Claire's Birthday Party

We decided to have a princess theme for Claire's first birthday. The invitations were shaped like little pink crowns and I attempted to make a castle cake for the occasion. Claire definitely did not like having so many unfamiliar faces around, but she did seem to enjoy the cake once she actually tasted it. All in all, it turned out to be a pretty good time. I hope everyone had fun. I failed to get pictures of everyone that was there, I was too busy running around I guess. Aunt Sherry made Claire a really cute book to try to help her remember family and friends faces between visits. It is called "Princess Claire, Princess Claire, Who Do You See?" Enjoy the pictures!! Claire's Little Cake!

The big castle cake

Mommy, what are all these chairs for?

Aunt Katie and Aunt Erica all ready to party!

The birthday girl with her Grandma Staff

I really don't like all these people in my house!

I guess I will kinda smile!

What is going on?

What do you want me to do with this?

I don't want to taste it!!

Maybe this is good!

First Steps!!

The day after her birthday, Claire actually tried to walk for the first time (at least in front of Ryan and I). She tried to walk from the dining room table to me in the living room. She really did a pretty good job. Now she sometimes chooses to try and walk and other times would rather crawl or cruise along the furniture. Here is a video of the first night we caught her walking! I apoligize that the video is sideways, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Celebrating Claire's birthday, just the three of us!

On the day of Claire's actual birthday, April 7, Ryan and I had planned vacation days and the day turned out to be beautiful. We hung around the house in the morning. We went to lunch at the Dairy King, where Claire had some shredded chicken and her first ice cream cone! Then we went to the park and played on the equipment and took a walk. Here are the pics from that:

Hi mom!

Playin' with the ball

I'm so happy!

Waitin' for lunch

Eatin' a fry

Going down the slide...this is fun!

Playin' on the dinosaur

Swingin' with mom

Hi Dad!

I don't want to go through the tunnel!!

I'm way up high...see

Happy Birthday Claire!!

Wow, I cannot believe a year has gone by already! Our baby girl is growing up way too fast already! I don't have any pictures to post at the moment, just thought I would take a moment to reflect. One year ago, today I was pregnant with Claire. One year ago, tomorrow we welcomed our new baby girl into the world. I remember how overwhelmed, thankful and scared I felt. How was I ever going to be a good mother to this tiny little creature? Now, I cannot imagine my life without her in it! From a tiny little baby of only 7 lbs. 9 oz. who only cried, slept, ate, and dirtied diapers to an energetic one-year-old who is constantly exploring and learning new things! Every day with Claire is a new adventure that brings lots of smiles, laughter, and even a few tears now and then! What a blessing children are in our lives! Thank you God for blessing us with such a beautiful daughter! We cannot wait to welcome the next addition into our family. And HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet little girl!!!

New Baby Grandstaff

Well, as Ryan has already informed everyone, we are going to be welcoming a son into our family! We are both thrilled! His heart rate was 158 and Dr. Z said everything looked good. The estimate for his weight right now was 15 oz. I am twenty weeks right now, and the week-by-week book says babies are usually about 9 oz right now. So, we may have a big baby on our hands, although I know that the weight estimates can be pretty inaccurate. Anyway, here are the latest ultrasound pictures.

Here is the announcement shot!

This is a picture of his face and torso. His arm and hand are up by his head.

This was a picture of both of his feet.

This is the 3D image of his face.

Another 3D image.

More pics of the boy parts! Pretty obvious we are having a boy, don't you think?

The stuff at the bottom of the picture is the placenta and I think the little thing in front of his bottom may be his hand or part of the umbilical cord.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. My next appointment isn't until the beginning of May. So, the next baby boy update won't be until then. But I am sure we will have updates on Claire soon. I will try to get a belly shot soon to post. I haven't taken any yet.

Watch out Grandstaff Girls

This is Ryan making his first appearance on the blog, with a warning. All Grandstaff females live with the fear of knowing that Daddy has Back up on the way in August!! Thats right, Daddy is getting a boy, so girls watch out!!! It is going to be 2 on 2 battle and we will see who will Prevail. (Da Boys) That is all I got for now, I am sure Natalie will be on later with all the pictures and her comments.