Five Years With Claire

At five years old, Claire...

Is forty-four inches tall and weighs forty-four pounds. Probably the only time in her life those numbers will be exactly the same!

Loves preschool so much that she says she'd like to stay there forever. Her favorite activity there is art - the first hour of preschool is spent in "activity time" - the children are free to play wherever they'd like and work on the day's art project. Claire often spends the whole hour carefully crafting her latest masterpiece. She also enjoys going to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which she calls "church preschool." She seems to spend most of her time there doing art too!

Prefers gymnastics to dance. This winter, Claire and Maggie having been taking a class that's thirty minutes of dance and thirty minutes of gymnastics. Maggie says she prefers dance, while Claire says the opposite. She is very close to learning how to do a cartwheel. She is really excited about swimming lessons this summer and playing CYO soccer next fall - she has no fear in the water and she loves to run.

Wants to be a singer when she grows up. She says her husband is going to be a singer too and I will have to watch her kids while they're performing. Her favorite songs are "Fight Song" and "Try Everything" from Zootopia. She likes to rock out in the car and calls it her "singing practice."

Has a very long attention span for reading aloud and audio books. After Claire and Maggie are tucked into bed at night, we read them a chapter book aloud. Most of the time, Maggie falls asleep before the chapter's over, but Claire always sits in rapt attention. We're currently working our way through the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series. She doesn't do quiet time very often these days because she goes to afternoon preschool, but her quiet activity of choice would definitely be coloring while listening to the audio book version of Little House in the Big Woods or Farmer Boy.

Sleeps in a twin bed and no longer wears pull-ups at night. After we've tucked her in and closed the door, she usually comes out a few minutes later asking for a drink of water. She is probably the most likely of our children to be up in the middle of the night, whether it's because she needs to use the bathroom or she just says she "can't sleep" and needs to be tucked back in. She sleeps eleven hours a night on average and only naps very occasionally on car trips.

Is afraid of being alone. For example, this afternoon Maggie fell asleep in the car on the way home from preschool. We left her sleeping (in the closed garage with the van doors open, of course) and I went in to put Betsy down for her nap. I asked Claire to go use the potty, but she insisted on quietly sitting in the nursery while I got Betsy down and then insisted that I come with her into the bathroom.

Loves to make what she calls "paper dolls" - people or animals printed off the computer, colored, and cut out. She is usually playing in her imaginary world with those, dolls or stuffed animals, and figurines of some sort. Her and Maggie play so well together. I mean, they occasionally fight, of course, but they're really just the best of friends. 

Doesn't play with Betsy much, because Betsy pretty much just manages to mess up whatever imaginary game her big sisters have going on. But they have super cute moments together every so often. Claire has a lot of simple board books memorized, so sometimes Betsy will bring one over for Claire to "read" to her (or we'll ask Claire to do that to keep Betsy from fussing while we finish preparing/cleaning up a meal). Betsy woke up with very crazy hair this morning (she had pigtails in yesterday and her hair just remained sticking straight up after the hair ties were removed) so, unprompted, Claire grabbed the brush and detangling spray to tame her baby sister's locks while Betsy just sat there patiently.

Happily helps out with small tasks most of the time, like grabbing a new diaper out of the linen closet or putting some clean towels away in the bathroom. However, she almost always makes the biggest production out of cleaning up the toys. If she's not moving at the most glacial pace ever recorded, she is complaining about how "it's just SUCH a big mess" and "she's just SO tired." Maggie sometimes joins in the protestations, but she's much more likely to start tidying without complaint and actually accomplish something without fifty thousand reminders to stay on task.

Usually has cereal for breakfast these days, although she also likes scrambled eggs and frozen waffles. She can pour the cereal and milk herself - we have a small pitcher for the girls to use. Her favorite lunch is a snack plate with cheese, ham, and crackers. She also really likes tuna sandwiches, but thinks peanut butter and jelly is just okay.  Her favorite dinners are your typical kid things like pizza, hamburgers, and tacos, although she is happy with pretty much any meat as long as it's accompanied by ketchup. She now prefers vanilla ice cream to chocolate and she loves to go out to eat just as much as her parents.

Looks forward to watching a couple episodes of Clifford when we get home from preschool. She also enjoys watching "Julie's Greenroom" but is officially over Daniel Tiger. We instituted Friday family movie night back in the fall - it's been a mix of classics and new releases. She thought Moana was too scary, but really, really loved Sing.

Rarely makes a fuss about saying prayers or going to Mass. We're trying to get her more actively pay attention during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, with pretty decent success. She surprised us by her interest in the passion play during the Palm Sunday Mass.

Is definitely a perfectionist. She gets very frustrated when she can't make something (usually art of some kind) match the idea she had in her head. Adam and I both remember crying in elementary school art class for the same reason, so we certainly know where she gets it from.



 We're very excited to see what life has in store for Claire this year!

Happy Birthday, Claire!

(The password is "TheBurchBook")

We love you!

Four Years With Claire

At age four, Claire...

Weighs thirty-eight pounds and is forty-two inches tall. 

Knows how to write her name and draw or paint people. She can recognize and write many letters of the alphabet. She is constantly asking us how to spell things. She loves to write cards to her aunts and cousin. She likes to make books and illustrate stories, particularly Sleeping Beauty. 

Recognizes numbers up to five. She's much more into letters and spelling than math. 

Knows her full name and that of her sisters, including that their real names are Margaret and Beatrice. She knows our first names too and she has pretty good understanding of geography. She knows the name of our town and that it's right next to Seattle. She knows where my parents live and that we all live in Washington State. She knows where the rest of her relatives live in America and that some of our extended family live in Canada, which is another country. She knows that grandparents are your parents' parents, that aunts and uncles are your parents' siblings, and how cousins, great-grandparents, and great aunts/uncles fit in too.

