The Park and Spaghetti

I think that some of the best days are those that aren't over scheduled or preplanned. Last Saturday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to our favorite park, Ault Park. It is beautiful there and all the trees are changing. Our favorite part, though, is that the playground has two large play areas, one for the toddlers and one for the bigger kids. Claire has always enjoyed the toddler area as well as the swings. Recently, she has shown more and more interest, however, in exploring the big kid area. We indulged her last week and quite frankly were shocked at how much she could do. Certainly her petite size impacts some of the activities and makes mommy nervous because she could easily fall through cracks other kids couldn't. She had such a great time exploring the new area!

(Sorry I couldn't get these photos in the order that I wanted!) We were really hungry after the park so we went to Noodles. Claire had spaghetti and meatballs which she thoroughly enjoyed (as evidenced by the picture!). Our final destination was Toys R Us. Ari and I haven't gotten bored with her toys so we decided to pick up a few new things. We got more Mega Blocks; Ari and I love to build "castles" and Claire enjoys destroying them and building her own. We also got her a Little People Firehouse and Fairy Treehouse. We love playing with the Little People. I especially love watch Claire make them talk to each other! As you can imagine, after that Claire was beat. She took a 3 hour nap. What a great day!!

Sunflower Festival

Two weeks ago we decided to take Claire to a local sunflower festival. The farm offered plenty of sunflowers, a hayride, and a petting zoo, what a fun day! We started in the children's garden and smelling some zinnias. We then waited (very patiently, I should add) for the hayride which took us up to see the farm animals. There were chickens, roosters, sheep, cows, goats, and turkeys. The turkeys were so noisy and Claire learned that they say "gobble, gobble, gobble." We actually read and talk about animals a lot but not usually turkeys, they were definitely something new.
After the animals, we ate a quick bite and then went to the sunflower field. It had already been a long day so Claire was not the most cooperative for pictures. It was also getting cold. We did pick a few stems of flowers to take home with us, though. Claire also picked out a baby pumpkin to take home.

A New Car for Our Expanding Family

Ari has had the itch for a new car for a little while now. I kept balking and telling him that we didn't need one. With the new baby on the way, however, and the reality of two carseats and a double stroller, I had to finally admit that maybe his sedan could use an upgrade to something bigger. Ari did all of the research to figure out which one would be best and decided that a Hyundai Santa Fe would be a great fit for our family. Interestingly enough, this all happened after I received notification that I was being honored as a Hyundai Scholar for the Hope on Wheels campaign. For those of you who don't know, the dealers at Hyundai a few years ago decided that they would choose one cause for their philanthropic endeavors: childhood cancer. Since that time, they have given tens of millions of dollars toward the search for a cure. The coolest part is, when they give an award they bring a white Hyundai Santa Fe to the hospital and cancer patients get to put their handprints on it. So when I received my award a couple of months ago, my patients got to put their handprints on the car. The generous people at Hyundai also offered us a friends and family deal so I took this to be fate. It gets better, though... When we called to make an appointment to see the car we wanted, it turns out it was the exact same car that was at the Hope on Wheels event. The kids put their hand prints on with washable paint but then their hand prints are taken on another piece of paper and reproduced into clings that can just stick on the car. We were so excited when they pulled the car around, they had left the clings on just so we could see it. Now this was certainly serendipity and we bought the car and are loving it! So if you are in the market for a new car, I cannot recommend a Hyundai enough; not only for the excellent company it has become but also for the dedication of the dealers to fight childhood cancer.

