Seat Stealing, Curly Hair, and Neck Hugs

 

LOOK AT THAT FACE! Oh man, people, I am struggling with the knowledge that this little girl is going to grow up. She is so much fun right now. She's truly the sweetest and has both Mommy and Daddy wrapped around her little finger. I'm a little bit obsessed. Here's why:

• She's finally starting to say recognizable things! She says:
• "Owwie" when something hurts or when she just doesn't like something that's happening
• "Shaw" for "help"
• "La la" or "ah wa" for "all done" (this is already outdated; she says "all duh" now)
• "Uh oh"
• "Ahhh" (like the refreshing sound people make after taking a drink) for "yes"
• "Buh boo" when she she wants to fist pound. She just holds her fist out and says it.

• "Appy" for "apple" (which she loves to see and say but doesn't like to eat)
• "Moe" for "moon" (which she excitedly points at every time she sees one in a book)
• "Showwie" for "shower, which she likes to point at
  
• "Cawk" for "car" and "truck"
• "May" or "nay" (I can't tell) for horse
• "Pop" when she wants to push a button (like the garage button, which she loves)
• "Oh no!"

• "Shoe"
• "Sigh" for "outside"
• "Pea" for "please"
• "Bah" for "ball"
• "Wawee" for "water"
• "Mine!" (learned from Carter... ugh)
• "Caca" for "hot chocolate"
• "I diiiih" or "I dee" for "I did it" (and her totally adorable proud face!)

• "Bye bye" (and she waves, and it's too cute)
• "Bankey" for "blankey"
• "Ah-bah" for "Aubrey"
• "Cah-cah" for "Carter"
  
• "Baaa" for "bath"
• "Woo hoo!" (which she says when she runs down little inclines)

• "Baby" (soooo sweet... she loves babies)
• "Cack-ee" for "cracker"
• "Dow" for "down"
• "Pane" for "plane" (which she recognizes the sound of from inside our house)
• "Ah go?" for "Where'd it go?"
• "Itchy" (which, sadly, she says a lot lately because of her eczema)
• For awhile there she would run with her arms sticking straight out behind her. It was so funny. 

• She loves her stuffed llama, Dolly. When I put her down for a nap the other day, she started whimpering when I tried to leave. So I let her turn off the light (which she really likes to do). But she kept whimpering. So I got her an extra pacifier to hold in her hand, but she still whimpered. I finally realized what she wanted and said, "Oh! Do you want Dolly?", and she said yes (well, she did her "ahhh" sound, and it was very animated).
• She has a sweet tooth like her mommy. In particular, she loves chocolate chips and marshmallows.

• She is such a sweetheart and gives me the most amazing hugs. When I'm holding her, she'll put her hands on the side of my neck and pull me in for a hug. And then I melt into a pile of goo on the floor.
• When she wants me to pick her up but I'm busy and take longer than she wants, she stands next to me and does a cute little jump trying to get up to me. Breaks my heart.
• She has beautiful, curly hair, and I love it!

• Aubrey and Carter are obsessed with the Trolls World Tour soundtrack, and during a particularly country-ish song they always pretend to be riding a horse or driving a carriage and snapping the reins. Clara started copying them, and now she does it whenever she hears the song. 
• She used to play with a big exercise ball at the activity center while Carter was playing soccer (until an employee there yelled at me about it), and there's just something so cute about a little girl with a ball as big as she is.

• When I turn off the car and the music stops, she makes a little sound of protest. Sometimes, if she's upset in the car, I just ask her if she wants music, and she always indicates that she does. Then she's no longer upset.

• When we drive Carter to preschool, we drive over a part of the road that has a big dip. I always say, "Weeee!" when we hit it, and Clara has started saying, "Weeee!" just a few seconds before we hit it and before I can say it. She's so smart!
• Everytime she hears the garage door, she says, "Dada!" Heart melted.

• When we get to the last page of The Going to Bed Book, she starts rocking back and forth, even before I read the words "rock and rock and rock to sleep." So cute!
• When you tell her to say someone's name ("Can you say 'Aubrey'?"), she points at the person instead of saying his/her name.

• If we leave the front door unlocked, she opens it and just stands in the doorway looking out. Occasionally she throws shoes and toys outside while she stands there. It's super helpful.
• She really likes having sword fights. That's all.

