Clara: One Year Old

It was so hard for me to see Clara turn one year old. I cannot believe that it's been a whole year since she was a newborn swaddled in my arms, so tiny and precious.

We had fun giving her a Rainbow Birthday celebration that was really more for the older kids benefit than Clara's, although she did enjoy chasing the balloons around.

Here are some things she is doing at 12 months:

She can go up and down stairs by herself.

She can wave hello and goodbye.

She is starting to talk, and here are some of her first words:

Mama (Her first word)

Dad

Hi

Bye

Yeah (This is her answer to most questions)

Me (When you ask anything starting with WHO, such as, "Who wants ice cream?")

She's starting to comprehend some words and phrases. Whenever she here's us ask, "What's Clara eating?" she knows she has to make a run for it or we're going to come over and yank the marble (or other choke-able item) out of her mouth.

She's starting to really enjoy books.

She can stand up unsupported, but hasn't taken any first steps yet.

She loves Music and will dance when she hears some.

She loves to play with her siblings and hates it when she's left alone in a room.

She has 11 teeth now, and has had a bit of a rough go with the last few that have come in. When she is cutting new teeth she gets really bad diaper rash, fever, runny nose, and loss of appetite. Despite all of that she is rarely grumpy. She usually just likes to be held and cuddled more.

I have never seen a baby loved more by her older siblings. Our kids still argue over who is going to sit beside her in church, and who is going to get her out of her crib when she wakes up.

The only exception to this is Nathan. Now that Clara is a threat to him, he is starting to feel the need to remind her of his position in the family as the older child. Whenever she starts to make a grab for his goldfish, sippy cup, or toys, he will quickly push her away yelling, "NO, Clara!" (We're working on changing this one time out at a time. I think we're making some progress.)

One thing about Clara that really makes me laugh is the way she gets herself into trouble. She crawls into spaces that she can't get out of, gets tangled in cords, stands up beside unstable objects, and gets her fingers stuck in all kinds of crevices (VCR slots, cupboards, etc.). Pretty much at least once or twice a day she will get into a predicament where she needs to be rescued.

In the words of Brett, "What would we ever do without Clara?"