Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
Friday, October 26, 2012
52 Projects... Revisited
Remember at the beginning of the year, how I was going to do some kind of project every week all year long? And then ideally report back on my blog? And remember how that hasn't happened? Well, it's not that I haven't accomplished anything this year, but probably not as much as I hoped. But with a new baby on the way and a burst of second trimester energy, I'm hoping to really get a lot done in the next little while. With Spencer out of town all week, Clara and I spent a good bit of time at my parents' house and were able to get a lot of projects done! I took projects I knew we could start and finish - I needed that sense of accomplishment. Here's what we ended up with:
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6 knit newborn baby hats
3 pairs of babylegs
2 changing pad covers
2 sets of car seat strap covers
1 fleece blanket
1 flannel crib sheet
1 scallop bunting for the girls' room
1 autumn bunting for the living room
1 hooded towel for baby girl #2
1 felt Christmas tree just for Clara to decorate with 25 felt ornaments - still deciding if we'll use them advent style, or give them to her all at once to decorate and undecorate the tree at will
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We also started a color book for Clara, similar to this. All of the pages are done, except for the color words. I think the felt ornaments and the color book were my favorite projects because they allowed complete creative freedom. Plus, with a sweet toddler as the end user, I know she'll be thrilled with whatever we've created. Having my mom to help really sped up the projects and helped me get so much more done!
I still have a lot to do before the new baby, and I still think it would be cool to keep up with weekly projects on the blog. So we'll see if it actually happens. Here are a few of the things on my short list:
-clean out the garage
-make new roman shades for the girls room
-cornice boxes for the girls windows
-coordinating crib skirts for the girls
-quilt for the new baby
-mobile for baby (rain drops and clouds or owls)
-clean out storage/laundry room
-get craft area organized
-organize and consolidate all files
-rain gutter bookshelves for girls room
-hang art and shelves in the girls room
-make Clara's baby book...
-make gauze blankets for new baby
-organize girls closet and dresser - make them shared-room-friendly
-get new baby crib set up
-recover the bouncer
-set up new baby area in our room
Alright, let's see what happens in the next 14 weeks!
.JPG)
6 knit newborn baby hats
3 pairs of babylegs
2 changing pad covers
2 sets of car seat strap covers
1 fleece blanket
1 flannel crib sheet
1 scallop bunting for the girls' room
1 autumn bunting for the living room
1 hooded towel for baby girl #2
1 felt Christmas tree just for Clara to decorate with 25 felt ornaments - still deciding if we'll use them advent style, or give them to her all at once to decorate and undecorate the tree at will
.JPG)
We also started a color book for Clara, similar to this. All of the pages are done, except for the color words. I think the felt ornaments and the color book were my favorite projects because they allowed complete creative freedom. Plus, with a sweet toddler as the end user, I know she'll be thrilled with whatever we've created. Having my mom to help really sped up the projects and helped me get so much more done!
I still have a lot to do before the new baby, and I still think it would be cool to keep up with weekly projects on the blog. So we'll see if it actually happens. Here are a few of the things on my short list:
-clean out the garage
-make new roman shades for the girls room
-cornice boxes for the girls windows
-coordinating crib skirts for the girls
-quilt for the new baby
-mobile for baby (rain drops and clouds or owls)
-clean out storage/laundry room
-get craft area organized
-organize and consolidate all files
-rain gutter bookshelves for girls room
-hang art and shelves in the girls room
-make Clara's baby book...
-make gauze blankets for new baby
-organize girls closet and dresser - make them shared-room-friendly
-get new baby crib set up
-recover the bouncer
-set up new baby area in our room
Alright, let's see what happens in the next 14 weeks!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Clara's First Big Bug
Clara has a ridiculously strong immune system and up to this point in her life, she's only had two small colds, and one other random fever. She's thrown up twice, but I think both were due to overeating and then being held/squeezed the wrong way - not because she was sick.
But this week, Clara got super sick and it was sad and a little scary. With Spencer out of town, we were staying at my parents house on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as soon as she woke up I could tell that she had a fever. She was burning up, but otherwise seemed her happy and unaffected self. So I really didn't think anything of it. Then we sat down for breakfast and she only ate a few bites, refusing to touch some of her favorite foods at all. About 30 minutes later she completely hit a wall and became really lethargic.
