Claire's First Christmas Morning and other fun things

Merry Christmas!! We have had such a wonderful Christmas holiday. Everyone has been so generous to us and to Claire for her first Christmas. We just wanted to share our day with everyone.

Claire was so excited to see if Santa Clause showed up on Christmas Morning. We walked in her room and she was standing up in her crib chanting "Santa" repeatedly. She was very difficult to calm down. Papa always thought he would be a pretty good Santa. (Please note that this picture was staged and of course was not standing up waiting for us)

Our new Christmas tradition is this: Blindfold the children as we come into the living room to see if Santa has come. Let the suspense build as the Christmas gifts dance befor their blinded eyes. Mom and dad are on to something. Feel free to adopt this Christmas tradition in your homes.

Claire throws her arms up in frustration. She realizes that it is impossible to get the Rockin' Safari Elephant Chime Ball to fall down without getting back up.

Anyone seen our little puffy head around? Despite all the fun gifts she got from Santa, friends, and family, Claire finds her greatest joy romping through the wrapping paper.

What dad? Can't a girl just have a little fun?

Claire: "Who is this funny looking man with the long beard and the silly red suit?"

Dad: "Sant Clause is a man who will bring you joy for years to come."

Claire: "Is he as cool as you dad?"

Dad: "Not quite, Sweetheart. Not quite."

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We know that we did thanks to the love of all our friends and family.

Merry Christmas Eve

Since we couldn't be with friends and family tonight, we wanted everyone to be able to spend it with Claire. Despite not knowing exactly what is going on, she has loved the tree and the presents. I imagine if she was mobile, we would be alot busier. We are so grateful for a wonderful Christmas season to celebrate the birth of our Savior. He has brought so much joy into our lives and we rejoice in the gift that he has given the world. May the Lord bless all of you this Christmas season.


Hill has been wanting to start some new Christmas traditions, so here it is. We started out the evening with a gourmet meal filled with European meats and cheeses and topped off with Aranciata. The food was excellent and the tradition is worth keeping.


Nate really outdid himself this time with the bruscetta. Excellent!!!



Claire rejoices over opening her first Christmas Eve gift.


Like most kids, the wrapping paper is the ultimate prize.

Claire shows off her new Christmas pjs from grandma Carter. She'll sleep warm and cozy tonight.

Caught with her hand in the cookie jar. We are on to you Claire.

Merry Christmas to all. We love you!!!

More trip pictures

In order to see more pictures of Claire, you have to enjoy a few more pictures that Nate took in Beaver Canyon. He is really enjoying his new hobby (despite his brothers giving him a hard time for wanting to be Ansel Adams Jr).


This picture is overlooking Puffer Lake (obviously frozen over).

This picture didn't turn out how I had envisioned it. Granted it was take as we were coming down the canyon and we had two kids under the age of two who were losing patience.


Mount Holly at 11,999 feet.

And now for the pictures you all want to see.

We love seeing Aunt Shell.

Two prettiest girls at the wedding (I know that will be disputed). I hope not to get into trouble with that statement. Ann looked beautiful and the wedding was so much fun.

Dinnertime for Claire and Sam. Sam did much better than Claire. She started out like a champ with solids, but she has gone downhill quickly. She loves playing with her spoon though.

Claire woke up late one night to eat. She was up and ready to play. So much fun to have her around.

"Mom, are any of those presents for me?"

It is so late, but I had to be dedicated to my Utes!!! It is tough to stay up for the games out on the East Coast, but,

GO UTES!!!!

The Dahles are Back!!!

We have been on hiatus for a couple of weeks due to our trip out to Utah. We got back late last night and it is so good to be home (living out of a suitcase, no matter where you are is a pain). We had such a great time with family and friends, but honestly, we are exhausted. Hill and Claire were there for a couple weeks and Nate joined them last Friday. What a fun trip. Everyday was packed with activities from sun up to sun down. We took a bunch of pictures and will post them over the next few days. We just chose a few to get something posted.

Nate's dad is working on a project just outside of Beaver, Ut and we spent a couple of days enjoying the beauty of Beaver canyon. We had no idea that it was so beautiful.

While Claire was asleep, we had the opportunity to get out and do some snowshoeingNate and Hill enjoying some time out on the tubing hill with Mt. Holly in the background.
If you look closely, you will see pure concentration on Nate's face as he hits the jump. Luckily there were no injuries on the hill that day.