Understands so much of the world already! She knows that you go to preschool when you're three, kindergarten when you're five, and then "big kid school" until you're a teenager, when you go to high school. She knows that after high school, you go to college where you learn how to be a grown-up. After college you can get married and once you're married you can have babies. She doesn't know how babies are made (just that you ask God to put one in your tummy), but she knows roughly how they come out and how you use your "big nipples" to feed them milk. She knows that Daddy has to go to work to get money to pay our bills and that he "makes computers" for his job. 

Transitioned to a toddler bed (one side of her crib removed) right around her third birthday and stopped taking naps then too. She didn't have any issues with that transition. It was much more difficult to get used to sleeping in the same room as her little sister. We have our good streaks and our bad streaks. Thankfully we seem to be in a mostly smooth, easy joint bedtime routine at the moment. 

Potty trained very quickly at three years and three months old, although she still wears pull-ups at night.We've realized that when she throws a tantrum at the drop of a hat, she probably really needs to use the bathroom!

Still sucks her thumb and is very attached to her beloved dolly. We let her bring dolly into the car and to church, a practice we wish we'd never started but seems too difficult to quit now. She sleeps with her doll and the quilt I made her every night, sometimes with the addition of a few other dolls and stuffed animals. She gets eleven or twelve hours of sleep a night, usually going to be at seven or eight and sleeping until seven the next morning.

Usually behaves very well at Mass. When she is feeling particularly bored she gets very mopey. She wants to be carried or lay down on the pew and just acts completely depressed. Reminding her of the rules before we go into church (which consist of whispering, staying in the pew, and not laying down) seems to make a big difference. She loves to shake our priest's hand afterwards and carry our tray of donuts at the coffee hour. 

Gets very upset when she's not perfectly ready to start praying and feels that we started without her. She knows how to say grace, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be. She doesn't really sing along at Mass but she knows several hymns. The ones we sing around the table for holidays (O Come O Come Emmanuel in Advent, various carols at Christmas, Take Up Thy Cross during Lent, and Jesus Christ Is Risen Today or The Strife is Over at Easter). She also knows some Marian Antiphons because Adam sings them to the girls before bed. Her favorites are Regina Caeli and Salve Regina. She can sing them both in Latin! 

Mostly listens to and sings nursery rhymes, songs from music class, and Disney movie soundtracks. Her favorite song to sing is "Once Upon A Dream" from Sleeping Beauty. After seeing the Nutcracker ballet, we listened to the music non-stop all winter. Her favorite songs were the fast ones, particularly "Hot Chocolate" and "Candy Cane." Eventually her and Maggie (whose favorite song was the Waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairy) started arguing so much over which to listen to first that we put the soundtrack away until next Christmas.

Can do puzzles up to seventy-two pieces on her own. She only naps at home about once a month, but she does "quiet time" while Maggie is sleeping. Her favorite activities are puzzles, stringing beads, lacing cards, coloring books, magnetic blocks, and books with CDs.

Loves the color purple! She picks out her own clothes and gets herself dressed each morning. At first, she didn't want to wear jeans because they were too hard to button by herself. Now it's turned into only wanting to wear dresses and skirts. She even wanted to wear skirts over her pajama pants until we got her some nightgowns! It's totally fine, except she sometimes picks interesting legging combinations to wear with them and she's not always amenable to my advice about what matches.

Is gradually becoming less picky. She eats bell peppers now, as well as carrots. She also likes apples, grapes, strawberries, and watermelon. She'll eat any type of meat and she particularly loves tuna fish sandwiches. Of course, she's still a huge fan of cheese in all forms. Her favorite foods are the standard little kid classics - pizza, hot dogs, macaroni, french fries, gummy candy, various forms of chocolate (milk, ice cream, cookies). She usually has toast with scrambled eggs for breakfast and a sandwich or cheese and crackers for lunch. She loves to go out to eat, just like her parents!

Watches one or two shows a day. She still really, really loves Daniel Tiger but also watches Franklin, Barney, Madeline, and Angelina Ballerina. We try to limit movies to once a week, although they were more frequent in my last weeks of pregnancy! She loves Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Swan Princess, Tangled, and Frozen. She's seen three movies in theaters. The first was the live action Cinderella movie right after her third birthday and it went fine. But when we took her to see Inside Out in the summer and The Peanuts Movie last fall she got very overwhelmed and upset. We'll try again in a couple years.

Has a great attention span for listening to chapter books. We've read five books from the Betsy series by Carolyn Haywood and the first two books in Beverly Cleary's Ramona series. We read plenty of picture books too, of course. She has several stories memorized, mostly board books. She likes to "read" them to her dolls and little sisters.

Lives in a world of make believe. She spends all day leading her sister through pretend scenarios. Usually they are going on some sort of trip - camping or to the beach. Flying to San Francisco is still a very popular theme. They go on lots of picnics, or to restaurants, or throw birthday parties for their dolls. Just this afternoon they were both at the hospital having a new baby. Now that Maggie is getting older, she's not always content to go along with Claire's ideas and that has definitely led to some tension.

Could play outside all day long. She's a true Pacific Northwest girl - pouring rain and the cold water at the lake really don't faze her. She took swimming lessons daily for two weeks at the neighborhood swim club last summer. She's very comfortable in the water but she didn't make much progress in actually learning how to swim. We also did a very casual parent-tot soccer program at the local park last summer. Some weeks she was really into it and other weeks she'd have rather been picking dandelions. She really, really loves her twice annual pony riding lessons at the farm park and takes about "her pony Thunder" all the time. She's never met a climbing structure she couldn't handle and is learning how to swing on her own.

Has been taking music class with the same teacher since she was six months old. We added Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to the schedule this year, which we call preschool. Most of the time she is very happy to attend these classes. Occasionally something little will set her off like not getting to listen to "her song" on the car ride there or feeling like she didn't have enough time to play beforehand and she'll suddenly put up a huge fight over going to class. In the fall, she took a kids' cooking class at the community center and absolutely loved it. Never had any of the issues I mentioned above. This spring, she's been taking a dance and gymnastics class (thirty minutes of each) with Maggie too. They are always both so excited to attend and so far seem to like the dance portion more than gymnastics, but we're glad they're getting to try both.

