Clara at 3

Holy Cow! My baby is 3!



I still remember her as a tiny little thing. In this picture she is about 2 weeks old. She was a very awake and aware baby. And very easy...

At three, Clara is a very bright little girl. Her teachers at school love her and comment on how "sharp" she is. Her favorite thing is playing outside, followed closely by dressing up in her princess dress and taking care of her babies.

She's not much of an eater... a little more picky than her brother, but she LOVES vegetables. I know! Strange child! She frequently requests that I make broccoli. She also likes "macky-oni and cheese" and "dog corns". :-D

Clara has a bit of a stubborn streak. She's still surprised by not getting her way and can throw a good tantrum. We're still figuring out what works as far as discipline for her. When she's really mad, you can just see her brain clicking away...

She sings continuously, often making up her own songs. She stomps any bug she sees. Sometimes I jokingly tell Connor to get his sister to "take care" of that spider for him, and he does! And she will!

I love my little Bean!

All the Outdoors

Holy cow it was glorious here today. Bee-U-Tee-Full! And "warm". You know, I think we reached 60 today. Actually, that was perfect.

As it was forecast to be so lovely, I made plans to hit up the local nature center with the chill'uns. Best decisions I have ever made! We had such a wonderful day. And after the last two weeks, Connor needed even an ok day, so a good day was fabulous!

The last time we went to the nature center was a year ago. Boy does a year make a difference. There was no whining. I didn't carry Clara at all. There was no running around crazy without listening to mom. Yay!

I showed Connor how the trails were marked and then he led the way (with just a little guidance and a few reminders to look ahead for the next blaze). He enjoyed climbing the rocks. When I asked him what his favorite part of the trip was he said "I just like walking." Clara happily hung out in the middle. She's a little collector... she found all kinds of cool little pine cones and nuts. She even stuck a little moss in her pocket. Near the end of our trek, I kept waiting for her to be tired of walking, but she just walked along singing little songs to herself. Did I mention that it was a great day?

The Girly Girl

Clara is a girly girl. She wants to wear a "pretty dress" everyday. I can only get her in pants if I explain why they are needed and point out that they "match". She always wants "clippies" and "hair ties" for her hair. She loves shoes. She likes jewelry.

I don't know where it came from. I don't mind accommodating it, but *woah* is it weird to me.

Summer Fun!

The weather has been beautiful lately - perfect for outdoor fun! This morning we headed out to our local brand spanking new park. It's great. They made it to be accessible for all ages and abilities, so Clara can play and have fun and I don't have to worry as much about following right behind her. She always finds something fun (and safe) to do. So here are the highlights of our morning. ~:-)


All buckled up and ready to go. Jackets on for the chilly morning air.


Clara doing what Clara does. She would be happy swinging the whole time if I didn't make her get down and go play.


Clara was glad she left the swing when she found the roller slide. She did a continuous loop of the steps and slide for about 10 minutes.


Spiderman, Spiderman. Does whatever a Spiderman does. Connor is getting very good at climbing the different ropes and rock walls and such. Once he actually tries it, he loves it!

Here you go Dad...

So Dad wants to know what's going on. I *suppose* I can update this. But it's sooo much work... I don't know if I can make it. ~:-P

Hehe. I could find some more pictures of Christian Bale...

Or...

There is this other cute person...



Clara stole her daddy's hat! And then she decided to join a race herself. Round and round the kitchen/living/dining room she went. Giggling the whole time.

These days she's lucky she's cute. I now realize the truth behind the terrible twos. Wow. It's amazing how much attitude can come out of such a little body. It's funny how she wants to cling to me and run from me at the same time. She wants to be so independent. At the same time she is timid and frustrated. Maybe if I keep thinking of it that way I can keep from wanting to lock her in the closet for the next year.

Up next... The Tale of the Vaseline. (just wait until you hear this one)

Clara does Play-Doh

Lately, Clara has been enjoying some time as the only child while Connor is at preschool. In fact, it's probably better than being an only or the first child... she has all of Connor's cool toys to play with while he's not here to fight he for them. Score!

Clara's most recent find is Connor's Play-Doh tub. Santa brought this to enable Connor to use Play-Doh without mommy losing her mind. So far it is really working (well... I'm not losing my mind over Play-Doh anyway). Connor will set the tray top on the floor and keep the container next to him. (One must have access to every Play-Doh toy at all times!) Anyway, Clara "found" the tub a few days ago and after much whining I gave in.



