out running around at 3 pm in sunny 40 degree weather. and there were very little signs that it had ever snowed.

Claire was thrilled to look out the windows and see snow. She wasn't a big fan of the cold snow on her hands but learned to say a version of "brrr" and with it she does this really cute "shiver" thing. Adorable.

Getting ready to go outside!

Daddy showing Claire the snow

Love days with Daddy

Sweet little footprints ... not so little anymore :(

My girl

We probably should have covered this plant ... hope I didn't kill it!

Cactus in the snow

This girl LOVES putting her hands in her pockets

Big smile for Daddy

Daddy's photog skills (won't leave preggo out of the photos!)

Daddy's photog skills

Fun with Sophie Kate ...

2011-02-01T14:52:00.000-06:00

Claire went to play with Sophie Kate yesterday afternoon ... always a good time.

Dunking Heads from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Art Easel ...

2011-01-27T21:12:00.000-06:00

Claire loves coloring, stickers, markers and pens. She received a great play table for Christmas and today I found an easel on clearance! We set it up tonight and she had a blast getting washable marker everywhere ...

She's been in an interesting mood this week and has been REALLY particular about the details of the least little things. Like how her food is positioned in front of her and what she feels she can do "all by herself."

Tonight I made the epic mistake of showing her she can stick her stickers on her artwork on the easel. DRAMA. Apparently she's not ready for mixed media ...

Needless to say it's been a week of ignoring her dramatic displays and patiently waiting for her to communicate with me in a more appropriate manner ... ahhh, parenthood! :) Fun stuff.

This week I'm 29 weeks pregnant but I feel 37 weeks pregnant. I'm exhausted. She's crazy. But I love her so.

She cuddled up with me a bit before bed and was giving her baby brother kisses. Perfection.

Here's little miss using her new easel ...

Dancing ...

2011-01-25T22:31:00.001-06:00

Claire officially started her dance class this morning. It was a blast.

Ethan came with us for a little while before heading to work. The class was starting while I was trying to register and pay so Ethan took her in. This was hilarious because I walked in about 5 minutes later and he's surrounded by dancing toddlers and moms. You would have had to see his face - but I took a mental snapshot that I'll never forget. He's such a phenomenal daddy. I love him.

Claire loved the class and the instructors even said that she was the most engaged in the class. A lot of the toddlers were running around while Claire was trying hard to follow Miss Jeanne and dance.

Here's our little dancer ...

This was a common pose throughout class.

She was so excited she could hardly contain herself.

Preggo Mama trying to keep up ...

Marching ...

Every Moment ...

2011-01-19T20:35:00.000-06:00

Claire is 18-months old ... I can't believe I just typed that. She has had a bit of a growth spurt the past couple of weeks and she just seems so big. She is so fun and funny - I know, I always say that. But at every age Ethan and I just gush about how fun and hilarious she is.

She turned 18-months old last Friday. Something about 18-months just seems like a big milestone ... so we took her out for a half-birthday breakfast to celebrate and gave her a little stuffed giraffe. You can never celebrate the lives of the people you love enough ... never.

Love - Love -Love that cheesy grin.

We had a great time and then Claire and I went to her 18-month check up. Unfortunately, she was given two shots - but shook it off and was smiles and giggles again by the time we left. (Nothing a sucker and sticker won't fix!) She's still growing healthy and fast and is in the 80 percentile for height and weight.

We are settling into our new home and life is getting a bit back to normal. Things still seem to be crazy busy, but it's nice to have our routine back.

We know a family who lost their 3 year old little girl about a year ago. I follow their blog, and hesitate almost every time before reading an updated post. I know reading it will tear my heart out. However, I'm so encouraged by their faith and perspective. While our eyes are in the present and looking towards the future - sometimes taking a moment to remember what God has brought us through helps us cherish each and every moment. After losing a baby, I can only imagine the anguish that would come with losing a little girl you knew for only three years.

We cherish our baby girl so much, every day.

Ethan is looking forward to a much need Daddy-Daughter weekend with little miss. I'm headed off with a bunch of girl friends to the women's retreat our church is putting on. So excited to get away with my friends but anxious about leaving Claire for two nights! Ethan is really looking forward to the alone time with her and it will be great for both of them. He is such a sweet, patient Daddy. I'm so blessed by his love for us and his desire to lead and provide for us. I can't wait to see him with a little boy!

The little guy is growing fast as well. Too fast. He's REALLY active and keeps me up at night. I feel 8 months pregnant at only 28 weeks but my wonderful OB assured us that's completely normal with the second pregnancy. I can only imagine what it might be like with a third! We are narrowing the crazy long list of names down and have some favorites, but haven't made any final decisions yet. It's so funny that naming a boy is so much harder than it was for us to name a girl!

Dance ...

2011-01-18T12:09:00.000-06:00

I've had so many things on my mind to blog about the past couple of weeks. With trying to get settled and getting back to the swing of things after the holidays I just can't make it happen.

Claire is starting a dance class at a great new Dance Studio that opened up nearby. The class is called Tots in Tutu's and we did a "trial" class yesterday morning - she loved it! I was floored at how great the teachers were and the curriculum. I half expected it to just be a cutesy/fun class for 18 -24 month-old girls. However, I was pleasantly surprised with their emphasis in teaching the girls to waiting their turn, learning sequences of events and performing in front of a group.

We are excited to start the class next week - this time in tights, Tutu's and ballet slippers!

Here are a couple of quick videos I took! She is so big!

Claire's Dance Class 1 from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Claires Tutu Class from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Moving ...

2011-01-06T16:25:00.000-06:00

We are still in the process of moving ... and thankfully there is an end in sight. It's been one of our better moves (this is our 5th move since we've been married ... crazy) but it's also been the perfect storm. Moving during the holidays is a horrible idea. Moving while I'm 5 months pregnant is also a horrible idea. Just before the move Ethan was assigned a special project at work and I was trying to wrap up the sermon series that starts this Sunday. Added stress.

However, we've survived thus far and everything has been moved to our new home and every room in the house is box free except for the master bedroom. We are in L-O-V-E with our new place and look forward to settling in over the next couple of weeks. We are on a little over an acre and have a fenced yard with lots of trees and plenty of room to play in the front. Claire has her own playroom, bedroom and bathroom (spoiled much?). However, soon she'll be sharing all of her space with her baby brother.

Darby is in heaven as well with so much space to roam. I hung the hammock yesterday and Claire loved laying and swinging with me.

Claire has done really well with all the chaos and loved having my parents here. She is growing so fast. I can hardly believe we're about to celebrate 18 months of her precious life. We adore her.

We are in the process of cleaning and painting the old apartment and will wrap everything up this weekend. Really, cleaning the old place is the worst part of moving. ugh!

We couldn't have survived this move without my parents here to help. They were lifesavers.

Sit still ...

2010-12-27T20:30:00.000-06:00

I'm making myself sit for awhile. We had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas and day after. Quality family time. Claire had a great time playing with her new toys and it was so fun to see her experience her first Christmas as a toddler. She is such a joy.

