Clara - 23 Months

I can't believe that in a month Clara will be TWO!  Actually, she's starting to have more and more two-year-old moments, so maybe it's not that hard to believe.  Here's a little bit about what she's up to:

-She pretty much narrates our entire day.  It seems that every month for the past few I've been saying her vocabulary is really exploding, but now more than ever.  She can repeat most words with really good accuracy.

-Loves to watch football!  She still calls it foobooball even though she can totally say "foot" and refers to her foot and feet often.  She loves to tell the players to "ruuuuunnnnn!" and says "uh oh" or "oh no!" when someone gets tackled or fumbles the ball.  She also says "touchdown!" at the appropriate times and puts both arms up in the air.

-I've found her saying her own prayers a few times.  It's the cutest thing!  One day she was in time out and when I came to get her, she was standing with her arms folded and her head buried in her arms.  She was talking quietly and then I started to make out what she was saying, ".... for the kitty...... for baama (what she calls grandma).....Jesus.... amen!"And put her head up with a huge grin.

-Is obsessed with watching the movie I made of her first year.  We watch it at least once a day.  I like to think it's good exposure to babies and what's about to rock her world in about two months.  Plus it's fun for me to watch and think about all of those sweet baby phases we get to relive with the new kiddo.

-Is still SO expressive.  It's fun to have all of her various expressions matching up with her new words.  She can be so adamant and serious about the funniest things.

-Still a great little sport on all of our outings.  It may be a bit of a shock to stay home more once the baby comes because daily she asks to "go to store."

-Has tinkled in the potty twice!  I thought for SURE that we'd be on the set-three-days-aside-and-get-it-over-with side of potty training, but so far that hasn't happened.  Ugh.

-Can be so stubborn (Spencer would say, "just like her mama" - but I have no idea what he's talking about).  A few battles have been over walking vs. riding in the stroller, getting dressed, changing her diaper, etc.

-Loves her kitty more than ever and has a cute scolding tone for when the cat is doing something she shouldn't.

-Still a music lover.  One day I was tired of singing Praise to the Man (again! again!) and got out my laptop and played it for her on the church's music website.  Now she's always asking me to "get man" and if I start singing it she says, "no, get it mama."  We're working on using "please" in contexts outside of wanting more food...  Her favorite songs right now are Praise to the Man (man), Popcorn Popping (pah-corn), Stand for the Right (words), The Lord Gave Me a Temple (body), I Love to See the Temple (temple song) and Teach Me to Walk in the Light (always).  We listen to a primary CD every time we're in the car and she's learned so many more songs too!