Why we love Claire!!!! and other things to catch you up

Claire is so much fun these days!!!



Here are some of my favorite things about Claire at age 13 months.

1 - The other day Claire and I were playing together on the floor with her animal cards. Out of nowhere I hear a little "roooaaar." I look over and she is holding the picture of the bear. I can't even describe how cute it was. She now knows the bear, the dog (you should hear her say roof, roof), and the cow. We are currently working on the pig and the duck.


(Here is Claire practicing her bear pose)

2 - Claire loves bathtime. She now loves to bend over, stick her face in the water, and blow bubbles. On Thursday, I was drinking a glass of water while she was playing in the bath. She of course wanted a drink. Since she was in the bath, and wet already, I handed her the cup. She took a drink and then she went for the big drink. She doused her whole face with cold water. You should have seen the look of shock that followed.

3 - Claire is getting better in the car. And we have grandma Dahle to thank. Last year for Christmas, she gave Claire a book called "Dear Santa." It is a board book with flaps that hide the presents. She rides along, with her feet crossed, giggling every time she opens a present. That book is the gift that keeps giving all year long.

4 - Claire loves to help mama pick up trash. Today, she picked up one of my socks, walked right over to the trash, put it in, and walked away. Luckily I saw her do it. Otherwise, I would still be looking for the sock.

5 - Claire loves to leave little hints for mom and dad. She loves to play in the drawers that have our tupperware and towels. We find many things that make their way from other parts of the house into those drawers - puzzle pieces, bouncy balls, silverware. Yesterday we found the picture of the pig in the drawer. We both wondered what message she was trying to send us.

6 - Claire may or may not be the playground bully. She had a play date the other day with RJ who is significantly smaller than Claire. She walked up to him, started squaking and then proceeded to push him over. Nice job Claire. Needless to say, there has been no follow up play date.

7 - Claire is walking like a champ. Does she fall over frequently? Sure. Does she have bruises and scrapes all over her body? Sure. Is Hill worried about Child Protective Services showing up at the front door? Again, yes. It is just so cute to see her stumbling around. But she is improving.


We had a great outing to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. Claire loved the squirrels. She loved the ice cream even more


Claire is a Little Piggy!!!

Claire had a great time at dinner this night. I really can't telly you what happened other that she loved the watermelon. She really is such a good eater. She eats just about everything. She only recently learned to spit things out. The funny thing is that she will eat a bunch of stuff, and then she will eat some other stuff, and then about ten minutes later she will just spit out a big blob of food - mostly the stuff she ate first. I am guessing that she stuffs her cheeks and then has nowhere else to put food so she then swallows it.

The Burtons have left the building!!!!

It was a sad day in Charlottesville two weeks ago when the Burtons loaded up the car and moved back to Utah. We were so sad to see them go and we wish them luck out there.

Prior to their departure, Claire would see her good friends, Emma and Ellie, 3-4 times a week. Claire and Mama just haven't been the same since they left. Sam's Club just hasn't been the same since they left.

They made one last stop before they made their ways out of the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountians. Good luck in the Rockies. We miss you and love you!