Our Big Girl

I know I say this almost every blog, but I just can't believe how fast time is flying by and how much our beautiful girl seems to learn every day. Claire is getting to be a great communicator. Now that two to three word sentences are the norm, her personality is really becoming apparent. It is also so nice to know what she wants or needs most of the time. She continues to work on her colors and clearly can identify pink (of course!), red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black. She struggles with orange and brown, but this season will be the perfect time to work on those. Her favorite number is two. I don't think she knows any other numbers despite us working on them. She will hold up two things in her hand and say "it's two!" It sure is, but then you point out four of something and she will call that two also! She continues to love to color but now instead of just scribbling happily she will actually tell you that she is drawing an airplane or an owl. I label them as we go for reference later! She now runs in the cutest most girly way and is trying desperately to jump. She has also continued to bloom into the most girly of girls. She loves to play with her babies; pushing them in a stroller, putting them to bed, feeding them, and bathing them. I am hoping this maternal instinct will be in our favor when the new baby arrives so that she will understand all the things you have to do for a baby. She also is very vocal about what she wants to wear each day. I can usually talk her into something reasonable but daddy gives her free reign. Her teachers can all tell when daddy dressed her for the day!! The one baby habit she keeps is her pacifier. She loves her "nee nees" and thankfully only uses them early in the morning until we get to school, at bedtime, and some fussy times in between. I just don't know how to break the habit. She will also put her fingers in her mouth if I don't give it to her and I definitely prefer the paci. I am just worried about how she will handle the baby's paci. I guess we will find out soon enough.

Dress Up

The other night after her bath, Claire and daddy had a good time rumaging through some of her baby things. She wanted to try many things on like old baby bibs and her baby shades. Then daddy had the ingenious idea of tying a towel on her head like a do-rag. Claire loved it. I think we are getting glimpses of how much fun we will have playing dress up when she is just a little bit older.

Splish Splash

While previous posts and pictures may have led you to believe that our girl is a "girly girl," a fact I am certainly not denying, I am proud to say that she isn't afraid to get wet and a bit dirty in some puddles. We have been vigilantly watering our newly installed landscaping due to the near draught that has struck Cincinnati this summer. The other night while we were adjusting the sprinklers, Claire happily occupied herself by sitting in the puddles and splashing with her hands and feet. Needless to say, she needed a good bath afterward.

Another Month Flies By

So another month has just flown right by us! Ari and I have kept busy at work, as usual, and Claire has been learning so many new things. First, as you can see above, she has decided to participate in Water Days at daycare!! One day one of her friends took her hand and led her into to the sprinkler and we have been having fun ever since.

Despite being only 20 months old, Claire is developing the spirit of a two year-old. She is into "no" and "mine" more than daddy and I would like. She is certainly exerting her independence and trying to find the edges of her boundaries. I think this is just the beginning!

Her vocabulary is amazing and she often puts two and three words together. I am not sure if her favorite phrase right now is "I did it!" (which she says after almost every accomplishment or "My turn" which she says when she goes down her slide, though no one else is in line! She has become the ultimate mimic and really is interested in doing what we do and saying what we say. Mommy and daddy really have to watch their mouths... this morning I called someone an idiot in the car and was thankful that I didn't hear it repeated in Claire's sweet little voice!

While our peanut is certainly growing and boy does she eat, she still is too small for a tricycle. It is so sad because she will sit on the trikes at school and make the peddling motion without being able to reach the wheels! For now it is all foot on pavement power; hopefully she hit a good growth spurt soon.

Ari and I are just enjoying being her parents and hoping that the transition from one child to two goes smoothly (yeah right!).

Cheese Face

This is Claire's "cheese face." If you want to take a picture of her, all you have to do is tell her to face you and make her cheese face. It is ridiculously cute, in my very biased opinion. Just had to share it with you.

The Zebra Room

Our little bear has now been in her new toddler room (the "Zebras") for about a month. I think the change has been a good one, with two exceptions. Despite clearly enjoying her new friends and teachers, she cries most days when I leave... this breaks my heart. She also has picked up a few not so good habits from her fellow toddlers - standing on chairs for one. These hardly outweigh the amazing things she is doing now. She is getting so independent! She loves to do things by herself - she rarely wants me to feed her, she has gotten so good with a spoon. She can climb up and down stairs, just using one hand on a railing or banister. She runs and likes to test her boundaries. In her new room, the kids really enjoy music. She has been honing her dance skills and really likes when you sing to her. The song she likes to hear me sing most is "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" that's my girl!! She has become so inquisitive and her favorite question is "what's that?" I can't wait to pick her up each day and see what she has learned. Another nice thing about her room and teachers is that they take tons of pictures of the kids and then send them to the parents. I just can't get over how old Claire looks in the picture above.