She only wanted to be held (by my mom) and was almost falling asleep in her arms. Sleepiness at ten in the morning is not part of Clara's current life or personality, so I was getting a little nervous. I ran to the store to pick up some tylenol and a thermometer. I think I pretty much broke her little heart when I took her temp and after that she really only wanted my mom. Her temperature was about 102.5 and when we tried to give her a little tylenol she threw up her breakfast. Poor little thing. We stripped her down to her diaper and she made a little nest for herself on the floor while we put Sesame Street on for her. She tucked her little legs under her tummy and fell right asleep.
She only wanted to be held (by my mom) and was almost falling asleep in her arms. Sleepiness at ten in the morning is not part of Clara's current life or personality, so I was getting a little nervous. I ran to the store to pick up some tylenol and a thermometer. I think I pretty much broke her little heart when I took her temp and after that she really only wanted my mom. Her temperature was about 102.5 and when we tried to give her a little tylenol she threw up her breakfast. Poor little thing. We stripped her down to her diaper and she made a little nest for herself on the floor while we put Sesame Street on for her. She tucked her little legs under her tummy and fell right asleep.
I'm sure there are many times as a parent that you wish you could trade places with them, and when they are sick is definitely one of them!
Clara - 22 Months
We love our little Clara so much! Each month just gets more and more fun (and a little more challenging in new ways). She is so full of life and personality and definitely has strong feelings and opinons about certain things. Here's the rundown of what Clara's up to at 22 months:
-Her vocabulary is exploding. She is putting more and more words together everyday and picking up new words all the time. She narrates the entire day!
-She loves identifying emotions and has strong associations with emotions she's felt in the past. For example, she hates the vacuum, so whenever she sees one she says, "cry, sad"
-She hates the vacuum! The only thing that can console her is me holding her, but at 25 weeks pregnant I finally decided that holding her while I vacuum the entire house is no longer a viable option. So I just let her cry and tell her that as long as I don't have to pick her up while I vacuum, she can have a cookie afterwards for being brave. Now that has become an association too - so vacuum = "cry, sad, cookie, all clean!"
-Loves to snuggle with us on weekend mornings. I love bringing her back into our bed for a few minutes before we all get on with the day.
-Her pretend play is expanding and so fun to watch. She loves to mother her little baby doll and will check on her often saying, "you ok?"
-She loves to color and draw. She can say 'crayon' and 'draw' but for some reason most of the time she wants me to color with her she asks me to "lellow" with her.
-When I don't say something to her that I usually do, she'll remind me to. For example, if she takes a tumble and I don't ask her if she's ok, she'll look at me and say, "you ok?" then "yeah"
-Has the most serious, insistent little expressions sometimes. Her sincere little furrowed brow cracks me up.
-Her palette seems to be ever-shrinking and her sugar-radar is ever-expanding.
-Can be so cooperative. While we were at my parents house, if I asked her if we could change her diaper, she would lay down on the spot for a diaper change. When I tell her we're going to put a "pretty" in her hair (a little ponytail up front) she will sit down wherever she is and let me do it.
-Still sleeping great - 12+ hours at night and 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I love my little sleeper!
-Loves to play "boo" where we hide around a corner and scare her.
-Is obsessed with giving hugs "hugggg" and kisses "keeees" to everyone and everything - me and Spencer, all other relatives, the cat, her cup, spoon, bowl, the car, her baby, etc.
-Knows what sunny, rainy, and windy look like. When we had our first snow of the season and we woke up to a blanket of white she looked out the window and then at me, perplexed and said, "moon?"
-She loves identifying emotions and has strong associations with emotions she's felt in the past. For example, she hates the vacuum, so whenever she sees one she says, "cry, sad"
-She hates the vacuum! The only thing that can console her is me holding her, but at 25 weeks pregnant I finally decided that holding her while I vacuum the entire house is no longer a viable option. So I just let her cry and tell her that as long as I don't have to pick her up while I vacuum, she can have a cookie afterwards for being brave. Now that has become an association too - so vacuum = "cry, sad, cookie, all clean!"
-Loves to snuggle with us on weekend mornings. I love bringing her back into our bed for a few minutes before we all get on with the day.
-Her pretend play is expanding and so fun to watch. She loves to mother her little baby doll and will check on her often saying, "you ok?"
-She loves to color and draw. She can say 'crayon' and 'draw' but for some reason most of the time she wants me to color with her she asks me to "lellow" with her.
