it's a....

Gee-sahs...

Claire and I were going to pick up Daddy from work. I had her shoes, coat and all other necessary items to conduct this outing when Claire yells, "Gee-sahs! Gee-sahs!" I sit there thinking, I've heard this word. I know what she's saying, why can't I place it? Finally, she gets impatient for my understanding, so she runs into her room and grabs something all the while yelling, "Gee-sahs, gee-sahs."

I finally look to see what she has...if you're a little slow, like me, I will have to tell you it was a picture of Jesus. She wanted to take it with us to get Daddy. So, we brought it in the car and she sat and held it, saying His name and even giving Him kisses.

That's right, Monster. Take Him with you where ever you go.

miles...

This is Miles. We have called him Claire's boyfriend since before he was born (he's about eight months younger). Claire has never really done a whole lot with bottles, but I now know she's on her way to helping me out with the new baby with all her attempts at feeding Miles. Miles handles it pretty well the first few times. But Claire likes to pull it away and give it back so many times that the poor kid has had enough soon after she starts.

Claire yells "Miles!" every time anyone knocks at the door, hoping it's him. She cried when he left her in the store the other day. She has a fondness for him that is so endearing. He is crawling right now and she has recently discovered that riding Daddy as a horse is fun stuff. So, it was an easy transition to riding Miles. The first few times I saw it, I thought she was being mean. You know, trying to sit on him, like you always hear kids do to their little siblings when they first come around. I was glad I figured it out because it made me nervous for this new little one!

Anyway, she loves this kid. She still steals his toys (and he hers), but they get along pretty well.

bike...

One day, we have to get her one. She was so mad when we put it back on the shelf that I had to leave the area and distract her with a ball.

I've called her "Speed Racer" before, but really. She is. I look at how others crawl and remember the days I would put her down, remember I hadn't shut the bathroom door (who wants their kid to crawl on that floor, or play with the toilet and garbage can in there!?) and I would have to RUN back to the bathroom (a good 15 yards away from where I put her) or she would beat me to it.

On this little bike, she didn't understand the petals, but she sure scooted her way around. Nick and I would have to race down the isle to catch her before she turned the corner without us.

ko-ette....

Claire loves her new coat from GGrandma Carol. She loves the "bah-tons" and the "bow" on the back. Thanks GGrandma!

insights from dad....

Happiness is when your 19 month old can turn on a movie and entertain herself.

waking up with moo...

I walked into Claire's room to get her up from church. I don't knock on the door like Mom does, I just walk in and she usually sits up and says "dada!" Today, she was still sleeping. I went and rubbed her back to try and rouse her. She sort of just rolled over. I said, "Claire, time to get up." She started to make sleepy noises. Finally I said, "C, what does a cow say?" "Mooooo!" she said with her eyes still closed. "C, what does a sheep say?" "Baaaa!" she said and sat up.

-Nick

isn't she the greatest?

i want my baby back, baby back, baby back...

So. last night we had steak...not my first choice, but you know...feed the males..........................and apparently, Claire:





We were having dinner and FHE with good friends of ours: the Frenzels. they brought the steak. It was assumed that Claire would share with Nick and I. Nick shared and she ate my ENTIRE steak by herself. She has two persons' portions of steak floating around in her body! When I was prego I craved meat (which is weird for those that know me pretty well---I have never enjoyed it). I would eat ribs, steak, salmon...still no eggs, but lots of meat! I guess it really was her telling me she was a carnivore because I can't get her to eat much else! Unless we are talking about things that are unhealthy:


She's eating chocolate with no problem here! what a turkey!

na-ed!

Claire has been pulling up her shirt, patting her belly and saying "na ed, na ed, na ed!"

?

I figured out what she was trying to say yesterday when I was changing. She walked in (when I was in my unmentionables) and came over to pet my bare leg. She said, "na ed, na ed, na ed!" and it dawned on me: she's saying "Naked, naked, naked!"


Have I been saying this to her and she picked it up or is she doing this on her own?!

Claire growing up...

She says "Thank you, Momma" and "Hi Dada!" and "Bite, bite, bite?" like she's begging for food. She's crazy! She does a squinted up fishy face when you ask her what a fish says. She barks right along with the dogs in our neighborhood and meows at the cats in her books. I truly can't get enough of her. She's a riot. We spend a lot of time right now trying to remember to tell Momma when she needs to "poo poo". Then if and when she does, she waves to it as if flushes down the toilet, "Bye bye, poo poo!" She knows how to pick up her toys...only to scatter them a few minutes later. Her two favorite toys are: a baby doll stroller my sister got her for Christmas---she spends hours pushing it around and then sits in it and expects someone else to push her around. I taught an hour lesson to two girls last night and she brought her stroller to them and while one was singing, she made the other push her around. When the students' switched, I found that the other one was pushing her around as well. It was a full HOUR of pushing that kid around in her baby doll stroller. I try and let her learn by experience, so telling her that she's too big for it does nothing. She will break it one day and that will be that. oh well. Her other favorite toy is a little car that she can ride on. Not the fancy ones that you can get in and out of, just some bench with wheels and a hand hold to push. It sings two songs over and over. "Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man..." and "Twinkle, twinkle little star..." She pushes it places and then stands on it like a stool to reach things she's not supposed to touch. Nick and she have so many games, she just loves her dad.