17-month vocabulary

Monkey, Zebra, Frog, Fish, Horse, Goat (goak), Bunny, Mouse, Neigh, Meow, Oink, Woof, Peep, Banana (mema), Apple (Ap-poo), Raisin, Kiwi, Pea, Noodle (doo-doo), Outside, Inside, Blow, Pop, God, Sip, Bite, Block, Wagon, Bowl, Milk (mak), Water (wa-wa), Pray, Church, Car, Choo-choo, Micah (Minah), Mimi (character in a book), Nap, Sleep, Sheet, Home, Knock, Park, Socks, Bow, Elbow, Knee, Eye, Nose, Mouth, Belly, Hand, See, Sticker (Stick-ee), Flower (Flow-wee), Shower (Show-wee), Boo-boo, Yogurt (Yo-week), Egg, Slide, Song, Raining, Dance, Yellow (Ye-wee), Green, Blue, Comb, Brush, Powder (Pow-bee), One, I know, I don’t know, Boat, Yum, Tractor, Noise, Bug, Rock, Airplane, Glasses, Buckle, Fan, Bean, Beads, Toothbrush (too-tuc), Heart, Star, Oh my!, Kiss, Go, Chair, Grammy (Ammy), possessives (Daddy's, Mommy's), Potty, Shirt, Fork (Feek), Hair bow

Resurrection Day

“Happy then this day to us; happy we that this day came, which opens to us a door of hope—have reason, therefore, to remember it, and with joy to keep it, as the first dawning of a better hope, the day-spring of all our happiness. This day our head is risen, and with him our hope has enlarged its borders, and made a prospect into the other world, sees some comfort there for our sorrows here. This day’s bright -shining beams have lightened our eyes, that now we shall not sleep in death; a Sunday indeed, the first true Sunday that ever shone, wherein the Sun of righteousness arose out of the chambers of the grave, to guide our feet out of misty darkness into marvellous light–out of the paths of the dead into the land of the living–out of this miserable into a blessed life by Christ’s resurrection.”

- Mark Frank (1613-1664)

I have a greater hope, dearest small one, now that you are in this world, a deeper love of the Lord's gifts, a more gutteral hate of sin and a more trusting faith. May there never be a day that you do not know Him as your Risen Savior.

She is a girl...

Easter morning monkey-doodle

(4/12/09)

Easter Basket from Grammy!

(4/11/09)

What can YOU do with a blanket?

(4/10/09)

College roommates and cutie pies

My college roommate Kelly and I met at an open house at Stetson University. Neither of us thought that we would be going to Stetson, but we exchanged phone numbers 'just in case.' When I decided that I was going to go to Stetson (incidentally on the day that the deposit was due - my long-suffering father drove it to the University), I called her and we decided to room together, rather than leave our roommate selection up to the powers that be. We lived together for all four years of college, got married to our dear husbands four years after graduating within two weeks of each other, and had our babies 7 months apart.

We were so happy to be able to spend time together when I was in Orlando.

Elizabeth Ann

(3/30/09)

Travel to sunny climes...

We met Nathan in the Houston airport and continued our travels to Orlando. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time with family and friends.

Here is Clara modeling a pink polka-dot number from the Summer 2009 swimsuit line:(3/27/09)

It isn't all about fashion - function is important, too!(3/30/09)

Meet me in St. Louis!

Clara and I went to St. Louis to visit one of my dearest college friends over her Spring Break at Covenant Seminary. We had a wonderful time - we visited the City Creperie, the zoo, the Gateway Arch, St. Louis Bread Company (the original Panera), the Hill (the Little Italy of St. Louis, where even the fire hydrants are painted with Italy's flag), Trader Joe's (why don't we have this in Houston?), and Covenant Seminary. We watched Northanger Abbey. We drank vanilla-peppermint coffee, hazelnut coffee (two kinds), and peppermint hot-chocolate. We saw spring blossoms and played Schubert's Fantasy for Piano, four hands. We watched Clara empty the spice rack on the side of the moveable island in the kitchen before every meal and tried to convince Clara to be less interested in Piper (Andrea's cat) while simultaneously attempting to persuade Piper to be more magnanamous toward her.

Clara, behind the love seat, with Piper

Spring!

The Gateway Arch

At St. Louis Bread Company

The Hill

(All photos from 3/23/09)

16 months - Clara's vocabulary (for my reference)

Yes
No
Uh-oh
Up
Down
Bye-bye
Wee
Yay!
Yum!
Eat
Hungry
Broccoli
Cup
Puppy
Doggy
Paci(fier)
Duck
Cow
Pig
Cookie
Book
Moo
Mommy
Daddy
Abby
Emmy
Sit
Hi
Oh no!
Moon
Cheese
Avocado
All done!
Baby
Kitty - 1st word (10/3/08)
Yucky
Poo-poo
Walk
What's this?
I want...
Ball
Bubbles
Cracker
Bath
Clock
Tick-tock
Pea
Please
Taste
Toes
Shoes
Noah
Ark
Snack
Hat
Bee
Truck
Hot
Oats
Rice
Huggie
Night-night

Sleepy sweet pea

3/15/09

What color are her eyes going to be?

3/10/09

Sometimes they look dark blue, sometimes grey, sometimes green...

Spring is on its way!

There still may be leaves on the ground,

but the grass is greener,

the weather is warm enough for sandals,

3/03/09

and the daylight is longer.

Meal time at our house

Beginning.....

3/01/09

...to end.

Faces of Glee

3/01/09

All done!

Before Clara could talk, I toyed with the idea of baby sign language. She started pointing quite early, so I generally could figure out what she wanted and she didn't seem overly frustrated by a lack of ability to communicate, so I didn't press the issue. One sign that was invaluable, however, was 'all done.' I taught it to her by raising my hands when I thought she might be finished eating. The above picture is a classic example of the pose. She caught on quickly and improvised on its use. Was she tired of grocery shopping? 'All-done.' Did she want to get out of her crib before she had even fallen asleep for her nap? 'All-done.' Did she want to leave the pediatrician before she got her shots? 'All done, all done, all done.' Her little arms flew into the air.

2/27/09

Our little girl is getting so big now. While she still uses the hand signal, she also tells us "Ah dah." We love this girl!

Barefoot weather

2/25/09

Grandpa and Grandma visit

Nathan's parents visited us from 2/20 -2/24. We really enjoyed our time with them. One of the cutest moments from their visit was on Sunday. Clara had been sitting between Nathan and I in church and was becoming rather fidgety and discontent. When we stood up for the scripture reading, she saw Grandpa. Her countenance immediately changed and she started pointing like she was the first to notice that her fun Grandpa had been sitting on the same pew this whole time!

Saturday we had planned a picnic and visit to San Jacinto State Park. While we have received barely any rain the entire winter and have actually been in a drought, the clouds and rain rolled in that afternoon. Fortunately our picnic was precipitation-free, but it drizzled on and off the rest of the day.

Clara's energy level was not damped by the weather. She ran around and around the memorial. This is the closest we got to a successful group picture.

On Monday, the weather could not have been any more beautiful so we took Clara to the park.

Come see us again soon, Grandpa and Grandma!

Valentine's Day Breakfast

Our special breakfast was Boothroyd Buttermilk Pancakes with real maple syrup.

2/14/09

On a side note, I got Clara this book:



It is a sweet story about Tiny-Too-Little (a mouse) who tries very hard to reach up to give Topsy-Too-Tall (a giraffe) a kiss.

Another trip to FL

February 5-8 we traveled to Orlando to see Emily before she went back to Japan. When I receive all the pictures I took using her camera, I will update this post.