My Cute Little Weirdo

(For those still waiting for pictures from Clara's second birthday, Christmas, belly shots, and the like: I promise I will get there. We've had illness running through the house for a couple of weeks and I'm now playing single mom for the better part of two weeks. And I'm on day two-hundred-and-something of this pregnancy which means I've had 200+ consecutive nights of crappy sleep. You can imagine what this does to my psyche. But I promise I will get there.)

I can now officially sympathize with mothers of two-year-olds everywhere. Why is it that moms of newborns get all the love? Having a newborn was a piece of cake; sure, I didn't get a lot of sleep, but my-oh-my, it was certainly easier than having a toddler. That being said, having a toddler is much, much more fun. Don't get me wrong, I loved having a baby around (and will have the joy of that again soon), but it really is great to watch Clara learn and discover something new about her world every day. Her personality is blossoming, as is her sense of humor...a very funny thing to see in someone so young.

She loves tickling us; she'll run over and start squirming her little fingers over our chests and faces while yelling, "Tickle!" (Although it really sounds more like she's yelling, "Tattoo!") Then she'll turn her fingers on herself until one of us starts tickling her back. She also loves getting blow-bellies (raspberries) from Daddy on her stomach...really a never-ending source of amusement for her.

Often when we ask her to do something and she refuses, we'll ask again and start counting down from five or ten, depending on the situation. She's now started "counting" at random times: "Nine, six, seven, nine, five, six, nine, ZERO!" She also tries to hold up an appropriate number of fingers when saying a number, but doesn't really have the dexterity to do it yet. Many, many times I'll hear her say, "two, two, two...I need help!" because she's having a hard time getting just two fingers to stay up.

Crayons and colored pencils are becoming a popular thing around here; coloring sessions never last long (no activity ever lasts long with this bundle of energy), but she loves to scribble and lately has been asking me to draw "yines" and "sirsles" (lines and circles) so that she can try to copy them. And pretty much every picture she draws comes with a running monologue of "Daddy, daddy, daddy." I'm not sure if she's drawing for Daddy or is drawing pictures of Daddy, but it's very cute.

I've debated posting this next little anecdote, since I'm not entirely sure what it reflects about my parenting abilities, but what the heck. Clara has always been amused by people burping; when she was a baby a burp could get some serious belly laughs out of her. Now when someone burps, she laughs and points it out (which is probably normal for every little kid), but then she proceeds to make herself burp. Over and over. Real burps, not just pretend noises. Sigh. Sometimes I think my daughter's sense of humor is more appropriate for a ten-year-old boy.

She's also entered that fun stage where everything must be collected, categorized, and carried about with her wherever she goes. A few weeks ago she and Oliver were playing one Saturday morning while Oliver let me get another merciful hour of sleep. She has discovered the joy of her Little People toys, and on this particular morning she seemed to think they needed to be lined up in a place of honor:


She also likes to carry as many dolls and stuffed animals around as she can at one time, and has found the perfect vehicle with which to accomplish this:


Not only is there a doll you can't see under the bunny in the stroller, but every one of those four bags on the handles has another doll, bear, or kitty in it. She's like a little bag lady strolling down the street.

I could go on, but I'll stop there for now. Kudos to you if you've made it this far; I guess this is what happens when we don't blog for several weeks. Just one last photo and you're free until next time:


Clara loves hats of all shapes and sizes, and apparently even loves the ones that aren't really hats. She wore this thing around for about two hours one afternoon. Little goofball.

More to come soon!