Claire's Second Birthday

Our girl is TWO! I really can't believe it, but at the same time it just feels natural and like not that big of a deal. She's growing up so beautifully. She's her own person now with a personality that SHINES through all the time! 

Daddy was still home when she woke up, so he was able to go get her and love on her for a second. She helped me make special pancakes, and we face timed with meme, Michele and Annie to sing her happy birthday. She still got embarrassed by it, but she LOVES BLOWING OUT CANDLES! 

Unfortunately, I had a lot of cleaning and errands to take care of because we were leaving for thanksgiving vacation the next day. We went to the mall to see Santa just like last year. She wouldn't sit with him, but she didn't cry! He gave her a candy cane and she sat in my lap for the picture. We got a cookie and rode the mini ferris wheel before we left. She got a cheeseburger and fries for lunch and got to eat it while we walked around Hobby Lobby. 

We came home for her nap, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing and getting ready for the week at Meme and Poppi's. Andrew got to come home early, so they played while I cooked. The only way we could get her to take bites was to let her blow out the candles after she took a bite! We went to small group where she had fun playing with friends, and then it was time to go home and go to bed! 

I hope she always knows how loved she is, even if her actual birthday wasn't filled with all the activities that she would ever want to do. 

You are so wonderful Claire. We cannot wait to see what your third year will bring us! 

Months 23-24

Things I'm so thankful for: 

1. Her passion for her friends and family. She knows the names of people that belong to the various places we go. 

2. Her strength. Her little 2 year old body can do so much already! A worker in our church nursery said "she's the climbiest baby I've ever seen!" 

3. Her manners. She's very quick and doesn't have to be reminded often to say please, thank you or sorry. 

4. Her listening and obeying skills in public places. For the most part, I can count on her to do what I ask when we are somewhere other than home. 

5. Her lack of attachment to objects. I'll never have to worry about taking something away from her or getting her to stop doing something because she's attached to nothing! 

Things she loves: candy (specifically suckers), elephants and cows, sliding, playing outside, toodles

- She woke up with her first night of vomit in the crib. She was just whiney and it took me a while to get in there. Once we started cleaning her up, she got upset. Then she got a pedialite Popsicle, and got to watch frozen on the couch and was fine. 

She threw up again that night and again the next afternoon, and then it turned into a cold/croupe sounding thing. And Andrew got the stomach bug! 

- She finally put a puzzle together correctly on her own! 

- She says "fry" every time we drive by or through a fast food restaurant. 

- A new phrase I've been having to use way too much: "we don't eat books."

- She throws herself on the ground or hits things when stuff isn't going her way. 

- She doesn't like getting her nose sucked, so what night after I did it (she had a cold) she slapped the mirror. I gave her a stern look and she looked at me innocently and said "a bee". (She likes to pretend to kill bugs.)

- She has assigned seats for people at our table. She walks around and names who the chairs belong to (daddy, mama, Lolly, papa, claire)

- She looks for people saying "where are you" /sounds like Ariel/

- She's very good with colors now. 

- We have a shapes book and she can point to the correct shape on each page. 

- She's in a new phase where she wakes up at 11:30 and screams. The only thing that will get her to stop crying is an episode of a show and a snack. These are night terrors. 

- She says "no" and "yeah" in the most enthusiastic way. 

- She started saying "mine". 

- Now loves cheeseburgers 

- She has started saying "ummmm" sometimes when asked a questions. 

- All in the same day, she ate a bug, a flower and drank from Brody's water bowl. When asked about the bug she said, "a bee. Mmmm mmm." 

- She will willingly stick her whole face in the water. 

- She has started wanting a nightlight (projection of fish) on while she sleeps. 

- She runs like a normal person now

- She wants to hold our hand rather than just a finger.

- When she cries, she tells us "I sad" and points to her tears. 

- When she's throwing a tantrum, she spits and says "I spit". 

- She's a big daddy's girl right now. 

- Anytime we ask her if she wants a sister or brother, she says sister "Didert". She can say both of the names we like most for each gender. 

- We had a Curtis family vacation in Branson. Her attitude was definitely shining bright, but she had a great time. She LOVES rides at Silver dollar city! 