Summer 2010

The summer is flying by so I thought I better blog and post some pics before its over!! Stay tuned for more pics, I am continuing to have issues with Kodak gallery. This summer in Cinci has been H-O-T HOT! To keep cool, we have been taking Claire to this awesome family aquatic center in northern KY. She was a bit apprehensive at first, despite the fact that the place really caters to young kids. Now that we have been a few times, however, and she knows the lay of the land, she runs around like a wild lady! I am not sure what she prefers more: running through the water that shoots up from the ground, playing with toys in the shallow end, floating down the lazy river with daddy, or that silly starfish that is pictured above. Needless to say, she is certainly becoming a water baby. Except on Wednesdays. What's Wednesday you ask... its water day at daycare. Claire has categorically refused to take part in any sprinkler activities at daycare despite her boldness at the water park. Every Wednesday if I ask her if she going to get wet, she is all talk and says, "yeah!" Then I ask Miss Becky and she just laughs. Oh well!

Our girl is getting big fast. I am proud to announce that she is starting to put two and three words together!! Our favorite, of course, is "I love you." Which she will do on command when grammy and Auntie Chicken are on the phone. She also says "I get you," "I tickle you," and is very polite to include, "up please," "help please," and "more please." When she was painting the other day at school she said "thank you" every time she dipped her brush in the paint the teacher was holding. What a cutie! While she understands colors, she often gets them confused but if you ask her what color something is she will at least answer you with a color even if it is wrong. What I have noticed this week is that she seems to be starting to comprehend numbers. A couple of times I have said "one" and she then said "two." She also has held up two items and said two. Hmm... maybe she is on to something!

Popsicle

This week I gave Claire her first popsicle. As you can see, she didn't enjoy it at all! She loved every last drop of it and was really captivated by the fact that it came on a stick. Since I bought banana popsicles (my favorite), though, she now equates "banana" with popsicle. Uh oh.

Milwaukee

A few weeks ago, we packed ourselves up and took a trip to Milwaukee to visit some old friends. I was most apprehensive about the plane ride. Now that Claire is 18 months, she is more spirited and mobile than when we last had her on a plane in October. Luckily, the plane ride was short, and our girl was well behaved as is her norm. Andy came to pick us up and we couldn't wait to get back to their house to meet their new baby Olivia (and see Tara too!). We spent the whole weekend enjoying the company of so many people in the area that we miss. On Saturday, a whole troop of us headed to the zoo (6 adults, 4 kiddos). It was a blast, but it wore me out!! The first trimester of pregnancy is so exhausting, especially when you have a little one to run after. Tara and Andy then hosted an amazing bbq. It was raining, but we were all cozy in their garage with a ton of good food. Before we knew it, the weekend was over and we were heading back to Cincinnati. Thanks Andy and Tara for all your hospitality!!

Quick One

I know, I know, my blogging is getting worse instead of better. It just seems as though our life gets busier and busier! Things are great. Claire is now nearly 18 months! Where did the time go? She continues to have a delightful personality and is the light of our lives. I have started noticing that she is starting to test her boundaries a bit more. Hmm... are the "terrible two's" lurking around the corner? Time will tell. We just got back from a week with Grammy in Chicago (Claire) and New York City (Ari and I). It was a blast and I promise to post pictures and details soon. I do want to let you know a few of my new favorite things Claire does. She can now identify Yadier Molina in pictures and on TV and when you say "Cubs stink" she holds her nose in disgust. Thanks for those Grammy! She also peed next to her potty! Okay that takes some explaining. I think I have mentioned before that Claire will often let us know when she has pooped or is about to which prompted us to buy her a little potty. Well with traveling, etc. we have been to busy to use it. Then yesterday she told us "I poo poo" so we took her to the potty. She sat on it for a minute but seemed unsure of the whole thing, then she squatted down next to it and peed. I am calling it a success... and least she has the two connected. We'll have to see if this is luck of if she is really ready!

Bad Mommy!

