Clare Is Back!

Clare is back and better than ever.  Our good-natured girl has returned to us, refreshed and full of energy.  Clare never ceases to amaze me.  She is my first kiddo, so I have no idea what "normal" is and that means that EVERYTHING she does is fantastic.  Lately she has been saying "uh-oh" when she does a "no-no".  If she drops something she'll say "uh-oh" or "uh-oh mama" - that is the correct use of the term.  However, when she throws something at the dog and I catch her and tell her "no-no" she 'corrects' me and says, "uh-oh" with her little hands up and the most innocent look on her face.  Usually I have no problem disciplining her - yes, she's cute, but naughty is naughty.  However, when she does this it is so hard for me not to smile that now I quickly correct her with a repeated "no-no" and then make a speedy exit so I can laugh.  Of course, when she is being really naughty or short-tempered and knows she's in trouble, she runs away and lays on the ground to 'cool off'.  I don't know how that started, but it's kind of like her self-imposed "time-out" so I'm just going with it.

No Lifeguard on duty??  "uh-oh!"

Our little girl is just growing up so quickly that I sometimes find myself wondering where the time has gone...already.  She eats big-girl meals and takes walks with us.  She loves to play with the big kids and can make me laugh like no other.  When she's laughing I ask her if something is "soooo funny" and she throws her head back and laughs more - how fantastic is that?!?!  She loves to smell flowers; she'll stop to smell each one in our yard and every one we come across when out for a walk.  Clare loves our bike rides and finds the being on the road makes her very sleepy.

Yummy!!!

Mmm, these smell nice

Ready for mom and dad to start biking!

Clare is a tender-hearted girl.  Lately when I pick her up, she lays her head on my shoulder and rubs my back.  It is the funniest/sweetest thing ever.  Clare will hand me Muni's leash and sit down with her shoes, just waiting for me to put them on her when she wants to go for a walk.  She also barks at Munich now, and when you ask her what Munich says she'll whisper, "woof-woof".  She whispers it because I've been working with her on using her 'quiet voice'.  As you may have seen in the video I posted in my last entry, Clare can yell!  My only chance at salvaging my sanity is to make whispering 'fun' (I'll let you know how that goes).  Clare will tell you where her "eye" is (yes, she sometimes points to her ear and says "eye", but she usually gets it right).

Hey girls - look here

Munich is "sooo funny"

Clare loves to flush the toilet - she is intrigued by it and will put toilet paper in it then flush over and over again as I get ready in the morning.  I'm thinking that it's time to get her a little toilet of her own (that was one of the items in my Babies R Us cart when the tantrum of all tantrums was thrown), so I'll be picking up some pint sized toilets, one for each of our bathrooms, for our little miss to use whenever she's ready.

"Sonja, life is tough these days.  Let me tell you all about it."

   We are so happy that Clare is back to her old ways, curious as ever and ready to take on the world.

Showing me where the birdies are

Clare is getting so big.  My how time is flying!