Playing in the Dirt!

To finish out the post about last weekend we have some pictures of Claire playing in the mulch with Grandpa. Once he pulled out the toy tractors she knew just what to do; scooping and shoveling the mulch and getting thoroughly dirty. An outfit change was necessary before driving home.

This week we cannot believe how much more expressive Claire is becoming (okay we have said that the past few weeks), but it seems like she is learning 5 new words a day. We were leaving daycare and I was pointing to some of the other cars in the lot remarking 'look Claire its a red car.' She repeated back to me in the form of a question 'Red?' I responded stunned, 'yes Claire, its a red Car'. This time she said 'Red,' as more of a declarative statement. She has that figured out. She has also started to point to herself and say 'that', when we say Claire she responds with a yes and a big grin. After a few days of that we can now ask her 'Where is Claire?' and she will point to herself.

She has also been expanding her palate, on Wednesday we were having salmon. Julie and I figured she wouldn't like it so me made her something else. About 1/2 way through the meal Julie put a small piece on her plate, after happily devouring the piece she proceeded to eat another 15 pieces.

 Concentrating on watching the Feist 1234 video from Sesame Street

 She is getting much better at throwing the ball, these two were just after she released it.

More from this long weekend

Claire's language is exploding and it seems like everyday she is learning a new word.  This past weekend she learned two very important words: "yes" which sounds like 'ya' and "no" which sounds like 'noooooooo'.  She has become very proficient with her 'no' -  "Claire can we change your diaper?" - 'Noooooooo', "Claire its time to go to bed." - 'Nooooooo', "Claire time to get out of the bath" - 'Nooooooo'.

Traveling with a toddler is always interesting and on the Friday night ride to Rochester Claire decided to provide us with some entertainment.  We typically leave our house at 7:30pm (her usual bedtime) and almost always she asleep ten minutes in to the car ride, until we get to Rochester at 9:30pm.  She usually wakes up, plays with Grandma and Grandpa for awhile, and goes to bed around 10:30pm.  This arrangement has worked well these past few months.   So last Friday out of a 2 hour car ride, Claire was awake for an 1hour and 55 minutes!   We were shocked she was able to keep her eyes open that long.  Thankfully she was in a good mood for the most of the trip, she babbled and sang to us from the back seat, while playing with Curious George.   She closed her eyes at 8:45pm and we thought she was going to sleep for sure, but by 8:47pm the eyes were open and she was talking away.  Towards the end of the trip she was a little cranky, but still in good spirits.  She finally fell asleep and we exited the Thruway; 5 minutes away from Grandma and Grandpa's.  Thankfully she went right to bed after the car ride and slept until 7:30am the next day.

For our return trip on Monday we had planned on leaving during her afternoon nap so she could sleep in the car.  We were a bit worried, given Friday's no sleep car ride.  Thankfully she was asleep in the back seat by the time we got on the Thruway and she slept the entire time.      

Claire trying jello for the first time:

Sharing her jello with Grandpa:

Memorial Day Weekend

It was a wonderful weekend in Rochester, the weather was absolutely perfect and so was Claire. We will save stories for later in the week, but I will say Claire LOVED her first (as well as the subsequent 36) tractor ride.

Happy Memorial Day!

We are heading to Rochester this weekend for Memorial Day.  No stories tonight, just three cute videos. You will notice that its getting harder to keep up with her. Gone are the days when she would stay in one place.

Whoa, Go, Weee

Back over new year's we replaced my Jetta with a CC, Claire has been enjoying the car since it has a lot more room for her.

On Tuesday morning we were backing out of our driveway to drive Claire to school and I may have gone a little faster than I normally would and from the back seat I hear 'WHOA!,' shocked I stopped and looked back at her. Claire raised her arms up and said 'GO!' I put it in gear and zipped up to 30 mph and she let out an ecstatic 'WEEEE!' Driving her to school just got a hole lot more fun.

 Out little camper playing in the yard.

 At a local farmers market she got to try out some new toys.

 Yes, she is popping a wheely.