My parents are on there way tomorrow and Claire will get to celebrate Christmas again.

However, today has been a crazy day of getting a couple of last minute things done for the Faceplant trip and seeing four tour buses off to Winter Park this afternoon. We are sad that we won't be joining them this year but I can't see my pregnant self doing very well on the slopes. So the group is gone and Claire and I have been grocery shopping, cleaning and packing all evening. So.Tired.Of.Packing ... but there is light at the end of the tunnel! We pick up the keys to our new place on Wednesday afternoon and the movers arrive Thursday morning!

But for now, I'm sitting. I've been doing a lot of reflecting the past 3 - 4 days on the past year. I'm really excited for the coming new year, with lots of changes, new goals and adding another kiddo to our family. I can't help but look back on the past year and recognize all of the blessings and lessons we've received.

It's crazy to think that I've been home with Claire, taking care of our family for almost a year. It's even crazier to me to think that I'm getting to continue working for the ministries I love, doing what I'm passionate about. God has been so faithful to us even though this year has stretched and challenged us in many ways. He's blessed us for following Him when he made it clear that my ministry was shifting from full-time at the church to focusing on my family full-time.

It was definitely an adjustment for us to go from having both of our incomes to having quite a bit less. God blessed Ethan with another promotion and raise. I've also had more freelance and work from the Production Company than I bargained for! This year has taught us a great deal about budgeting and how/where to cut corners. Just yesterday we were laughing at how we used to spend money, go out on big dates and buy what we wanted prior to Claire's arrival. The change was the best decision we've ever made and completely worth it!

We have learned and grown a lot as parents this year. It's been fun (funny at times) as Ethan and I watch each other transition into parenthood. Ethan has grown so much and my love for him as grown as well. I love watching God continue to grow him and mold him into the man/father He wants him to be.

I look forward to so much in the new year ... To walking more closely with Christ so that I may become a better wife, mother and artist. To many more date nights with my husband and learning to love him in new ways. To 100 more special days of "just us" with my little girl. To many months of getting to know our Little Fella. To many new graphics projects that are headed my way. To our new home.

So blessed and thankful for 2010.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T12:30:00.000-06:00

Date night ...

2010-12-12T09:17:00.003-06:00

*Disclaimer: Ignore all the typos - I wrote this early in the morning after a night of no sleep. :)

We are blessed with sweet friends who offer to watch Claire Bear so Ethan and I can get out together. David, a college guy we work with in the student ministry who we love and Claire loves, came over to watch Claire so we could go out. We had an awesome date night last night full of great conversation and laughter. I love my husband.

Trying to make it as easy as possible on David, Claire was already in her PJ's with her milk and paci. I was sure that Claire would play for an hour or so and then beg to go to bed as she usually does.

When we returned home and asked David how it went his response was to laugh and say "Okay, so ..."

I wasn't even prepared for the story he was about to share ...

I knew she would show out for David because she's been doing that quite a bit lately with friends and when we skype with family. She does all her dances, sign language, hugs and kisses and funny tricks to entertain whoever is present. Apparently she decided she would stay up as long as David would let her and she played until after 9:00. David knows we aren't crazy strict about bedtime on the weekends because we usually don't have anywhere to be early in the mornings. Claire has always been really flexible and a great sleeper. Honestly, her going to bed after 9:00 usually means she'll sleep late and we get to sleep in!

When David did put her in her crib it didn't go over well and she cried dramatically in protest. After a couple of tries, his instinct was to let her cry for 15 - 20 minutes and she finally seemed to calm down. He went into her room to check on her only to discover an empty crib. He panicked and then noticed a little body lying in the wagon in the corner of her room.

Ethan and I looked couldn't help but die laughing and try to figure out how in the world she got out of her crib and into her wagon. David said she also had taken her sippy cup, blanket, two pillows and put them in the wagon, crawled in and went to sleep. She loves her wagon.

I wish I had a picture to post but David said he was so freaked that she did that he grabbed her and put her back into her crib.

This was the first time she has climbed out of her crib but it wouldn't be the last. We woke her up with our hysterical laughter so we let her stay up for a few minutes until David left before putting her back down. So, of course, as soon as we put her down she climbed out again.

We rocked for a bit and put her back down, this time leaving the door slightly cracked and Ethan and I peeking through. Then we saw our crazy monkey hoist her leg over the side of the crib, grab the top rail and lower herself down until her feet touched the bottom bar of the crib so she could step down. We didn't know she had it in her! Because of Claire's nature I thought we had a few more months before she attempted this.

We had an unusually rough night with a little girl who seriously didn't want to sleep in her crib. So with sleepy eyes after church we'll spend this afternoon trying to figure out what to do about our monkey ...

December 10th??

2010-12-10T19:26:00.000-06:00

To my dismay, this month is already flying by! Miss Claire and I are staying busy packing (trying to get rid of things we don't need) and working on quite a bit of stuff at church in prep for Faceplant and the new Spring Series.

We move in 20 days and I'm almost out of empty boxes. As far as Claire's growth goes, the timing couldn't be any better. It seems that just this week she officially has outgrown our apartment. Counting down until we have a playroom and yard to run in. Ethan and I look forward to hammocks in the trees, a fire pit and twinkle lights to enjoy the evenings outside. I am particularly pumped to have a grill again - reopens a tremendous amount of dinner ideas.

Little brother is growing strong. He's really active and I'm feeling ginormous these days. If we ask Claire where her little brother is she tries to pull up my shirt and point to my belly. So sweet.

I've bought very few Christmas gifts and in terms of decor we only put up the family tree and little tree in Claire's room. It's a strange Christmas for sure. My parents are coming down for Christmas and we are excited for that. Moving during the holidays makes things crazy.

We had another great Youth Leader Christmas Party last week. Ethan came home with a brand new record player! The same record playing we've been eyeing for two years!! He was the first person to receive it during "dirty Santa" and almost cried when he got it. Tears of sadness because we just knew someone would steal it. God was looking out for Ethan and thankfully we have a lot of great friends at the party who knew that it was the perfect gift for Ethan. He's in absolute heaven and bought his first vinyl copy of Abbey Road - we all love listening to it.

We have my staff Christmas party this week and a couple of Christmas lunches with co-workers. Although we are living among boxes, we are really enjoying the holiday festivities. Love this time of year.

Baby brain is my arch nemesis right now. For some reason, making a grocery list was planning meals was an unusually daunting task. So I just went to the Pioneer Woman's cooking page and picked a few things before heading to the store.

Thanks to her genius, I made this masterpiece tonight: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/three-cheese-stuffed-shells-with-meaty-tomato-sauce/
Make it right now, you won't be sorry. The sauce is to die for. I swore off the jarred sauce this year and have been searching for the "perfect" pasta sauce recipe. This comes close, however I have a good friend who comes from an Italian family and she gave me her grandmother's recipe! I can't wait to try it. I'm waiting until we move so that I can make a large batch and freeze servings for several meals. (I'm an avid make-double-and-freeze-half cook)

We have been enjoying some beautiful weather. It's cooled off but we've only had a couple of "cold" days. Most afternoons we are fine to play outside or go to the park in a light jacket.