Helps set the table and clears her plate after meals. She's usually eagerly offering to help with cleaning or yard work. It's much, much easier to bake with her now that she can listen attentively and pour ingredients without spilling. Or at least not spilling much! It's very cute to watch her imitate my chores, like folding and putting away laundry. She cannot wait until she'd old enough to learn to sew.

Is old enough to really play with her friends. Her closest friend is named Cecilia and they could play happily together for hours. Cecilia has siblings the same age as Maggie and Betsy so play dates with them are really great.

Takes great care of her two little sisters. She helps Maggie with her shoes, brushing her teeth, and starting new audio books. She even humors her by addressing her as Sleeping Beauty as Maggie insists on calling herself almost all the time. She will give Betsy her pacifier, grab me a diaper or burp cloth when needed, or sit next to her blanket on the floor and read her a book while I put Maggie down for a nap. She doesn't always listen at home, of course, but when we're out she's great at following instructions like holding on to the stroller or Maggie's hand.



We love this sweet, silly girl so much and could clearly talk about her forever!

Happy Birthday, Claire!

We love you!

Three Years With Claire

At age three, Claire...

Weighs thirty-four pounds and is thirty-nine inches tall. 

Can sing her ABCs and count to ten. She can still gets stuck around thirteen or fourteen when counting to twenty. She can recognize probably five or six letters. If she's not in the mood to work on these things, she'll just start spouting nonsense. Like, "Claire, what letter is that?" "Um, dumbia!" 

Almost has the hang of twenty-four piece puzzles and is starting to draw recognizable shapes. Adam just taught her how to draw smiley faces. 

Knows her and Maggie's full names, including that Maggie's "real name" is Margaret, conveniently just like Daniel Tiger's little sister. 

Understands the anatomical differences between boys and girls and knows the proper names for them. Although she thinks its hilarious to point out my "big nipples" she knows they're for feeding babies. She still gets pronouns like he, she, his, and her confused.

 Is getting pretty good at the sign of the cross and often has to remind me to say grace at lunchtime, when Adam's not home. She's very well-behaved at Mass and loves to shake Father's hand afterward. However, she has been quite frustrating during bedtime prayers. For years we used to read out of the Magnificat prayer books, but it slowly turned into a power struggle. Now we've been having her kneel with us in front of our family altar but of course she would prefer to be rolling around on the ground instead. 

Loves listening to the Frozen soundtrack in the car. We've had it on non-stop since October and every car ride has to start with "Let it Go." At Christmas, she picked up lots of carols. Her favorite is "Angels We Have Heard on High." We still hear her singing it almost daily. 

Made the transition to a toddler bed (aka her crib with the side off) this past week. She came out a few times the first couple nights, but so far it's gone really well. She doesn't nap very often anymore - maybe once or twice a week. I actually prefer the days without naps because she's so good about doing quiet time instead and then falls asleep really easily at night.

Still sucks her thumb and insists on having her beloved dolly at her side constantly.

 Loves the color purple. Her second favorite color is green. She insists that dolly's favorite color is yellow and that Maggie's favorite color is pink.

Is getting better at kicking and throwing balls. She's never met a play structure she couldn't handle, but she still insists on sitting in a baby swing. 

Hates loud noises, even the vacuum and the blender. And especially Maggie screaming. 

Watches usually one, sometimes two shows a day. After a long, long streak of Daniel Tiger, she's suddenly switched her allegiance to Franklin. She still loves Peppa Pig, but we've finally broken the habit of watching a few of the five minute episodes while we're getting ready in the morning. She probably watches a movie once a month - Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Tangled, or Frozen, naturally.

Has quite a long attention span for stories. Some of her recent favorites have been "The Book With No Pictures," "The Princess and the Pig" and "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." We've been listening to audiobooks during lunch (so far Robert Munsch stories and Winnie the Pooh) and she really seems to be getting them. 

Usually eats toast with butter and scrambled eggs for breakfast and cheese, ham and crackers for lunch. She's gotten more picky in regards to fresh produce - now she'll pretty much only eat apples and carrots. But she's gotten a little less picky in other ways - she'll eat any type of meat and finally has nothing against pb&j. 

Would wear dresses and skirts everyday if she could. And she pretty much gets her way. She's almost dressing herself completely. There are some things she is very insist on, particularly putting on her shoes and coat. She's not potty-trained yet. We haven't done much since our failed attempt at two and a half. She doesn't have to be potty-trained until Catechesis starts in September and I thought it would be easier in the summer. We're planning to go diaper-free after our vacation in May.

After a really good streak, she's gotten carsick twice in the last two months. Now that she's older, it makes an even bigger mess and is so much grosser. Also about once a month, she holds her breath when she gets upset and passes out. 

Scrunches up her face in the most hilarious and frustrating manner when asked to smile for a picture.

Saw her first ballet, Snow White, and her movie in theaters, Cinderella, in March.

Loves her little sister. They don't always get along perfectly, but the moments when we hear Claire exclaim, "Maggie, come on! Let's play!" and hear them running down the hallway together bring so much joy to our hearts. 

I can't believe this sweet girl is three already!

Happy Birthday, Claire!

(The password is TheBurchBook)

We love you!

Thirty Months With Claire

At thirty months old, Claire...

Can sing her ABCs and count to ten. She's working on counting to twenty, but it usually goes something like this, "eleven, twelve, thirteen, sixteen, sixteen, sixteen, sixteen, twenty!" 

Understands that there's a difference between boys and girls (although she doesn't know anything about the anatomical difference) and is beginning to get the concept of last names. She is so, so close to correctly identifying all the letters in her first name.

Makes the sign of the cross when we're praying and actually clasps her hands correctly. At church, she loves blessing herself with holy water and shaking hands during the sign of peace. When she hears a siren, she asks Jesus to "take care of it."

Loves to sing and dance. Her favorite songs are "Let it Go" and "Tomorrow." She doesn't like to sing when she knows we're watching (with the exception of the ABCs) so we mostly hear her belting out "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and the like from her crib or when she's playing independently. She must be properly attired in dress-up clothes in order to dance, which is mainly just spinning in circles.