-When I don't say something to her that I usually do, she'll remind me to. For example, if she takes a tumble and I don't ask her if she's ok, she'll look at me and say, "you ok?" then "yeah"
-Has the most serious, insistent little expressions sometimes. Her sincere little furrowed brow cracks me up.
-Her palette seems to be ever-shrinking and her sugar-radar is ever-expanding.
-Can be so cooperative. While we were at my parents house, if I asked her if we could change her diaper, she would lay down on the spot for a diaper change. When I tell her we're going to put a "pretty" in her hair (a little ponytail up front) she will sit down wherever she is and let me do it.
-Still sleeping great - 12+ hours at night and 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I love my little sleeper!
-Loves to play "boo" where we hide around a corner and scare her.
-Is obsessed with giving hugs "hugggg" and kisses "keeees" to everyone and everything - me and Spencer, all other relatives, the cat, her cup, spoon, bowl, the car, her baby, etc.
-Knows what sunny, rainy, and windy look like. When we had our first snow of the season and we woke up to a blanket of white she looked out the window and then at me, perplexed and said, "moon?"
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Tender Moments
Clara does some of the cutest things right now, and I don't want to forget them. I've also found that sometimes her monthly updates are not sufficient, as she'll start and stop something before it's time for the monthly report.
Hug - Most nights, Spencer and I put Clara to bed together. Our routine is short and simple. Jammies, a book or two on the couch with daddy, brush teeth, say prayers, sing a song, kisses and lay down. One of us will be holding her for song and prayers, and she'll say "hug!" and pull the other one in by the shoulder. She will wrap her little arms around each of our shoulders while she gets peppered with kisses on both cheeks. Sometimes she'll push our faces together for a kiss too. It's so sweet!
Fun - After we finish an activity, Clara will say "FUN!!" Then, with her limited, but expanding vocabulary, she'll try to recall every part of the activity that was fun. For example last week the two of us went raspberry picking. We encountered a dog, several bees, and ate dozens of berries as we picked. As we drove away she said, "Fun! Doggy. Nummy. Bee. Nummy. Fun!"
Wee - For naptime and nighttime when we're not getting to bed too late, I'll indulge Clara's request for "weeee" - or rocking her in the rocking chair and singing to her. She'll snuggle down into my arms, just like I'm holding a little baby and we'll rock and rock and sing. She makes her requests by singing the songs she wants to hear until I take over (or we'll sing together). We've got quite a collection of favorites, but some of her more popular requests recently are "You Are My Sunshine," "My Heavenly Father Loves Me," "I Love to See the Temple" and "The Star Spangled Banner." I'm more than happy to sit and rock Clara, as the kicks and flutters inside are a constant reminder that the time we have as just us is limited.
Hug - Most nights, Spencer and I put Clara to bed together. Our routine is short and simple. Jammies, a book or two on the couch with daddy, brush teeth, say prayers, sing a song, kisses and lay down. One of us will be holding her for song and prayers, and she'll say "hug!" and pull the other one in by the shoulder. She will wrap her little arms around each of our shoulders while she gets peppered with kisses on both cheeks. Sometimes she'll push our faces together for a kiss too. It's so sweet!
Fun - After we finish an activity, Clara will say "FUN!!" Then, with her limited, but expanding vocabulary, she'll try to recall every part of the activity that was fun. For example last week the two of us went raspberry picking. We encountered a dog, several bees, and ate dozens of berries as we picked. As we drove away she said, "Fun! Doggy. Nummy. Bee. Nummy. Fun!"
Wee - For naptime and nighttime when we're not getting to bed too late, I'll indulge Clara's request for "weeee" - or rocking her in the rocking chair and singing to her. She'll snuggle down into my arms, just like I'm holding a little baby and we'll rock and rock and sing. She makes her requests by singing the songs she wants to hear until I take over (or we'll sing together). We've got quite a collection of favorites, but some of her more popular requests recently are "You Are My Sunshine," "My Heavenly Father Loves Me," "I Love to See the Temple" and "The Star Spangled Banner." I'm more than happy to sit and rock Clara, as the kicks and flutters inside are a constant reminder that the time we have as just us is limited.
Monday, September 17, 2012
A name, a name
Baby naming is one of those things that I thought would be so fun, back when I was in high school. If I was bored in a class, I'd turn the page in my notebook and scribble out the names for my future children (usually about 15 girls and 3 boys). Turns out naming babies is actually kind of hard. We named Clara about 6 hours before coming home from the hospital. If I had to boil down my criteria for baby naming it would be this: the name must be easy to say, easy to spell, gender specific, and not overly popular.
