Happy 1st Birthday Claire!

One year ago today we made an early morning phone call to see if the hospital had room for us to come in for an induction.  Three days before we had been told they were too full.  Claire wanted to stay put for the weekend so Monday morning, we called again.  They said again that they were busy, but would call later if they had a spot.  Around 6:30 am they called back and it was decided that today would be Claire's birthday!

Little Claire was born in the afternoon and it was awesome to meet her and her full head of hair and dimples!

Over the past year we have gotten to know Claire and she has really started to show her awesome personality.

Things We Love About Claire:

1. Her hair.  It's one of her two physical traits that most people comment on and we all love.  When she was born it stuck straight up; now it falls right in her face.  It's wild and crazy just like her!  And she's obsessed with other people's hair.  She loves to touch and brush hair.  
2. Again, her dimples.  These are going to often get her out of trouble, and she knows it!
3. Her sweetness.  She's a lover.  She gives hugs, blows kisses and likes to cuddle.  
4. Her curiosity. She is so interested in new devices and toys.  She loves to see what everyone else is doing.  
5. Her love of being social.  She loves to wave at everyone when she comes into a room; she doesn't like to be by herself, even if I am just going from the living room to the kitchen.  
6. She's brave.  She loves to climb, run, and drive her cozy coup like a crazy woman.  
7. She's a thinker.  While sometimes she seems reckless in her play, she also is a very careful walker.  You can see her carefully thinking about each step when she's losing her balance.  She also often repeats the same movement to perfect it, such as going up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down the stool steps 20 times.  
8. Her adorable Frankenstein walk.  She's walking and she's improving every day.  I am going to miss it when we can't call her Franky anymore because her hands aren't needed in front of her for balance.  
9. Her obsession with doing anything Anna is doing.  
10. Her awesome dance moves.  Claire loves to dance.  At the first sound of music her legs start bouncing and she gets a big smile on her face.  
11. The way she loves to lick the jelly off of her toast before she eats it.  
12. The amount of noodles she eats in a single sitting.  She could eat (or so it seems) an entire box of noodles with marinara sauce.  
13. Her screeches when she sees the blueberries come out of the fridge.  She loves blueberries.  
14. Her want to be a big kid.  She was very easy to transition off the bottle, a couple weeks ago we became bottle free!  Hopefully potty training goes the same way!
15. Her love of baths.  She could stay in the tub for hours!
16. Her current words/sounds:  mama, dada, nana, and lots of other yells, spits, and whispers. 
17. Her communication skills.  While often she just yells and points at what she wants, Claire can sign please and all done.  
18. The kisses she blows are just about the most delicious baby kisses ever!
19. Whenever we walk in the door and she wants to push the buttons on the "beeper."  
20. Watching her grow.  I think with the second child, while perhaps less pictures get taken because you are now caring for two, I am even more observant and soak in the moments of growth.  They are engraved in my memory.  I know how quickly each stage passes early on and I would rather sit on the floor and enjoy each moment than constantly be running for the new battery for the camera.  We still take pictures.  Plenty of them.  But I know more that I need to be in the moments enjoying them before they pass.  

ClaireBear.  You are a beautiful little girl and we are so excited to watch you grow into a wonderful little lady.  Thank you for bringing more spunk and spice to our household.  We love you!