So it’s now been almost 8 months since we’ve moved to Washington, and haven’t really met any people. I keep praying that we’ll meet some great friends soon….interestingly enough, after this weekend, we might have just met some! I was at the park with Claire (playing on the swings) Friday night, and another couple and their daughter and dog came up and were swinging. We started talking (for about an hour) and it ended up that we had a ton in common. Their little girl is almost 3 (Audry) and she was playing with Claire. They were so cute together. So we exchanged information and decided we should all get together soon. Then, Saturday I met another mom named Mona at Kat’s Tot Spot Cafe (and also recognized another mom that I saw there last week). We totally hit it off too. It’s so nice to see that we’re finally meeting people to hang out with. Then on Monday when I was picking Claire up from daycare, I ran into one of the dads and we talked about all of us getting together (or at least helping each other out with babysitting). All this makes me feel like Washington is more like home now. Plus, Claire has so much fun with these kids (even though they’re all older than her).
Sunday we went to get our family picture taken for the church member directory. Well, we should have planned better, because our appointment was at 2:20 and that’s really Claire’s napping time. So needless to say, she wasn’t very happy in the pictures. We didn’t get one smile out of her. As soon as we were done we went back to the car, and once she was buckled in she crashed.
The latest new things with Claire:
-She’s starting to say “hi” to people now, and I think she’s trying to say “kitty”, but it comes out a little different. She points to our cat, Cielo, and says “hi kitty” (well, use your imagination as the word kitty isn’t so clear). Adorable!
-She’s also balancing more and can stand on her own for about 10 seconds or so (longer sometimes). I just don’t want her to fall, so I have to be careful. It won’t be long until she’s walking on her own! Exciting!
-She can ride her rocking duckie on her own and actually rocks it. Then she knows how to get off. She doesn’t know how to get on it on her own yet though.
-Claire can climb the stairs, and she’s fast too! Of course we have to stand behind her, but she loves it. She just squeals and climbs up.
-New teeth are coming in! Looks like there are three up on top (her middle two and one to the left.
-Claire is now officially cruising. She’ll go around the couch and then grab onto whatever furniture is closest, and move around that.
-She’s also listening now when we say no (for the most part). She shakes her head no and then moves away from whatever it was she was doing. Yeah!!
-She has her own cabinet in the kitchen now that she plays in. It has the cutting boards in it and a little rubber mat that Jeff uses to keep the cutting boards in place on the counter. She takes the mat and cleans the floor with it (maybe I shouldn’t be cleaning around her all the time…looks like she’s picking up on it).
-Now every time I pick her up from daycare she sees me and quickly crawls over squealing with a huge smile and then pulls herself up and gives me a hug. I love it!!!!!!
-Whenever we’re in the car listening to music (usually her CDs) she bops her head to the music or she’ll sway from side to side.
It was so precious last night, I was putting Claire to bed and after we were done reading, she rested her head on my shoulder and hugged me. Usually she’ll do that but then squirm around, but this time she held onto me for at least five minutes. I just took it all in. This is love. Every day she just amazes us more. I think there is no possible way to love her more, and yet I’m filled with more joy from her every day. I hope that every parent feels this from their kids. It’s the most magical feeling!! I honestly don’t think I could ask for a happier life than what I have right now. I feel like we have the perfect family now. So much love!