Spencer and I tend to like older names - those that have fallen out of fashion. Many are making a comeback, which means they are not completely unfamiliar, but they're still not names that our child would share with three or four other kids in their classroom. We like to look to our family tree for names, but I've also discovered a great source recently in the Social Security database of baby names. I like to look at the popular names of the 1910's and 1920's. Here are the top girl names from the 1910's with the ones I would actually consider in bold.
Mary
Helen
Dorothy
Margaret
Ruth
Mildred
Anna
Elizabeth
Frances
Virginia
Marie
Evelyn
Alice
Florence
Lillian
Rose
Irene
Louise
Edna
Catherine
Gladys
Ethel
Josephine
Ruby
Martha
Grace
Hazel
Thelma
Lucille
Edith
Eleanor
Doris
Annie
Pauline
Gertrude
Esther
Betty (my sweet grandma's name too!)
Beatrice
Marjorie
Clara
Emma
Bernice
Bertha
Ann
Jean
Elsie
Agnes
Julia
Lois
Sarah
Marion
Katherine
Eva
Ida
Bessie
Pearl
Anne
Viola
Myrtle
Nellie
Mabel
Laura
Kathryn
Stella
Vera
Willie
Jessie
Jane
Alma
Minnie
Sylvia
Ella
Lillie
Rita
Leona
Barbara
Vivian
Lena
Violet
Lucy
Jennie
Genevieve
Marguerite
Charlotte
Mattie
Marian
Blanche
Mae
Ellen
Wilma
Juanita
Opal
June
Geraldine
Beulah
Velma
Theresa
Carrie
Phyllis
Maxine
Nancy
Emily
Georgia
Fannie
Kathleen
Hattie
Inez
Sophie
Rosa
Lorraine
Hilda
Harriet
Norma
Eunice
Sara
Cora (very cute, but not with a sister named Clara)
Ada
Geneva
Alberta
Loretta
Mamie
Christine
Dora
Lula
Estelle
Verna
Audrey
Madeline
Shirley
Eileen
Daisy
Sadie
Olive
Naomi
Lola
Flora
Lucile
Olga
Mable
Muriel
Susie
Maggie
Maria
Jeanette
Nora
Miriam (my maternal grandma's name)
Erma
Dolores
Victoria
Wanda
Janet
Lottie
Caroline (though I always worry about the Caroline/Carolyn issue)
Rachel
Irma
Henrietta
Roberta
Winifred
Eula
Patricia
Rosie
Anita
Rebecca
Della
Nettie
Sally
Fern
Lydia
Adeline (but not Addie)
Carolyn
Amelia
Nina
Jeanne
Elaine
Goldie
Katie
Bonnie
Antoinette
May
Marcella
Lorene
Essie
Arlene
Ollie
Dorothea
Jeannette
Veronica
Effie
Isabel
Freda
Regina
Sallie
Cleo
Ora
Isabelle
Rosemary
Addie
Eloise
Joan
Lela
Spencer and I tend to like older names - those that have fallen out of fashion. Many are making a comeback, which means they are not completely unfamiliar, but they're still not names that our child would share with three or four other kids in their classroom. We like to look to our family tree for names, but I've also discovered a great source recently in the Social Security database of baby names. I like to look at the popular names of the 1910's and 1920's. Here are the top girl names from the 1910's with the ones I would actually consider in bold.
Helen
Dorothy
Margaret
Ruth
Mildred
Anna
Elizabeth
Frances
Virginia
Marie
Evelyn
Alice
Florence
Lillian
Rose
Irene
Louise
Edna
Catherine
Gladys
Ethel
Josephine
Ruby
Martha
Grace
Hazel
Thelma
Lucille
Edith
Eleanor
Doris
Annie
Pauline
Gertrude
Esther
Betty (my sweet grandma's name too!)
