Clara update

There are so many good pictures of her I could have selected for this update but this is just "her" at this point. She is goofy, emotional, smart as a whip, loving, well mannered, creative, a problem solver, a brother lover, and lately, a mama's girl...it's been a while. 

She is more than two and a half and has quite the mind. She is always thinking and in constant conversation with a human or toy. She has an answer for everything and is the best negotiator I know, other than her father, they always seem to get their way. When I tell her what she will do, she always has a better plan. For example:

Me: Clara, it's late so we only have time for one book. 

C: Well, I'm two years old so I should be able to read two books

Me: Clara it's time to pick up, get started and we will have time to read books

C: If you help me mama, we will have time for MORE books, FIVE books

Me: Yes, you're right, but you got your toys out so you need to pick them up, mommy is feeding your brother

C: Well, my hands are full, can you please help me

Me: We don't have time to do flash cards and read books, pick one, you still need to sit on the potty

C: Bring the flashcards in the bathroom and we'll do them while I'm on the potty, then we'll have time for more books

Me: Okay Clara, you have to go to bed, I've snuggled long enough (not that I ever really want to leave, but it takes her longer to fall asleep while I'm there since she won't stop talking)

C: But mama, I'll miss you and you'll hurt my heart if you leave

Me in my head: if you talk to me like that, you'll get whatever you want for the rest of your life

These conversations go on all day long. Sometimes they end with a compromise, sometimes her plans make more sense than mine and other times she ends up in timeout since she wants to stick with her plan instead of following instructions. For example today she was insistent I pick up her toys in the tub, I was feeding Everett so nope. She whined about it and didn't listen so I took her favorite one away. She cried while she cleaned up. She got Dory, the toy I took, back...later when she picked up after I asked the first time and she didn't argue or debate. 

