"dat"

Claire's newest word is 'that', though it sounds more like 'dat'.  She points to objects in books, around the house, and outside and says 'dat'.  At first we thought she was asking for the object; but what she really wants is for us to tell her what it is.

Claire continues to try new foods.  On Saturday after she finished her dinner, Cory and I were trying to finish ours.  She climbed on Cory's lap and started eating his shitake mushrooms by the fist full.  Just a year and already a little foodie. While initially unsure of ice cream she has discovered the deliciousness of this creamy dessert.  We usually go for ice cream on Sunday nights and Claire shares some of my strawberry ice cream.  Her real preference is strawberry gelato, but they have been out the last few times so we have to settle for plain old ice cream.  Life is tough as a one year old.

Cory left today for a work trip and won't be back until Friday :(  Thankfully Nana and Papa will be stopping by a few times this week to visit.  

"Now that I have mommy's keys, I can really drive the car"

Playing one of her favorite outdoor games.  Pick up stones and dirt from the front steps....

and give them to mommy to hold. 

Playing at the Clock-tower

Once of the nicest things about where we live is being less that 1/8 mile from campus, so its only a short walk for us to go and play. On Wednesday night after dinner, Claire and daddy went to the clock-tower to  play. She loved pushing the stroller around and even followed directions when she would run into something, I would tell her to back up and then she would pull the stroller backwards. She loved watching the students walk by, but her favorite game was to waving to the campus shuttle bus driver as he went around symphony circle. Since the bus is on a 5 minute loop, she got to wave plenty of times.

Our little comedian

Claire has turned into our little comedian and will do anything for a laugh, even if that means fake laughing. She will put on hats, gloves, coats, or scarves for a reaction. Last Sunday Nana and Papa came down to play with Claire and make us all a delicious meal. Claire enjoyed every minute and Julie and I got to clean the house (who would have guessed that I would enjoy spending a Sunday cleaning). The night concluded with some of Nana's famous paella (Claire's favorite) and some strawberry ice cream.

 Claire rough housing with Papa

 'I'm cleaning up like mommy'

 'Now, wipe my mouth'

 'I LOVE MOWING THE CARPET!'

 Of all of her stuffed animals she loves Mr. Monkey the best!

We practice reading every day and she is getting better at identifying the objects in the books when we say the words.

 Our little girl one year ago today.

Charlie's Party

On Saturday we went to Charlie's third birthday party. Claire got a chance to meet Rivka, who is two weeks younger than her (and the only other baby her age that is as tall); Rivka's mom, Laura, was a student when we first started working at Fredonia. They shared very well and Charlie even let the girls have some of his cake. It took Claire some time to warm up to the crowd, but then she was her charming self.

 Okay, who asked Claire where her head is with a hand full of cake?

 'Ohh, Charlie dropped some Smarties!'

Happy to go to bed early?!?

Over the past few weeks Claire has become much more expressive at letting you know exactly what she wants. She regularly signs: 'more' when she wants more food, 'all done' when she is done eating, and 'up' when she wants to be picked up. The new one for today happened after a short nap at daycare.  She was a bit tired when we got home. Around 7:00 she started getting a bit whiny so we took her upstairs to play for the last 30 minutes before bed. After 10 minutes she grabbed her lovie and her sleep sack and sat down in my lap. Being that it was only 7:10, we encouraged her to keep playing since she usually goes to bed at 7:30. Two more times she would sit on my lap trying to give me the hint that she was ready for bed. Finally she took the sleep sack and laid it on the carpet then laid in it. We knew there was no holding her off...she was sound asleep by 7:33.

Here are some photos from the week from Julie's camera. Claire found my cooler in the living room and figure out how to unzip it to get a can of seltzer. 

 Claire LOVES her pasta, we plan bath nights accordingly

 Playing outside before bed