Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope all of you did too!

Christmas Playdate

 

Yesterday, Claire had a Christmas playdate with Abby, Emma, Kate, Kaya, and Charis. She made Gingerbread cookies, decorated some ornaments, exchanged books with the kids, and had a pizza picnic. She had alot of fun!

A Visit to Santa

We took Claire to see Santa yesterday. It wasn't a failure, but could have gone better. She was all smiles in line before seeing the big man.

 

But then, she saw him and realized she was expected to go talk to him. We let the people behind us in line go first so she could watch a little guy sit happily on Santa's lap. Even then, she was willing to wave at Santa, and whisper a Ho! Ho! Ho!, but would not sit on his lap (without me).

 

Last night when I was putting her to bed. "Mommy? Sit in Santa's lap tomorrow? Maybe tomorrow." Yeah, right.

Snowy Day

 

 

 

After tumbling class today, Claire insisted on making a stop on the patio to play in the snow. She was having a great time piling up the snow and throwing it at me. Last year, she wasn't sure what to make of the snow - this year, she's fascinated - I sense a snowman in our future. And yes, I'm aware that hat is entirely too small for her - I have a bigger hat, but it's a little big - just like Goldilocks, I'm struggling to find one that's just right.

First Haircut

Well... truth be told, it was really more of a trim, but Claire went for her first haircut today. I took some "Before" pictures.

 

 

A "During" picture (yes, that's a tear you see hanging off her chin)

 

And an "After" picture. You can hardly tell that she got it cut - they did take about an inch off her hair, but I think it looks cute!

 

Monkey

 

It is well established that Claire LOVES to climb. On a recent trip to the park she conquered the cork screw to get her up to the slide.

Halloween Pics

 

 

 

I can't believe how fast this year is flying by! Today, I was copying pictures off my camera and realized my Halloween pictures were still there. Better late than never, I guess!

Claire had a blast trick or treating this year. She started out kind of tentatively, and after 2 houses, you could hear her call out "Next house!" She's still talking about trick or treating - I keep explaining that it's just once a year that you are allowed to knock on people's doors and ask for candy.

A Beautiful Little Girl

My brother-in-law took these pictures of Claire. They're fantastic photos of my little peanut.

An Evolution to Halloween

 

 

 

 

With a random picture thrown in for good measure :)

Happy Halloween!

 

Fall Fun!

 

 

 

 

Claire went to the Cosley Zoo today and had alot of fun in the hay bale tunnels and pumpkin patch. She made sure to bring home lots of hay in her diaper... along with a little pumpkin.

Good Student

Claire started her music class this week, "Kid Rock". The theme of this session is Nursery Rhymes. Monday's class was based around "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Claire loved the class, telling us "Stars fall down." (They attached parachutes to the stars so they would float a little). Even the teacher noticed how much Claire loved class saying at the end, "Good job on class participation today, Claire!" She's such an overachiever - even in 2 year-old music class. Tumbling tomorrow... we'll see how that goes.

Pack Pack

 

 

 

Claire thinks she's one of the big kids. Last weekend, she insisted that we get her a backpack that she can wear when she walks with Abby and Cody to school in the morning. Each day, she carefully selects the treasures that she'll pack up in her "pack pack" - so far this week, silicone muffin cups, my old cell phone, and some rubber duckies made the trek to school. You never know when you're going to need to whip out a batch of muffins, don't you know?

We think it's super cute that she calls her backpack a pack pack - particularly when she's decked out for the game!

Go Pack Go!

The line has been drawn - on Saturdays she wears purple and on Sundays she wears the green and gold. Marriage is all about compromise, right?

Sand Box

 

Claire's newest obsession is the sand box. Last night, as soon as we got home, she had to play in it. I passed the time by snapping sub-par pictures with my phone. Makes me really appreciate my camera. I like this picture because it shows how crazy her hair is getting. The front and side is finally starting to grow in - you should see her when she wakes up in the morning. Somehow, it is usually sticking straight out the sides of her head.

Speaking of when she wakes up, this morning at 5:55am, I heard: "One, two, three...babble, babble, giggle, giggle. One, two, three..." A few minutes later, I heard (at increasing volumes), "Mommy. Mom. Mommy." When I went to get her she said, "Mommy, calling you loudly." Yes, yes she was.

I don't know why....

 

but I like this picture. It's kind of blurry and Claire looks like a wreck, but I like it!

The Fair & Some Cousins