Has gotten really into pretend play. She likes to set up tea parties for her dolls and stuffed animals. Ever since our big vacation earlier this summer, she's been obsessed with airplanes and likes to pretend she's going on a trip. She would love to bake and do art projects with us way more often than we're able to make happen.

Climbs up all sorts of ladders and jungle gyms at the playground (including all the way up the very big slide!) but still loves the swings the best. Refuses to use anything but a baby swing so far. She can swing her body when hanging from the bars. After many months of trying to get both feet off the ground, she's figured out how to jump.

Surprised us with her swimming abilities! She's no longer afraid of floating on her back or putting her head underwater, thanks to two weeks of swimming lessons with her Great Aunt Gail.

However, she is pretty terrified of bugs, especially spiders, and loud noises. She absolutely hates the sound of the blender. Our town had a "big truck day" for kids, where they could see all sorts of trucks up close. Claire got so upset with other kids constantly honking the horns.

Watches an average of two tv shows a day. On good days, it's one (or none!) and on bad days it's more like three. Her favorite show is Peppa Pig and she's even picked up some British vocabulary, like referring to her bathing suit as a "swimming costume." She also loves Daniel Tiger, followed by Super Why and Peg + Cat. Franklin, Madeline, Blue's Clues, and Winnie the Pooh also make occasional appearances. 

Constantly asks us to read stories. We check out between six and ten books from the library every week and she almost always has the title and general plot of each memorized in just a few days. She does have a few of Maggie's favorite board books memorized and loves to "read" them to her.

Will eat carrots and celery as long as they're accompanied by ranch dressing. Finally eats breakfast without much complaint. She's very fickle, as all toddlers are. Sometimes she can't stop stealing grapes from the bag the entire time we're grocery shopping, but then you'll serve them for lunch and she won't touch them for a week. Absolutely loves chocolate in any form!

Started to show interest in choosing her outfits, although she's pretty easily persuaded into what I picked out. She would wear a church dress every day if she could. She doesn't protest having her hair washed or teeth brushed anymore. She can put jackets and shoes on by herself. She can guide her arms into sleeves if you put a shirt over her head, but refuses to help get her skirts or pants on. She doesn't like stopping play time for diaper changes and never tells us when she's pooped anymore. Actually, if you ask her, she usually lies and says it's still clean.

Sleeps between ten and thirteen hours a night, depending on if she napped. She doesn't nap consistently anymore. Some weeks are really great, but other weeks she'll only fall asleep twice. She's yet to attempt climbing out of her crib, although she has climbed in on a few occasions.

Only got carsick once in the last several months, after we let her watch a video on my phone, desperate for a few minutes of respite from whining. 

Still occasionally holds her breath when she gets upset. When we were at the park with a group of friends from church, she fell down and then promptly stopped breathing. Everyone was shocked to see how nonchalantly I handled the incident.

Is definitely a daddy's girl. When there is a choice, she always prefers Dad to be the one who puts her to bed, changes her, holds her hand, etc. This was especially true on our two-week summer vacation, which absolutely never led to any embarrassing situations for Mom in front of relatives. 

  Loves her little sister. She is pretty great at entertaining Maggie, especially with a rousing game of peek-a-boo. She's gotten especially into "wrestling" lately, which is confusing because sometimes Maggie finds the roughhousing hysterical and sometimes her reaction is the complete opposite. Maggie is the only one allowed to play in the circus tent with her. Now that Maggie's crawling, Claire does not appreciate her little sister's new-found ability to steal toys. When Maggie gets upset in her car seat, Claire is likely to flip out as well, only on a grander scale. She's not overly-dramatic or anything. Not at all.

Let the potty training commence!

Twenty-Four Months With Claire

At twenty-four months, Claire...

Weighs thirty pounds and is thirty-six inches tall. 

Has made huge strides in the verbal communication arena. Three months ago, she knew maybe two dozen words and now she uses two and three word phrases! Someone of the most common ones are "I love you", "excuse me", "bless you", "wake up!" and "shh, Maggie sleeping." She knows how to say please and thank you when prompted, but she'll say sorry on her own. We've overheard her apologizing to her doll on several occasions. Whenever something goes wrong she says, "Oh, baby." It started with Maggie spitting up but now she'll even say it if she drops food on the floor or something. If she wants to respond negatively to a question you've asked, she always says "no, no" in the funniest way. She often greets us with a "HI-lo" and it's just about the cutest thing.

Can sing! Her favorite songs to sing aloud to are from the Sound of Music, unsurprisingly, particularly "Do-Re-Mi", "The Lonely Goatherd" and "So Long, Farewell." She's pretty shy about it, so we mostly hear her singing along from the backseat. But sometimes we'll hear a little "do, a deer" from her crib while she's falling asleep too.

Now makes the sing of the cross by poking herself in the chest with both hands. She loves to bless herself with holy water font before and after Mass. She has a holy card of St. Joseph holding baby Jesus, given to her when we stopped in at the parish office, that she loves to have with her. She's also a big fan of the Mary statue on our family altar. 

Knows all her colors and body parts. She can tell you her name and old she is. She's starting to understand counting, like if you take either one or two objects and ask her how many there are, she'll answer correctly. Her favorite color is still definitely purple, with "wellow" coming in a close second. She loves hearing the ABC song and having you write the alphabet for her. When she sees me writing, like addressing an envelope or something, she'll say "Letters! Wow!"

Still watches two tv shows a day. Okay, on a particularly bad day, it might be three. And she's watched a few movies during all the colds she caught this winter. We mostly rotate through Super Why, Daniel Tiger, and Blue's Clues. She's officially tired of Curious George now. I picked up DVDs of Franklin and Madeline on a whim at Target, mostly because they were some of my favorites growing up, and she's become really, really obsessed with Madeline.

