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!!!

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!

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!

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!!!

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.

Beatles and the Hug Bug!

Last weekend we went to Harlinsdale farm for a concert that included a child's performer and the WannaBeatles (a Beatles cover band). We had a great time and Claire just danced and danced!

I created the "hug bug" and the "kissy monster" when Claire was really tiny. While we were at the concert Claire saw this cute little boy and she went right up to him, stared at him and then held her arms out and cried "hug bug!" and tried to hug the little boy. Freaked him out! It was so cute!!

Claire is talking so much! Everyone we see who have not seen Claire for a week or so comment on how much she is talking.

Claire FINALLY has her canine teeth coming in. They have just broken the skin. I was worried that she would not have them!

Toe Nail Paint and Bobo

A few weekends ago I painted Claire's toenails for the first time. I painted them pink and she loved it! Last week I painted them with glitter and she called it pitter. Claire's vocabulary has just exploded over the past few weeks and she is consistently speaking in full sentences.

Claire's last day of school was last Friday. Bobo came to visit on Sunday and kept Claire Monday through Wednesday. Claire loved visiting with Bobo. Bobo and Claire played and played. Claire did get an insect bite that required medical attention. Sam and Bobo went to the Vanderbilt Walk-in to make sure it was nothing too serious. We were told it was just in insect bite (not a spider, thank goodness) and she was given a cream to use. The bite was huge and had three distinct holes. We took Bobo to downtown Nashville and visited a honky-tonk. Bobo seemed to like it. Claire did, too!

Claire likes to carry her dolls around and baby them. She found a maxi-pad in my bathroom and called it her "baby diaper" and tried to diaper her dolls. It was hilarious.

Yesterday and today Claire had a sitter, Miss Kaylee, who is the daughter of Mrs. Angie, Claire's new teacher. Claire is moving up to the Great Grains this summer. We were told that she is the second youngest in her class but much more advanced than the other kids so they are moving her up. I am so glad. I think that if she is with kids a little older that she will strive to do what they are doing (potty training!). The director, Mrs. Brooke, said that Claire is "brilliant!" I think so,, too!

Next week Claire's Aunt Kay and Cousins Sheffield and Susan are coming to visit. We will have fun!

Other notables: Claire has started, every so often, calling Sam and me by our first names! Claire does not like ice cream and prefers kosher hotdogs. Everything is "my -----" like "my chair" "my frigerator." We joined the gym and last week we visited during lunch and had our first family picnic. Claire was more excited about the birds I think.

Claire is so much fun!

Birthday Party and Floods, Oh My!

Claire attended her first non-family Birthday Party in May. Claire was invited to Addie Corn's birthday at a playzone in Spring Hill. Claire had a great time keeping up with the 3 and four year olds! The first weekend of May middle Tennessee experienced monumental flooding. We were without power for 18 hours due to a rock slide on highway 96. Franklin had many roads flooded and executed over 200 water rescues of families in flooded neighborhoods. Nashville was hit very hard. Claire was a trooper through the whole thing. Although she said that the thunder scared her, she did well with the candlelight (probably better than me and Sam!).

I have such a big girl!!

On Saturday Claire said "I potty" and I said "ok!" We went to her bathroom and she opened the lid to her potty and said "diaper off" which was weird because so far she has not wanted to sit on it without a diaper. She then said "clothes off" so I knew this was a different situation. She sat on the potty for a few minutes playing with TP and then she starting to pee!! The sound of the pee hitting the plastic scared her and she jumped up but once I sat her back down she was fine. She did play in the pee causing a bit of a mess, but this was progress. Today she wanted to "potty" again. She wanted her clothes and diaper off and then she peed a little. I am so proud of her!! She is such a precious little angel!

Tara, Matt, Taylor and Andrew came in this week, Tuesday night. Tara and Matt were going to the Dove Awards. Sam and I got to keep Taylor and Andrew Wednesday night while they went to the awards. We had a great time playing! Claire thought she had won the lottery with all the attention she was getting from Taylor. Andrew is a bit put off by Claire. He does not want to hug her or kiss her, which are two of Claire's favorite things to do. Taylor likes to hug and kiss her!

I had to go to the Planning Commission meeting Thursday night so I met the Lynch's at Jason's Deli for lunch on Thursday and Sam and I met the Lynch's at Mellow Mushroom for dinner Thursday night so I could spend time with them. Friday Sam and I took the day off and we went with the Lynch's to the Zoo. We had a great time looking at all the animals and playing in the playground! We also at in the kitchen at Buca Di Bepo's, which was fun!

Saturday we got rain...lots of rain...and a tornado watch. We stayed in during tha morning, the boys played Wii and Sam made a great Mexican meal for lunch. Then we went to OpryMills, Target and Zaxby's.

Overall, we had a great time.

She's Somethin' Else

Claire has grown up so much over the past few months. She is talking up a storm and is saying several word sentences. She likes to say "Me do it!" A lot. Even though she has not seen Andrew in a few days she still says "Andrew (Nanu) push me."

Claire loves her Mamaw and Papaw. She asks for them often. She also loves Matt ans asks if he is "home." She plays hard with Andrew and Taylor! She tries to keep up with them and for the most part she does a pretty good job!

Claire is so independent. She does not want anyone to do things for her. When she starts to count (she can count to 10 in English and in Spanish) and when I start to help her she gets mad and says "me do it." She loves to slide down slides but now she does not want help up or for me to stand at the bottom of the slide to catch her.

We got a note home from school today that said Sanjay, a boy in Claire's class, was sitting by himself watching the other kids. Claire went up to him, grabbed his hand, walked him to the other kids and then hugged him. How sweet is that!!! Claire had an art show a few weeks ago at her school. We were told that she, along with Owen, are the brightest in her class. So proud!! Her best friend at school is Carlie. She has a little "song" she sings with Carlie's name and it goes "Carlie, Carlie, Carlie." After school she loves to have her "nack" and her "gung gung" because she is hungry and thirsty from playing so hard!

Claire likes to play with her "real" doll and likes to carry "purses" which are anything with handles. She loves bubbles and for easter Matt and Tara got her a bubble basket and she adores it. She also likes to play doctor and check ears for temp. It is so cute. She loves to read books. She has a few favorites (Lullaby Little One, I Love You Through and Through, Panda Bear Panda Bear, What do you See?, etc) that she likes to have read to her and now she has them memorized and can say them along with me. She does the same thing for songs. She loves to sing along with songs!

Claire's hair has gotten so long and curly. It is beautiful. She is still wearing 18 month clothes, but we have been getting her 24 month now and they are just a little big. She brushes her teeth pretty well. She loves to eat meat. Chicken, ham, turkey; its all game (no pun intended). She also loves chocolate.

Last weekend she was diagnosed with strep throat for the first time. Yes, Easter Eve! She missed the egg hunt but still got to play with her cousins!

I love her, I love her!!!