Here are some pics I've snapped with my phone lately. Say what you will about the iPhone, but being a busy Mom it's incredible to have a decent camera and HD video capable device on me at all times. Love it.

She loves the mannequin dog at Old Navy ... always goes nuts for it.

Beautiful day at the park with Daddy last Saturday.

Christmas!

Playing at the park today.

She loves to "help" me cook but discovered this particular mixing bowl doubles as a hat.

Christmas Parade ...

2010-11-27T16:24:00.000-06:00

We took Claire to the Chuy's Christmas Parade downtown this morning. We had so much fun. Mostly, watching her wave, march, dance and clap. The parade was filled with marching bands, musicians, dancers, old cars, gigantic floating balloons ... we were impressed. Ariel even stopped to talk to Claire!

We took a lot of pictures, but here are a couple of highlights.

Happy Girl

Super Grover ... how cool is that?

DeLorean

Mommy and Claire

Claire and her favorite guy ...

Thanksgiving Day ...

2010-11-25T22:04:00.000-06:00

With so much to be thankful for this year, we were thankful for a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. We missed being with family, of course, but had a lot of fun just the three of us. We made brunch this morning then played and watched the Macy's parade. Claire and I painted fingers and toes and then Claire and I took naps.

At noon I was bringing in Christmas boxes and sweat, then at 3:00 when we headed to the park it was so incredibly cold outside. We went to the park to take pictures but didn't last long with the cold wind.

We then headed to the 24 Diner, such a great place to eat. We were planning to take part in their fabulous Thanksgiving Family Style feast. I called this morning to make a reservation and they told me we didn't need one. However, when we were seated we were told that they were only serving Thanksgiving food to people with reservations. Frustrating ... but we had a wonderful dinner ordering from the menu and a lot of fun goofing off with Claire in the booth.

Here are some pics from the day!

showing off her pretty nails ...

Pumpkin Cheesecake ...

2010-11-23T22:48:00.000-06:00

I made Ethan a pumpkin cheesecake tonight ... can't wait to try it with him this week!

Here's the recipe:

Crust:
8 graham crackers (1 1/4 c crumbs)
1/4 cup sugar
5-6 tablespoons butter, melted
QUICK TIP: Mix whole graham crackers and sugar in food processor. Then add melted butter and mix again. (the food processor is God's gift to my kitchen next to the standing mixer)

Filling:
24 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla (Mexican)
5 large eggs
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin spice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Coat pan with cooking spray.
Combine crust ingredients in food processor and press into bottom of pan.
Bake CRUST ONLY in oven for 10 minutes. Let cool and reduce oven temp to 300.
Combine all filling ingredients with mixer.
Pour filling into cooled crust.
Place cake in center of oven and bake for 1 hour. (cake still jiggle but will set later) Turn off oven and let cake sit undisturbed inside for another hour. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Garnish with candied nuts, dried cranberries and whip cream when serving.

Lately ...

2010-11-23T21:49:00.002-06:00

If I don't say it at least once everyday, I think it. My baby girl is growing up way too fast. She is so fun and silly right now. She communicates so well with me that she's become such a fun little buddy. Love hanging out with her every day. I thank God for this time daily.

She's started repeating words more frequently. Tonight she said "bawoon" (balloon). It was adorable.

I tried to get some of her sign language on video before she's outgrown it all. The baby sign language has been amazing. It's so great for her to be able to communicate with me rather than whine out of frustration as I've heard many kids do in my years working with kiddos.

Her current signs include: milk, more, all done, pacifier, hungry, thank you, please, brushing teeth, washing hair, chop (which she learned from a wiggles song), round and round (from wheels on the bus).

I caught a few on video:

Claire's sign language from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

We are looking forward to to nice, quiet Thanksgiving this year. My parents had talked about coming down but they are in the middle of a move and we are starting to prepare for a move. Sweet friends have extended invitations to join their families but honestly, some quiet family time, yummy food and putting up the Christmas Tree sounds just perfect for us this year.

In other news, for those of you who haven't heard it's "No Shave November." Ethan and a bunch of guys at church are participating. It's starting to grow on me ...

We started dating seven years ago this week.

Crazy how fast the time goes by.

I love him now more than ever!

Blessings ...

2010-11-23T20:59:00.000-06:00

We had an exciting day yesterday full of exciting news. As we said earlier, we found out we're having a baby boy! Then, yesterday afternoon we found out that we get to move into a new place on January 1st! We are sad to leave our apartment that we've lived in for three years. It's been our first Austin home and it's a really great community. Claire and I will miss the pool most of all. :)

However, we started looking at houses in the area and actually found a great place for a great price. The whole situation was completely orchestrated by God and it's amazing to see how perfect the whole situation came together. We are excited to have much more room, a play room as well as a great front yard and fenced in back yard with lots of trees! We can't wait!

God truly takes care off even the smallest details in our lives and it's amazing to see him work in everything.

I've started packing a box a day so hopefully by Christmas we'll be in pretty good shape!

Our little guy ...

2010-11-23T20:43:00.000-06:00

We found out yesterday we are having a sweet little boy!! We are so excited. Claire gives us a big "nod" when we ask her if she wants a baby brother.

Can't wait to meet him!

Ultrasound day!

2010-11-22T13:51:00.000-06:00

We aren't going to reveal the gender just yet ... until Ethan has time to catch up with me in regards to making phone calls and text messages.

However, I will say we spent a long morning at the ultrasound clinic. I made the earliest possible appointment but it wasn't early enough ...

We have a tradition that started with Claire's ultrasound ... we have the doctor write down the gender on a notecard and then we go out to breakfast after the ultrasound and open the card together. Since everything took FOREVER we had to open it in the waiting room so Ethan could get to work. It was still so sweet and we love having them write the gender down so we can see the look on each other's face. I love the look on Ethan's face when he's finding out news about his babies. So sweet.

Needless to say ... we are still excited and stoked to be parents of another precious kiddo in April!
We love our babies.

Tiny arm and hand

Wee little face ...

Little foot with toes curled ...

Video of the heartbeat

Videos ...

2010-11-14T16:00:00.001-06:00

I finally dumped my phone and pulled some of videos of little miss to share ...

Since its cooling off I finally put some sand in her sand and water table. She loves the sand ... mostly to throw it around. She was cracking up at the noise she was making as she threw the sand onto a paper bag. I missed the hysterical laughter but caught the end of it as she had given herself hiccups from laughing so hard.

Sand from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

We were running errands in a different part of Austin this week and I took her to a park we stumbled upon. There was a huge, steep slide at the top of the playscape. Claire didn't think twice before going down. She's such a daredevil and I'm sorry to say she gets that from me. By the end of play time she was trying to walk down the slide - luckily I was able to catch her from a wicked fall.

