Clara at Two

Whew! It's been quite the month in our household. Extra work responsibilities for both of us and the kids starting new daycare (Luke for the first time) means we're catching up a little - including blogging!
 
Clara was 2 in July! Officially a toddler and not a baby at 2, she really is turning into a little girl. Almost every day we look at each other amazed with a word or concept that she understands.

We have definitely noticed a few more toddler type behaviors lately and had our share of irrational rage. But overall, she is a joyful little one who loves just about anything as long as she’s got someone to do it with. She still adores her brother and gives him the sweetest hugs and kisses that melt my heart. She's the first to let someone know if she thinks Luke needs to eat/sleep/have his paci, with genuine concern. However, Luke has started to scoot a bit and she does not enjoy it when he heads towards “her” things. It could be an adventure learning to share in our house over the next few months.

Clara is casually working on her potty training, and has had many successes when she is prompted to go. Mostly because of the 2 M&Ms she gets after going. If we forget for some reason to give her the reward, it can be two hours later and suddenly she’ll remember her Ms!! and demand that we get them right away.

Kids quickly discover the joys of a juice box!

 Some of her recent favorites:

• Singing her ABCs and many of her other favorite songs. We’ve always sung “Jesus Loves Me (Clara)” before she goes to bed. She’s started to sing along, which is pretty much the sweetest thing ever.
• She also counts with great enthusiasm. When she wants someone to come back or something to happen, she’ll start to count to ten. When she gets to ten that means the person is supposed to be back!
• Playing with her babies. She likes to bounce her babies to sleep and give them a paci. She sees us do that alot!
• Playing “nap”. Ironically, some days when she doesn’t actually want to nap, she loves to grab a blanket and pillow and make mom or dad lay down with her. Then she bosses us around about where the pillows/blankets/people should go.
• Singing Happy Birthday. We’ve had lots of family birthdays this summer. After her birthday, she’s still slightly obsessed with the song. Who we are singing to changes everyday, but her birthday spirit is still going strong.
• Her new play kitchen in the basement. We make lots of pizza, cuppy-cakes, and cookies.
• Her favorite foods are pizza, tacos and vegetables from the garden. She wouldn’t touch a vegetable before this summer, but tell her it’s from the garden and she’ll eat about anything raw. Cherry tomatoes and peas are her favorites!
• She has an uncanny sense of direction. If we are on a long walk, she always knows which way is home...even if Brad is lost. She also knows when we are getting close to home, grandma’s house, Target and the “ice cream store”.
• Talking! Her language has just taken off in the last few months and she’s our little chatter box. When you are in the car, she’s sure to tell you when to stop at a stop sign or red light. We hear a lot of “Why, daddy, why?”. She repeats about everything we says these days, and it seems like she learns new words and phrases every day. They are sometimes amazingly complex. She has the best serious expressions and emphatic hand movements when she really wants us to pay attention or get excited about what she is saying. 

She still loves to go outside and requests it every evening. Any night that is nice we try to take a walk. She’s a great rider in the stroller (as long as she has a snack). We’ve discovered quite a few toddler friendly parks this summer within walking distance. She also loves running through the sprinkler, her little sand box and harassing the bunnies and birds in our yard.

She's learned the art of making funny faces...

Clara is still sleeping in her crib at night. She’s quickly accumulated 3 blankets and 3 stuffed animals that must be accounted for in addition to her 3 pacifiers every night. Whatever she needs to sleep is our motto. 

Clara starts a pre-preschool this fall a couple mornings a week. I’m sure she’ll be the smallest kid in the class, but we’re confident she will hold her own! We love her spunky personality and we are so thankful for our two year old.