- We trick-or-treated at our church's trunk or treat and then around our neighborhood with Jack and Know. She never said "trick or treat" but did say "thank you". She mostly just wanted to sift through and eat the candy she had. 

Months 21-22

She loves dancing in circles and falling down on purpose, Disney princess movies, Popsicles, being chased, donuts, covering her face to sleep

- She likes to play in her room with the lights off.
- Every night when reading stories, she plays a "night night" game with Andrew. He will say night night and close the door, and she will shout "night night" and he will peep back in. She loves it.
- "My Nannie" came to stay with us for a couple of days.
- We took family pics in August. Worst idea, but we did get some great pics!
- She referred to herself by her name. She pointed to me and said "my mama" and then pointed to herself and said "derr". Close enough!
- Anytime she dances, she falls down (on purpose).
- She got her top incisors (completing her teeth other than 2 year molars) by mid August.
- She startles easily. If she hears a loud noise, her eyes get wide and she runs. She usually shouts out the name of whomever made the loud noise. She loves to be scared.
- She interacts and laughs at appropriate parts in movies.
- She is getting very good at saying and identifying colors.
- When she says "I don't know" and "where did he go" she puts up her hands and says "no" or "go". So cute.
- She would play on our bed all day if I'd let her.
- There are several words that stand for multiple things. Bup: cup, book, block, bird, help, up. Mao/moo: Mail, spoon, balloon. Mimmie: Minnie, swimming. Ninnie: kelly Anne and ice cream. Baba or dede: universal word for anything she's unsure of.
- She says "yeah" in the cutest possible way.
- Her new go to is to say "owwie" or "Tay" after she does anything that purposefully falling down or splashing, etc. It's very important that her audience responds with "are you ok?" Or "I'm sorry!"
- She picked up a little summer cold (runny nose).
- She was sweet at Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristi's baby shower.
- She started saying "m'on" for come on. She will say "daddy, m'on" and signal for him to come with her hand.
- She wants to go to bed at night now. I'll be rocking and ask "are you ready to go night night" and she quickly replies "yeah"!
- We got to watch and play with Ethan and Macy for a day.
- She's going through a picky eating phase.
- She started KDO (along with Tuesday morning bible study, small group and church). She doesn't do well at all at drop off! I'm hoping she becomes used to it very soon!
- She can jump multiple times in a row getting both feet off the ground.
- On a bed or trampoline, she jumps really high, gets her legs in pike position and lands on her bottom.
- Her favorite game is "get you" where we play chase or tickle.
- She's going to be a big sister!
- She is not sleeping well if she goes to bed a little later
- She likes to sleep with her pillow on top of her, but doesn't want blankets. She's no longer in the sleep sack.
- She learned to do "knuckles".
- Her new most used word is "na-by-da". She says it with a very serious face when she wants something. I have no idea.

Top Products: 20 months

- Good bibs. She's independent when she eats and that gets really messy!

- Big toys: Kitchen and accessories. She plays with her kitchen every day without fail. Cozy coupe and/or other riding toy. Baby doll stroller and shopping cart!

- Little people toys. She loves them and carries them every where! They are small enough to take places for entertainment.

- A backpack instead of a diaper bag. It's easier to tote around while chasing a toddler.

- Crocs and/or Keens (or an off brand). They cover her toes and are easy to slide on. They're water proof and she can run in them.

- Some kind of play equipment outside. We have a kangaroo climber and a playhouse (found on a yard sale site). Andrew recently built her a swing, too!

- Playtex (insulated) sipster cups. They don't spill and they keep drinks cool! That deserves a gold medal!

- A good time-out spot. She's a hitter, so it's hard for me to hit (spank) her for hitting. Time out has been a game changer!

- Educational things. She now copies or tries anything we do an say. Shape sorting, color matching, animal sounds, letters and beginning sounds, counting, etc. Books are always great and easy resources! There are also tons of APPS! (Right now Claire finds videos that she likes on YouTube...whatever.)