She loves the Madeline books too and knows exactly where to find them on her bookshelf. She's really surprised us with how much she remembers from stories. I read her the book "Children Make Terrible Pets" once and only once. A week later, when I asked her to pick out a book to read she said "um....pet!" and grabbed that one. She's into holding the book and knows exactly when to turn the page for some of her favorite reads.

Dances by spinning around in circles and waving her arms around. Maggie finds the whole thing absolutely hilarious.

Has developed an obsession with the moon and stars. It all started when she had to start wearing night time diapers, which display the moon and stars prominently. She points them out in books and requests to go outside to see them before bed.

 Is awesome at identifying animals and making their sounds, like the other day she spotted a cow on the side of the milk carton and exclaimed, "Cow! Moooo!"

 Usually plays with her dolls (often setting up meals for them to eat with her felt food) or builds towers with her blocks. She is getting quicker at puzzles all the time and can do the shape sorter all by herself now.

Branched out from the swings at the park and is now more interested in the play structures. She has progressed from the stairs and moved onto climbing up ladders. From music class, she's learned how to tap her toes and at gymnastics, she's learned how to hang from the bars. She's really working on jumping but hasn't figured out how to get both feet of the ground quite yet.

Really likes to help in the kitchen. I enjoy it too when I've prepared to bake something with her, but I don't always appreciate her pulling up the stool when I'm trying to quickly throw something together for dinner while wearing a fussy baby. She also loves to help out with laundry and has even learned to fold diaper inserts into thirds. Unfortunately I don't actually need them folded into thirds and she doesn't enjoy having her work undone...

 Gets excited about cookies, cake, and ice cream, but is really more of a salty fan when it comes to snacks. She would always choose pretzels or popcorn over animal crackers.

Doesn't even let you put vegetables on her plate anymore, although she loves to lick dip off carrots and dressing off lettuce. Weirdo. She will eat vegetables if they're hidden in quiche or, her very favorite, whipped into smoothies. She's also a really, really big fan of tomato soup. Breakfast is still the hardest meal to get her to eat. Sometimes there's no problems at all and sometimes it's an instant tantrum if you even suggest eating a bite of toast. Lunch is always fine and dinner is usually okay, although you just never know. The other day she saw me adding a dash of salt to my soup and requested that I do the same to hers, but when I complied, a meltdown ensued.

Has mostly stopped throwing fits that involve holding her breath or banging her head on the floor. She still definitely gets mad, though, and is usually sent to her room to calm down. Of course, there's a dramatic spike in whining and tantrums when she gets sick, which happened several times this winter. During the last bout of illness, she was particularly clingy with Adam and got really upset when he had to leave for work each morning. By the end of the week, she skipped the tantrum and just went in her room and shut the door as soon as he left for work!

Sleeps about thirteen hours a day total. She doesn't really need, or want, to nap every day anymore. Maybe two out of every three days? She has a very fluid bedtime because of the whole nap irregularity thing. Sometimes she's in bed at 6:00 and out like a light, while other times she's still happily chatting in her crib at 9:00. She's almost always up between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning though.

Still got car sick once over the last few months, but at least made it out of the car before throwing up.

Is starting to show an interest in choosing her outfits. Dresses are definitely her favorite! She's pretty good about sitting still while having her hair done, but she doesn't like giving up control of the toothbrush. She loves putting on chap stick and uses our Target brand dental floss as deodorant.

Doesn't like it when Maggie grabs her clothes or hair, which is Maggie's primary way of showing affection these days. But she's starting to show more and more interest in her sister. She loves waking up Maggie from naps and when Maggie's upset, Claire will bring her a doll to cuddle with. She's Maggie's biggest cheerleader when it comes to rolling over and nobody can make Maggie laugh like Claire can. We just got Maggie an exersaucer and Claire's been enjoying helping her figure it out. I'd say she's growing into her big sister role quite nicely. I'm so excited to see them playing together!



I read the Temperament God Gave Your Kids recently and I'm pretty sure Claire's a mix of choleric and melancholic. She's sensitive, silly, strong-willed, and sweet. Man, oh, man, we love this little girl.

Happy Birthday, Claire!

 

We love you! 

Twenty-One Months With Claire

At twenty-one months, Claire...

Says a lot more words than she did just a few months ago - hi, bye, mom, dad, baby, tv, show, book, color, pray, ball, bath, good, go, keys, car, coat, hat, shoes, socks, hot, cold, eat, juice, milk, cookie.

Blows on things that are hot and shivers when you talk about it being cold. She knows how to fake cough and sneeze. She can blow her nose. When she's in the mood, she says "cheese" and does a forced smile for pictures, but she also likes to ham it up in front of the camera every once in a while too.

Can fold her hands to pray and makes the sign of the cross by waving her hand around frantically. She absolutely loves to shake hands with our neighbors during the sign of peace at Mass. Right now she's absolutely obsessed with our advent wreath. When we sit down for a meal, she requests to pray and mimes blowing out the candles.

Likes to draw with crayons, markers, and colored pencils. She's also done play dough and watercolors a few times. Her favorite color seems to be purple, because she always reaches for that one first. She calls it "pup." She's drawn on the wall once or twice, so coloring has become an only-in-the-highchair activity once again.

Does more imaginative play. She pretends to eat play food and makes a "vroom" noise when playing with her toy cars. She loves to put her dolls in the baby swing, car seat, and high chair. We recently saw her using a syringe to try to give her doll some imaginary medicine. One even got thrown in the bath the other day! She also suddenly developed the patience and dexterity to do puzzles.

Tries to buckle and unlock things constantly. As I mentioned above, she is obsessed with buckling her dolls into various baby seats. She can do the buckles, but gets quite frustrated when she can't figure out how to undo them. Yesterday, she figured out how to stand on a box and unlock the front door of our apartment, so we quickly had another lock installed at the top.

Still throws tantrums that involve holding her breath and sometimes blacking out, but much less frequently than a few months ago. Her new thing is bending over and banging her head on the floor when she gets frustrated.

