Claire turns ONE!

 It has been a wonderful year with Miss Claire. She is definitely a sweet treat who was worth the wait. She has a silly, spunky little personality and is smart as can be. As I've said from day one, she is a hybrid of both Sam and Nathanael. This shows in her looks and her actions. A little bit Sam, she has enjoyed looking at books from very early on. She often helps herself to books from the bookshelf or magazines and sits, quietly turning the pages for a while. A little bit Nathanael, she LOVES getting into things she knows she shouldn't, like the toilets and cabinets. She even sticks my phone charger cord into her mouth at every opportunity. Just like Nathanael always loved sticks, Claire loves holding things that are of a similar shape (markers, toy drill bits, other skinny cylindrical toy pieces). But one of her favorite things to carry around is socks. I can't keep a pair of socks on that girl's feet for anything, and CONSTANTLY get asked by every passing old person in public "where are her socks??!" But she will seek out anyone else's socks and crawl off with them.

Claire has learned to climb onto things. She's very proud of herself. She climbs on top of boxes when left out in the house, little chairs, the rocking ottoman that belongs with the rocker in her room, and the couch if there's anything around to give her a little boost. Amazingly though, she has only recently shown any desire to climb the stairs. She's been able to do it for months, but never chose to unless she was enticed. In the last week or so, however, she has been found sneaking up the stairs all on her own. She also, in the past week, started standing up off the ground, without holding on to anything. Still waiting on those first steps though.
Still such a little lover, Claire loves things she can cuddle. At bedtime, she always cuddles up with a stuffed animal, usually her stuffed frog, and snuggles under a blanket. She loves to hug soft toys. And she loves to hug people. I love her sweet disposition, her sweet hugs, how she lays on me in bed in the mornings and snuggles so still, how she lays her sweet head on my shoulder with her arms wrapped around my shoulders when I hold her, how it feels to have her little head burrowed against my neck. I could totally have another one of her.

 

Claire loves pacis, baths, and people, particularly her brothers and cousins. She loves to eat just about everything and is growing like a weed. She wears mostly 18 month clothes. She weighs 22 1/2 lbs (70.5%) and is 30 3/4" (90.8%). And she has a few words- dada, mama, uh oh, uh uh (no).

It has been such a delightful year watching this sweet baby grow. She has brought so much happiness to our home and we all adore her so.