The Cluff Family: January 2015

6 months

2:38 PM

Blink! William is 6 months! What?! Time is a crazy thing. I get so sad to think that he will never be my wrinkly newborn anymore but then I get excited for what is ahead... I have mixed emotions about my baby turning 6 months old.

He is the sweeeeetest baby. I say that about him every post I write because he really is. He tolerates Chloe's bullying and playful ways and he is so patient with me and all things I am juggling. I feel so blessed and so grateful to have him as my son. His special spirit brings so much joy to our family. Here are some fun things that have been happening with him:

loves to eat apples, bananas, squash, peas, green beans... he's an awesome eater!

Still hates the bottle... ugh. Maybe I will just be breastfeeding him until he's five... kidding of course.

Wakes up 1-2 times at night but consistently goes to bed around 7pm. I still rock him but let him fall asleep on his own in his crib.

He sits up on his own and reaches for everything! My hair, my necklaces, my face... you name it.

I love his curious nature.

Nothing makes him happier than interaction with people... he especially loves pat-a-cake.

He rolls all over the place but gets his arm stuck on occasion (I think he is double jointed or something).

He is strong, quiet, charming, and very happy. SO HAPPY. I love it. He makes me HAPPY.

Chloe turns 3!

3:24 PM

Remind me to never have another baby around Christmas because it is pure exhaustion. Thanks to my mom's help we pulled off a cute "Frozen" birthday party for my little girl. I can't believe she is three years old. It baffles my mind. She is so mature for her age and sometimes I need to remind myself that she is only three.

I have learned to watch what I say around her because she will repeat anything I say. She says grown up things like, "oh my gosh" and "what's the big idea?" She makes me laugh everyday with some of the things she says.

She loves playing with William and helping me out with the things he needs like baths, diaper changes, and feedings. I have caught her a few times trying to pick him up but I quickly come to the rescue.

She is so caring. She loves to give hugs. When Tanner or myself are tucking her in bed, she will wrap her hands around our necks and pull us down for a kiss on the lips... it is the cutest thing. That is not an every day thing but when she does it, it melts our hearts.

She is scared of the "choo choo train" that blows it's horn every hour around the clock near our house. It causes a problem at nighttime. She reminds us that she needs to say her nightly prayers so she can ask Heavenly Father to help her not be scared of the train.

Her favorite toys include: her babies and their cradle's and high chair; Little people princess castle with all the Disney princesses, puzzles, coloring books, playing kitchen/tea party, Elsa doll, and dress up. She has fun imagination and it's interesting to watch her play.

Tanner always tells me how amazing of a mom I am because Chloe is amazing... and I tell him no... she is just a special person and amazing all by herself. She is so smart and knows her shapes, colors, numbers, animals, and some letters like "Y." Tanner has taught her that Y means BYU so whenever we pass the Y on the mountain she yells, "B Y U!!!" We are just training her young I guess.

Her favorite foods include: crackers and cheese; cereal; smoothies; cheese crisps; pasta; carrots; hummus; broccoli; apples; ice cream; and chocolate milk. She still loves watching movies and TV... especially Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sophia the first.

She is so feminine and girly and loves to put make up on, brush hair, take care of her babies, and get dressed up. Part of the fun of going to Church for her is that she gets to get dressed up in pretty dresses. She is our little princess who has a friendly heart and craves to play with people.

Her birthday party was in the morning and we had breakfast. Grandma Hales got her a light up singing Elsa dress that she wore all morning. Every time she moved a certain way or pushed the button on her dress, it would sing, "let it go, let it go!' She felt like a princess and was in heaven.

Opening presents was hilarious. Since she had just opened presents the day before for Christmas, she was more excited about opening the presents instead of seeing what they were! She also thought that other people should be opening gifts and was surprised that they were all for her! She will learn soon enough. She was spoiled on her birthday with lots of fun presents!

It snowed on Christmas so it was the perfect backdrop for her "Frozen" birthday party. We spent the afternoon sledding. Chloe could have stayed out all day sledding but we forgot her snow pants so we didn't stay out too long but she still had so much fun. You can tell from the pictures that Chloe loved her birthday and that she is loved by many. Happy Birthday Chloe!! We love you so much!

Christmas 2014

2:25 PM

This year we spent Christmas in Utah at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It had been two years since we had Christmas with my family and it was a really good Christmas. I think what made it so perfect was that we were all there. Since we don't know when that could happen again, we of course all slept over on Christmas Eve. It was like we were little kids again except we had our own kids and spouses of course. To put the cherry on top, we woke up to a white Christmas... Tanner's first in fact. Here is Christmas in a nutshell.

We acted out the Nativity (and by acting out I mean we all dressed up in costumes and read the story out loud). Chloe and Bradley made a cute Mary and Joseph. I love this tradition and I can't wait til the grandchildren get a little older so they can act it out and adults can observe.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner of ham and potatoes.

Sibling presents were open on Christmas Eve because none of us could wait any longer. I had Mike this year and bought him a Charles Eames Mid Century Modern Chair print. I think he was pleasantly surprised. Tanner had Andrew and ordered him a T-shirt that a Boston Terrier wearing a suit on it. Gina had me and got me a lens cleaner and a stuffed monkey to put around my lens. Jaclyn had Tanner and gave him a poker set and golf balls. As siblings, we try really hard to not just give gift cards but to try and be creative.

After most of the children were down, all of us played pictionary and it was so fun. I love my family and I love playing games with my family.
Christmas morning was full of anticipation and excitement. It was snowing outside and the grandchildren were up looking at their stockings. Chloe ate her chocolate right away and loved seeing what fun things were in her stocking. Christmas is so much fun as a parent. Grandma made German pancakes and a sausage breakfast casserole that was delicious. We let all of the grandchildren open their gifts first. Chloe's big gifts from Santa were a baby cradle and high chair. William received a huge teddy bear that he loved. Mom and Dad opened William's gifts because he was actually taking a nap... but that's okay, he won't know. The adults opened gifts and I felt spoiled. Tanner was excited about guitar hero and I was excited about my photography class and Blendtec. The fun moment for all of us was when we got to surprise Dad with a gift out in the garage. We built it up and acted like it was a brand new car (and I think he thought it was too) but it was a bike trailer so he can pull the grandkids around while he goes on bike rides. He loved it! There were hardly any returns which was awesome! Christmas couldn't have been more perfect.

Christmas day was spent lounging in pajamas and visiting family. We skyped with Tanner's brother Chris who is serving his mission in Portugal. He comes home in March and it was really fun to talk to him and to hear how his mission has been. He seems so much more mature than when he left. We also called Nana later and let her watch Chloe open her gift from them. She received a princess towel with her name on it that she loves. Michelle and Paul's families went to see the in-laws and we stayed the weekend. Andrew, Tanner, and I went and saw "Imitation Game" on Christmas and it was so good. The roads were a little scary since it had been snowing all day but we made Andrew drive. When we got back I realized that I had to get ready for the next party which is... Chloe's Birthday! My mom helped me (as exhausted as we both were) and we pulled it off but I'll save the details for the next post. Overall Christmas was exhausting yet so fun. We partied hard for a few days. Now that it is January, you can feel the world recovering form the holidays. You never realize how much work, and clean up, and preparation, and wrapping, and cooking etc. that is involved in making the holidays magical when you are a kid but I really appreciate it now. Thank you Mom and Dad for making Christmas memorable my whole life and continuing to do so. This year's Christmas was full of love and service and I'm grateful I got to spend this holiday with my family.