Has a much longer attention span for stories, so we've upgraded from board books to some easy picture books like Little Critter, Max and Ruby, Mo Willems' Pigeon Series, and anything by Robert Munsch. Since Maggie's arrived, Claire has been allowed to watch two shows a day. We rotate between Curious George, Daniel Tiger, Super Why, and Blue's Clues.

Is much more outgoing at music class and play group. When I was busy with Maggie at music class one day, she even sat in the teacher's lap for an activity. She's really quickly warmed up to all of our visitors since Maggie's arrival, especially her grandmothers. She isn't afraid to say no when another kid is pushing her or not giving her a turn at the playground, but so far we haven't really seen her do the same to other toddlers. Speaking of the playground, she still absolutely loves the swings and is pretty confident with the slide. She's even figured out how to climb up the one in our complex's play structure.

Always uses forks and spoons with her left hand. She's gotten a lot better at using cutlery. Things she would have eaten with her fingers a few months ago, like fruit, she now insists on spearing with a fork. She's still a pretty typical toddler when it comes to food. She has days when she basically refuses to eat anything and days when she has a seemingly bottomless appetite. She loves the toddler trifecta of hotdogs, pizza, and macaroni. Her favorite healthy dish is quiche, which is really the only way she'll eat vegetables.

Tell us when she has a dirty diaper, which I suppose is the first step on the road to potty training. Not that it's on our radar at all yet though.
  

 Thinks hiding from us, like when we're trying to put her pajamas on, is pretty much the most hilarious thing ever.

Has a lot more patience for brushing her teeth, having her hair styled, and putting her head in the water during baths.

Still sleeps about twelve hours a night, from about 7:30 to 7:30. But since we've been up in the middle of the night with Maggie, we've noticed that Claire is sometimes just up talking to herself for an hour at 3:00 am. So that's weird. She usually naps from 1:00 to 3:00 still, although it's not uncommon for her to nap for only an hour or so. She occasionally skips a nap altogether and isn't too cranky, just ready for bed a little earlier that night.

Has only gotten car sick twice in the last few months. Both times she actually waited until she was out of the car to throw up. Maybe it's a coincidence, but one can't help hoping that she's just really considerate, right?

Is a total girly girl. She loves to try on new clothes and admire herself in the mirror. She loves watching me put on make-up and begs to put some on herself.

Likes to hug and kiss Maggie, bring her outfits, watch diaper changes, give her blankets and pacifiers but has also hit her and deliberately ran on the couch where she was sleeping. She's also accidentally almost stepped on or rolled over her quite a few times. Yesterday, I turned my back for a minute and she tried to brush Maggie's teeth but actually managed to gag her until she threw up. Then when I was changing and comforting Maggie, she emptied a bag of potato chips onto the just vomited on kitchen floor and tried to eat them.

 

Overall, I'd say she is a great big sister. She's always driving me crazy, but she never fails to make me laugh too. Even if I'm just laughing at her having the tenth irrational emotional breakdown of the day!

Eighteen Months With Claire

At eighteen months, Claire...

Weighs twenty-six pounds and is thirty-two inches tall. 

Still doesn't talk much, but is making progress. She says hi, bye, dad, that, go, bath, and ball. She can say mama but stubbornly refuses to most of the time. She's made the most progress with animal noises. She can quack, moo, caw, roar, hiss like a snake, hoot like an owl, and chatter like a monkey.

Understands so, so much of what we say and is pretty good at following simple commands, even ones with two steps. Like if she spills some water, you can ask her to get a cloth and wipe it up.

Waves, nods, shakes her head, and uses the "all done" sign when she's finished eating. She points at anything she wants or finds interesting and grabs your hand to lead you wherever she's going. She can identify her eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and belly. She gives hugs and kisses, sometimes even unprompted. She'll even blow you a kiss!  

She can run, spin, climb stairs, and throw a ball. She thinks walking backwards or crawling is hilarious. She really wants to be able to climb the ladders at the playground, but can't quite manage it yet.

Makes the sign of the cross by frantically waving her hand up and down. Sometimes she'll clasp her hands together while we're praying. If you ask her where Jesus is, she will point to a crucifix or the painting above our family altar. She can also point out Jesus in her bible and prayer book.

Loves to help. She puts her clothes in the hamper and her diapers in the trash. She is always eager to help empty the dishwasher, clean the hair out of the vacuum, or carry clean laundry from the dryer to the couch to be folded. While I'm dusting, she follows along with her own spray bottle and rag. 

Mothers her doll and stuffed animals. She likes to get them dressed in her diapers and shoes. She offers them snacks and milk from her sippy cup. She reads them stories and pushes them in her doll stroller. Sometimes when she's gotten her face wiped off after a meal, she will have you do the same to them. She also brings them to you for a kiss and hug before bed. When we got the Baby Bjorn out of her closet, she grabbed her doll and immediately tried to put it on!

Is a pro at the stacking rings and is making progress with the shape sorter and puzzles. She can also stack blocks and cups on her own. She doesn't play with toys much, though, besides her doll. She would much rather be reading or "helping" mama with whatever she's up to. 

 Enjoyed her swim classes this summer and begged to go in the pool at our apartment complex whenever we walked by. She doesn't even mind putting sunscreen on. She loves to kick and splash in the water. She's no longer afraid to put her head in or lay on her back. She was fearless on her first trips to the beach and the lake.

Will swing at the park for as long as you'll let her and sometimes protests quite strongly when it's time to get off. She's getting much braver about going down the slide by herself. She loves to be exploring outside as much as possible. 

Scribbles with crayons and paints with watercolors, though she still has a very short attention span for those activities before she gets distracted and starts coloring herself or the table instead. 

Could read books all day long. She will sometimes keep herself busy with them for quite a while, but mostly she prefers to be read to. She still loves watching Curious George and is also quite taken with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. 

Is absolutely entranced by The Sound of Music. There's a feature on the DVD which lets you just watch the songs. She'll sit in awe the entire time. I think we listened to the soundtrack three times in a row on our road trip to Portland. She just really loves singing in general. When Adam is singing a lullaby to her before bed, she will often point to his mouth and make her characteristic little "eh eh" noises until he sings another song.