So Claire put herself in a suitcase and said she was movin' out if I didn't update the blog ASAP. I just couldn't let that happen so here is an update, finally.Our baby is now quite the big girl. She does so many amazing things! I can't even keep up with her vocabulary, she knows so many words. She said her first sentence, "Dada change poo poo." She knows just about every sound and animal can make and can identify animals from cows to hippos to alligators to ostriches. She knows so many body parts: eyes, ears, hair, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, belly, arm, hands, finger, feet, and toes. She already knows at least two colors (purple and blue). She walks well and is even trying to jump... that landing part is so tough! She is pretty good with a spoon and actually drank out of a water fountain for the first time. She is also starting to be very helpful with dressing and undressing. Below is a picture of her choosing her outfit for the day. She usually chooses a dress or skirt, if given the option, and loves to accessorize with her "beedsies." What a girly girl (thank goodness)!
What has caught me off guard is that at only sixteen months she has started telling us when she is going potty. I am not kidding when I say that she said, "I poo poo" three times last Sunday and certainly did every time. We had to go out and buy a little potty so we could encourage this behavior. No pressure, but if the girl has to go I guess she should go! She also loves to read. No, I don't think you get it, she REALLY loves to read. Ari and I guess that we read her at least ten stories per day during the week and thirty on the weekend. We are so tired of reading and rereading the books we have; I am certain we know them all by heart. But our girl despite loving to run and play, inevitably will catch sight of a book and bring it over to you to read. We count ourselves blessed everyday to wake up to this little face!!

A Visit to Central Illinois

The weekend before St. Patrick's Day we packed up Claire and the million and one things it seems necessary to travel with when you have a 15 month old. We headed back to our old stomping ground: central Illinois. We drove through Champaign, but didn't stop, and finished our journey in Springfield. My friend Jenn was coming home from Australia (just for a visit) and I wasn't about to miss it. Since we would be near where Ari and I both did undergrad and where we went to med school, we called every friend we could think of in about a 100 mile radius to get in as many visits as we could. We arrived late Friday night, I have to admit it was a brilliant idea to start our drive after Claire's bedtime. The timing was perfect because we arrived at Jenn's mom's house just a few minutes before Jenn arrived home. We stayed up too late chatting and it was great.

Now traveling from Eastern time to Central time is NOT good for mommies and daddies because babies don't realized they are supposed to sleep in to make up for the time difference. Needless to say, I was up with Claire and 5 am! Not only did the time difference hurt us, but Claire decided to get up an hour early! Once it was a more reasonable time, Jenn's sister Missy, her husband Brett, and their two cuties Emma and Nolan came over for breakfast before we all headed to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Claire had never been to a parade before. She seemed to enjoy the marching bands and all the excitement. What she really enjoyed, though, was holding daddy's pretty green beer bottle once it was empty. We couldn't get her to let go! After the parade we headed back to Brett and Missy's house to meet my sorority sister Emily and her three girls. If you are keeping track, you are realizing that we now have six kids running around (all under 6)! It was a blast, the little girls played dress up and tea party and enjoyed acting like little mommies to Claire. At one point we had them all distracted with a movie so us big girls could chat and catch up. It was super. Saturday night, we had the not so bright idea to go to Darcy's Pint for a horseshoe. It was difficult for the two one year olds to wait! We did finally get through dinner though and headed back for a good night's sleep.

Sunday wasn't any easier for us time wise because it was daylight savings time! I was nearly as confused about the time as poor Jenn with her jet lag. We enjoyed breakfast from Panera and then sadly left Jenn and her mom to make our next stop at Josh and Bridgette's (Ari's friends from elementary school). There we met up with their family (Josh, Bridgette, Reagan, and Brooklyn) and Timmy and Michelle and their three girls Elizabeth, Lauren, and Emma. Again six under six!! I cannot believe that I did not witness a single melt down all weekend. Must be good parenting... just kidding! I know it was dumb luck! We had a great afternoon, grilling out and playing with all the girls. It was finally time then to head home. I feel like we fit a week of visiting into one short weekend!

Make A Wish Ball

To celebrate our five year anniversary this year (time flies when you are having fun!) Ari and I decided to go to the Make A Wish Ball. Our friends Sarah and Brian made the trip up from Kentucky to join us. This charity is certainly near and dear to my heart because nearly all my patients are able to have a wish granted. This was just a small contribution towards endless trips to Disney World, hot tubs, and any other creative thing these wonderful kids can think of!

