Out with a Bang!

Don't worry, not a physical bang. Nobody's hurt. Unless you count our sides from laughing. Clara was in rare form today, I think she wanted to make sure we sent 2011 out with plenty of humor! It started the minute she got up, saw me in my bathrobe and immediately wanted to put hers on. Then, she stuck her finger up to the red light on the monitor in our bedroom, saw it turn red and instantly started jumping up and down, waving her arms around, off the wall excited asking, "Mommy?! Can I paint my fingernails?!?" So that's what she did first thing, before breakfast or anything this morning.

It's been awhile since she painted her nails and it was amazing to see how much more fine motor control she has these days! She ended up with much less polish on her fingers, and much more on her nails themselves. She was even getting really good at wiping the brush off after dipping it in the bottle so she didn't have too much polish.

Before dinner she was running back and forth, over and over, between the living room and the kitchen. All of a sudden she exclaimed, "I was trying to lose my mind! ..... but then I said, 'Yep!'" Not sure what that meant....

Then, at dinner, she turned to Luke and asked with great animation, "Where's my mind?!? ... Daddy, it's in your shop!" They went through a whole conversation about where her mind was - looking on the floor, on their chairs... Clara told Luke he sat on it! Then he told her it was in the bottom of her bowl and she should eat her rice to find it. She took one bite and said, "There it is!" Oh my.

All by Herself

Daddy was cutting up leather. Clara ran into the kitchen, got out some scissors and started looking for paper to cut. When Daddy gave her some, she sat right down and started seriously snipping away. She is very methodical with the scissors and so fun to watch, she really studies what she's doing!

Now here's the terrific part: she clipped and clipped for awhile. This creates lots of teeny tiny pieces of paper all over the floor. She stopped clipping for a moment and started picking some of them up, then got up and looked like she was heading somewhere else. I asked her where she was going (envisioning little pieces of paper strewn all over the house). Her reply? "These need to go in the trash!" She proceeded to throw all the paper in the trash, as well as a scrap of leather Daddy had left behind. Then she put the scissors right back where they go. All this without me so much as mentioning cleaning up! Terrific doesn't get much better than that!

This morning when Daddy asked if she would like some scrambled eggs and potatoes: "No thanks(in such a cheery voice)! I would like..... umm.... scrambled eggs and toast!"

This evening while cleaning up her trains: "Mmm, I would prefer to pick up my shoes."

Multipurpose

One thing that I have really tried to focus on for Clara is toys that are multipurpose, spark imagination, or can be used in more than one way. For Christmas Gramma made Clara fabric squares similar to these ones, and they embody all of the above characteristics! Luke and I had a blast on Christmas night making different designs with them and Clara enjoyed doing that with me for a little while today too. But then, they instantly transformed into something else - "beds" for the animals in her dollies barn. It was so sweet to watch her carefully place each square and then gently set each animal down. So fun! Laurie and Emily (the dollies) even used another square as a picnic blanket!

Clara was such a sweet little nurse to her sick Daddy today, taking him crackers and drinks, snuggling with him on the couch, patting his arm gently. She loves to help and loves to take care of people, which is so sweet to watch! Both qualities I want to foster in her.

"Coffee"

Today Luke and I took advantage of having grandparents visiting - aka free babysitting! We headed out at 9 this morning, stopped so Luke could trim a horse on our way to town, wandered around a bit, saw a movie, had some lunch at an Indian restaurant and headed back to Hoosick Falls where I got my hair chopped off! It is shorter than I've ever had it and I love it!

Clara had a wonderful day with her grandparents playing with trains, "shopping," reading books and just having a grand old time. It was so special to spend a whole day with my husband but by halfway through the day I was really missing my little girl! I was so happy to see her again when we got home and she was excited to see us too. We all piled in my car and headed one of our favorite local diners for dinner. They didn't have kiddie cups so Clara got water in a coffee cup, which she loved! She immediately announced, "It taste kind of like coffee!" The whole time she kept telling us it was her coffee and that she was drinking coffee, which she found absolutely hilarious. Oh my, how I love this silly little girl!