Breaks into spontaneous dancing whenever she feels like it. There was a carnival next to our apartment complex one weekend this summer and as we were walking by she had to bust a move to "Party Rock." She loves going to her little music class and playing with all the instruments.

Has much more patience for things that she doesn't want to do, like having her teeth brushed, her hair put in pigtails, her face wiped, and her hand held in parking lots. If she's in a particularly patient mood, she will even willingly lay down to have her clothes or diaper changed. 

Still craves routine. She's allowed to watch one episode of tv per day after she wakes up from her nap. She sits in her high chair in the living room, eating a snack, while I prep dinner. If any part of that routine changes {particularly if we have to go out somewhere instead} you will have a very grumpy little girl on your hands. 

Is a pretty typical toddler when it comes to food. Her favorites are macaroni, hot dogs, and pizza. She could live on fruit alone if we let her. Anytime the fridge is opened, she rushes over to sneak a grape. She will only eat vegetables if they're hidden in quiche, stir fry, or soup. She does really well feeding herself with a spoon and is making a lot of progress with forks lately. Her most frustrating meal of the day is breakfast. No matter what we try, a lot of the time she will barely eat anything. Well, unless croissants from the our favorite French bakery are on the menu...

Can throw a tantrum like nobody's business. Mostly she just cries, kicks, and gets over it really quickly. But sometimes, especially when she's hungry or tired, she holds her breath until she turns blue and briefly passes out. So, that's fun. She is a world-class whiner, especially from 5:45 to 6:00 as dinner is getting on the table. It doesn't happen often, but she occasionally disobeys {most recently for throwing food on the floor} and has to go in time-out, which seems to work pretty well for her. 

Gets carsick still, especially on the highway and in traffic. It seems to happen much, much more frequently when she's gearing up for a new tooth. 

Went to the optometrist and dermatologist for the first time. She was very, very well-behaved, even when she had get her eyes dilated and a wart frozen off.

Doesn't like taking baths as much as she used to. It's a struggle to get her in the tub and a struggle to get her out, so they've become more of a twice a week thing. 

Takes a two-hour afternoon nap, unless she falls asleep in the car {even for just five minutes} on the way home from the morning's activities. She usually sleeps about eleven or twelve hours through the night still. She goes to bed around 7:30, but often spends up to an hour chatting to herself before falling asleep. When we attempted to solve the problem by letting her stay up later, she just did the exact same thing. And she's almost always up at 7:00 am on the dot. 

Has some idea that she's going to be a big sister soon. She often asks to read books about it and loves pictures and videos of herself as a baby. If you ask her where the baby is, she will lift up my shirt and pat my belly. She's even offered cookies and toys to it. Sometimes it gets awkward when she wants to say hi to the baby at church though...

Oh, how we love this little girl. We can't wait to see her as a big sister!

Fifteen Months With Claire

At fifteen months, Claire...

 Weighs twenty-three pounds and is thirty-one inches tall.

Can walk! She took her first steps around thirteen months, but didn't really start walking all the time until fourteen months.

Doesn't talk much. She says hi, bye, hey, yes, and daddy. No love to the lady who takes care of her all day, every day. She also makes monkey noises and growls when she sees a lion or bear.

 Understands so, so much of what we say. She's getting pretty good at following simple commands, like if you ask her to find her dolly {major obsession} she'll go look for her.

Waves {mostly for bye}, shakes her head {mostly for no}, and uses the "all done" sign when she feels like it.

Has four new teeth, bringing the total to ten. She got several in one week and, man, that week was a doozy. 

Climbs on everything. Into chairs, the tub, her rice box, the dishwasher. She was obsessed with the stairs at her grandparents' house. At the playground in our apartment complex, she can climb up the ladder and go down the slide all by herself.

Drinks whole milk from a sippy cup and is a pretty adventurous eater. Except for vegetables. Unless pickles count? The girl could live on pickles. Like most American toddlers, she loves macaroni, pizza, and hot dogs.

Can do her stacking ring toy all by herself and the shape sorter with a little help. She gets very frustrated with puzzles, although she absolutely does not want any help.

Has transitioned to one afternoon nap. She goes down around one and usually sleeps for the three hours. Still regularly sleeps twelve hours through the night. She sleeps with her doll and her birthday quilt. She's a big-time thumb sucker. We have no plans to quit the sound machine and we recently invested in a black-out shade. Best idea ever.

Just started dancing. We always have classical music on in the mornings. One of us makes breakfast while the other gets Claire and changes her diaper.  As she walks into the kitchen and hears the music, she likes to bust out a few moves. Our next-door-neighbor plays the piano with his window open quite a bit {he's really good, so it's not annoying} and she is also prone to stopping for a dance break as we go down the hall.

Still loves to read, especially lift-the-flap books, and watch Curious George. Her favorite pastime is opening the lid to something, emptying what's inside, putting it back in, and closing the lid. One of those tennis ball containers will keep her busy for an hour.

Knows how to throw a mean tantrum and whine in exactly the right way to drive us insane. She's already experienced time-out, always for disobeying about not touching the lamps.

Is a big fan of routines. When it's time for bed, she grabs her doll, waves bye as she walks into her room, turns on her sound machine, and tries to climb into the rocking chair for stories. 

Can eat with a fork and spoon, if you spear a bite of food with the fork or scoop a little yogurt onto the spoon.

Likes to help Mommy put her shoes on.

Gives slobbery open-mouth kisses, mostly just when you ask for them but sometimes unprompted.

Has absolutely no idea that she's going to be a big sister, but we know she'll be a great one!  



  This little girl is the cutest and most frustrating person I know. I often find myself counting down the minutes until bedtime, but then an hour later I'm showing Adam all the photos I took that day and we can't stop talking about how cute she is. I think we'll keep her!

Twelve Months With Claire

 Birth Weight: 5 pounds, 12 ounces

Current Weight: 21 pounds, 10 ounces

Birth Length: 18 and 3/4 inches

Current Length: 29 inches

Likes:
 Opening the trashcan.  
Watching Curious George.

