Clara at 2 1/2

1. What a happy, fun, goofy girl you are! You love to make silly faces, do silly tricks or say silly things - anything that makes us laugh. Everything is more fun when you are around. 

2. You are still super polite and very verbal. I love hearing your little tiny voice say big things like, "That would make me sad!" and "Excuse me, Mom" and "I love you a lot." And of course funny little Claraisms like "vitamints" and "bellybunts".

3. You are amazingly smart. You count to at least 15. You can say the whole alphabet and recognize almost all the letters by sight. You can spell your name AND Sophie's name. You are even interested in writing letters - you can do an O and a little squiggle that you call a P. You love to color and are working on coloring in the lines and doing actual drawings - you've definitely moved beyond scribbling. At your last doctor's appointment, he said you were more like a 4 year old than a 2 1/2 year old. 

4. The most ticklish part of your body is your back. 

5. You are starting to be very independent. You can put your own shoes on and take off your own pants. You are starting to have an opinion on what you wear. You take your plate to the sink just like Sophie. You can climb into your carseat if we lift you into the car but then you can get completely out all by yourself - you don't want any more help than is necessary. And you've always been a very independent player and that is still true. 

6. You have two fuzzy pink blankets that you are pretty attached to. You call them your "blanks" and you usually have one with you. Although we don't usually let you take them out and about, we do let you have them in the car where you put them on top of your head. You sleep with them wrapped around your head like a turban and you wear them around the house either as a cape or over your face so you can pretend to be a ghost. 

7. You are pretty good at active stuff. You can jump with two feet (and LOVE to do that on our bed). You can climb on the bed or couch or whatever. You love to run and dance and kick and skip and (try to) hop and do your own little yoga poses. When you are in a good mood, your natural motion is this cute little half gallop/half skip/half run that makes me smile every time. You are happiest when you are outside or at the park on the swings. You LOVE to swing!

8. As cheery as you are, it's not all roses. You have major stamina and can throw spectacular tantrums. It's not often, but when they happen, they can last for an hour or more. And while it's gotten much rarer, you are still a breath-holder. It's not so much when you are mad now, but if you get hurt or suddenly scared. You get so upset that you can't breathe and can pass out very momentarily. It breaks my heart because I can see in your eyes that you know it's coming and it scares you and you try to grab for me. Usually, I know it's coming too and can lay you flat, blow in your mouth (weird, I know) and stop it off before it happens. You seem to be better at getting yourself to breathe, too but it's still not fun for either of us. 

9. We have a pretty good system for your bedtime routine. We head upstairs at about 7:15 and watch a show with Sophie. While we are watching TV, we put you in your jammies and maybe have a snack. Once the show is over, we all bounce into the bathroom to brush teeth and you are usually very cooperative. Then you ALWAYS give Sophie a hug and a kiss and RUN into your room. Dad and I alternate who reads your stories but the routine is the same. You pick out two books to read and one to take to bed with you. You put your bed-book in your crib and pick out a bink, as you call binkies. Then you sit on the rocking chair and snuggle under one of your blankets. We sit on the footrest and read you your two stories. Then as we are carrying you to your crib, we sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to you and you snuggle into our shoulder. We lay you down, cover you with your two fuzzy blankets, your candy cane scarf, and your big pink bear blanket, hand you your book and say good night. I think you stay up looking at your book for a while and we sometimes hear you stirring on the monitor but we never have to go back in. You are a great sleeper now. You sleep until about 7:30 in the morning and then you still take an afternoon nap that lasts for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. And I know it's almost time to get you when I hear a sneeze - you almost always sneeze as you are waking up. 

10. Other things you love: You love your bunny hat and wear it inside and out. You also prefer to keep your coat on inside, even while you nap. You aren't obsessed with any particular show or book or character although Dora, Diego and the Disney princesses are always a hit. You love to paint. You love when I pull a chair up to the bathroom sink and let you "wash your hands"/ make a big wet mess. And you love to pretend you are a dog and beg for treats.