She says things like, "They sky looks ominous mommy" Yes, because I said it to Andre and she overheard me. She tells me her toys fall to the ground because of gravity, recognizes bamboo, chopsticks, and that the reason the light is on the ceiling of the car is because it's reflecting off her ipad. Her brain and problem solving skills amaze me. She loves patterns and pretends to make them all the time, even if it's not really an accurate pattern she tries to make them. She doesn't like coloring all that much, she is more on the go and doesn't like to sit still long. She loves to play dollhouse most, make believe is her favorite still. She can read about 20 words on her flashcards. Her favorites are the long ones: belly button, hippopotamus, polar bear, and a couple more, I'm drawing a blank. She loves reading books but needs to be convinced to sit still and do so, she doesn't pick them up on her own. She climbs and crawls all over everything, she is a cautious dare devil, if that's possible. She thinks things through but will try just about any risky situation we let her. That's probably one of my favorite things about her, I can trust her because she thinks about the outcome but I LOVE that she likes to take chances. She still hates being told no, or to stop something, she is getting better. She is rarely in time out, she typically has her days where she is just "off" for whatever reason, but it's few and far between. She is easily motivated and when she is in a funk I can easily distract her with something new to take her mind off of it. She is obsessed with emotion. She always has been. She has always loved the sad face, she used to giggle as an infant when I would do a frown face. She will say hurtful things like, "Mommy, I don't like you." Just so I get sad, just so she can cheer me up. Or because she thinks she is funny and will say, "Just kidding!" She loves her TV shows: Dora, Bubble Guppies, Doc McStuffins, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse. She likes PJ masks, but it has pointless plots and it doesn't teach anything so I told her it's only on at night and she rarely watches TV at night so it's only once in a while. She loves to play hide and seek but hates to be found. She will hide for very long periods of time and wants to, when found she gets mad, or she'll pop out and say, "I'm right here!" She loves jumping on our bed and when daddy throws her about and holds her "upseedown" I correct most of her errors when she talks, but that I let go. She has trouble saying her "l's" and "th's" which I think is normal but we're practicing. Her favorite songs are her "ABC's" and the "happy bday" song. She loves when it's someone bday and she loves going to bday parties. She really likes cake but isn't into sweets too much. She reminds me it's not healthy for her and she won't grow big and strong. She loves playing with her cousins but it takes her a while to warm up. She'll say hi and want to play but needs daddy or me for a while. Once she gets comfortable she is on her own and wants us to go away. She is always protective of her brother, if he cries she is right there saying, "it's okay bubby, I'm right here, don't cry" and she'll stroke his head or back and sing him a song. Sometimes she does want him "out of her way". When she is on the potty and he is at her toes smiling up at her, wanting to grab her Nunu, she asks for her space. She teaches him naturally, and she NEVER leaves him out. When I give her a Popsicle, when I let her pick out a toy, when she gets binoculars for our walk, she always includes him and he needs one too. Melts my heart, I feel like I'm thinking about his needs all the time, she is even better than I. She hates to see him cry. She doesn't like him playing with "her" toys but she knows to trade things with him and not just take, she also has to ask. Speaking of asking, she is really good about asking to do things, anything she knows we "boss" her about, she naturally asks. A small silly example would be if she can drink her milk when she is eating, we don't let her until she is done and she knows that, so instead of picking up her cup because it's in reach, she'll ask, I love that about her. She does it with a lot of other things, I love that she "checks in" when she's "supposed" to. She is very independent but prefers a playmate. She loves to help and will throw out diapers, get me clean ones, fetch pretty much anything, she rushes my phone to me if it's on silent which it always is and she knows I'm missing a call. The park is her favorite place, the beach and pool tie for next, she loves her water table and sandbox, she likes to play her educational games on her ipad and watch her shows in the morning while she goes potty, she wants mommy, daddy and bubs to be everywhere with her. When we have to separate she tries to come up with "a plan" that will keep us all together. She uses her manners so well, she says thank you when I hand her juice, help her with anything, play with her. When I make her something to eat she tells me it's delectable and thanks me. She tells me I'm her best friend and that I make her heart happy. She gives daddy, bubby and I a lot of affection. She can be as dramatic as they come. She doesn't ever stop and lay down, or sit. Even if the TV is on, she is climbing on the couch, playing with toys while she watches, lining up her step stools to walk up and down to the couch since they're two different heights, or swinging her body between the coffee table and couch. She LOVES learning and picks up on new concepts fast, she likes science experiments and anything hands on. She hates being hot in the car and the sun in her eyes, hence why she is so good about sunglasses and hats. She tells it like it is, to anyone, never holds back. She knows what she should and shouldn't say but is always honest and it can be pretty brutal. I like that about her even though it can seem a bit rough to strangers sometimes, I think that is a good trait that I don't have that I want her to keep. I'm a people pleaser, she's not. From my experience trying to please others doesn't always happen and sometimes wastes time and conversation, going around in circles, I like that she is direct. Her daddy is, so that must be where she gets it from. I'm getting better about it, I like to hear the truth so I think others do too, even though it's not always the easiest thing to say. She sees things I don't see. She dropped her necklace on the floor and said, "Mommy, it looks like a manatee." It did. It was an oval with what could look like a little head and snout at one end. She kept going with that "game" and could "make" a picture out of each shape. She sees letters and is very observant. She always says, "Mommy, look, there is a C for Clara" but does that for all letters everywhere when we're on the go, numbers too. She knows how to add small numbers on her fingers if we say what is two fingers plus one more finger. She always asks me what words say, on her cups, or on signs on the go. She loves to drive by the Rays dome, one of her favorite things ever, she calls it colossal, since that word was in a book we read. She knows "s" at the end of a word means there's more than two, she asked what an exclamation point was and remembers how to read things when she sees it, she knows "ing" at the end of words says "ing" and points it out and can chunk the words, she knows all her letters and what they say, she can count to 20 but doesn't like to practice numbers so much and sometimes makes errors after 14. She sings her ABC's correct when looking at the letters but when she does it on her own she says "X" for "S" and "LOLOP". She is constantly asking, "What's that mean?" I was on the phone with Andre and I said, "See you shortly" and she asked what it meant and then used it correctly the next day. She knows irregular past tense words which I think is odd for a two year old, she doesn't say drived she says drove, for one example. When she does make errors grammatically, I always correct her and after practice she gets it, sometimes after one try and others take lots of practice. I can reason with her, that makes life very easy. She does whine a lot but we are constantly reminding her that she doesn't get what she wants when she whines and she asks for whatever it is without whining and then we attend to her, she still seems to whine quite a bit though some days. These are so SO many random facts about her, I'm missing one thousand more but I know these are going to be my favorite things to look back on and remember, so sorry for the "vomit" I don't know how to organize all of this at 12am, I'm a little fuzzy and have been meaning to write this post for so long. She is adding new "cans" to the list all the time and I feel like I haven't blogged about her in a while in this format. I used to do it monthly and now it's hard to find the time. It's daunting since there's so much I don't want to forget anything, all day when she does something I don't want to forget I think, "Add that to the post" but I knew it was going to be a doozie so I've procrastinated. I'll try and do better at little updates so it's not this long...and so I don't leave out cute phases, phrases and actions! 

