I haven't done a great job at documenting either of the girls this past year - in fact I think my last post was when Claire was 2 and 1/2 - but there is so much about her right now that I want to remember.
Personality: Claire is silly and stubborn and fiercely independent. She is bold and adventurous and likes being challenged. She learns by trial and error and because of that, we face many trials... and many errors. She is a performer - not so much like artistic recitals, more like the class clown. She does these ridiculous faces and hand motions with her eyes closed, but will then stop to make sure that people are still watching.
Sleeping: The biggest change this year is that in the hub-bub of school, friends, commuting and just general busyness Claire has all but completely dropped her afternoon naps. There are days, that if everything lines up perfectly, she will still crash for a few hours, but those are few and far between. She goes to bed at night between 7-7:30 and she usually wakes up by 7 am so we can hurry through our morning and get out the door to Grace's school on time. I think she is often tired, but seems to have adjusted okay to our new schedule.
Teething: Her 2-year-old molars were very slow to appear... arriving sometime during this past December. It will be a while now before any other new teeth pop up.
Moving: She is busy. Really busy. She doesn't hold still - unless she is sound asleep. She is very sturdy and has great balance. She is a pretty athletic little girl and has no problem keeping up with kids a year or two older. You should see her at the park... climbing, jumping, hanging, swinging, running, skipping, etc. Sometimes she makes me nervous, but she's never slipped. She does trip when walking from time-to-time, but I think that has more to do with her choice of shoes. This spring has brought with it two new activities for Claire... soccer and skiing. She played indoor soccer for three months and was on a team made up of all 4-year-old boys. It took a few times for her to really warm up to it, but over all she did a great job... her teacher would use her as an example of someone listening and following directions and Claire would often "win" the drill-games (astronauts and aliens was her favorite). She was a natural on the mountain too - her good balance and fearlessness a huge advantage for her.
Talking: I am blessed with 4 hours of one-on-one time with Claire every morning, and she is a pretty fun kid to spend time with because she is never quiet. Ever. She isn't always talking to me, but she is always talking. I recently posted about funny things she says (you can read it here) and that pretty much sums her up. I forgot to mention in that post that she often says "for reals" or "for real life" when she is trying to convince us of something. And today (on her 1/2 birthday) I am hearing a lot of "It's okay, I'm three and a half." and "Mommy, I can do it myself, I'm three and a half." She has a unique way of describing things as well. The other night we were eating Thai food - a dish with noodles, veggies and beef. She loved the meat and said, "Yumm! Can I have some more of that brown chicken?"
Learning: She is a sponge right now - picking up new information every day. She flawlessly counts to 20 (often higher), recognizes shapes and colors, is a pro-rhymer, knows our phone number, recognizes all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet and has recently nailed her phonics. She started really reading around Christmas time and is currently making her way through the third set of "BOB" books. She sounds out words and uses alphabet blocks to spell words. As long as a word follows phonetic rules, she nails it!
Playing: Claire loves playing with her friends, but is also very independent and could play for hours on her own. Her current favorite toys are her stuffed animals... and she has lots. Right now she is most often seen with a black kitty ("Lilo), brown bunny ("Odelia"), a little gray bunny ("Laney"), a large owl ("Eaver"), her little elephant ("Big Guy"), a large gray elephant ("Roger"), a huge pink elephant ("Giant Guy"), and a tiny orange cat ("Gracie"). She has named them each herself - doesn't flip-flop names, and refuses to acknowledge them by any other name. If I say to her "Run upstairs and get your bunny." She will look at me, roll her eyes and say, "Ugh, you know her name!"
Other than her "guys" she is often playing with her Calico Critters house, Legos, or Tinker Toys, doing art projects (coloring, painting, play-doh, etc). With the amazing weather we've had she has spent lots of hours outside riding her bike, digging in the dirt, collecting bugs, and playing in the sprinkler.
Claire's current favorite...
Book: "Bible stories."
Game: "Guess who I am." Not the same as Guess Who, but a 20-questions type game
Person: "Serena is my best friend."
Place to go: "To a friend's house"
Toy: "I like to play with Legos."
Movie: "Tinkerbell and Lilo and Stitch"
Activity: "Play games"
Song: "Jesus Loves Me"
Number: "80-90"
Color: "Every one of them."
