Sunday, September 12, 2010

Potty-Training

The potty-training is going very well. Claire recognizes when she has to use the potty and has had very few accidents at home and at school.

She kissed me on my cheeks the other day and I asked her if I needed to kiss her and she said "no, I'm good." Hilarious!!

She is starting to understand coloring and now uses one color for each area. She, of course, cannot stay within the lines, but I think she understands that she is actually coloring something.

James Avery opened in the Cool Springs Mall!!!

Sam is out of town today through Tuesday. He is in Maine working with a group to do nationwide training courses. Claire pretended to be on the phone with Sam and she said "hi, Daddy, I used the potty today, yeah, uh hum, yeah, ok." It was precious!

Visit from the Reynolds and Small Group

The Reynolds family visted us over Labor Day weekend. We had a great time. Claire loved playing with Susan and Sheffield and was very sad when she realized they were actually gone.

We went to church together and then shared a great meal at the Cheesecake Factory.

After the Reynolds left for home our church small group came over for a cookout. The Jones (3), Salvatores (4), Comers (4), Jennifer and Jeremiah all came for an awesome time of fellowship, food, and acoustic guitar playing!!!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lotion, Lotion Everywhere!!

Today Claire did not seem interested in a nap but we made her lay in her bed and play quietly. I heard her making weird sounds so I go in to check on her and she is covered, head to toe, in Johnson's vanilla oatmeal lotion. Not only did she cover herself but she also covered her big Mickey Mouse and her big Raggedy Ann. Her bedding is covered. It is crazy. But she was so proud of herself. I put her in the bathtub and when she gets out she wants to use the potty (great, I think). When she is done she puts the pee in the big toilet and flushes it. I try to get her to put on a Potty Pants but she runs around refusing. Finally when I catch up to her she is adamant that she not wear it. I look at her legs and think "where did she get that play tail" only to realize, once it hit the ground, that it was not a play tail at all! What an afternoon!

ABCs

This week Claire sang the ABC song all the way through perfectly. Now that she knows we know she can do it, she changes it up and says "ELMO Pee..." and she sings in different voices. I am so proud of her!!!

We just got over an ear infection and this round of antibiotics were horrible for Claire. She had multiple blow out diapers every day and was even sent home from school once. Now that the antibiotics are finished I am going focus on the potty training. She goes potty in the morning no problem (but wouldn't you if the first thing you got to eat was chocolate?) but she gets so busy during the day that she is not that interested. Jennifer Walker suggested we buy "Potty Pants" which we did. They are training pants with no absorbency so when she goes she feels it. We are going to put her in those every day from here on out and see how this goes!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Claire's Second Birthday

Claire turned 2 this weekend. I cannot believe it! She is using the potty fairly regularly. She is talking up a storm and has such a little personality (as headstrong as it can be)!

We had a Yo Gabba Gabba party for Claire. Her cake was so cute. She had lots of guests. Mammaw, Papaw, Tiff, Wes, Bethany, Christian, Isabel, Jonas, Elias, Kristen, John Michael, Addie, Landon, Rob, Angela, Charlie, Connie, Dave, Roman, Gracen came. She got a Zippity from me and Sam, a Dirt Devil and some cute clothes from her Mammaw and Papaw, a rocking horse from Bobo and Papa, a monogrammed backpack from Addie and Landon along with a potty book and CareBears DVD, a baby doll cradle from Roman and Gracen, H2OWow from the Heuers, a name plate from Charlie, and art supplies from Tiff and Wes. Claire seemed to have a great time at her party, except that she bit Gracen toward the end.

Claire had a great time with her Mammaw, Papaw "my Tiff" and "my Wes." She played and talked. I know she likes spending time with her family and I am glad about that!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

St. George Island and words, words, words!

We went to St. George Island the week of the 4th. We found out the previous week and it was reaffirmed on the 4th that Claire does not like fireworks. As she says, "fireworks go boom-boom. Fireworks scare me. I cry."

The beach was great. We saw so many dolphins and even saw a few manatees. Claire was also not a fan of the ocean. She finally enjoyed the tidal pool with Susan and on the last day she played in the waves. I used my foot to write "Claire" in the sand. The waves came and washed her name away. Claire was devastated! She stood in front of the ocean pointing and the water yelling "That ocean took my name!"

We were very worried about the condition of the water based on the current situation with the oil leak in the Gulf. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the water and the beach was perfect. The beach was patrolled daily by EPA, police and military by helicopter (very close to the land) and gaters. On Saturday, the wind blew a little differently and we could smell "gas." To me, it smelled like being at a marina. But by Sunday morning when we left there was no smell.

Claire is a flirt. We went to eat supper with Bobo and there was a couple sitting beside us, a young man and young woman. Claire just flirted with the young man. It was sooo cute, but I truly worry about the teenage Claire!

Claire would only sit on the first step in the pool. One day she got in a float with Sam and seemed ok so long as we kept her busy and she was not thinking about actually being in the pool.

Claire had a blast playing with her cousins Sheffield, Susan and Alex. She and Susan were hilarious. They laughed and laughed at night before falling asleep. They ran and ran and squealed. Her Aunt Kay made pancakes and Claire loved to "dip" them in syrup.

Bobo made Claire and Aunt Sarah a birthday cake. It was a beautiful cake and Claire loved the icing. Aunt Kay gave Claire a wooden ballerina that has magnets for changing the outfit. It is so cute and Claire played with it a lot in the car on the way home. Since her "birthday party" everything is "birthday party" or "birthday cake."

Claire has a few new words worth noting: foo-pops (flip-flops), unky dew (uncle Drew), pacifodder (pacifier), pish (fish), dolphin (whales), Yo Gabba Rock (Yo Gabba Gabba), BoboPapa (Bobo and or Papa, to her they are one and the same), Bobo's House (the beach house),pb (TV), yogurk (yogurt), Shauna (Mommy), Sam (Daddy). Claire sings "Twinkle Twinkle", "ABCs", "Happy Birthday", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Old MacDonald", "The Wheels on the Bus".

Today, Claire pooped in the potty!!! I am so proud of her! She just did it on her own! When she is on the potty she has a book that she likes for me to read to her ("Its Potty Time!") and when I started to read it to her yesterday she "read" it to me. She has the whole book memorized! She is so smart (and so stinkin' cute)!!

Claire also loves to have her toenails painted pink! She loves to have her hands and feet traced (over and over and over). She is still biting but not as often. She did go through a phase recently where she bit Carlie at least once a day and once up to 5 times in 15 minutes. We have talked with Claire and have put her in time out. I hope it works.

Claire turns 2 in 3 days!!!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Hiking with Dad

Shauna had to present at a conference in Gatlinburg so Claire and I spent the day in the Smokey Mountains National Park. We went to the welcome center but Claire was asleep upon arrival so we drove over to Cherokee, NC (her first time in NC). We then went to Mingo Falls where we ate lunch amongst a swarm of 20 or 30 butterflies.
After lunch we drove back to Newfound Gap where Claire ran around telling anyone that would listen that she was "on top of the mountain!".
Our last stop was at the welcome center again where we walked to Cataract Falls. Claire really liked putting her hands in the waterfall. On the way back we stopped to play in the creek for about an hour! Claire tried to pick up and throw every rock that weighed less than she does. In total I think we went through 2 bananas, two Oreos, 3 outfit changes, 2 pairs of shoes, and a lot of juice. I lost count on diapers.