Beatrice
Marjorie
Clara
Emma
Bernice
Bertha
Ann
Jean
Elsie
Agnes
Julia
Lois
Sarah
Marion
Katherine
Eva
Ida
Bessie
Pearl
Anne
Viola
Myrtle
Nellie
Mabel
Laura
Kathryn
Stella
Vera
Willie
Jessie
Jane
Alma
Minnie
Sylvia
Ella
Lillie
Rita
Leona
Barbara
Vivian
Lena
Violet
Lucy
Jennie
Genevieve
Marguerite
Charlotte
Mattie
Marian
Blanche
Mae
Ellen
Wilma
Juanita
Opal
June
Geraldine
Beulah
Velma
Theresa
Carrie
Phyllis
Maxine
Nancy
Emily
Georgia
Fannie
Kathleen
Hattie
Inez
Sophie
Rosa
Lorraine
Hilda
Harriet
Norma
Eunice
Sara
Cora (very cute, but not with a sister named Clara)
Ada
Geneva
Alberta
Loretta
Mamie
Christine
Dora
Lula
Estelle
Verna
Audrey
Madeline
Shirley
Eileen
Daisy
Sadie
Olive
Naomi
Lola
Flora
Lucile
Olga
Mable
Muriel
Susie
Maggie
Maria
Jeanette
Nora
Miriam (my maternal grandma's name)
Erma
Dolores
Victoria
Wanda
Janet
Lottie
Caroline (though I always worry about the Caroline/Carolyn issue)
Rachel
Irma
Henrietta
Roberta
Winifred
Eula
Patricia
Rosie
Anita
Rebecca
Della
Nettie
Sally
Fern
Lydia
Adeline (but not Addie)
Carolyn
Amelia
Nina
Jeanne
Elaine
Goldie
Katie
Bonnie
Antoinette
May
Marcella
Lorene
Essie
Arlene
Ollie
Dorothea
Jeannette
Veronica
Effie
Isabel
Freda
Regina
Sallie
Cleo
Ora
Isabelle
Rosemary
Addie
Eloise
Joan
Lela
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Autumn Bucket List
One of the popular things floating around pinterest last year and this year are seasonal bucket lists. I decided to make one for our family for this fall, and it's something that I think will be worthwhile for the holidays and next summer too. Time just passes so quickly and I want to make sure we make the most of it, especially while our children are young and we have lots of opportunities for family time. Here's our fall bucket list for this year - it encompasses some goals, some chores and some fun things we want to do. Some should be no-brainers (like home and visit teach, go to the temple, watch conference) but I included them so they can stay fresh in our minds and we can make more meaningful efforts in those areas.
I had this printed up as an 8x10 and framed it so we can check things off with a dry erase marker as we go.
I had this printed up as an 8x10 and framed it so we can check things off with a dry erase marker as we go.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
It's A....
I thought it would be fun for this pregnancy to find out the gender of our baby with the whole family. We made a little event of it, and it turned out to be a great evening.
Yesterday was my 20 week ultrasound appointment and Spencer unexpectedly got stuck at work. It was ok though, because I felt a little less awkward asking the ultrasound technician if she could just write the gender down for us, rather than telling me. She was so happy to do so, and had me look away anytime she was looking around that area, so I wouldn't happen to see and find out. :) I'm pretty blown away by the technology of ultrasounds. You can see the whole skeletal structure, but also the bladder, kidneys, stomach, liver, brain, etc. The ultrasound technician wrote down the gender for me and sealed it in an envelope (along with the gender-revealing ultrasound picture).
Right after my appointment, I headed to The Sweet Tooth Fairy, where I had previously placed an order for cupcakes to be picked up that day. When they received the envelope from me, they were to fill the cupcakes I had ordered with pink or blue bavarian creme. I picked them up a few hours later. Then when we ate our cupcakes, we would know what the baby's gender was. My mom pointed out that with cupcakes, everyone would get to the middle at a different time, so I decided that we would just give Clara a cupcake to start and let her be the grand revealer.
We had our parents and Aunt Carol over to enjoy the cupcakes last night, all anxious and excited to find out if Clara will have a baby brother or sister. I gathered guesses from everyone before we dug in, and dyed their milk accordingly. Two [party poopers] requested water or white milk. I was the only one with pink milk!
Clara couldn't understand how we could all just be standing around chatting when there was cake to be eaten, so we quickly cut to the chase.
Taking a bite, and revealing the first glimpse of PINK!
And finally, some convincing evidence. A very pink creme-filled center. :)
Clara is going to have a little sister!
YAY!! Clara claps with everyone else, while grandpa tries to help her make sense of the situation.
Two girls!
We are all very excited to add another little girl to our family and we love her already.