Sleep: She goes to bed around eight. We prefer seven but it's so hard with therapy in the evening, dinner, swimming, washing her hair, reading books, there's too much to do. So usually between eight and nine. She's not out until after nine typically, even if we put her to bed at seven she'll be talking for almost two hours anyway. She falls asleep for naps faster, usually. She goes down for a nap anywhere from eleven to one and sleeps two hours typically to the minute, if she wakes and goes back to sleep she can sometimes sleep for three hours. She sometimes wakes cranky and needs time to snap out of it, other times she's as chipper as can be. She is not dry at all during sleep so diapers are still a must. It's not hard to get her to go to bed, she dreads it but usually our routine of books, one - two minute video which is always Itsy Bitsy Spider, and some snuggles gets her to bed quick. If she procrastinates with any portion of brushing her teeth, getting pj's on, etc, she knows she starts to lose her privileges. The video first, then snuggles, then books. She loves to tell stories before bed while we snuggle. It usually involves a polar bear at the park and we have to get him back to the Arctic via the hot air balloon and we need to pack winter clothes. We do "X Marks a Spot" and "Criss Cross Applesauce" which are little sayings with finger motions on your back that Ana and I used to do as kids. She still sleeps with Nunu and likes for him to go and do everything with him/her, still not sure which, it's ever changing. She soaks through her diaper onto her sheets a lot, she loves to hydrate and I hate to cut her off, we need to get better about less liquid before bed, that will help with a dry diaper and eventually dry undies, pj's and sheets. Thanks to white noise she sleeps through her brother crying in the night when he does. She has lots of trouble getting to sleep at night but she is usually out once she's asleep. Once in a while she'll wake and cry out for us, sometimes she'll go back to sleep on her own and if she's really upset we'll go in and snuggle with her and she's back to sleep in five minutes. She never gets out of bed, never. She talks to Nunu until she falls asleep and in the morning "they" wake up and continue right where they left off. She knows how to open doors but just doesn't get out of bed, we've never said she has to stay in bed, she just does. This gives me time for a quick shower if I'm not already up with Everett but I usually am. I'm pretty sure I could leave her in there for an hour. Sometimes I wish she would get up and run to our room and snuggle in with us but once she's awake she doesn't snuggle or lay down, she'd want say, "Mommy and daddy, let's go play!" She gets annoyed when we try to "relax" with her

Eating: Clara is still a very good eater. She'll try anything I ask her to, knowing she can spit it out. She goes through major phases where she's fussy and then not. I can always get her to eat her smoothie that I make which consists of: spinach, prunes, yogurt, avocado, banana, and mango. So, when she's not eating well she'll always eat that and she still loves her pouches. Her favorites are the veggie ones so that's good because I offer less of those at meals and more fruit, oops! Downfalls for eating: she eats better when she's fed, I think being the first child she's been catered too a bit too much, so she'll quit eating after the first little bit but if we spoon it in for her, she'll keep going. Also, I still put a splash of juice in her water. I'm so bad at drinking water and when I first started her I did that since she wouldn't ever drink straight water and she still hates it. I like flavor too so I "get it" although I should break both of us of that bad habit. I'd say it's 20 percent juice the rest water, and she drinks prune juice for her first cup of the day and then has four or five more with apple. She drinks about three cups of milk a day on top of that. She should probably not be drinking out of a sippy cup anymore either, another thing that's my fault, but it's so easy on the go and so many less spills. Project for after NY, break juice habit and teach her to drink out of a real cup. 

Size: her feet are huge, size eight. She is potty training now and rarely has accidents during the day. If we're on the go for a long time I put a diaper on her if we can't get to the potty we keep in the car or one out in public. She is starting to tell me when she has to go potty when her diaper is on too so I'm hoping that we are close to no more diapers other than sleep. She says, "Mama, I'll hold my butt" when she has to go but holds it in. She is in a size six diaper and two to three T everything else. PJ's always run small on her, she is long, so those would be four T at this point. She still wears two T shorts or leggings but pants must be three or four t, some two T shirts fit but most of her clothes are three T and those fit best. 

She brings so much joy to our lives, she makes life so much fun to live. I go to bed smiling thinking about her and the funny things she did and said that day. At the end of the day I'm SO tired from all our fun but the moment I close the door behind me I miss her. I am so happy every night thinking about all we did that day and it seriously feels like Christmas when I go to bed knowing I get to wake and be with her (them) all day the next day. I'm so happy I'm a teacher, this time with her (them) I think will be the best time of my life. I want to freeze this age and keep her here forever. I don't want the problems boys, school, social media, girlfriends, bring. I don't want her to rather be somewhere else, preferring to play with others and be "away". I'm (we're) probably different than most, we play with our kids a lot. When we're home with them our time is dedicated to attention on them, everything else waits. Andre and I both agree on that since this time with them being little is so limited. I dread the day she wants me out of her room instead of in it. I dread the day she tells me I'm ruining her life instead of her best friend. She is so unique and such a little individual, she makes each day interesting and I couldn't love her more. She knows I love her with my whole heart because she says it back to me. You make my life perfect Clara, I wouldn't change a thing. I get so excited thinking about the fact that you are my future. I don't want to waste a second away from you, you make my life complete.