Claire

Claire is changing so fast right now. Physically she is getting taller and stronger, (“I’m big and strong! Grr!” as Claire likes to say) no longer needing naps every day. Mentally she has left babyhood behind and now talks, thinks and imagines like a little girl. She has a sense of humor now. She thinks it’s hilarious to tell me that she likes Donald trump. I am witnessing her getting smarter and smarter every day. 

She loves playing pretend with her horde of “guys” (a menagerie of approximately 10-12 stuffed kitties, my little ponies, doggie spot, mommy kitty, mr bear and baby lamb). She lines them up for tea time, reads them books and tucks them into bed for naps. They all must be in bed with her every night. She treats them all so sweetly, taking care of them when they are sick, cuddling them close together, sometimes rescuing them from precarious spots when she is in “superhero Claire” mode.  It seems to me that Claire is naturally empathetic, caring and sweet. I love this about her- and she is much more gifted in these departments than I!  

She loves talking endlessly about birthday parties, airplane rides, and rides at the fair. We’ve been waiting for the spring fair for weeks already! Easter is going to be a big deal this weekend. She is so excited. 

Claire is also officially, completely potty trained!! No accidents for about a week now! She is so proud of herself and I am proud of both of us. She earned quite a few kitties in the process, but the price of the toys was soooo worth it.  

Claires circle of experience has expanded outward a lot in the last few weeks. We started her in a ballet/tap class once a week, and a preschool twice a week! We felt that she was ready for a little more variety in life than just the same old routine at home. 

She’s had her characteristic ups and downs as we’ve started these things but on the whole it’s been great. It is so intriguing for me to see my baby exploring new people and environments separate from me. I could watch her in ballet class all day. How did my tiny helpless baby become a little person who now loves doing sashes and pleays? And what is she going to do next? This is a really cool part of being a parent, one that I never expected! 

Today I can say with confidence that Claire is 80% potty trained and this is the greatest accomplishment of my life in parenting thus far. Three weeks ago I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer for her to be “ready.” She was ready. She just didn’t want to do it. So with great courage I pulled the plug on all diapers in the household and resolved to stay home for two weeks. 

It was such a battle the first few days. I tried everything to make it fun, and visited the bathroom with her every half hour. It was mentally exhausting! She had lots of accidents and for a while it seemed like we were taking two steps forward, one step back. I lost patience with her once and let things degrade to a horrible battle that ended in tears on both sides. But I kept on. The sticker chart began to work, and soon I had to add another chart to the bathroom wall. 

The sound of pee pee in the potty was a miracle to me. It’s weird the things I get exited about these days! Poop is still a challenge, but a manageable one. I’m feeling that we have crossed a bridge out of toddlerhood and into childhood. It’s kinda sad, but amazing to me the things Claire can do for herself now. We’ve both accomplished a lot!     

  Claire is getting so big. To see her change and grow is so joyful but it simultaneously breaks my heart. Right now at two and a-half she can be the most absolutely adorable little thing. And then she can be a monster. And then a pretend monster. 

When Claire comes downstairs in the morning, or anytime really, she stops and says good morning to mommy or daddy. 

She’s developing some debate skills, and has come up with the sweet and innocent phrase, delivered in the most casual of tone, “How bout we…watch a show?” Hard to deny. 

She is very into safety and will happily comply with seat belts and life jackets. To be safe. 

Jumping is a lot of fun right now too. She finally started getting both feet off the ground a couple months ago. She put in a lot of work at therapy to get there! Now she likes to jump over cracks in the sidewalk, off the septic tank lids, and down the stairs. 

Our bedtime routine is very special, and very strict. Sometimes we start with a tubby time, others we just go straight to Jammies. Then it’s time for a show and some yogurt. The show is always Dora. The kitty one or the choo choo one are favorites.  Once the show is over we both say, “time for rest” and head up stairs. Depending on her mood, brushing teeth can either be a fun little game with mommy or an out-and-out battle. After brushing teeth (always with the choo choo toothbrush) we head to Claires room to read a book. I let her pick. Lately it’s been curious George again, but recently it was the Disney princess book or Blankie book. I do love to cuddle and rock her as we read, though the stories are a little tedious! After our story it’s time for bed, and binkie. I feel like a bad mother but Claire still gets binkie when she’s in bed. It is good for both of us right now! Once she is all tucked in with binkie, mr bear, baby lamb and kitty, I snuggle up next to her and sing our goodnight song and talk about the day. At this point I usually don’t want to leave her, she is so sweet. But inevitably she will say, “I’ll check on you. Do laundry.” This means she is ready to zonk out. So I say, “ok I will check on you, I’ll go do my laundry.” A couple ugga muggas, a kiss, and I walk out and close the door. That’s the routine! 

One last thing tonight. Claire has started playing her little ukulele quite a bit. Her specialties are the “sad song” and “I like you” song. I clap after she sings and plays, then she says “thank you, thank you so much. ” 

I love this painting Claire made a couple weeks ago. She always likes to include a little white paint at the end.