Two Cute

We sure do love this girl! This photo was taken on her second birthday. January 7th just so happened to be sunny and warm and in the upper 60's in Richmond so we enjoyed a family picnic at Maymont Park. In this photo Claire is wearing her favorite shirt. She loves this shirt. She points at the owl and says, "Dowl! Who-o-o who-o-o!". Her daddy has been known to put this shirt back on over top of her pajamas just to calm all the crying that occurs when it is time to change clothes. Yes, this girl has an opinion about what she wears. She woke me up twice during the night recently crying and asking for a "diff-ren shirt." And no, I did not oblige her request. We are not doing wardrobe adjustments at 2 am!

Other than having strong opinions about her clothes and shoes, Claire is quite a happy little girl. She loves to tickle, play hide-and-seek, run, swing, wrestle, jump, and laugh. She is usually happy-go-lucky, not afraid to leave mom, willing to attempt almost anything and loves getting attention. She likes to play with dolls and stuffed animals and I am amazed at just how motherly she can act. She rocks her babies, whispers "shh-shh," pats their backs, and kisses them just like a sweet little mommy. Her favorite foods are mandarin oranges, yogurt, crackers and grilled chicken. Her favorite tv show is Clifford as she loves dogs. She loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me." She is still a little peanut, weighing in at 22.5 lbs (3rd-5th percentile) and 32.75 inches long (10th -25th percentile). Her brothers adore her and still call her Claire-E affectionately. Davis is sweet to his little sister with the exception of discovering that she is terrified to be shut in the laundry room (poor Claire may be forced to overcome her fear because of this discovery). We are all so grateful to have had this little lady in our lives for the past two years. We love you Claire!

A+

We didn't hand out report cards this past week at the Little Academy. However, the following conversations took place which assure me that my boys are learning.

At the breakfast table one morning, while discussing the strengths and weakness of various superheroes, one boy explained to his younger brother that IronMan has a significant weakness: he cannot go under water. He went on to explain how iron will rust when exposed to water and oxygen. Wow!

One boy told me that he had a hard time breathing at the top of the maze at Chick-fil-a. "Because," he said remembering our discussion from the prior week, "the air gets thinner the higher up you go and it is harder to breathe." A little bit of a stretch, but he did get the idea.

Just this morning we were pouring milk into our cereal bowls when one boy asked, "What weighs more, a gallon of milk or a gallon of water?" So, we talked about density (and for all of you science buffs out there, I did explain that a gallon is a measurement of volume and not mass) and that the density of milk is greater than that of water.

I do know one thing for sure, I am learning a lot!

Boy-isms

During our most recent round of kitchen-turned-barber-shop, a boy sat begrudgingly on the stool in front of me anticipating the dreaded chore. A loss of ten minutes of play time is such a terrible crime. In an effort to make the task a little more tolerable and to provide him with some style options, I asked if he would like the scissor cut he usually receives or a buzz cut this time. His response embodies the typical boy's perspective on style: "Which one is the fastest?"

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This past month I took a couple of children in to see the pediatrician for their annual check-ups. The doctor questioned one boy about all of the usual things: what his address is, how old he is, does he wear a helmet when riding his bike, and then in a whisper she asked if he has any trouble going to the bathroom.

"No," he said, red-faced.

His brother then blurted out loudly, "Yes he does! He has trouble with his aim!"