• She gets very proud and excited when she puts things on her fingers, particularly the Trouble game pegs and raspberries.
• She got the rocking bike for Christmas but was afraid of it for awhile. She'd cry if I put her on it. But eventually she gave it a chance, and now she's a fan. She rocks so fast that she moves across the room, and then she gets mad when she runs into something or ends up on the hardwood floor. Here she is on one of her first successful... rocks? Rockings? Whatever.

• We watch a family show on some nights before bed, and she always comes downstairs with us even though she doesn't really watch. If Daniel gets up for any reason while we're down there, she runs to his seat, climbs up, and starts rocking forward and backward with a mischievous/proud grin on her wonderful little face. Then Daniel comes back, puts his hands on his hips, gives her a pretend stern look, and says, "You stole my seat!" And she loves it and just giggles in response.

• One of the family shows we watched had a unicorn character, and everytime she saw him on the screen, she'd point and babble excitedly. So I guess she likes unicorns.
• She has taken to wrapping our baby doll in the toy apron we have and carrying it around so sweetly. Of course, every time I try to take a picture or video of her doing it, she throws the doll on the ground and walks away. I did get this shot of her with the doll at least.

• When I put her to bed, she waves at me after I say "Night night!" Then, when I blow her a kiss, she does it back to me. Loooooove.
• One time Carter put stickers all over my face. Clara watched. Now she thinks stickers belong on  faces, and she always puts them on her own face.

• She has a weird obsession with throwing bits of toilet paper into the toilet. She often joins me when I use the bathroom, and she usually pulls toilet paper pieces (some insignificantly tiny and some wastefully large) off of the roll and tosses them in the water. Sometimes she pretends to wipe her bum before she throws it in.
• For awhile there she kept saying something that sounded like "I shiny," but we never could figure out what she meant.

• She is conscious of being messy while she eats and likes to have a paper towel or baby wipe so she can wipe her face between bites. 
• When either Carter or Aubrey sits on my lap or snuggles me, Clara gets very upset and starts stomping and shouting, "Mine!" about me. I find it so funny and so cute.
• She decided she likes cake. This particular one is homemade funfetti. 

• For some reason, she loves sticking her finger in my ears. She does it, I giggle like it really tickles, and then I turn and look at her. She then pushes my chin with her little hand so she can reach my ear again. And so it goes, on and on.
• She and Carter often play a cute game at dinner, in which they make silly faces at each other and then laugh. I love it.

• Sometimes when I pick her up, she tucks her knees in so I can't put my arm under her bum to support her weight. I have to just put her knees against my stomach and hold her by the armpits. She also likes to throw her head back and bend her whole body backwards when I hold her, which makes it difficult. She thinks it's funny though and always laughs.
• She makes funny sound effects when she plays, like saying "shaw" when she throws something and "wah" when she pushes a car.

• She is a super sneaky food and drink stealer. If one of her siblings has a drink and leaves it somewhere (especially chocolate milk), she grabs it and chugs away. She also steals their food from off the table if they get distracted away from it.
  

• When we tell her something informative, she nods her head a couple of times to indicate she understands. An example is when we say something like, "Okay, Clara, no more books after this one. Last book." The nod isn't slow or fast; it's somewhere in between.
• Little girl loves parmesan cheese! 

• She always watches the music conductor at church during the songs, and then she starts waving her arm around trying to copy her. She gets mad if I try to hold her arm and move it the right way though.

• She says "Mama" a lot, which I love, and now she has started saying, "Mama, mama" super sweetly while patting my arm or leg to get my attention. Who could say no to that?
• She loves baby wipes and always wants one (or a paper towel) when she eats. And she always wants to wipe the table after she's done. I love it.

• Whenever we say it's time to change her diaper, she giggles and runs away. I make it game and chase her, and she laughs so cutely when I catch her. Then, after she's all changed, she'll run upstairs to where the diaper pail is, open it, and point inside to show me where the dirty diaper goes.
• She has been known to make herself at home in Aubrey's bed when we're doing our nighttime routine.

• When she's done eating, she'll go throw away her trash or put her bowl in the sink without being told. She's just a little mimic!
• She likes to stand on the ottoman while I'm sitting on the couch and fall into my arms over and over again.
• She has finally decided she likes slides. It took her awhile, but she got there.