Big Slide from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

She's figured out that she can reach the water dispenser on the fridge.

It's pretty funny to watch her try to fill up her cup. She usually ends up soaked.

Water Dispenser from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

She's such a good helper around the house.

Here's the end of her helping me put away the silverware.

Dishes from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Claire is getting better at eat with utensils.

Such a big girl ;(

Spoon from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Caire Bear ...

2010-11-09T20:13:00.000-06:00

Claire had a wellness appointment today ... at 8 am actually. Not sure what I was thinking when I made that appointment ... She's growing well and right on track, always a sigh of relief for mommy. We had a good check up and then met Daddy for breakfast. Great way to start the morning.

We were running errands today and at the store she was playing in my purse. She pulled out my glasses case and held it up to her ear pretending it was a phone. She was cracking up and babbling away and kept saying "Da Da." It was so sweet. I tried to get it on video but every time she's stop and dance for the camera.

I love her age right now. I know, I always say that. But she's so stinking fun. She's funny and crazy in one minute and then cuddly the next. Yesterday, one of the student pastors asked her where "mommy" was and she threw her arms around my neck and gave me a big hug. Sigh ...

She still loves climbing and practices her acrobatics around the house - scary. We spend a lot of time at the park. She loves sliding and continues to grow in bravery. These days she doesn't even wait for us to get to the bottom of the slide to catch her - she just takes off on her own. She is also experimenting with slide "stunts" including flipping over on her belling or trying to go down sideways. My daredevil.

Some free time ...

2010-11-08T19:49:00.000-06:00

Claire fell asleep really early this evening ... we had a great/busy day spending time with the youth team. She played at her bestie's house for a couple of hours this afternoon and conked out before I could feed her dinner.

Needless to say, I have some time to myself this evening ...

I've had a lot on my mind an heart lately, just thought I'd share.

Our Community ...
We had a great weekend. Ethan kept Claire on Friday night so I could go to a ladies dinner. We relaxed Saturday morning, went to the park and out to lunch Saturday afternoon and spent a quiet evening at home.

Sunday was jam packed with church, lunch with friends and then I had an epic, unforgettable girls night out at a local restaurant. It was a perfect weekend that left us thankful as we head into another week.

That's what weekends are for, aren't they? Spending quality time with family and friends to remind you how good God is to each of us? God reveals himself in amazing ways through the people we love.

We are so blessed by our community and it has been a huge topic of discussion between Ethan and I recently. Perhaps we live our lives a little backwards in the eyes of some, but others understand completely.

Our jobs are not what we plan our lives around and not what's most important to us when making a move. As we begin to prepare to move into a house in January, we considered moving closer to Ethan's job so his commute would be smaller. Ethan and I both felt like that was the wrong move for our family as it would put us about 30 minutes away from our church and community.

Thirty minutes may not seem like much, but for us it might as well be an hour away. Our friends live nearby, our church is nearby, our babysitters and doctors are nearby ... how could we consider moving away from that? This past year, God has really shown us how important community is to our family. After much prayer we believe he's placed a neighborhood on our hearts and we are excited to explore the homes in that area.

My ministry ...
I've been praying a lot through my career and what it will look like when we have two kiddos. I'm working part-time from home with the student ministry doing graphic design and preparing the Sunday morning presentations - and I love it. I adore my team. I adore the church. I adore the ministry. I'm passionate about what we are doing and what God has for us in the future. I find so much joy in watching my team love on Claire and her love them in return.

I'm also a part of the production company at church doing various graphics which has been a goal of mine since we've moved to Austin. I'm excited about the projects God has put before us!

Our routine will look different when baby #2 arrives, but I feel God calling me to continue to be a part of these ministries and I'm excited for what he has in store. He's also revealing things to me that I can change about our home and my routine so that I can be successful as a Mommy (first and foremost) and with our ministries.

I'm thankful for a God who makes things clear and places his desires for us on our hearts ... Four years ago he gave me a vision and I wake up every morning thankful he made that vision a reality for our family.

God is so good.

Painting Pumpkins ...

2010-11-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Better late than never, right? We painted pumpkins last night. Since the attention span of a 15 month old is about 5 minutes it didn't last long and made a huge mess. Worth it. Love art projects.

Luckily Darby didn't get painted ...

Where four colors become one ... artistic brilliance?

"smiling" for the camera ...

Bedtime ...

2010-11-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

I need to blog about this for two reason:

1. I'm sure this will someday be a distant memory ...
2. I'm sure in the next couple of years I won't believe this ever happened ...

Claire loves her crib and her room. The last few nights she'll start to show her "sleepy" signs so I'll ask her if she wants to go to bed. She grins and runs to her crib. I tuck her in, turn on her sleep noise, fill her humidifier and kiss her goodnight. Then ... not a peep from little Miss and she falls asleep. Amazing ...

It doubles in amazing-ness to find out that she's had an ear infection. She was sick last week with a cold, had a couple of fevers but has been feeling better. Yesterday, she was pretty lethargic and was rubbing her ear. I started to remember how clumsy she was last week and made a doctors appointment for this afternoon to check and see if she had an ear infection. Sure enough she has her first ear infection and is on an antibiotic for the next ten days.

But my little ear infected angel just went right to sleep ...

Halloween!

2010-11-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

Halloween night was wonderful. Up until last night ... Ethan and I were completely ready to write off October as downer of a month. Too much illness and too many unexpected events ... looking forward to November!

However, as I said, last night was awesome. We had dinner with the Thornton's, Pulley's and Smith's before putting the kids in their costumes and trying to get photos. The photos didn't turn out so well but the trick or treating was a huge hit. I didn't expect the kids to get quite as into it as they did but it was a pleasant surprise!

After the first couple of houses, the kids figured out that if we knocked on a door someone would come out and put candy in their buckets! Claire was really excited about all the candy, she'd wave a "thank you" at every house and then surveyed her bucket. She had a blast and was giving lots of hugs and kisses as we ventured in the dark. Love my sweet girl.

Here are a couple of photos that almost turned out okay ... :)

Out little butterfly love bug ...

The back of her costume

Sophie Kate the Ladybug. So cute!

Judah the adorable lion.

This kid is fast, he was zipping from house to house.

The girls could barely keep up with him!

Ready to trick or treat!

Trick or Treat!

Mommy and Claire at the Zoo ...

2010-10-30T20:19:00.001-05:00

Ethan had to work today and since Claire and I are feeling better we decided we needed to visit the Austin Zoo! The zoo is really close to where we live and it's actually an animal rescue zoo/sanctuary. It was really fun and very different that any zoo I've ever visited. It has a very cool "Austin" feel to it.

When Claire woke up I asked her if she wanted to go to the zoo today and she gave me a big grin and a big nod. (Side note: She nods now. She has been shaking her head "no" for quite awhile but now she nods "yes" when asked a question. Daily I amazed and how she gives the proper response to questions. Brilliant.)

