Walking, All Done, Sisters

How's that for a prosaic post title? Here are a few videos for your viewing pleasure:

Clara has been walking more and more, though she can still be pretty wobbly sometimes.

Clara has started communicating with us, which is so fun. She often shakes her head yes or no, and has learned the "all done" sign as well (patting the tray with both hands, though she usually just uses one hand). Unfortunately, more recently she's been deciding that throwing food off of her tray is a better way to communicate that she's done (with a grin, too).

And Clara and Lucy together. They are getting along so well these days. They often make each other laugh while we're in the car, and love playing games together like chase or imitating silly noises- it is so sweet.

Superlatives

I thought it would be fun to do a superlatives post, to spice things up.

Most acrobatic: Lucy walking on the walls. She needed a little help to get up there, but I was amazed at how she stayed up!



Most mixed-up weather: Snow the day before Halloween! Lucy sure loved it, though. We shoveled, made snow angels, built a snowman, had a snowball fight, and did a few sled runs down the mini snow mountain (which finally melted today!).

Most creative use of younger sister's clothes. It's amazing what Lucy can fit into (the jacket, gloves and hat are Clara's).



Sweetest grin.



Biggest age gap: 88 years apart!

Happiest cruiser. Clara is moving around quite adeptly now- and see below for some more exciting news.

Most creative dance outfit.

Best use of a utensil. Clara loves holding spoons, and usually has one in her hand as she cruises around the house. If I try to take it out of her hands at bedtime, she starts sobbing, so now I wait until she's nursing, when she doesn't notice as much.

Most likely to touch the ceiling.

And now onto the video category.

Most exciting development- Clara has taken a few steps on her own! She started taking one or two steps between the couch and a chair on Thursday, and yesterday and today she's kept on going, adding more and more steps. This afternoon, while I was sitting on the couch she walked from the couch to the middle of the room- about 5 or 6 feet. Totally amazing! I captured a few of her steps on camera.

Most balanced- Clara also has started standing on her own for long periods.

Most contagious laughter. The girls at lunch today, cracking each other up. The blue stuff on Clara's face is blueberry juice (she's totally into self-feeding now, and loves all kinds of food- squash, brussel sprouts, beets, cheese, bread, peas, corn, rice, yogurt, blueberries, bananas, etc).

The princess and the bunny

We had a fun halloween. We trick-or-treated at the few houses in our neighborhood, which was just the right amount, and then had some of our neighbors over for apple crisp and hot apple cider. Lucy was so excited about the trick-or-treating and the party- it was quite a night for her!

Our little bunny- isn't she adorable?

Here comes Clara cottontail...

Our beaming princess.

Isn't she lovely?

The 3 of us before we headed out trick-or-treating. I was a lounge singer. ;)

We made a special stop to trick-or-treat at Grandma and Grandpa's.

A new favorite activity for the girls is pushing each other on the fire truck.

The princess and the bunny (who really wanted to munch on those toys).

Pumpkin carving- Lucy loved scooping them out and designing the faces.

And here's a video of Clara pushing Lucy on the fire truck. So cute!

Clara "talking" and Lucy counting

Here are a few longish videos, for those who have the patience/passion. ;) The first two are of Clara playing with magnetic letters. I love all the little exclamations and noises she makes.

I came down one morning and found Lucy counting her cheerios in spanish (thanks to Dora the Explorer). Here she's re-enacting it for me.

Picture feast

The girls are enjoying each other more and more these days. Lucy still loves making Clara laugh, and her new game is crawling around and getting Clara to follow after her.

Clara and I went to my cousin's wedding in San Francisco a few weekend's ago. We both came down with colds, but we still had a great time seeing my aunts and uncles, cousins and their kids, and a good college friend.

Clara is now cruising around on furniture, and can even balance while standing for a few seconds.

Rub-a-dub-dub, 2 girls in a tub! (well, a basket)

Clara is so beautiful, and full of life and joy.

I love this series of Lucy decorating a cake for Great-Grandpa- it reflects her amazing emotional range.

Afternoon at the park

We headed to the park on Sunday. The playground is being renovated, but we had fun just soaking up the sun and watching the dogs and airplanes. I also got to take some nice pictures of the girls.

My two little sweeties.



She's my brown-eyed girl...



Lovely Lucy

Bright-eyed Clara

Our good friend Alainie made her the super-cute hat!

Lucy is uniquely gifted at getting Clara to crack up!

And here's a video of the two of them laughing together.

Crawling, Standing, Dancing!

The girls have been up to a lot lately! Clara got the hang of crawling last week, and immediately after she mastered that skill, she started pulling up on things. She can already balance while only hanging on with one hand. Meanwhile, Lucy is as spirited as ever, keeping our lives full of fun and excitement.

Here are a few videos- Clara crawling and pulling up on the kitchen stool, and Lucy dancing.

Clara at the beach- she really is adorable!

Lucy's first day at preschool. She's been having a great time with her new and old friends.

Here Clara is pulling up on her play yard. Standing is her favorite position these days.

The hurricane blew down a tree at my grandparents' house. Lucy was quite excited about her new climbing structure.

My favorite recent picture of Matt with the girls.