Buddies

Tonight we had dinner with the Niles and it is always so nice to see them again when it's been awhile - even if it's just been 10 days or so since we've spent time together, it always feels like so much longer! Clara had a blast seeing her friends and Annabelle had a great time showing Clara her Christmas presents. It was so sweet to see them just head off together, deep in conversation. We are so thankful for such good buddies for our little girl!

On the way home tonight in the truck she was absolutely cracking me us up!! Snippets of our conversation went like this (picture each of Clara's lines said with as much emphasis and humor as you possibly can):
C: The panda was eating bamboo!
Me: Yes, he was!
C: That was silly! Was that funny Mom?!
Me: Was that funny to watch?
C: Uh huh. I don't eat bamboo. I not a panda!
Me: Nope, you're not!
C: Are you a panda, Mom? ... You're not a panda! Does Sadie eat bamboo? No, she not a panda! She doesn't eat bamboo!

We were listening most of the way home to a CD of hers that is Aesop's Fables for children, read by a few different people.
C: I don't 'member her name! This little girl is reading 'nuther story Mama! Do you 'member her name?
Me: No, I don't know her name.
C: I 'member her name.
Me: Oh.
C: When she finishes this story, that boy can read 'nuther story!
Me: Uh huh. (as you can tell, I add a lot to these conversations!)
C: Do you know his name Mom?
Me: No, I don't know his name either.
C: I 'member his name.
Me: Oh.
C: And when they finish that story, they can read 'nuther story! ..... and when they finish that story, they can read 'nuther one!!
Me: Yes! They can!

Later she was trying to say "goat" and she kept saying "got," "God," "go," etc. Finally she spit it out. Then she laughed and laughed and exclaimed, "I couldn't say it right!"

C: This story bout a ant and a dove.
Me: A dove is a kind of bird.
C: I like doves. A heron is kind of like a bird!
Me: Yes, a heron is a kind of bird and a dove is another kind of bird.
C: I like herons.
Me: Do you?
C: Uh huh. ..... kitties are kind of like birds.
Me: No, kitties are not at all like birds.
C: We're kind of like birds.
Me: No, we're not like birds either.
C: Are we being silly???
Me: You're being silly!

Sadie had to ride on my lap since there was no room anywhere else in the cab and it was raining out so she couldn't ride in the bed of the truck. Our whole drive was punctuated by Clara asking, "What's Sadie doing Mom?" or "What's Sadie doing now?" or "Where's Sadie? I can't see her!" as well as, "Awwww, good gor (=girl) Sadie" in a completely patronizing tone.

Ohhh my. We were in stitches.

New Hats!

Clara and baby Joy got new hats for Christmas, handmade by Gramma. They are super soft and colorful! We had a great time today out in the sunshine. First we delivered cookies, ornaments and homemade marmalade to our sweet neighbors, then Daada pushed Clara in her stroller for awhile, but when Mama tried to take over Clara decided she'd rather push than be pushed, so she pushed baby Joy for a long time. They had a blast!

Clara did not nap today. Oh, she was in her crib for over two hours, but every time I'd think "Oh, I haven't heard her for a few minutes, maybe she finally fell asleep," she'd start talking, calling, squealing, singing or letting me know she was still awake in some other way. Why is it that she always seems to do this when she is the most tired and in greatest need of a good sleep? But that's not the point of this story. Because in every trial there is a germ of joy, yes? On the flip side of every "terrible" moment (though not napping can't truly be described as terrible, I don't think) there is something terrific waiting to be discovered. When I finally got Clara up from her nap, I asked her if she was still very sleepy, which she said she was. Then I told her that when we are sleepy and tired, it is easy to feel whiny (something she has been struggling with lately). But if she felt whiny this evening, instead of whining I wanted her to tell me, "Mommy, I need some snuggles!"

I have to say, it worked remarkably well! For about an hour afterward she frequently ran up to me and announced, "Mommy, I need snuggles!" Of course, I was more than happy to comply. We still had a few whiny moments but each time she began to whine I simply asked, "Oh, do you need snuggles?" She either said yes, we snuggled and it was better, or she said no, stopped whining and ran away. I think this will be a frequently employed "technique" in our house. God knows I can certainly always use more snuggles from my little girl!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful, wonderful day celebrating Jesus' birthday! It was a terrific day with our terrific two-year old. More details to come tomorrow. For now, a blessed, grace-filled, holy Christmas from our family to yours!