Here's some highlights from our morning at the zoo!

Claire and the Peacock ...

(Claire deciding if she wants to chase the Peacock)

Claire chasing the chicken. She loves animals ... a little too much.

Chasing the Chicken from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

She loved seeing all the animals and would spend a couple of minutes at each animal's habitat trying to figure out how to climb the fence so she can pet the animals.

Nobel effort

She figured out she could feed the Alpaca just like she feeds Darby at home.

Her face lit up and she squealed with excited while grabbing the bag of food out of my hands.

Feeding the deer

Feeding Animals from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Then we rode the rain. She's becoming a professional train-rider.

The zoo had the train path decorated for Halloween. Too fun!

I asked her if she was having a good time on the train and she gave me a big nod!

We also had many scenic views of the hill country from the train.

My silly girl ...

After the train ride we fed more animals

And fed more animals ...

Then we went and had lunch together and came home for a big nap!

I adore being this little girls Mama.

I love the way she looks at me when we're having fun together.

I love how she loves to hold my hand.

I love that she walks up behind me while I'm cooking dinner to hug and rubs my legs.

I love this girl.

Blowing kisses ...

2010-10-26T18:09:00.000-05:00

We like to make videos for Ethan and text them to him at work. How easy is it to make a video, edit it and text all from your phone? (all in HD mind you ... gotta love technology bringing families together!)

Claire has her own adaptation to blowing kisses ... forgive the slobbery/snotty face - she's sick. :(

Blowing Daddy Kisses from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

A day at a time ...

2010-10-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

As if I haven't said it every day since we've been back ... it's good to be home. We had a wonderfully productive week last week getting back into the swing of things. Back into play dates, finishing up several design projects, weekly meetings ... it's good.

Personally, God's been teaching me a lot the last several days through conversations with friends, last Sunday's message and my MOPS meeting yesterday. I've been completely overwhelmed the last couple of months with so much to do all while taking care of Claire and dealing with first trimester nonsense. I thought I'd never see the end of my to-do list and my brain seemed to be going at full speed 24 hours a day.

I'm learning, as a new Mom, that there are 24 hours in a day and all I can do is take each day head on as it comes. September was a little harder since I was so sick all the time and had so many projects that needed my attention. I thought I'd never feel better and never get everything done.

I'm also learning more and more that life is wonderful, constantly changing ... and sometimes things get tough. We have so many hopes and fears for our children. I can be completely overwhelmed by worry about Claire's future, the kind of mother I want to be, the goals I have for myself and our family. As a follower of Christ I realize I have little control over the future.

I can, however, decide each day to wake up and remind myself that God is good ... today. I can be the Mom I want to be ... today. I can do my best with the tasks I need to tackle ... today. I can work to accomplish a goal ... today.

Little helper ...

2010-10-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

Claire loves helping me. With anything and everything. She hands me the utensils out of the dishwasher one-by-one so I can put them in the utensil drawer. She has to help me carry things when we leave the house. She'll obey just about anything you ask her to do if you phrase it like "Will you please help Mommy by ..."

One of her favorite things to do is to walk Darby. I caught a little bit of the action with my phone yesterday ...

Claire walking Darby from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

Train Ride ...

2010-10-20T11:39:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love about Austin is Zilker Park. It's located in downtown Austin and surrounds Town Lake and offers a plethora of fun things to do. We rode the Zilker Train for the first time on Claire's first birthday and she had her second train ride at the KC zoo a couple of weekends ago. Yesterday, we went down to Zilker with some friends and she by this time she was an old pro. She sat next to me in her seat the entire time, waved at everyone and pointed out the scenery to me as we passed.

Afterwards we played on the playground and ate a sno cone before heading home for her glorious three hour afternoon nap! (aka when Mama gets her work done)

A bit behind ...

2010-10-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

I can't even begin to wrap my mind around trying to blog about the happenings of the last three weeks ... so instead of looking back I'm going to just start with a clean slate and move forward. Briefly, I'll say that we spent time in five different states, saw an unbelievable amount of family on both sides, we saw a few college buddies and made it home safely! Ethan, Claire and I had an awesome road trip in the midst of all the traveling. I absolutely love road trips with Ethan. I love our conversations, discussions and the opportunity to talk about what God's been teaching us. Honestly, we need to drive somewhere once a month ...

My little girl is so stinking big. We are so happy to be back at home doing life "as normal". Ethan helped get the house back in order yesterday, we are caught up on laundry and we are excited for our first week home!

Ethan and I got to see our little baby "bean" a couple of weeks ago through an ultrasound at 13 weeks. It was so nice to get see the baby's face, fingers and little body. The second pregnancy is so different from the first - mostly due to the fact that you don't have as much free time to reflect on things. We find out the sex in November and I think that will really help us settle in to the idea that we are going to be parents of TWO this Spring! I'm so very thankful for our community here in Austin and the support we have as we start another new chapter very soon!

I'm thrilled to say that I'm feeling like my old self again! I've been cooking again since we've been home and have reclaimed the motivation that I tend to lose between weeks 8 - 13 of pregnancy. Thankful to be back in the game.

Here are just a few pictures to share from the last few weeks ...

At the Kansas City Zoo

Lake DeGray, Arkansas

My daredevil outside today ...

A plug ...

2010-10-11T15:25:00.001-05:00

We've been traveling for like 2.5 weeks ... updates and photos to come. Right now, I'm stoked to get back home and continue working on a particular project with the Production Team. It's a documentary called Makarios: A Rising Tide and portrays the work of a ministry serving the DR and Haiti. I'm currently working on the logo and am pumped about this project! Check it out:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Makarios-A-Rising-Tide/114015345324819?ref=ts&v=wall

Our girl ...

2010-09-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

This post has been sitting in my "drafts" for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, things have been crazy busy. I'm trying to wrap up the graphics for the upcoming sermon series, iPhone App, Production Company, and a freelance job on top of my normal weekly responsibilities with the youth department. All while caring for Claire, constantly feeling nauseous, planning play dates and maintaining friendships. Whew!

My first trimesters are no-fun. I can't even begin to think about cooking - it makes me want to yarf. More than diapers - go figure. So poor Ethan and Claire are suffering through eating cereal and microwavable things. ick. I'll be 11 weeks tomorrow so there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

However, despite my first trimester "ailments" Claire and I have been having some fun. Alas, my Nikon is lonely and dusty this month so I have no photos to share outside of iPhone photos - but I'm too tired to download those.

Here are some of the fun things she's doing these days:

Hugs:
Claire loves to give hugs. She loves to hug people, stuffed animals, dogs and even strangers. This is one of my favorite things about her right now - most of the hugs she gives all on her own. She's a lover.

A couple of weeks I dropped her off for her Monday afternoon play date with Sophie Kate. She and Sophie Kate ran right up to each other, gave a big hug and then ran off to play together. So stinking cute.

Another day last week I was playing with Claire in her bedroom. She'd play with a toy for about a minute and then come give me a hug, then go to another toy for a minute and then come give me a hug. She did this about a dozen times all on her own.