The night started out a little rough. We asked Sam, our babysitter, to come an hour before we planned to leave so that we could get dressed in our formal attire without having to entertain our little bear and to avoid a spill or sticky finger incident. Claire was not pleased with this plan. She sobbed and sobbed, I think because she could hear our voices. It was heartbreaking. We rushed and finally got out the door.

The ball, which was black tie optional, certainly attracted an eclectic group of people. I was most surprised by the lack of formal attire by the women. Most men wore either tuxes or dark suits and there were only a handful of women in long gowns. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I certainly equate formality with a long dress. Either way Sarah and I rocked our gowns! During the cocktail hour, a silent auction was held. We had our eye on a couple of things: rounds of golf and a gourmet dinner at a nearby country club was one of them. When they tried to usher everyone to dinner, we wrote one last bid and won!! Yeah golf and food!! During dinner, it was a pleasure to sit by the mom and grandfather of one of the patients I cared for last year. Then while we ate a family told their story about their daughter's journey with cancer and a bone marrow transplant, all while pictures of patients flashed up on the screen with their wish. It was very emotional for me because I knew nearly every smiling face and where their journey, either good or bad, was heading. Things then heated up with a live auction. I have never seen a live auction before but wow was it entertaining! The auctioneer was so dynamic, everyone was having a great time, and the foundation was making a ton of money. Soon the night was over and we headed home looking forward to our golf outing!

Tiara

So picking up where the last post left off, you will recall that Claire does not tolerate anything in her hair or even near her head. However, a couple of weeks ago she kept pointing to a tiara that Marine had left her (we miss you Marine!). We took it out and put it on Claire's head. We couldn't believe she tolerated it so we grabbed a camera and shot a few quick pics. You can probably tell by all the different faces that our Claire Bear certainly has quite a personality! Here's to you Princess of Adorableness!! (That's Grandpa Pope's nickname for her)

Claire's First Haircut

So the pony tails did not last long. Claire tolerated them for about a month and then would start pulling them out and I could hardly even get a brush through her hair. I told Ari that she would have to get a trim with some bangs so her hair would stop falling in her eyes. He was NOT happy. He certainly didn't want his little girl to get a hair cut but he understood my point. To make the issue even clearer, Claire got bilateral eye infections that would not go away because her hair was always in her eyes. So a few Saturdays ago we took Claire to Cookie Cutters. At first, she was okay sitting in the little car and watching a movie. As soon as a stranger walked near her and started touching her head, she was in tears. Ari and I tried to soothe her with some toys and partially succeeded, but I think Ari nearly cried during the process! Regardless, our daughter can see again and now looks even more like a toddler and less like a baby!

Pony Tails

So as I start this post, I realize that many of my recent pictures of Claire are of her in her high chair. I think this is just because that is when she actually sits still. She is so fast and energetic, I am hardly able to get a good picture of her anywhere else. Oh well...

Anyway, Claire got her own brush and pony tail holders for Christmas. It was about time because our girl has a lot of hair and it was always falling in her eyes, thanks to a well placed cowlick. For a few months she was letting me put either a single pony tail on top of her head or pig tails in so that she could have her hair up. Of course that phase is over and she pulls anything I put in her hair out. Ah, one year-olds!

PB&J

Now that Claire that Claire has passed the one year mark, there are a few new things that she is allowed to eat. She made the switch to whole milk pretty seamlessly. She also can eat eggs, which she loves, in many different forms! The last thing we exposed her to was peanut butter. She had a great time munching on her first PB&J! We are delighted that she continues to be a pretty well rounded eater (though we do hear "no" often) and enjoys trying new things.

Claire also continues to amaze us with her progress... nope, not ready to let go and walk yet. She does, however, push her lion toy all over the first floor chasing the cats. Her vocabulary continues to grow and includes: mama, daddy, hi, bye, baby, ball, baa, moo, no, yes, night night, more, all done, kitty, down and many things we just don't understand. She now will hold a phone to her ear and say "hi, hi, hi" which is hilarious. She can use a spoon to feed herself and the bottles are gone, just big girl cups. She now helps with dressing and undressing, brushing her teeth, and brushing her hair. What a big girl!!