Jaime's Visit

This weekend we had the pleasure of having our good friend Jaime visit from Charleston, SC. On Friday we had a girls day and checked out the Littleton History Museum, which has two farms (from the 1860's and the 1890's). Claire enjoyed seeing some animals, especially the pigs who decided to take a mud bath while we were watching.

On Saturday we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park for a hike to Mill's Lake. It was a beautiful day in Colorado and the 5 mile hike was breathtaking. Claire did great in her backpack and we are really enjoying being able to take her on these great day trips!

9 Month Photos

On the 11th we took Claire to City Park for her 9 Month Photos. It was a beautiful day in Denver, perhaps too sunny for some of the photos. The password is Claire. Enjoy!

http://hasslerphoto.zenfolio.com/claire9months

Claire is cruising and clapping!

Over Labor Day weekend Claire began to cruise around anything that she could stand up at. It has been fun to watch her learn this new form of movement. She will even have her brave moments and let go! Independent standing only lasts a few seconds, but it is easy to see that she is eager to start this walking thing that she sees everyone else doing. Here is a video that Dave captured as she plays at her music table.

Another first for Claire is that she started Clapping on the 11th. We have not been able to capture this one yet, but it is fun to have another action to add to her waving, saying no and signing all done.

Claire Returns to New England

On Thursday we set out for another trip to New England this time to attend the wedding of Chip & Kristen. We felt very lucky to be making the trip as Claire had been sick all week and we did not feel that she would be ready to travel. After two doctors visits and her fever finally breaking the Thursday morning we decided to go ahead with the original travel plans. We arrived late Thursday night and spent a quick 12 hours with the Borish family before packing up and heading to Maine to the Acton Fair to surprise the family! We spent part of the day showing Claire one of Melissa's old 4-H stomping grounds. She seemed to like the animals and we all enjoyed getting to see the family. Unfortunately my dad was away in New York attending the funeral of my uncle and was not able to see Claire this trip.

After the farm we made a quick stop back at the farm and Claire was able to enjoy some additional time with her Grandma Debbie. We took a couple of family photos in the backyard.

On Friday night we headed back to Boston to stay with the Fagans. Claire enjoyed spending time with her friend Grace while her parents enjoyed a girls night and a fantasy football draft. It was great to spend some time with our Boston based friends. On Saturday we took the girls to Boston Commons and they each had their pictures taken with the Make Way for Ducklings statues. It was a beautiful day in Boston and we are grateful to have spent it with such amazing friends.

On Saturday night we attended the long overdue wedding of Chip & Kristen. We were very excited to be there to witness them become husband and wife.

On Sunday we grabbed some sandwiches at the Hi Rise Cafe and headed to MIT for a picnic in front of the dome. We then enjoyed a stroll around campus and some MIT shopping before heading to the airport to begin the journey home.

Road Trip to Santa Fe

Over the weekend we decided to take Claire on her first road trip. On Friday evening near bedtime we headed out on a 6 hour drive to see Uncle John in Santa Fe. On Saturday morning we headed out to visit Bandelier National Monument to see how the ancestral Pueblo people lived. Dave did a great job navigating through the caves with Claire in the backpack. Here are some of the photos of us trying out the cave living.

We then headed back into Las Alamos "the town that never was" to have lunch at the park where John enjoys most of his lunch breaks, before taking in the local museum.

In the evening John took us to the Plaza so that we could wander around like proper tourist. On Sunday we drove up Canyon Road to check out the galleries and then returned to the Plaza to check out the SWAIA Indian Market. Claire enjoyed watching one of the performances, and we enjoyed some roasted corn on the cob.

As we were packing up to leave Claire surprise us all with something new- saying ma ma. This was a big surprise as we have not yet heard da da, so it took us a couple of times hearing it before we believed it. She has been using it quite a lot since then so we know that we are not imagining it!

Motion

During our trip to New England Claire really refined her crawling and even began to pull up on items (Thanks Brandon for teaching Claire this trick). It has been fun to watch her figure it all and to see how quickly she manages to get around now! Long gone are the days when she would stay near where you set her down for a minute. She has proven herself to be curious and so we are trying to child proof the house so that she can only get into a little bit of trouble. Here are some videos of her new tricks and a video of her new ride!

Broncos Training Camp

To kick off the football season we took Claire to the Denver Broncos open practice at Invesco Field. She seemed to enjoy all the action and is looking forward to great seasons for both the Broncos and the Patriots!