Clara and her rocker (and books)

Milt and Alrene sent Clara a rocker about a year ago and it has now become a key part of her universe.  It is part jungle gym, part rocker, and part reading spot.  I’ve also included some pics of clara with her books (she is obsessed with them) and some other just plain old cute photos.  Thanks Milt and Alrene!

Playgrounds, slides, and swings

With Clara walking, almost running, playgrounds are urban oases where Clara can climb, play, and do everthing she can’t do at home.  Clara has been a swing girl until the last month, now she has taken to just about every part of the playground apparatus she can maneuver . . . especially the slide.

The first video is a brief one of Clara going down the slide (I catch her before she plunges off the edge of the jungle gym) and a couple seconds with her on the swing.  The second video is longer and shows her wondering around a bit, climbing around, playing around, and sliding down again.

Grocery carts

Shopping for groceries is a family affair these days; however, Clara and I definitely get the best job.  I get to push Clara down the straightaways, between people, and around sharp corners and Clara gets a totally different set of sounds, scents, and people.  Heather keeps us focused and gives us a high fives when the job is done.

[Clara did fall and scraped her nose and upper lip, so, if you see a little spot in the photos or videos that is what it is]

13 months and busy as a bee

This is a long video; however, it shows how busy Clara has grown to be (this video is from about two weeks ago when she turned 13 months).  If you can’t watch the whole video, you got to watch toward the end when … (no, not the part with the crate, before that).

This was my first time to see her try to escape.

Clara is walking everywhere

Clara has been walking for about six weeks; a toddler is very different from a baby.  A toddler pulls things down, runs away from you, jumps off the couch without a care in the world, goes down the slide on their own, runs to you when she sees you, and wants held after falling and going “boom.”  It is a whole new set of wonderful things and experiences.

The videos below are from early October when she first started to walk.  I hope to follow with some of the newer stock.  Some of the videos are shot at a poor angle (sorry!), but I still find every second totally fantastic.

Enjoy.

1 Year Old

I have shifted my thinking on cliches . . . some, if not all, are true.  For example, “before you know it, she’ll be crawling” or, more to the point “you’ll blink and she’ll be one” have all proven true.  Here are some pictures from Clara’s birthday party.  We had a special cake from Clara’s friends upstairs (thank you SHARON!), some yummy Indian food for our guests, and of course a handful of Clara’s young friends.  WOW, time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Clara's cake

Video update!

Sorry for the delay on new material for the remaining Clara blog checkers, but school has started for me and Heather has started her new job.  Nevertheless, Clara is approaching a year and loves to play games, answer the phone, wreak havoc, and say her 15 words as often as she can.  Here are some videos chronicling a few of them.

First, we have Clara playing games with my shades.

Second, Clara is rearranging our bookshelves.

Third, Clara is figuring out the phone (she is constantly pretending like she is on the phone!).

Swinging

Clara loves to swing.  I’m still getting comfortable with the whole thing, given that it looks like an accident waiting to happen.  The other alarming thing is that Clara likes it more the harder the push is.  Clara also has started some minimal cruising, which I hope to capture very soon.  I think walking is just around the corner!

In this video, the pushing is moderate.  If Heather were pushing Clara would be giggling and screaming, but I can’t quite bring myself to push the swing quite that hard.

Our First Family Vacation

Heather, Clara, and I started driving last Friday from Boston, had a layover in Portland, Maine, and arrived on Mt. Desert Island Saturday!  We spent the week biking (Heather pulled Clara all over the park) and hiking (I carried Clara in her backpack) all over Acadia National Park.  While most of our time was spent trying to see every lake, pond, cliff, mountain, bay, or ocean view we also managed to hit the little harbor towns that speckle the island.  We had perfect weather the entire trip, but when we found ourselves inside during the wee hours I finally captured some of Clara’s crawling!  Enjoy everything.

Parties, chocolate, and bike rides

This post is being updated, but I hope to quickly supersede it with pictures from our vacation.  Enjoy the pics of some of our pre-vacation summer fun.