"Help you"

Claire is very big into doing everything herself. Today she wanted to practice buckling herself in. When she gets stuck or unable to do something, she says "help you Momma" which is her way of asking me to help her.

Claire is usually scared of the vacuum, but today she wanted to help empty it and put it away. Maybe we are getting closer to not being scared of the vacuum anymore!


We went for a walk to get the mail. Of course we could not leave the house without Claire's purse. She had to carry it the entire way to the mailbox and back!

Claire loves to play "hiding". She usually will cover her face with her hands and say "hiding". Then we have to try to find the place she is "hiding". Today she thought it was fun to actually hide and would go behind the bush and peek over the top.

Playing with friends

Claire and I have been spending lots of time with friends over the past few days. Here are just a few of the fun photos we were able to take while enjoying the beautiful weather outside and the friendships we are building.

Learning my ABC's

I have to brag on Claire a little bit. The other day Jeff told me that she knows most of her letters when going through her ABC book. I have admit that I was skeptical. "She is not even two" and "when did she learn them" were the two thoughts that went through my mind. He tried to get Claire to show me how smart she was, but Claire was not in the mood that evening. Well, today I thought I would give it a try and test it out. While she was eating lunch, I took the letters we have for the refrigerator and pulled them one at a time out of a bag. To my surprise, Claire was able to name all but six of them on her first try! She blew me away! I cannot believe how much she takes in every single day and how much she can remember! Hope you enjoy the pictures of our smart girl!

My busy day and a half

Mommy has been keeping me busy learning new things. Yesterday she taught me how to use my fork to eat noodles.

It takes lots of practice, but after many tries, I finally got a noodle!

Next, Mommy had me go outside and sweep the porch. I think I need a broom that is my size to make the job a bit easier!

After my work was done, Mommy took me to the park to play. I love to climb on the park equipment and swing.

Finally, after a busy day, I wind down with my milk and "baby" while watching a little bit of Elmo on Sesame Street. I love Elmo!

Becoming Daddy's girl

Claire's nighttime routine has always been a special time for her and I. We say our prayer with Daddy, then go upstairs to brush teeth, say a few more prayers, and rock while I sing "Jesus loves you" to Claire. This is my time to cuddle with my little girl and just relax and enjoy the moment. Well, the other night everything changed for me. I went through the night routine and when I got to Claire's bedroom and ready to rock with her, she said "Daddy rock". It broke my heart because I didn't get to see Claire all day due to work. What made it all okay though was seeing the huge grin on Jeff's face as he walked into Claire's bedroom and she reached out for him. I told her I loved her and said my goodnights before heading downstairs trying not to cry. It was very difficult for me to not have this time with my baby but it was also awesome to see Claire and her Daddy rocking to sleep.