Helping:
She so desperately wants to help me with all kinds of tasks. She loves to help unload the dishwasher. For me this means I have to quickly remove all the knives and glassware before she realizes what I'm doing and comes to help. Tonight I was striping her down for bath time and I threw her diaper in the trashcan. My sweet girl picked up the clothes we just took off and put them in the trashcan to help - I didn't have the heart to take them out right away since she was so proud of herself.

When we are leaving to go somewhere she sees me grabbing my purse, keys, etc. So she walks around the living room searching for something to carry in each hand to "help." Usually it's something random like a block or a receipt she pulled out of my purse. Sweetness.

Cuddles:
She loves cuddling in the morning and right before bed. In fact, she "requires" some nighttime cuddle time in her rocker. She grabs her bottle, paci and blanket and then heads to the rocker waiting for someone to come cuddle her. She couldn't be any easier. :)

Bracelets:
I'm not sure where she picked up on "bracelets" - maybe from women at church. I haven't worn a bracelet since she was born, ha ha. She finds rubber bracelets, rings, hair ties (anything that is round) and will wear it around the house on her wrist. She bends her arm and points her wrist towards the floor to show off her bracelet. It's so funny how she is just girlie all on her own.

Words:
She's still pretty passive about her communication these days. She says her name ... a lot. She will occasionally try to repeat a word I say - yesterday it was "good." She has picked up on some of the baby sign language and her favorite is "all done" to let us know she's finished eating. She also does "hungry" when she's ready for a meal or snack.

Dancing:
She still loves to dance and really loves hip hop. I love when she busts a move in public. She learned to "twirl" a couple of weeks ago - adorable.

Teeth:
We've spotted 4 molars this week. I think there are more but trying to get a 14 month old to let me check out her teeth is a feat.

Shopping:
When we are walking through the toy section she lets us know what she wants by picking up the toy and hugging in. She's sure to make a sweet face that is hard to resist ... but Mommy is good at resisting these days. Daddy on the other hand is another story ... but that is just what Daddy's are supposed to be sometimes. Suckers for their baby girls. :)

In other news, she is still a social butterfly and thrives on her play dates. She took a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon after playing with some of her friends all morning. She imitates so many things and is really figuring out how to use her body.

There ... I blogged.

Right now this is an achievement.

I'll graciously received your applause. Thank you and goodnight. :)

Oh baby ...

2010-08-31T17:45:00.001-05:00

We thought we'd go ahead and reveal the rest of Claire's photos from The Flamingo Place ...

When we found out she was going to be a "Big Sis" I made her a t-shirt and went for a photo shoot. Then I made these cards and mailed them to the grandparents:

We had our doctors appointment today and got to see the little bean!

Our second baby will arrive around April 12th!

I'm just almost 9 weeks along and thankful to be nearing the end of the first trimester nonsense.

Get excited! :)

A little vacation ...

2010-08-26T21:08:00.000-05:00

We returned home yesterday from a few days at Port Aransas.

Here are some pics from the family fun!

We went to the Texas State Aquarium

Claire loved it ...

She couldn't get enough of the Otters ...

My favorite were the Sea Turtles - we were so close to them!

Sweetness

The USS Lexington

The Dolphin show was fun!

My big girl

One particular evening on the beach we forgot Claire's swimsuit!

How cute is she in her Nemo swim diaper?

We had a good trip and some great family time. Ethan and I kept saying how much we all missed each other today. It's hard being away from each other after spending so many days together.

Most of all, this was a good learning opportunity for Ethan and I. We learned that Claire has officially reached the age of being too old to fall asleep in the same room as Ethan and I.

Alas, my perfect sleeper needs her own room.

She didn't sleep well and Ethan and I were SO tired this trip.

She also doesn't nap on the beach anymore - thus contributing to the exhaustion!

We learned that we've outgrown staying in hotels on getaways such as these.

The first time we went to Port A we stayed in a private rental with a kitchen and living room.

It was wonderful and in the future we need that space the the ability to cook for ourselves.

Thankful we had this chance to get away together!

Birthdays ...

2010-08-19T08:54:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm officially in my late 20's. Not sure how I feel about graduating from mid-twenties but what can you do other than embrace it all. We're happy and healthy. We have this amazing little girl who we can't get enough of. We feel that we are right where God wants us. Not a bad way to start another year - even if it is my 28th - ick.

We are headed to Port Aransas this weekend to spend a few days being beach bums. So yesterday, Claire and I got up and picked up some kolaches and had a breakfast at the park. We played for a long time but even at 8:30 it was really humid and hot. We came home and took naps (yes, me too) and then met Sheryl and Sophie Kate at the pool for a few hours. Ethan came home early and took us to dinner at one of my fav Italian restaurants. I received some beautiful flowers in the cutest vase from my youth team. Good day.

I refused to do anything I didn't want to do - no cleaning, no working, no laundry. I think it's illegal to do anything the day of your birthday that you don't want to do. I think it's a law or something.

Since Ethan had to work part of the day, he made me a video with his phone. I heart him. I told him I didn't want a gift this year since I'd rather us just all get away together. So we budgeted birthday money towards our trip - guess he was feeling bad. :)

Birthday video from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

This week ...

2010-08-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

I'd love for someone to tell me where in the world summer went? At least as Austin-nites we have the reassurance of another couple of months of warm weather ahead of us! It's hard to believe school is starting up again, luckily that doesn't really affect us!

It's hard to believe it's mid August. Claire and I have had a busy week. Ethan is working 4 10-hour days a week right now. We are looking forward to a three day weekend with him starting tomorrow!

We had a cooking day with some girl friends and their little ones on Wednesday. It was fun and over stimulating all at the same time. The kids all had their melt-downs about 2 hours in but we made it home with two loaves of Focaccia (Olive and Sundried Tomato Parmesean), Banana Cream Cheese Nut Muffins and Pumpkin Apple Muffins.

I've managed to land a couple of really cool freelance opportunities that I've been working on this week. On top of officially being the Graphic Designer for Austin Ridge Productions and my current job with the student ministry ... I've got plenty to keep me creatively satisfied these days. I am thankful every day that I get to do all of this work from home with Claire outside of the occasional meeting from time to time.

Claire has turned into a little girl over night. She so sweet and cuddly - she'll climb up in my lab and just let me hold her. I love that.

She loves to sing songs with me and watches my mouth closely learning how to pronounce the lyrics to her favorite songs. She's started trying to say her name and will sometimes even say "Claire Bear" and pat herself on the head. She still isn't digging the baby sign language - we've been showing her "milk" and "all done" for a few weeks now. Her personality is so laid back I can't say I'm overly surprised she's not frantic to communicate with us.

Here is my recently planted Chinese hibiscus.

We made Apple Tarts this week - so yummy.

Ethan's been asking me what I wanted for my birthday for awhile now. I really haven't been able to think of anything besides a little getaway with E and C. So we are headed to the coast for a few days! Looking forward to some R&R with my two loves.