She was very funny about it... she didn't like to touch it. At first she would hold it down, just barely touching it with one finger, and poke at it with whatever tool she had. Finally she advanced to picking it up, but she never did work up the courage to squish it. In the end, only the google eyes in the tub held her attention.

Can you hear the music?

Potty training...

sucks.

Clara is refusing to put on underwear. And I am refusing to put a diaper on her. It'll be ok until she has to poop.

Have I mentioned that potty training sucks?

*Update* She pooped on Michael's watch... HAHAHAHAHAHA! Is that mean?

ABCs

Just a little cuteness for the day. ~:-)

The best way to shop...

Apple juice?

My baby

Okay... I have to finally admit it's true. My baby is 2 today. *sob*


It's so funny, how things are with second children. When Connor was a baby, I sort of shruged off everyone's advice to "cherish each moment" and the words "they grow up so fast". I knew I was doing just that. Looking back, I realize that I was (am) always just waiting for the next milestone. Everything is a new adventure with him. It's uncharted territory. I want to see what's next all the time, without fully appreciating what is happening now.

Now with Clara, I've seen the territory before. I've seen what's coming (for the most part - Lord help me) so I can sort of lean back and enjoy the view. When she sings the ABC song, I'm not anxious for her to know every letter. I enjoy the parts she makes up. I'm sad that she doesn't want to hold my hand when we walk. I secretly wish she was more timid and didn't just want mom to let her go.

We've had some big milestones this week alone. There were the stitches. Just the day before that she learned to climb out of her crib. On Sunday, we turned that crib into a big girl bed. *sob* Sunday she also perfected opening doors, so I've been scrambling to round up the doorknob covers.

Clara is very strong willed. She knows exactly what she wants. She's hard (sometimes impossible) to distract. Maybe I should just call her passionate. ;-)

Clara is also very sweet. When in the mood, all she wants to do is cuddle. She loves to take care of her babies. Her favorite thing in the world is the part of "sparkly shoes" that Nana and PopPop got her for Christmas. She wears them all the time. She sings and dances a lot. She's good at helping to clean up. When she sees that Connor is sad or upset, she runs over to give him a hug (unless, of course, some sibling rivalry was the cause).

She will never be contained by it, but that's my Clara in a nutshell. Happy birthday baby. I love you!

So glad...

we have good insurance. While there is a lot to complain about with military health care, if we need to go to the emergency room we never have to worry about how we'll pay for it. That is a good thing because we've had 3 separate visits since January... once while in Minnesota. Our latest occurred last night. Clara is the first in our family to have stitches.


Aren't they beautiful? Two little stitches. They match her eyes. Of course today is the first ever she didn't want her picture taken. It's funny how they know when you really want to document something... I tried several times to take her picture. This is the first in focus with a view of the little cut.

I have to brag about how good she was. She stayed very still while being repaired. She didn't even flinch. Of course she was all wrapped up like a mummy to keep her from fighting. We should have put the wraps on her while I held the anesthetic on her lip instead. That was the real fight... but of course mommy prevailed in the end. Today she has been walking around telling everyone about the "boo-boo on wip". Very cute. Now I just need to train her to say "I'm two" by Thursday. ~:-)

The baby

We have a baby in the house...

and his name is Connor! Clara has been playing with her babies a lot lately, so I am the official baby wrapper. Connor made a comment about how good I was at it and I told him about how I got my practice... wrapping him up! Connor loved being swaddled when he was a newborn. Clara hated it. Well, he immediately asked to be wrapped up. What a cute "little" baby!


Clara just sat watching Connor and I giggle like idiots. She was too busy playing mommy to play around with us.

Sneaky little monkey...

Clara is turning into a sneaky little monkey. She loves my crafting table and anything sitting on it. For about a week she was strangely driven directly to my Staz-On pad... think super-permanent Sharpie in ink pad form. AAHHHH! This is her first work of art.

Yup, that's a sample I was preparing for an upcoming class. She also wiped the pad across her face and down her sleeve. Fortunately her face washed clean. She also got a smear on my desk. I'm really lucky though... she didn't throw it on the ground or try to paint the walls or anything. The next day she did it again. That's what I get for using the bathroom. She's very persistent... both times the pad was on the backside of my desk, near the wall. It was an incredible reach for a little girl. She knows what she wants, I guess.

Oh, and of course she feels so very guilty about the whole thing.

ECHO... Echo... echo...