Months 19-20

She loves: Minnie, jungle animal YouTube video, bubbles, swimming, swinging, Ariel and Ana, the color yellow, her kitchen

I wish I had one word to sum up her personality, but I don't...maybe "unpredictable"? Sometimes she can be the sweetest, easy going, tender hearted little thing. Other times, she's so moody. When anyone new speaks to her, their instant reaction is "please don't cry" or "oh no, I made her mad" because she makes the face. She's so stubbornness can be rotten. BUT she is who she is, and LOVE HER regardless!

1 nap around 12:30
Bedtime around 7:30/8:00
Wake up around 7:45

18 month appointment stats:
- 26.6 pounds
- 33 inches
- Verbal and physical skills are right on track!

- At swimming lessons she learned to: stick her face and ears in the water, blow bubbles, kick, splash (needs to work on kicking and splashing at the same time), lay on her back (hates it), go under, kick up from under water, getting in and out of the pool safely.
- I'm bad about adding "ok" to end of phrases [put up your toy, and then we will go outside, ok?], so now Claire has taken to saying it "tay".
- Top left canine broke the skin on 5/25. Canine teeth are busting our rears!
- We went to Benton, Lake Degray, and Conway for Memorial Day weekend. We had the best time catching up with everyone. Claire tubed for the first time!
- She's been waking a lot more than normal and is almost inconsolable. It's before we go to bed, so I just bring her into the living room with us. If I try to lay her down she screams and says "wok" for rock. She had her fist night terror-like episode.
- She says "wowwie" when she's trying to get past something/someone or when she accidentally runs into something. (I take it for both sorry and excuse me.)
- On 6/4 I had the sweetest time rocking her. She was so still and was looking right up at me rubbing my face, and whispering her gibberish. It was like she was saying "I see you, mama. I love you." I couldn't help but cry and think of how much I love her and how thankful I am to be her mama. I hope she always looks at me that way, and I hope she also knows that I always see her, too.
- When she wants the phone, she holds her hand up to her ear like she's talking and says "ho?"
- She knows how to ask for things. She will say words and then "mama" or "daddy". She'll also get our hands and put things in them when she wants us to do something.
- I noticed the bottom 2 incisors broke skin on 6/8.
- She's been using a certain (made up) phrase a lot "baba,lala,mama,Tay?"
- She's very into imaginative play. Minnie and baby are her favorites and she likes to pretend to feed them, make them blow bubbles, change diapers, stir and eat.
- New words are toot, shirt, truck, Ariel (and the tune that she sings), stir, stick, "side" for outside, got you, tree, fish, orange, memelow (watermelon), "daday" for pancake, door, rain
- When you ask, "what do you say?" She says "peeeeees".
- She can recognize a star, every letter is "I", every number is 2 or 9
- She will only eat yogurt if she feeds herself.
- Hit a sleep regression.
- She calls both her milk cup and a chip a "bup".
- Swims like a champ in her puddle jumper
- Had a long weekend in Russellville with the girls! (Duffields, Carters and Coopers)
- The "no" attitude and the tantrums at bedtime are about to do me in.
- When she falls down or hurts herself, she says "Tay" for "I'm ok"!
- She dropped a sticker I gave her and I heard her say "oh no! Ariel where are you?" (In her own special way)
- Give her a spoon and something to stir and she's good to go for a while.
- We went to stay with Matt and Kristi for the first time, and made a trip to the Tulsa zoo. Claire loved the elephants, but it was SOOO HOT.
- She now calls Brody "bro bro"
- She has correctly identified the colors yellow, blue and orange
- We spent July 4th weekend at Bogg  Springs.
- She's gotten really good at saying "thank you" without being asked. She will sometimes say "please" without being asked.
- We finally got the swingset built and  put together in our backyard!
- Still working on the discipline thing...
- She loves putting things into other things. She puts Weebles in bowls, little people in her bus, snacks from one container to another.
- She sings "let it go" by hold her arms out and saying "gooooo"!
- While reading her First Words book, we got to the flower page and she said "wowie, lellow, dar" (flower, yellow, star).
- Went to her first movie. She lasted 45 minutes.
- Pooped in the potty!! 7/13
- She calls animals by the sounds they make.
- When she pretend plays, she talks in a really high voice
- Says "thank you, mama", said "mama bite nana"