It’s been quite some time since I last wrote. We’ve been so busy and I’ve been preoccupied at work, but I don’t want to pass through Claire’s early years without writing notes about what’s going on in her life. Here’s a bit of a lengthy update of what she’s been up to the last few months.
April: Claire is going international. We filled out an application for a passport for all three of us for a vacation to Jamaica last month. We got Claire’s picture taken, and although she loves the camera, she sure wasn’t showing it when they snapped the pic. Looks a little goofy. 
Claire has recovered considerably from the ear infections. Now she’s teething. If it’s not one thing, it’s the next. That’s okay though, just a part of getting older.
We had a little Easter get together at our house with some of the friends we’ve made out here. Jeff had to work, but we had the moms and kids over on Saturday to dye the eggs, and then the dads came over with them on Sunday for brunch and a hunt. The kids had a blast. We had Michel, Mary and Audrey; Matt, Jennifer, Grand and Merrick; Santiago, Melanie and Nathan; and my cousin Chrissy. Claire had so much fun, although I think she was a bit confused why so many people were over at her house. We went to church Sunday morning (just the two of us), before the party on Sunday. Great weekend.
Her daycare and Kindermusik classes have been going awesome. She’s picking up so much now. She loves dancing, playing music, talking in her own language, singing, reading, everything. She’s always a happy girl.
Claire got her first official haircut this weekend. I found a cute shop that specializes in little kids cuts. Jeff wasn’t so thrilled about the price ($25) which I agree with, but it was for her first experience. She did fantastic and didn’t care that someone was messing with her hair. They had cute little cars that she got to sit in with toys and a movie to watch. Good thinking to keep them so occupied. Her little mop turned into a cute little haircut.
Claire and I headed back to Denver for the weekend for a little family and friends time. We stayed at my dad’s house this time since my mom just had hip surgery. She’s recovering well, but it would have been hard for her to carry Claire at all. Claire definitely took to Mema, Papa and Nanners. They had a blast with her. She did great. It was a quick weekend, but enough for her to get to know everyone more. She left knowing everyone’s nicknames.
Claire is now very much into anything Elmo. Not sure that she always knows who Elmo is because she calls other characters Elmo, but she’s learning. She also loves trains and has been watching Thomas the Train. We have Kids Fitness On Demand with Comcast, so we tried some kids yoga and she loves it. She tries her best to do the moves and will call out “yoga” and puts her arms over her head for the move. Adorable!
Her appetite has started to thin out a bit (not necessarily her belly size yet thought), and she’s definitely starting to test us with things. She threw her first few temper tantrums this month, but we nipped those in the butt early on. I think she’s going to test us quite a bit to see what she can get away with. Funny though because she doesn’t do that at all at daycare. Hmmm.
May: This month was particularly busy for us. It was a big birthday month (Jeff turns 30, Mema turns 55, Papa turns 60), so we decided to take some vacations to celebrate (plus, we completely deserved them). We headed to Florida to celebrate the birthdays with the family on May 14-18 then went to Jamaica May 18-23. We were a little concerned how Claire would do with all the traveling and sun, but she was a champ. We got her a seat on the way to Florida since it was such a long trip. We had her dvd player with Elmo Goes to Grouchland and some books, and she did awesome. All the people around us were shocked because the other little ones nearby were quite fussy. So proud of our little lady. She had the best time in Jamaica. She kept calling it “Maica”. It was the most amazing time for Jeff, Claire and I to spend together. She did her first pool dip in Florida and has been addicted to the water ever since. She played in the beach, went on the boat, hung out with the family, and even got a little color. Can’t wait for the next family trip.
I still desperately want another baby especially after seeing how amazing Claire is. I know the next won’t be the same, but I think Claire would make a great older sister. She’s so loving and caring. Now I just need to convince Jeff. So any of you out there reading this, help me out a little please.
Well, that’s the last few months in a nutshell. Claire’s talking, singing words to songs, learning her numbers and letters and developing quickly.
Here are the pics from Colorado, Florida and Jamaica.