Yesterday was my 20 week ultrasound appointment and Spencer unexpectedly got stuck at work. It was ok though, because I felt a little less awkward asking the ultrasound technician if she could just write the gender down for us, rather than telling me. She was so happy to do so, and had me look away anytime she was looking around that area, so I wouldn't happen to see and find out. :) I'm pretty blown away by the technology of ultrasounds. You can see the whole skeletal structure, but also the bladder, kidneys, stomach, liver, brain, etc. The ultrasound technician wrote down the gender for me and sealed it in an envelope (along with the gender-revealing ultrasound picture).
Right after my appointment, I headed to The Sweet Tooth Fairy, where I had previously placed an order for cupcakes to be picked up that day. When they received the envelope from me, they were to fill the cupcakes I had ordered with pink or blue bavarian creme. I picked them up a few hours later. Then when we ate our cupcakes, we would know what the baby's gender was. My mom pointed out that with cupcakes, everyone would get to the middle at a different time, so I decided that we would just give Clara a cupcake to start and let her be the grand revealer.
We are all very excited to add another little girl to our family and we love her already.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Picking Peaches
Last fall there was a groupon for our local nursery and their fruit trees were drastically reduced. So we got a super steal on a couple of fruit trees and planted them in the backyard. The apricot tree had beautiful blossoms and even had some fruit, but none of it fully matured. The peach tree gave us an unexpected gift of a handsome harvest for such a tiny little thing.
Today, Clara and I ventured out to the yard and [she] picked every single peach from our tree. There were about eighteen peaches. Because the tree is so tiny, they were right at her level and several of them went straight into her mouth! The peaches have tiny teeth marks to prove it. :) She loves helping in the garden and has been wanting to pick the peaches for several weeks thinking they are tomatoes (ta-toes) or apples. Hopefully next year we'll have an even bigger harvest!
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| I may have to frame this and hang it in my kitchen! |
Clara - 20 Months
Today Clara is 20 months old. We love Clara so much and everyone is always commenting on how she's got so much personality. It's true! And she just continues to blossom. Here's what Clara's up to these days:
- Putting words together! She says "Hi Daddy/Mama/Didi" (Didi is what she calls our cat) "All done" "I'm done" "No no no" "Bye bye _____" "oh wow" "oh no!" "uh oh!" and "all clean"
- Says please every time she wants something
- Knows the colors (and says) "yellow" and "green"
- Signs "thank you" frequently - sometimes without even being reminded *melt*
- Loves trucks, but can't quite pronounce the word "truck" all the time. And she says it loudly. And often. When we're in public. Gotta love the innocence of a toddler!
- Now when she sees or hears a baby, she says "baby!!" and then does this long exaggerated wimper. It all started in sacrament meeting when she couldn't see a lot of babies, but she could hear them cry. She's developing empathy at an early age. Love her tender little heart.
- Learned "tada!" after watching the olympics nightly
- Loves to watch a few minutes of Sesame Street most days. Usually she just wants to get to Elmo's world and as soon as he's off the screen she says "all done" and closes the laptop.
- Has the cutest little pretend conversations on her (or my) cell phone. Says "hello" with lots of "yeah," "uh huh," gibberish, pauses and sighs to fill in before she says "buh bye!"
-Loves ALL animals and has no fear of them. A huge dog can come towards her and she will get so excited (I on the other hand, may ditch her and run the other way)
- Loves to swim and lets us dunk her head under water! She has learned to close her eyes and hold her breath when I tell her we're going under and count to three.
- Has counted to five. Most days we only make it to three, but she did make it to five once!
- Loves to count
-LOVES our next door / over-the-fence neighbor Juliet. When she is outside, Clara will run over to the fence waving and saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" and carry on conversations mostly incomprehensible to sweet six year old Juliet (much like Juliet would with me when we first moved in). We love living next to five sweet little girls (with number six coming soon!)
- Plays with her "elmo" pop up toy all the time
- Loves bags, baskets, and buckets and knows which is which. I need to make her a little purse - she loves to carry around a little bag.
- Loves buckles and helps me buckle her into her car seat (still rear-facing -- not because we're car seat nazis, but because she doesn't mind at all... and it is safer)
- Gives the sweetest love pats on the back and scratches my back upon request (I'm hoping she doesn't outgrow this anytime soon!)
