Claire is 2!

I simply can't believe that two years have gone by since my life was completely transformed. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much becoming Claire's mom has changed me. While she was an infant I talked differently, ate differently and we all know that I slept differently. I was driven to frustration much more frequently and she was making my heart melt nearly every day. Not much has changed on our journey from infancy to toddlerhood. I still talk differently from my pre-mommy days since I didn't used to clap my hands and praise people for using the potty, but I have found that I do speak to her in full sentences and assume that she understands every word I am saying. Thanks to Lucas not having any food sensitivities I am free to eat whatever I please and his current sleep habits still have me sleeping much differently than the straight 8 hours I once knew. Of course, we still have frustrating days, but most of the time it's limited to more of frustrating minutes. And yes, she still makes my heart melt all the time. My most favorite is at bedtime. After her bath with Daddy she comes to say good night to Lucas and me. Wrapped in her towel she whispers, "Na-night, Mommy. Na-night, Uke. Wuve you. Wuve you, Uke." So precious.


Judge all you want, but I use the TV on a daily basis as a baby-sitter. When I need to get Lucas down for a nap, I park her on the couch and let her know that I'll be right back. I also use it if I'm having a difficult time making dinner or any other necessary chore. As a result, she has memorized quite a few of her favorite movies. Most of all, Strawberry Shortcake - or "Cake" as she calls it. When the song about sweet dreams comes on, she can't resist dancing and singing along to it. She knows most of the words and loves to imitate what the characters do. It is so sweet when she clasps her hands next to her cheek and sings "sweet dreams".


As soon as I return from getting the little man to bed, it never fails that I hear her say, "Hold you." She never passes on the opportunity for cuddle time. I feel bad that she doesn't get all the attention she wants, but on the other hand if she had her way I would probably carry her all over the house and spend the day cuddling on the couch where we would certainly be covered by her pink blanket (called "bankly") and be holding ducky.


Along with her second birthday came independence and the need to do everything "self". Most of the time I allow her a few minutes to try something and thankfully she either gets the hang of it quickly or realizes that it really can't be done by a 2 year old and says "mommy can do it". Sometimes I am really surprised at what she can do on her own. Over the last 6 months she has amazed everyone with how vocal she is. After mastering words like parachute and elephant she finally decided to give "gramma" a try and now talks about her grammas and papas, aunts and uncles, and of course, cousin Belle. A month ago she was communicating great by pairing words to form a thought and that quickly progressed to nearly full sentences. I love it when Adam comes home from work and asks her for the report on what we did today. Sometimes she recounts a particular event and sometimes she completely makes up a story.


This little girl is still so proud to be a big sister. She often refers to herself as sister. And I must say, "Come here, sister" quite often because she is saying that all the time. She is always quick to help by getting things for him, like the boppy or a diaper or a toy. I hope her caring nature stays with her always. She is very aware of the emotions of other kids and is sure to let us know whenever someone is crying. This is especially true when we visit the pediatrician's office. A year ago I never would have thought that Claire would be one of the children that was not crying. She loves to visit the doctor. I would give the movie "Elmo Visits the Doctor" all the credit, but I also think that it has to do with switching to a much friendlier doctor. At her well visit last week, she was so excited to have her heart, lungs, tummy, and everything else checked with the doctors special tools. This doc was so awesome that she even let Claire play with them. We found out that Claire is 31 pounds (90th percentile), 35 inches tall (75th percentile) and a perfectly healthy little girl. At home, she was using random things around the house as a stethoscope so I made sure she got one for her birthday. She looked darling in her little doctors costume and now says Dr. Kendall each time she gets her stethoscope out.


I could really go on and on listing all the things that I love about our sweet little Claire, but I guess I should just write more often. She truly is a kind-hearted girl with a love for life. A trip to the park isn't just fun, it's FUN!! When I tell you that Claire likes to pray for you, you better believe she is saying prayers for you before each nap and bedtime. Certain adults still make her nervous and quite randomly too, but after clinging to me with all her strength and a few tears she recovers and it's like it never happened. Her number one coping mechanism in these situations is to start labeling everything in site. "Chloe. Leash. Grass. Sniffing." It's funny how this comforts her. Okay, I should really stop now. There is just so much about her that I don't want to forget...so many precious moments that simply won't last forever.