1 Year Old!

12 Months (posting almost a month late, argh)

To my beautiful, happy, daring, brilliant, hilarious daughter… you are one whole year old!  I truly can’t believe it. Everyone said our lives would change so much before having you, and it has, but I had no idea how much fuller you would make our lives and our little family. You make us laugh every single day, and give the very best hugs! The best part of my day is getting home from work and you give me your biggest grin and a tight hug around my neck.

A few things I’ll want to remember about you at this age:

• You are so so smart, even your daycare teachers tell us this (because I suppose I could be considered 
•  You love music and dancing at school, and have some great friends already with 2 little girls and a little boy in your class. When you get to school in the morning and see each other you smile and wave your hands.
•   Still the center of attention and will try to get smiles out of every single person you meet. At daycare the grandmas and grandpas come visit and you wave to them and blow kisses.
•   You love anything sweet, especially all kinds of Fruits. Blueberries are still the all-time favorite, but strawberries and grapes come a close second. 

11 months

Ok, I wrote this post a couple months ago and somehow never posted it. Oh well, adding it now so that I will finally have all 12 months ups!

Claire- 

• You are Running around like crazy and so active
• Becoming very opinionated…you now know how to point at things, and you will point at whatever you want (whether it’s a bottle, snack, toy, etc.) and yell until you get it.
•  You love to play in any sort of box… a cardboard box will entertain you for a good 20 minutes and
•   You might be a little OCD, haha… or maybe have just been watching me pick up all your toys day after day, and so one of your favorite activities is taking your toys and putting them back in their bins.
•  You have a Toy House with about 20 plastic “little people”. You will open the front door to the house and put one in the house, and then close the door, and then open it again and put another in, over and over until your house is full of all the people.
• We went sledding and you LOVED it. Such a dare devil. Afterwards the next day you were pointing outside at the snow since you wanted to sled again. You now pull your red sled around in our living room on the carpet and think it’s funny to put the stuffed monkey in the sled. 

 

10 months

Claire,

• You are walking! You will take from 3 steps up to 10 steps sometimes and are getting more balanced and confident every day!
• For Christmas you got a rocking Elephant you can sit on which you love, and you were thoroughly spoiled by Santa and all of your family.
• I swear you are getting your top front teeth, but every time it seems they are about to pop through they don't... This doesn't stop you from eating just about everything solid though.
• Your new favorite foods include veggie meatballs, cheesy green beans, fish sticks, and you are adamant at every meal you have your own cup of water.
• You say "mama" now and I swear that most the time it seems like you know that is me!
• Anything that makes you feel like a "big girl" is the best. Sitting in your Rocking chair like the adults, eating big people food, and of course walking around. 
• You are a little ham and smile at everyone when we are out and about. You love getting smiles from strangers and look (gawk) at everyone with your mouth wide open, and wave at everyone. 

10 month photos

First time in the Snow - Snoqualmie Pass in early December 

Christmas morning at Nana & Grandpa's house 

Loving being a big girl in your rocking chair 

Meeting Santa

We took Claire to see Santa last weekend, and she loved him! The 10 kids in front of us all cried when sitting on his lap (and I always feel so bad for the poor kids who are scared of Santa), but luckily Claire just smiled and clapped. She is always so happy! I don't think Santa wanted to let her go, haha.

9 months

Posting this a few weeks late...

Claire -

• You are standing all the time now, and "Cruising" around with your toy walker and on our coffee table and furniture. I'm not ready for you to start walking, but it's going to happen before I know it. 
• You are starting to get some attitude! When you don't want something (like your bottle) you make a mad face and shove it away with both hands. Or if I am trying to rock you to sleep and you don't want to sleep yet you will reach up and smack me or daddy. 
• You still love love love food. Anything we are eating you want, and you won't eat any of your own food if we are eating something different in front of you. At daycare you love the pancakes and waffles they make for you. And at home you have loved our chicken curry recipe, as well as pasta, mashed potatoes, any kind of bread, fruit, or veggies (except peas... you still hate those). 
• We took you to mexico for the first time with the Whitfield family for the week of Thanksgiving, you were a trooper on the plane and loved talking to all the people around you. Once we were there you LOVED the pool, and would have stayed in there the whole time if we let you. Naps on the shady lawn chairs by the pool weren't too bad either, it was a great vacation and escape from the rain in Seattle. 

9 month pictures (these were the hardest to take yet... you did NOT want your picture taken)

And some pictures from Mexico! 

8 months

Claire -

• How are you 8 months old already?!?
• You want to stand all the time, and practice all day long at daycare. 
• You love to bounce and when music comes on you will rock and bounce, and sometimes singe along with it (although your singing mostly just sounds live "Ahhhhhh Arghhhh ahhhhhhh"
• Your favorite word is still Dada 
• When I respond to you and say: Claire say "Mama", you just smile and say "Dada Dada"
• Food is one of your favorite things, especially anything solid in chunks... pureed food is so boring. Cut up bananas, sweet potato, turkey, and cheese is the best. And you are trying more foods that we eat for dinner as well, this week we had red curry chicken and you went crazy for it. 
• I realized now that you are truly on the move, I need to start saying "no" to you when you are getting into something you shouldn't (we have child proofed things to some extent, but even when we have child proofed electrical outlets it still probably isn't a good idea for you to think you can lick them). So now when you head towards an outlet I say "No" (without smiling or laughing I swear), and you just crack up laughing! Hmmmm.... 
• It is getting harder and harder to get you to sit still for your monthly pictures! 

All dressed up for Halloween! The cutest ladybug ever... 

Fall

I LOVE fall. Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins. Beautiful fall leaves. Crisp weather. Sweaters. Coffee. Boots. Even the rain on a cozy weekend morning. We are fulling enjoying fall now that it is here, and I don't want it to go by too quickly.