Going to see Santa

We recently went to go see Santa... Here she is in the car on the way

Here we are waiting in a VERY long line

Here she is with Santa!! Not the happiest, but at least she didn't cry! :)

Merry Christmas and we will post more pictures soon!

8 Months Old

This past month has been ridiculously busy for the Vandervaart family. Since moving to Indianapolis, my dad's cancer has seemed to have gotten worse and new symptoms have developed. Although in wonderful spirits, he has been falling down and feeling weak so he was admitted into the hospital for nearly 2 weeks. Meanwhile, my parents are doing some reconstruction on their house, Pete and I have been orienting to new jobs, and on top of it all - my parents house was robbed. Everyone is safe and my dad was out of the hospital by Turkey Day! Although things may seem like a bit of a down pour at times - we are able to find many things to be grateful for. Claire has been getting braver when it comes to standing on her own and walking along furniture. She has four teeth now and still very much enjoys her bath! Here are some pictures of Claire from this past month.

Visiting Grandpa Carroll in the hospital

Cheering on the Colts with Dad

"Allow me to explain myself..."

She loves sitting/rocking in her chair

Making goofy faces with mom

Ready for the snow

LET'S GO COLTS

Shirt says: "I've been good all year!"

...I guess she'll still make the "Nice" list

Pretty in pink :)

We've been hanging out with Jackson a lot

Jackson and Claire have lots of fun together

Concentrating on swinging at the park

Went for a long bike ride with mom and dad

I was POOPED afterwards

~Thanks for checking in on us~

Happy Halloween!

Claire was a giraffe this halloween

Pete and I threw together something for a family photo

Claire as a Christmas Giraffe?? Who knows!

Swim Lessons

We took 6 weeks of swim lessons and she absolutely LOVES the water!

Our friends Lindsey and Eve were in the class with us

Grandma was our swim instructor

Here's Claire floating in her life jacket - she loved it!

Claire 7 Months

First off, sorry this is such a late update on Claire and her 7 month update. She is doing well. She has three teeth now (all on the bottom), she is crawling quickly, pulling herself up to stand on furniture and (at times) tries to stand one handed against things or walk along furniture. We have moved from Ohio to our parents house in Indianapolis to be closer to my family and help out with my dad and family stuff. Here are some pictures from this last month with Claire...

... a little high, dad!
she seemed to love it!

hanging out with Uncle Tim

visiting with Aunt Kathy

played with Uncle Mike

Thanks for the outfit, Aunt Kathy

GO COLTS!

Reunited with our dog!

Miss Audrey and Ashley helped us pack up our house

Love my bath

Checking herself out

Trying on her new coat for the winter

Dressed and ready for snow

Tried spaghetti for the first time

Not sure what she thought of it at first...

but then she LOVED it

BOILER UP!

One proud papa

Our little pumpkin

Snuggling with her first teddy bear

SO tired

Here are two of her teeth

Halloween and Swim Lessons to come!