Hello there! As was recently so lovingly pointed out by my mother, I have been a touch neglectful of this blog. Evidently the Pooh joke has gotten old. ;-) Of course, if you want to check that I'm still alive, check traceystamps.blogspot.com... I'm a touch more consistent with that one.

So... what's been happening here? Well, this week Clara got Roseola. Sunday, Monday and a good part of Tuesday she had a fever topping off over 104. It was fun. It was all good though. Wednesday evening she started to get a little splotchy, but I figured it was from her major wipe-out at the park earlier in the day. Thursday it was all over her body. An hour and a half at the clinic later we have the verdict of Roseola. Woo hoo. One more common childhood virus I can check off the "my-kid's-had-it" list. Of course there's nothing to do about it but wait for it to fade, which it has already.

Well, there's a little start for you. I will post more (with pictures) later today or tomorrow. There's all kinds of nature involved... sounds super exciting, huh? It was!

Lala-lala. Lala-lala. Elmo's World.

Yes, this song plays continuously in my head. We don't even watch Sesame Street that much, due to extreme whining on the part of Connor. He's never really liked it. I know. It's blasphemy. Anyway, I just figured I should post something here. :-)

Speaking of extreme whining...

Connor has been working overtime on his pity cry. It comes if we look at him funny or even laugh at his joke the wrong way. He said the other day, "Momma, I'm a good actor." When I asked who told him that, he wouldn't answer until I guessed his teacher. Then he gave his silly sheepish grin and said "Yeah." I guess he's been turning it on at school too.

Clara has been a barrel of personality. Just look!

She's been teething (I think based on all the random screaming fits - or she's just a high strung 1 yo). We are still waiting on some teeth that should have showed a year ago. I'm not too worried...

Christmas at Our Place

This year we had Christmas at our place. It's been a lot of fun! Nana, PopPop, and Mo (aka Neil) came up from VA to visit us. I love my family (but I seriously miss my sister)! I thought I'd continue my recent blogging style and offer you a holiday in review.

Connor, Nana, and I made a gingerbread house together. It was from a kit, but I bought some extra candy to use. This was so much fun. Of course, nearly the entire thing had Connor's licked fingers stuck on it. And yes, by the end he was as hopped up on sugar as he looks.

I... ehr... Santa brought Michael a huge Toblerone. This is a source of contention in our home. Let me ask you. Exactly how long can a Toblerone sit on your counter before you have to start eating it?

Clara got all of her favorite things for Christmas. Nana and PopPop brought her pretty shoes and a purse and Santa brought a doll baby, stroller, and Elmo. She spent Christmas day literally doing laps around our house pushing the stroller. She immediately started growing a circular bruise on her forehead, the result of falling over into the stroller as she tried to load her baby into it.

My sister made these awesome dolls for Connor and Clara. I'm so glad I finally got that sewing machine to her!

Connor got lots of good inside play toys. Here he is with the dominoes Nana and PopPop brought. He can't quite do them himself (no patience), but Nana would set them up while he played and then call him over when the time came to knock them over. His eyes would just light up and of course he would immediately say "Let's set them up again!"

We've had a great Christmas! I hope you've enjoyed yours. Have a happy new year! ~:-D

A little life at our house

Just thought I'd give you a glimpse of life at our house right now. :-)

Clara continues to like "dressing up"... even if it means wearing Connor's undies on her head.

I've fallen in love with Scrabble. This was Michael's first game. He did quite well.

Clara started eating with a spoon. Good news is that she's growing... bad news is she's messy. :-)

Meet Connor, birthday party attender extraordinaire. He particularly loved his best friend T's party. He could eat the cupcakes!

Babies in the Snow

So we've had a nice little day at home today. As I said, practically the whole state shut down. Significantly for us, that meant Connor's flu shot appointment was canceled again. Let me tell you how heartbroken I was. Can you see my tears? I think I am going to take this as a sign that he doesn't really need the flu shot that badly. Boo hoo.

We headed out right after lunch for a little snow time. The kiddos got to try out their fancy new duds - boots and snowsuits. Both handled them well, although Clara couldn't get up if she fell over. It was very funny. I started out carrying her across the street to be social and she began her all to familiar cry of "WA! WA!" (meaning, of course, walk!) I would set her down, look for Connor (off playing), and turn back to her on her hands and knees. I gave her time to figure it out, but soon the cries for "Hep!" would begin. Eventually she just gave up and started crying "Hep!" as soon as she bit the dust. All in all, they both enjoyed it. Hopefully, it's not too icy in the morning to get some fun snow time in!