Photos ...

2010-08-12T18:13:00.000-05:00

Claire and I went on a mini photo shoot this afternoon.
The Flamingo Place was our Austin hot spot today.
Here's a sneak preview ...

Pigtails ...

2010-08-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

We tried a new do today ...

is this not the cutest thing in the world?

On second thought, don't answer that.

I'm perfectly happy in my conclusion that today, pigtails are the cutest thing in the world.

Other happenings ...

We've resorted to wearing a shower cap at meal time.

Translation: Mama is tired of giving baths twice a day ...

This is where I found her yesterday morning.

She is desperately searching for places to climb around the house.

Spaghetti night means wiping her hands all over her face and all through her hair.

Lately ...

2010-08-01T08:36:00.001-05:00

We had a fun week this week despite a couple more days of rain. We had a play date with some friends who came over to swim - but it started raining so we all came back to our place to play. Claire has a blast with her friends. Here's what we've been up to lately ...

We think her hair gets longer every night ...

sporting the baby mullet

Ethan's been working on converting an old briefcase we found at Room Service Vintage into a pedal board for his guitar petals. It's turning out pretty cool!

Yesterday we spent some time out on lake Perdernales with friends.

They made us dock fried pancakes (so good) for breakfast.

Claire wants to learn to slalom ski like Papa! :)

Claire and Amy

The miserable life jacket

Between the life jacket, the boat vibrations and the breeze - she conks out on the boat.

Someone tied a ski rope to a bridge so we gave it a try - it was fun. We'd have to stand on the back of the boat and grab the rope as it went by - yes we all did it. :)

Ty swinging

Robert Rodriguez's house/castle on the lake.

Fun at home ...

2010-07-24T16:38:00.000-05:00

Ethan's car broke down so Claire and I spent a couple of day "stranded" at home this week. On top of that it was raining on an off so we had to be creative with our fun at home.

She loves the water table we got her for her birthday.

Claire finger painting for the first time. She painted a picture for Daddy's new desk at work!

My hubby ...

2010-07-21T19:59:00.002-05:00

Occasionally, it's okay for us wives to do a little bragging on our hubbies, right? And because we love them so, it's hard to keep it at a "little."

I'm super proud of my handsome hubby these days and I thought I'd take a minute to tell you why. Ethan had an interview for a pretty cool new job opening at Apple last Thursday. To be honest, last Thursday was a horrible day for him. He had his interview fist thing in the morning and didn't feel like it went very well. Then, right as he was leaving the interview and headed to his building his car broke down. He was stuck for a couple of hours in the heat, waiting on a tow truck. No fun. To make matters worse, one of the guys who interview him (who was from the Cupertino, Calif. campus) drove past him as he was stuck in the entrance waiting on the tow truck.

Yesterday afternoon, however, he found out he got the job! We are so excited for this new promotion and his success. We are so thankful as amazed as we see God continuing to provide for our family and bless our decision to give up a chunk of our income so I can be at home with Miss Claire.

He starts his new job sometime in the next couple of weeks and is taking a step up as an Advisor for the iPhone and reporting to the engineers out in California. Really excited for him!

Yes here is that picture again .. i just love it. :)

Should've brought my camera ...

2010-07-21T12:44:00.000-05:00

Claire and I went down to Town Lake this morning to get some exercise. I like to take her somewhere that she can play or have some fun after I'm done working out. I mean ... riding in a stroller can only be fun for so long. :)

Today, I went to the Barton Springs section of Town lake and took a nice long walk. Halfway through, we sat down by the water to feed the fish. I so wish I had of had my camera - what happened was unbelievable. When we walked up there were some fish and turtle so we started feeding them. Then, some pigeons came. Then came the swan followed by the ducks. My final count was eight turtle, a school of fish, four swan, two ducks and five pigeons. Not only were we surround by animals like some crazy Disney movie - they were all gathered within 2 - 3 feet of us. At one point a pigeon was standing on my foot waiting for food. Claire was wide eyed the entire time.

Beautiful summer mornings down at Barton Springs ... we heart Austin.

A fit ...

2010-07-19T23:00:00.001-05:00

Claire and I went into a toy store today to pick up a part that wasn't included in one of the toys she got for her birthday (thankfully they gave it to us for free!)

I let her walk around and explore a bit. That's when she met this guy ...

She was enthralled with this caterpillar. She pet him, talked to him and giggled at him.

Then, I made a horrible mistake and got a glimpse into my new life with a toddler. I tried to get her to walk away from her caterpillar .... so she put out a big pout face and screamed and then sat down and cried. Drama.

It lasted all of five seconds ... but five seconds was enough for me to realize the days of perusing the isle just "looking" at toys might be behind us ...

note: we didn't buy the caterpillar :)

Beach Day ...

2010-07-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday we drove to the Gulf with Ethan's family. We went to Port Aransas to play at the beach for the day. It was a CRAZY windy day and the water was just as crazy. The fish were fighting to water as much as we were and Ethan had a couple jump right in his face - it was hilarious.

It was a fun day!

A year ...

2010-07-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

It's been the fastest year in the history of the world
(in case you were wondering).

It's been a year of learning.

It's been a year of loving in new and profound ways.

It's been absolutely wonderful.

Claire's First Birthday from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

We love you sweet Claire Bear.
You have had the sweetest spirit since the moment
you came into this world.
We adore your smile and laughter.
You have made our lives better and you have made us better people.
You are beautiful.

Birthday!

2010-07-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

Claire's "real" birthday was yesterday. We had a fun day around Austin as we were all still recovering from a day at the Gulf on Tuesday ... we were taking the pictures with our iPhones since I forgot my camera at home :(

Claire woke up to a room full of balloons

That afternoon, we went to Thundercloud and picked up some super yummy sandwiches and had a picnic at Zilker Park. Afterwards, we all took a ride on the Zilker Train!

Then we headed to Sugar Mamma's

on South First for a birthday cupcake.

We went home to rest up (it was HOT!) and had a birthday dinner.

Then Claire got one last present from Ethan and I ...

Birthday Gift from Kristen Holland on Vimeo.

A birthday ...

2010-07-11T16:03:00.000-05:00

It was wonderful. Lots of sweet family and friends came to celebrate with our baby girl.

The weather was beautiful.

Our little walker was showing of her skills when she arrived at the pool and she fell and busted her lip.

It sure didn't stop her from having a good time.

(I realize I didn't get some pictures of several people at the party and if that is you please forgive me!)

A wagon ...

2010-07-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

Mimi and Papa brought Claire a special gift for her birthday ...

While she was napping Papa put it together for her ...

She woke up and couldn't have been more thrilled when she spotted it.

There is just something wonderful about a wagon ...

Many adventures ahead of you Little Miss!

So we loaded up the wagon and headed for the pool!

My toddler ...

2010-06-30T16:19:00.002-05:00

I noticed that her face has changed this week ...
this was confirmed by some friends at the church today.
Turns out I'm not crazy. :)

I think, while we were sleeping, she morphed into a toddler.