-Really enjoys regular books, magazines and catalogs with lots of words and lots of pages (a few pictures are appreciated too)
- Still loves to sing. Sometimes when Spencer is out of town we'll just rock and sing songs for a good long while before bed. After each song she'll sign "more" or say "please" for another song.
- Can definitely throw a good little tantrum
- Putting words together! She says "Hi Daddy/Mama/Didi" (Didi is what she calls our cat) "All done" "I'm done" "No no no" "Bye bye _____" "oh wow" "oh no!" "uh oh!" and "all clean"
- Says please every time she wants something
- Knows the colors (and says) "yellow" and "green"
- Signs "thank you" frequently - sometimes without even being reminded *melt*
- Loves trucks, but can't quite pronounce the word "truck" all the time. And she says it loudly. And often. When we're in public. Gotta love the innocence of a toddler!
- Now when she sees or hears a baby, she says "baby!!" and then does this long exaggerated wimper. It all started in sacrament meeting when she couldn't see a lot of babies, but she could hear them cry. She's developing empathy at an early age. Love her tender little heart.
- Learned "tada!" after watching the olympics nightly
- Loves to watch a few minutes of Sesame Street most days. Usually she just wants to get to Elmo's world and as soon as he's off the screen she says "all done" and closes the laptop.
- Has the cutest little pretend conversations on her (or my) cell phone. Says "hello" with lots of "yeah," "uh huh," gibberish, pauses and sighs to fill in before she says "buh bye!"
- Loves to swim and lets us dunk her head under water! She has learned to close her eyes and hold her breath when I tell her we're going under and count to three.
- Has counted to five. Most days we only make it to three, but she did make it to five once!
- Loves to count
-LOVES our next door / over-the-fence neighbor Juliet. When she is outside, Clara will run over to the fence waving and saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" and carry on conversations mostly incomprehensible to sweet six year old Juliet (much like Juliet would with me when we first moved in). We love living next to five sweet little girls (with number six coming soon!)
- Plays with her "elmo" pop up toy all the time
- Loves bags, baskets, and buckets and knows which is which. I need to make her a little purse - she loves to carry around a little bag.
- Loves buckles and helps me buckle her into her car seat (still rear-facing -- not because we're car seat nazis, but because she doesn't mind at all... and it is safer)
- Gives the sweetest love pats on the back and scratches my back upon request (I'm hoping she doesn't outgrow this anytime soon!)
-Really enjoys regular books, magazines and catalogs with lots of words and lots of pages (a few pictures are appreciated too)
- Still loves to sing. Sometimes when Spencer is out of town we'll just rock and sing songs for a good long while before bed. After each song she'll sign "more" or say "please" for another song.
- Can definitely throw a good little tantrum
- Loves Didi so much and always wants to give her loves and snuggles. Someday the cat will learn that she has a real friend in Clara (maybe when the new baby comes...)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Summer Visitors
One of the great things about living in Utah is that nearly every Mormon friend I have has some connection to this place. People end up coming to Utah to visit family, for weddings, family reunions, funerals, baby blessings, graduations, mission farewells, or to send children or siblings off to EFY or help them get settled in at BYU. This summer I had several friends come to the Beehive state for a visit.
Meredith (Oregon) and Kendra (Missouri) were both in town at the same time so we all got together for a BBQ at my house. It is so fun to see these girls and every time we get together (which I wish was more frequently) things just seem to pick up where they left off. We have so much fun together!
Katie (Texas) came to town for a wedding and we met up at a park with our littles and had such a good time catching up. I didn't get a picture of the two of us, but our sweet kids seemed to get along super well. We were a little sad that her visit didn't overlap with Meredith's and Kendra's, for one grand BDA #25 reunion... someday!
Whitney (California) was here visiting her sister and grandma-in-law and I got to meet her cute little baby Evangeline for the first time. We got together for breakfast and had a lovely chat. Again, no photo of the two of us, but here are our little girls.
You know that part in Fried Green Tomatoes where the older lady says she figured out the secret to life? She says it's friends. Best friends. I'm so thankful for all of the amazing friends I made in college who remain among my closest and truest.
Meredith (Oregon) and Kendra (Missouri) were both in town at the same time so we all got together for a BBQ at my house. It is so fun to see these girls and every time we get together (which I wish was more frequently) things just seem to pick up where they left off. We have so much fun together!
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| Me, Kendra, Meredith |
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| Clara and Alana at the park |
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| Clara and Evangeline at The Corner Bakery Cafe |
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