Sleeping with her favorite doll.
Dancing and being spun around.
Draping things around her neck, like a scarf.
Spinach, if it's hidden in scrambled eggs.
Being tickled when she's in a good mood.

Dislikes:
Sitting still to take these photos.  
Being tickled when she's in a bad mood.
Not being allowed to play in the toilet. 
 Having things, especially things she knows she shouldn't have, taken away from her.

New Tricks:
Growing up too fast. 
Giving high fives.  
Walking with the help of her doll stroller.
Standing unsupported for a few seconds at a time.
Waving in response to someone saying goodbye.
Smiling at strangers and just generally being much friendlier! 

P.S.  Here are the rest of her monthly reports!

Happy Birthday, Claire!

We love you!

Eleven Months With Claire

Likes:

Shaking her head. 
Her car seat blanket.
Playing on the couch.  
Her musical turtle, a Christmas gift from Aunt Katie.
Emptying all the dishes out of cabinets and drawers.
Tearing pictures off the photo wall in the dining room.
Sweet potatoes! Sort of a vegetable, right?
Reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear."

Dislikes:

Getting dressed.
Any sort of hair accessory. 
When "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" is over.
When people wear sunglasses and when Mommy wears glasses.  

New Tricks:
Requesting hugs. 
Drinking out of a sippy cup.
Chewing with her third top tooth.
Turning the pages and lifting the flaps of books.
Throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her way, complete with back-arching and breath-holding.

P.S. Here are the rest of her monthly reports!

Ten Months With Claire

Likes:
Cheese, bread, and fruit.
Playing with toys in the bath.
Reading menus at restaurants.
Banging her head against things on purpose.
Unwrapping Christmas presents very, very slowly.
Terrorizing Grandma and Grandpa's dog, Sophie.
Going on the slides and swings at the park.
Soothing herself to sleep by standing up and shouting in her crib for up to an hour.
Chasing down the parent who's busy doing something, while ignoring the one who's trying to play with her. 

Dislikes:
Vegetables.
Holding still.
Sleeping in unfamiliar locations.
Having snot sucked out of her nose.
Banging her head against things not on purpose.
Being confined to her parents' laps and expected to sleep in their arms on plane rides.
Anyone other than her parents trying to hold her.

New Tricks:
Pulling up to standing.
Eating finger food instead of purees.  
Chewing with her new two front teeth.
Crawling on all fours as her main form of transportation.
Getting into a sitting position on her own.
Clapping and waving on occasion. 

P.S. Here are the rest of her monthly reports!

Nine Months With Claire

 

Birth Weight: 5 pounds, 12 ounces

Current Weight: 17 pounds, 12 ounces

Birth Length: 18 and 3/4 inches

Current Length: 26 and 1/2 inches

 Likes:
Brushing her teeth.
Taking ornaments off the Christmas tree.
Rifling through the diaper bag for Mom's wallet and keys.
Digging through the trash can in her parents' room.
Shaking and banging whatever she can get her hands on.
A bamboo slotted spoon, her favorite toy of the moment.
Being applauded for her accomplishments.
Finding Dad when he's getting ready in the mornings.

Dislikes:
Having her face, especially her nose, wiped.
Getting stuck under the couch or coffee table.  
Lying down to get her hair wet in the bath.
Being abandoned by her parents and left with a babysitter.
Coming down with a cold for the first time.

New Tricks:
Responding to her name.
Jumping in the doorway jumper.
Sitting in the shopping cart like a big kid. 
Scooting for long distances, particularly down the hallway from the living room to the bedrooms.
Crawling! Only taking a few steps on all fours at a time, but getting closer every day.



P.S. Here are the rest of her monthly reports! 

Eight Months With Claire

Likes:
 Knocking over towers of blocks.
Saying grace.
Reading her three favorite Sandra Boynton books.
Banging her sippy cup against her high chair tray.
Shoes, especially chewing on them.
Bread and yogurt.
Laughing at people, including herself, when they sneeze.
Finding and springing the doorstops.

Dislikes:
Peace and quiet. 
Reading anything other than her three favorite books.
Staying in the pew during Mass.
When she's not allowed to have something, particularly the hymnal.
Laying still while her diaper's changed.
Cutting teeth.

New Tricks: 
 Whining.
Chewing with her two new bottom teeth.
Climbing over the armrest on the couch.
Scooting everywhere, all the time.
Rocking on all fours, but still figuring out the forward motion aspect.
Supporting herself in a standing position after being helped up.
Sitting on her own, before she gets bored and scoots off to find a shoe or a doorstop.



P.S. Here are the rest of her monthly reports!

Seven Months With Claire

Likes:

Playing with Mom's keys and phone. 

Crumpling pieces of junk mail.  

Helping make the bed.

Hanging out in the doorway jumper.

Practicing her typing skills.
Reading, especially Moo Baa La La La. 

Dislikes:

Nursing. 

Zucchini. 

Wearing socks and shoes.

Getting buckled into her car seat.

When Dad won't let her roll over in the tub.

New Tricks:

Shouting.
Shaking her head.
Smiling for the camera. 

Scooting and some occasional rocking on all fours. 

Sitting unsupported for longer and longer amounts of time.

P.S. Here are the rest of her monthly reports!

Six Months With Claire

Birth Weight: 5 pounds, 12 ounces

Current Weight: 12 pounds, 13 ounces

Birth Length: 18 and 3/4 inches

Current Length: 24 inches

Likes:
Playing peek-a-boo.
Having raspberries blown on her tummy.
Looking around at everything while Mom's running errands.
Sitting on Dad's shoulders.
Silly songs, especially "The Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know it." 

Dislikes:
 Teething.
Getting shots. 
The sound of the vacuum.
Having to entertain herself.
Sucking on her pacifier. 

New Tricks:
Growling.  
Rolling over front to back.
Taking two naps a day without a fight.
Sitting unsupported for a few seconds at a time.

P.S. Here at the rest of her monthly reports!