I love this part of her neck ... and all her wavy hair.

I'm happy she has mine and Ethan's wavy hair.

She's been walking around the last couple of days.

Just taking off on her own.

She is learning to believe in herself ...

She just "toddles" around with her toddler snack cup.

(without her pants of course, because that is the best way to be)

... which has translated into climbing.

Well, that's been going on for awhile.

She loves climbing under the table.

We are head over heals for those chubby legs.

I love my girl

Here is one of my gerbera daisies.

I'm growing pink and yellow ones this summer.

It's nice to always have fresh flowers in the house.

When I grew up ...

2010-06-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

Yep ... this is me. All grown up and such. :)

A couple of weeks ago I had a startling realization. It suddenly hit me that the feeling in my gut that has been sitting there since about my senior year of high school was gone. You know the one .... that whole "what in the world am I going to be when I grow up" feeling? Through college I studied, traveled and stayed extremely involved in extra-curricular activities ... but the future was really uncertain. Luckily, I have always been pretty darn happy with having just one 3-month "plan" at a time. Moving to Austin, I LOVED my new job and was completely content - but then the feeling it my gut was "What am I going to do once we have kids??"

Here I am ... almost 12 months into motherhood ... staying home with my baby girl and working as a graphic designer from home part-time and freelancing as well. I'm doing EXACTLY what I dreamed of doing just four short years ago ... counting my blessings every day. I still work with an incredible team of people ... and there are some exciting things on the horizon in regards to my career. (I'm looking forward to unveiling this news soon!)

Now ... my thoughts have shifted from "What do I want to be when I grow up?" to "Who do I want to be today?"

I've been working on a mission statement. I love goals - setting goals, working towards goals and accomplishing goals. In order to make sure I'm being the person I want to be each day there are some have-to's each morning. I have to remind myself of my "mission." I have to spend some time praying over these goals and the wife/mother/designer God wants me to be. I have to make a mental or physical list of what needs to happen today or this week.

So in an effort to continue to tweak and revise my mission statement ... I'll share a peak with you.

Diligently pursue Christ daily.
Passionately love, serve, respect and admire Ethan.
Reflect the love of Christ to Claire each day. To teach her to love Him in greater ways than I could ever dream for her.
Love ALL people well and see them as Christ sees them.
Create something new each day. Surrender my gifts and talents to be used for Christ.

My little helper & some new pictures and video!

2010-06-26T17:53:00.001-05:00

Had a super productive day at home today. Ethan is working the next couple of Saturdays and I've got a to do list a mile long.

Claire has been following me around all day - chasing the vacuum cleaner and making messes right after I pick up. She think she's helping ... Can't wait until she actually can pick up her toys! :)

She's a funny little girl ... with my attention span. During the day, I'll sit and play with her and she'll get bored with me after 10 minutes. So naturally, I go start some laundry or try to get some design work done - then she must be underfoot or trying to shut the laptop. Yesterday I was playing with her until she went onto something else so I went in the dining room to set up her new booster/high chair without realizing she had followed me. She's now has a good sized bruise on her forehead from getting hit in the head with the chair I was moving. And of course she cried the most heart breaking cry for what seemed like forever ... (okay two minutes).

Here are some of the recipes I made today for little miss:

Baby Banana Muffins
Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Nuggets
Rice and Butternut Squash "Balls"

all so yummy ... they made good size batches so I ended up freezing half of them - we'll see how then taste after being frozen.

Last but not least, here are some new pics and video taken with the iPhone 4 - and, yes, you all need to go get one.

Caught a bit of the growl (she growls like a tiger) at the mall the other day ... hard to hear over the noise. Just today she started making monkey noises!

Victory!

Claire feeding herself with a spoon - she did pretty well!

Claire Walking - we've had the hardest time catching her walking on video since she randomly decides to stop crawling and go for a stroll. My parents got to see it on Skype for Father's Day! Notice how she always says "Yay!" when she reaches her destination. too cute.

A day outside the Apple store ...

2010-06-24T21:16:00.001-05:00

Ethan and I both just took long, hot showers in an effort to recoup from a crazy, unexpected day.

We both sold our iPhones this week and made enough money off of them to cover the cost of new ones! So .... went to the Apple store at 6:30 this morning to pick up my reserved iPhone. We were so naive.

We stepped in line thinking worst case scenario we'd wait a couple of hours to pick up my reserved phone. After standing in line for about 5 minutes Ethan was moved to the non-reservation line and I was left in a very long line with Claire. (However, I have the most perfect baby in the history of the universe and she was fine the entire time. And by "entire time" I mean four hours!)Ethan ran into a couple of our friends who stood in line with him.

I got my phone after four hours. And I will say - it's an incredible product. I hung out with Ethan, Michael and Elly for a bit afterwards - then took Claire home for a few hours to nap, eat and play. The time in line was honestly really cool, very rarely do Claire and I have four hours just to play. I mean, I'm with her all day every day - but after about 20 minutes of Mommy playtime she moves on to a new activity. So it was fun to get to play with her all morning.

To sum up a very long story, Ethan, Michael and Elly waited 12 hours for their phones. If Ethan hadn't run into them, he would have given up a long time before and gone home with Claire and I. I think it almost became a mission among the three of them. That and Apple was stringing the non-reservation line along every hour making it seem that they only had another hour or so to wait.

My official statement: The product is incredible - but it was no fun (and unexpected) to wait that long in line.

Our girly-girl ...

2010-06-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

How we love her ...

A Father's Day ...

2010-06-21T09:09:00.002-05:00

I love being a Mama. Especially along side this Godly, handsome, loving, hunk of a man ...

(he hates this picture but I love it)

We started the celebration on Saturday night with Father's Day feast. I made homemade Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken, green bean bundles, homemade bread and from scratch cheesecake.

It was delicious if I do say so myself!

Sunday was a wonderful, beautiful day. Claire slept until 10:00 and so did Ethan and I! It was a HUGE treat for Ethan. I got up and made Ethan this amazing Coffee Cake recipe. I didn't read the recipe before hand and it ended up calling for 3 cups of butter by the time you make both the cake and the topping. I don't normally have real butter on hand but had bought some for the Alfredo Sauce. Insane. But so good.

Ethan wasn't playing in the youth band like he usually does so we all went to church together. Normally he goes at 8:00 on Sundays and Claire and I come at 10:30 so it was really nice to go together. Church was wonderful as usual.

We went to lunch afterwards then went to some guitar shops so Ethan could look around. We came home late afternoon to hang out and relax. That afternoon, Claire started walking more than ever. She can take 4 - 6 steps here and there but all afternoon she kept walking about 10 steps back and forth to Ethan and I!

It was a great day.

Here's some fun from last week. When I was printing out return address labels for Claire's birthday invitations I messed up one sheet. So instead of just throwing them away we had a sticker party ....

Claire thought it was really funny. I love being a mama.