Claire is hanging out with the ladies. Hello Ladies. Hill is so lucky to have such good friends.

Look who is ready for Christmas. Nate got a new lens from Alyson and Cydnee and he is already putting it to good use. Claire is his favorite subject.Claire was able to meet her great-grandma Carter for the first time. We had to tell Claire that it wasn't very nice of her to scare grandma Carter like this. It was such a fun meeting for everyone.

We hope everyone is well. It was so much fun to see family and friends. We will add more pictures in the near future. Merry Christmas

The New Camera Makes It's Debut

Papa has been playing around with the new camera and this is what he has to show for it so far. He is learning so much and he loves it. Hopefully his pictures will continue to improve. I don't know if the picture quality translates through blogger and the internet. One thing you will start to notice is Claire's new hair-do.
Puffy Head
She had no hair for the first five months, then, in the last three weeks, she has grown blond puff ball. Everywhere she goes, people stop mama to tell her how cute our little girl is. We are so blessed to have her.



All of a sudden, Claire just decided that she needed to eat the table. She did this on and off for about 5 minutes.


How do you not just love this picture? Never has spit up been so vivid.


Claire loves to fly with mama. She is just practicing for her flight to Utah on monday. We'll be there so soon.


Claire is very intent on playing with her block.

Love this little girl.
Whenever we put Claire down, she practices her crunches. She is so strong and she is getting so good at sitting up.
Must eat everything!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone! What a wonderful time of year. We have so much to be thankful for. The Lord has truly blessed us so so many wonderful gifts. First is our little baby (she's growing up so quick). Last Thanksgiving we told everyone that she was coming to be with us. This Thanksgiving she took her first bite. Crazy how things are so different from one year to the next. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We went up to the Burton's again and had a great time with them and the Carrolls. The food was wonderful, and as always, the company was even better. It is always sad not to be with family around the holidays, but at least we have been blessed with wonderful friends who make life so enjoyable. Papa has the whole weekend off and is getting some well-deserved time off with his girls. Although I don't know if waking up friday morning and heading to Richmond to go shopping qualifies as relaxation. But, he put a smile on this time and had fun. You will have to ask mama who was "grumpy-pants" this trip. Papa did find a suit just in time for Ann's wedding - which is just about 2 wks away.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO UTAH!!!

One last thing before we sign out...

GO UTES!!!!

Claire may not forgive us, butt...

Here's Claire's!!!

Claire is always a little skeptical about the temperature of the water when she takes a bath. But papa always seems to get it just right. Claire just loves bathtime and she loves her birthday suit. Check out those rolls!
Papa and Claire go for a walk in the wagon back at the apple orchard.
The aunts are in town. It was so nice of them to come all the way out to Charlottesville to see us. Alyson and Cydnee spoiled Claire like any good aunt would when there is only one niece on that side of the family. Just one niece? Claire needs some cousins.
That's a fun one.
Mama and Claire took a ride in the wagon. Aren't they so beautiful? They sure had a good time. Luckily they didn't fall over.
Papa broke the bank. He has been threatening to get a digital SLR for a long time. He finally got one. We have been working on learning the ins and outs of the camera and we are still working on some of the downloading stuff. Anyways, we hope to have some images from the new camera up and running in no time.

Papa is in action with his new camera. Watch out Claire, Papa is coming to get you.

Lately at the Dahle house, it seems like we have been living in bizarro - world. It is like mama and papa have almost switched places. Some examples: Hill is now the budget guru (although her math at times needs some checking), and Nate keeps looking for ways to blow the bank (as evidenced by the camera). Nate now picks up his clothes, and Hill leaves her clothes all over the bedroom. Hill hasn't locked the keys in the car since we were engaged, Nate locked the key in the car last night (luckily the seller of the car saved us), and he keeps losing stuff. When we climb into bed, Hill wants to go to sleep immediately and Nate keeps her up with all types of random questions. Anyways, come to Charlottesville and check out the new bizzaro - world whenever you get a chance.

Never Satisfied

It turns out that our blogging audience is pretty demanding. Despite probably our best post ever, all we have heard this week is how everyone wants to see Claire in her flower outfit. Well, I guess we can't blame you. She looked so cute. This has been a few days coming since I have had a hard time uploading the video. But, I think we have got it. Plus, papa has been working quite a bit this week. He had another stint of nights, so he has been pretty tired.

