Claire Turns 2

Claire's second birthday has come and gone. She grew up so fast. I know she's still little, but she has long since been a baby. I adore the little girl that she is, but it pains me how quickly the seasons of life change.
Claire was the most perfect angel of a baby. She has always had such a sweet nature. Now that she is a big girl, she's also getting a bit of sass. She is very sharp; she picks up on word usage and intonation very quickly. She speaks not only in full sentences, but in paragraphs. It is so funny to hear phrases like "that's hilarious", used correctly, coming out of her mouth.
She has a very active imagination and enjoys pretend play. For many months, she has often "talked" to Tessa when she is all alone. Usually, she is practicing being mean to Tessa, though it is normally the other way around when the two are together. When we are riding around town, I will hear her in her seat saying "NO, Tessa!" Once I heard her say, "I'm not a baby, Tessa! You the baby!" Another time, as Claire sat alone at the kitchen table, she pretended to feed an invisible Tessa some of her snack.
Claire's other favorite pretend-play antics include crawling around on the floor while making pitiful crying sounds and then calling out "I'm a baby". Or she will put some sort of bag on arm and tell me she's going shopping. "Hugs and kisses," she'll say, as she comes over to receive them before heading out on said adventure. Then she'll walk away, wait a few seconds, turn around and proclaim, "I'm home!" And then we have a joyful reunion before she heads off again.
Despite our best efforts to steer our children away from animals, Claire is an animal lover. She has a particular affinity for cats. She has a favorite cat that lives across the street, another at Mimi and Pop Pop's house, and yet another at Papa and Mema's. She's always excited to see them and always wants to know "where's kitty kitty?" She even has a couple of stuffed kitty kitties that she loves to tote around.

Claire has already taken to "helping" me in many tasks. I can rarely cook or bake anymore without her immediately dragging a chair over to the counter to help. She loves to dig her little fingers into all the ingredients to taste a pinch, a technique she learned from her big brothers. She's also at my side for any other projects I do during the day. 

Though she's starting to pick up on some really nasty mannerisms from her housemates, she is still such a tender little girl. She loves affection. Every afternoon the poor girl gets stuck in the car about an hour and a half as we go pick up the boys from school. She's very tired by that time each day and fusses quite a bit. Though, admittedly, it frustrates me to no end every day as she whines and carries on ALL the way to and fro, I can still recognize how perfectly sweet it is that she wants to hold my hand in the car and it will usually soothe her. She also enjoys holding hands with the boys, even when she doesn't need comfort.

Claire also recognizes when others are sad or hurt and is good about offering comfort. She will ask, "are you ok, buddy?" And she will give hugs.

One of Claire's favorite things to do is to go for rides on anything that can be driven for fun. Since Dad got a new lawnmower, she has taken a particular interest in lawnmowers, spotting them right away at stores. She loves to ride in his lap at any opportunity. 

Our neighbor's grandson swings by usually once a week to take her for a spin around the block in his dune buggy. There is a particular sound that we can hear inside our house when Carter is out driving and any time she hears what she even supposes to be the dune buggy, she excitedly goes to the window and says "Carter!" When she comes out, he always stops to pick her up.

Claire has a particular tenderness for babies. She adores them. She is so happy whenever she can get her hands on a baby, the littler the better. She holds them in her lap, so gently and close. 

Claire gave up her pacifier quite easily after her trip to the dentist. They suggested we get rid of it right away because of the effect it was having on her teeth, and though I knew it was what needed to be done, I wasn't ready. I miss her with a paci. Taking that away helped solidify her transition from baby to big girl. And though I am so pleased with the results it has had on her teeth, I long for the days when she would carry around one paci in her mouth and one on each fingertip. 

Claire is the queen of our castle, and right now, I don't think there's anyone who minds. Her brothers are still excited to see her when she wakes up in the morning. Often they rush to her room, trying to be the one who gets to get her out of her crib. They are so sweet to her, helping her when she needs help, reading to her, singing to her. And she equally adores them. She loves to play at Nathanael's side. She enjoys playing in the dirt and sand right along with him. And she is always happy to go eat lunch with "Boy" at school. 

Claire has her daddy wrapped around her finger. Before we ever had one, he used to claim he didn't know what he would do with a daughter, wouldn't know how to relate to one. He sure has figured it out awfully quickly. Claire is his shadow when he gets home. Dad has learned all of the Frozen songs, just for Claire. They sing them together every day. They love each other.

Claire has two men wrapped around her fingers. Her Papa is pretty smitten with her too, but the feeling is mutual. No weekend would be complete without a trip to Papa's house. Claire loves to cuddle with him and go outside with him.

Claire is a fun little girly-girl. She loves getting make-up on her eyes and lips. She often requests for her nails to be painted. She points out her clothing, "see my pretty shoes", "see my pretty dress". She loves to sing. Her favorite songs are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Popping Popping, Follow the Prophet, Jingle Bells, and Teach Me to Walk in the Light. She loves reading and will sit to read a stack at a time. She loves to do stickers and color. She makes my heart well up with joy.