- When you first said ‘banana’ you called it ‘mema’
- Although you say their names correctly individually, ‘Grammy and Grampy’ becomes ‘Gampy and Gampy’ and, likewise, ‘Grandma and Grandpa’ becomes ‘Gampa and Gampa’
- You repeat our little dialogues. For example, as we are reading through Matthew in family devotions, when Daddy asks you what book of the Bible we are reading, you say, ‘Maf. No, not Maf. Maffew.’
- After the novelty wore off, we had a hard time getting you to say the catechism. It became a real battle ground, but one day when you asked for some beans for lunch, I told you that you could have a bean for each catechism question you answered. It worked and the next time I served black beans, you said, ‘Who made you?’ – the first question in the children’s catechism.
- The first time you tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you said, ‘Cookie?’
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Things I don’t want to forget
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Pumpkin Girl
On the day before Halloween we took Clara to a ‘Trick or Trunk’ at the YMCA. She was very cute in her pumpkin costume, but a little overwhelmed. However, she certainly got into the treats once we got home!
Dewberry Farms
Animals and a petting farm
Lots and lots of pumpkins
Hay!!!!!
I have been wanting to go to Dewberry farms since the October I was pregnant with Clara. I tried to talk Nathan into going that year and he wisely pointed out that a 37-week pregnant woman with a knee cap that was prone to dislocation and little to no sense of direction had no business tramping around a corn maze at a farm way out in the country. This year, however, we took Clara and I look forward to taking her every year. They had so many wholesome activities for different ages and though she loved it this year, I can only imagine how much fun she will have in a few more years! There was a petting farm, all kinds of rides, a hay ride, and a huge pumpkin patch. Sitting in the hay and throwing it in the air was probably her favorite activity.
Goodbye apartment
This is one of the last pictures I have of Clara in our apartment. Just about the only thing I miss is the beautiful natural light in the kitchen and her nursery.
God blessed us with a rental home that we moved into in mid-October. Clara was a real trooper as we looked at many houses in September. She became obsessed with sockets, probably because of all the empty homes we looked at and their increased prominence in unfurnished rooms. In fact as we would pray and thank God for providing this home for us, she would thank God for the sockets!
She also was very cooperative as we went back and forth between the apartment and house packing and cleaning. She had a cold during the big moving push and though I had arranged for her to stay with friends for the day several times, she ended up coming along with us. I actually think that seeing the process helped her adjust. She still refers to our home as ‘the new house’ and says ‘Goodbye, new house!’ each time we leave.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friends and freebies
During the month of September Houston Chick-fil-a restaurants had free sandwiches on Thursday evenings. We combined that with a trip to the Children’s Museum, which is also free on Thursday nights.
Clara’s friend Abigail and her mom joined us for the fun.
9/24/09
Living in a big city has it’s perks…like not having to milk real cows.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Birthday parties
When Auntie Emmy came to visit us during the summer -I have yet to find the pictures. Emily, did you send me files? – she brought Clara a tea set. Somehow tea parties and birthday parties became nearly synonymous and so each pretend tea party we had became a birthday party. So, when Clara received invitations to several friends’ real birthday parties, she could hardly contain her excitement. The night before her friend James’ birthday party she didn’t fall asleep for an hour!
She still talks about the balloons from James’ party – she hoarded them and anytime a less-focused young guest would leave a balloon behind, she would snatch it.
The next weekend was Joshua’s party. She had a blast playing at the splash park and enjoying the party food. Not quite as popular was the pinata…each time I asked her if she wanted to take a turn she strongly retorted, ‘No!’
9/19/09
Nathan’s Birthday
We celebrated Nathan’s birthday at home and in Orlando a few weeks later. Here are a few of the highlights:
Enjoying a bite of Daddy’s birthday banana pudding
8/24/09
You can see the beginnings of one of Clara’s ‘Is it a rash, a sunburn, or an allergic reaction?’ episodes. We could not figure out the splotchy redness on her skin, so off to the pediatrician we went when we got home. Of course it was a virus… That diagnosis provides a certain level of relief because there isn’t anything that as a parent you should have been doing while you debated whether to go in to the doctor, but it is also frustrating because you can’t do anything and you went to the doctor. Oh well!
Take me out to the ball-game
We joined our church for an Astro’s game at the end of July. Thank goodness for the covered stadium!
Clara enjoyed the proverbial food and fellowship.
Michigan Cabin Trip
In mid-July we were able to get together with all of Nathan’s immediate family to celebrate summer birthdays and enjoy time together at a cabin that is owned by his brother-in-law’s family. We were happy to have the opportunity to share our news with his family in person, too!
7/18/09
Incidentally, this is the last picture I have of Clara with her ‘Poppy’, as she referred to her pacifier. When I found out that we were expecting, there were several transitions that I wanted her to get through so that we wouldn’t have to be too concerned about her reverting to baby behaviors. I wanted to get rid of the pacifiers (done by end of August), transition her to a big girl bed (done in December), and potty-train her (HA! – no longer on my list of goals).
The transition of getting rid of the pacifier was remarkably easy. An acquaintance mentioned that if you snipped off the end of the pacifier, it no longer was satisfying to suck on and the baby would eventually give it up. So, I snipped the end off of every single one and when she asked for one at nap time I gave it to her. She was very confused and said that it was ‘Dirty – wash it.’ So I rinsed it off and told her it wasn’t dirty, it just had a hole. She requested another, and so I showed them all to her. She tried every single one and then began commenting ‘Poppy has a hole’. She persisted in trying to keep them in her mouth and was a bit more wakeful at night for a few weeks, but I threw all the pacifiers away after I saw that she was just holding them. The primary downside was that she no longer napped, at all, except in the car.
Trip to Orlando
We went to Orlando for my birthday for a few days in late June. Our trip included the announcement to my side of the family that Baby #2 was on the way, early morning pool time with Clara, and Clara’s first visit to the Magic Kingdom.
You can see here that Clara’s eyes are still sleepy and I waded in my pajamas. I think she may have asked to get in the pool even before she had breakfast!
6/24/09
My mom noticed Clara’s ‘Big Sister’ shirt almost immediately. My grandma, however, didn’t see it right away… There was lots of excitement at the announcement!
Clara made herself right at home with the ‘vintage’ toys my mom had saved from my sister and I. Yes, the tractor was mine. I had a fascination with tractors, though I don’t think it quite rivals Clara’s obsession with airplanes!
Magic Kingdom
6/26/09
We went to the Magic Kingdom on my birthday. Fortunately, after growing up in Orlando, I had fairly realistic expectations for what a 19 month old could handle and we planned to stay until naptime and then return to the park after dinner. I didn’t quite remember how packed the park could be in June… Lines and toddlers don’t mix well and ‘Wait, this will be fun once we get there in (fill in 45-90 minute wait time)’ didn’t have much clout as an suitable explanation. We had a fun day, Clara had a nap, and the fireworks were definitely the highlight of the visit.
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