I have been a slacker at updating the blog. But Clara has hit some big milestones in the past two weeks. Some of you might know that Clara was a milk-aholic (nursing). Well, she is now a recovering milk-aholic. She has been sober for about two weeks now! We are so proud of her. Although now she has found a new...addiction. I found crystal light without aspartame and gave her some of that. Now she is drinking that all the time! At least it is better than regular juice because there is basically no sugar. Getting her to give up milk went a lot better than I expected. But it was not all easy, she had her days where she just kept asking for milk by doing the sign in sign language for milk. She can definitely throw a tantrum that is for sure! But for some reason I thought it would be worse, basically death! I am so thankful she did so well.
This was one of the first nights with whole milk. She was fast asleep! Can you tell?


The next big milestone was...WALKING!!! I am so glad that she has finally started to walk. We all thought that she would be walking two months ago because she was doing so well walking in between us. But no, she actually regressed for a while and did not even want to do that anymore! She wanted to hold on to just one finger everywhere she went. So we actually tried putting baby carrots in her hand so that she thought that she was still holding fingers, and she did great! She walked with no problem! But then when she realized that she wasn't holding fingers but carrots she was shocked, she turned back to Chris and gave him the most grumpy look! Chris and I were laughing so hard. So it was Mothers Day and all day she had been doing a bear crawl on all fours which I thought was so funny. But then at Grandma Kathy's house she was watching all of the other grand kids running around and she was doing her bear crawl when she just stood up and walked over to me! And from then on she was a walking machine! I love to see her toddling around it is so adorable. And it is also very nice to have her being more independent!
Before she walked on her own she would push a chair around the kitchen, she thought that was a blast!


Clara's personality is coming out more and more every day. Chris and I just love to watch her progress every day. She is usually a happy and content little girl. But she is not one of those kids that laughs and smiles at everyone and everything. She rations her smiles for other people. But while at home she smiles and laughs all the time. But even though she is not super smiley with people she is really very friendly. She loves to wave at everyone and she is not weary of most people. She is definitely a girl though. She loves her shoes and bracelets and clothes. She has also started giving us grumpy looks. She does it all the time now and I can't help but laugh it is just too cute. That is one of the hardest things so far is to try and teach her what she can't do because whatever she does is just so cute I usually end up laughing anyway and then she laughs..so needless to say we are still working on the meaning of no. I need to work on that. But at the same time I don't want to be too wrapped up in the seriousness and lose some of the enjoyment of seeing her learn and grow and just enjoying her as she is. She LOVES to be outside and play in the grass, the dirt, and even the rocks.
This past weekend we finally got to an item on the to do list that has been there ever since we moved in...so three years! We planted a garden!! I always had a garden growing up and I LOVE to eat the fresh vegetables in the summer and eating the delicious salsa my family makes. I have wanted to try it for myself since Chris and I were married and I am so happy that we finally did it! I feel quite the sense of accomplishment.
Chris built the garden boxes (with the help of a few of our great neighbors). We went and got the dirt and plants and put it all together! It was a lot of work and we were outside ALL day (which Clara loved). We have a Serrano pepper, green and red peppers, cucumbers, roma and celebrity tomatoes, summer, acorn, and butternut squash! Should be delicious! I really hope it works out because I am no expert at all! I guess we will see and I will post updates.
Clara helping with the garden, she did so good, until....


She started eating the dirt, and considering it was from the dump we were a little grossed out. But Clara on the other hand was quite proud of herself!


These were my tulips BEFORE



These are my tulips AFTER.



But she had a lot of fun and that is what matters. I had fun watching her.




And I can't forget her "silly face". If you run into us ask her to do her "silly face" and this is what she will do. And if you don't laugh it turns into a grumpy face, so remember to laugh! She is such a performer and loves to make people laugh, she must get that from her Dad! And she sure makes me laugh, she brings so much joy to my life. I love watching her learn, and she really does love to learn. Every thing she sees she asks "wha is sat?" And she repeats so many words! Chris was giving her a bath on Sunday and was counting to ten and she actually mimicked four or five of the sounds and it sounded like she actually said the numbers! She also LOVES animals..yikes. I am happy that they keep her entertained but I like to look from a distance. But I have to admit I have improved greatly on letting her touch animals. I don't want to be the one to limit her opportunities, and I can always wash her after! She loves to play with balls and stack cups, and she has even started putting shapes into their slots. She is such a sweet little girl and I am so blessed to be able to be her mother. I love you Clara!