Clara says 'Mama'

Here's a video of Clara saying "Mama"- Lucy makes her debut as the videographer/director (you can hear her saying "Mama" to show Clara near the beginning).

Happy Birthday Clara!

Clara is 1 years old!! (actually, 1 yr and a few weeks- sorry this is late, my little sweetie!)

She is such a treasure, and we are so blessed to have her. We love everything about her; her sweet, mellow spirit, her curiosity, her emotional expressiveness,  her love of music and dancing, her cuddles, her grins. 

It's amazing how much she has grown in this year, from a helpless baby to a walker/dancer/explorer! She says a few words now, too. Her first was "buh-buh" for her bunny lovey, and then "Mama" (so precious to hear!), and then "Dah" for duck.

1 week old

1 year old!

She has such a beautiful smile.

Lucy and Clara together. They are different from each other in so many ways, but have such a sweet and special connection.

We celebrated Clara's birthday out west with Grandma Judy and cousin Sarah. Judy made a fun snowman cake, which Lucy and I helped to decorate.

 

Clara loved her first taste of cake!

There were balloons.

And party hats and music- lots of fun!

Here's a video of me chasing Clara- she has such a wonderful laugh.

Travels out west

We spent a fun 2 weeks out west with Grandma Judy over the holidays, soaking up the sun and having wonderful Christmas celebrations. The girls had a great time with Grandma Judy. Lucy slept in her room for most of the trip, and Clara had lots of smiles for her all the time.

Grandma Judy gave the girls special Christmas dresses, which they looked SO cute in!

 

One of Clara's favorite presents was a rubber ducky. :)

We had a blast making and decorating lots of cookies- it's one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.

A few more gratuitous dress pictures.

 

We met up with Matt's brother and his girlfriend a few times, including at a local mall where there was this fun little train ride.

Matt's cousin, Sarah, came out for almost a week. Lucy adored her, and we had lots of fun hanging out.

Clara and I went on a walk to a playground one day. It was super sunny all the time, but still brisk enough for coats and hats.

We went in the hot tub out back a couple times- Lucy was super excited about it, and about getting to use her floatie and new swimsuit!

We went for 2 hikes at a local conservation area, which was so beautiful. Lucy asked us how old she had to be before she could go "real" rock climbing.

The girls got matching outfits for Christmas, which Lucy was especially excited about.

Lucy & Clara on a ride at Chuck E Cheese, which was quite a hit with them.

Grandma Judy with Clara.

And with Lucy, at the Magical Forest, which had amazing Christmas displays and fun rides.

Christmas preparations

We put up our Christmas tree a few weeks ago; we all love looking at all of our special ornaments.

A baby gate has been a necessary addition, as Clara loves to get into things.

Lucy is as silly and creative as ever.

Clara is quite the walker now, and usually is carrying at least one or two things in her hands.

Some photos from a recent family walk.

We've been enjoying advent time each night, when we light the advent candles, sing a hymn, read a bible story and pray. Lucy loves learning the Christmas hymns- here she is singing Angels We Have Heard on High.

Clara is increasingly independent, with her own mind about where she wants to go!

The girls have a blast playing with each other. Clara often falls in the midst of the roughhousing, but she has a good attitude about it and just keeps going.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a fun day playing, cooking, and going for a little walk. Then we hosted my grandparents and some good friends and their 2 girls for Thanksgiving dinner.

We are deeply thankful for our two little ones.

Big sister pushing little sister in the stroller.

Lucy is really into racing, and ran almost the whole time.

Midway through a game of Pooh Sticks.

I love this look.

 It was a great day, sunny and crisp.

Clara walking and talking.

I had some fun with the place settings this year, thanks to some ribbon, chocolates, and flora from the backyard that Lucy and I gathered.

Lucy set the table for the kids, and made placecards. She and her two friends (3 and 5) got along so well. It was a bit noisy, but they played on their own wonderfully, letting the adults have some relaxing time at the dinner table.

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).