Now that we have the YouTube thing figured out, we hope for more videos.

It has been said that a plant is drawn to the sun. It turns out here that mama is standing just next to Claire. She had so much fun playing in her pot.

Mama and Claire went to the University of Virginia's Halloween on the Lawn. Thousands of people get together on the grounds to trick-or-treat at the dorm rooms of the students. Claire brought about countless smiles and numerous comments from the trick-or-treaters. Mama said that Claire just loved looking around and seeing all the people. Where was papa? At the hospital. Unfortunately for him he could not get out in time to see his sweet little flower. Hopefully he won't miss next year.

Here Claire enjoys her time at the party with Tinkerbell and Snow White (Ellie and Emma Burton). These two little princesses take such good care of Claire. They love to give her hugs and kisses. In fact, Snow White was a flower last year. Maybe Claire could follow in her footsteps and be Snow White next year.

Goin' on a bear hunt...

Gonna catch a big one.
Oh what a beautiful day!!!

WANTED: CLAIRE ELIZABETH BEAR. Height: 26 inches. Weight: 17 lbs. Appears cute and cuddly, but consider her very dangerous. Full of sugar, spice, and everything NOT so nice. Last seen roaming through the woods on the trail to Monticello. Strikes fear into the hearts of unsuspecting hikers.
REWARD: $1,000,000

THE SUSPECTS CAVE
The suspect awakes from a long hibernation in her cave where she has been dreaming about milk shakes, oreos dipped in tall glasses of milk, and drinking fountains full of milk. She is nice and cozy in her warm designer fur that she received from her fun Aunt Alyson. She is so hungry, she could eat a horse (a horse made of milk that is). The time has come for her to emerge.

The Bear Hunter

Cunning. Methodical. Voted 2005, 2006 Bear hunter of the years. When she's on the case, you had better play your cards right. Look out Claire Bear, Hillory the Hunter is on your trail.

The suspect slowly emerges from her cave and staggers up the hill. She is consumed by the desire for food and decides to lick the salt off of her arms to tie her over. She is going to have to be pretty nimble today if she is going to survive.

Here the bear hides in the shadows of her cave waiting and watching patiently for the unsuspecting victim to casually stroll by. Remember don't let her cute and cuddly nature draw you in.

The Photographer

Dedicated. Passionate. Solid. Photographer Nate is on the case. His mission is to document the ensuing showdown. Will He fold in the face of DANGER?

She crouches over, ready to make the first kill of the day. But her prey escapes unharmed, despite her impeccable form. It is amazing that the photographer has been able to get this close the dangerous bear. He didn't even have his fancy camera to help him out (although there is word that it is on its way).
Claire catches wind that the Bear Hunter is close. A look of concern and uncertainty fills her face.
The Hiding Spot
Here the bear takes refuge in the log pile. She resorts to looking for insects and small animals - things she can crush with one swipe of her mighty paw. She is also contemplating a nap as all of this hard work has really made her tired. No worry, she will get a good sleep tonight. On with the hunt.
The Hunt Continues
Remember how I said cute and cuddly? The photographer was almost torn to pieces in order to bring you this close up picture. It's just that he tried to pinch those cheeks and the bear wasn't too pleased.

The Snack
Claire sets up watch over her favorite hunting spot on the trail - the pond. Here many victims have fallen prey to her cunning plans for dinner. In fact, if you look real closely, the bear is just finishing up a little snack - a poor, unfortunate squirrel.


Oh no!!! I think the bear has spotted something of her liking.
The bear turns and crouches down, ready to make the kill.

The Attack

She lets out a loud roar that fills the forest and lunges down the mountain after her dinner, bounding recklessly, knocking over trees and plants to satisfy her voracious hunger.

Out of nowhere comes the fearsome bear hunter and wrestles Claire to the gound. It is an intense battle too gruesome to show. In the end the bear hunter wins and hauls Claire off to the cage where she belongs.

The Mugshot
Claire is charged with conduct unbecoming of a cute, cuddly bear. She is found guilty and is sentenced to life with the Hunter and the Bear. She'll eat you with those scary eyes.

Behind bars!!!!

Right where this bear belongs - where we can keep a close eye on her and make sure she behaves. We love our little bear so much. We hope you have enjoyed our adventures today. Stay tuned for more.

*No animals were hurt in the production/filming of this story.