Pictures & Stories

This morning I broke out the camera to get a few Clara pics. Here are four of them with a short story each.

Clara Talk

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Clara has a few favorite sounds. The first is "Aah." A short burst of vowel followed by a slight h, "Aah." is used when playing, when thinking, when being cute. The second is "Up!" "Up!" has a multitude of meanings from 'pick me up' to 'Daddy' to 'Mommy' to 'look at this toy' to 'I don't want to eat that specific food right now but maybe if you saute it a little I'll try'. The last is her guttural cackle that fills the chapel each week during the sacrament.

Clara Crawl

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The Monkey Beans (nickname for Clara - you'll have to ask Kristin for the back story) has become a champion crawler. One of her favorite places to crawl is to the piano. She bangs on the keys, removes the bench cover, and licks the pedals. Our playtime this morning included time at the piano.

Clara Coy

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I don't think it bodes well for teenage years, but Clara makes the cutest little faces. When meeting someone for the first time she ducks her head and gives a little smile. Then there's the Clara reclining pose. Today I happened to catch her mid-pose, with her finger in her mouth. It was too cute not to post.

Clara Tall

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Okay, I know it's no surprise. With a mother 6'0" and a father 6'6" the kid is going to be tall. I'm just surprised how soon her height is affecting our lives. Isn't it supposed to be tears of "All the boys are shorter than me" or "I don't want to be in the Primary program because I stick out like a sore thumb" or "I can never find pants that are long enough or cute shoes. Why couldn't I have been born to NORMAL parents?" But when she's up on her tip toes those little fingers can grab the computer mouse, whatever is on the kitchen table, can root around in drawers and the garbage can. I keep waiting for her to figure out that she can hold onto the top of the baby gate and put a foot up on the base and start to climb. Good thing Bran isn't around to corrupt her! (It was a GREAT post, Fiona.)

One last note: look at Clara's behind. I grew up in a family of five children. Four boys, one girl. My little sister had a pair of pants with ruffles on the butt. We boys would run after her yelling "Ruffles have ridges!" until she would cry. Kristin's mother found these pants and thought they were too cute to pass up. Each time I see Clara in them I say in my mind, "Ruffles have ridges!"