16 months

 Clare’s vocabulary is starting to expand, but she remains very attached to one particular word. An example of a recent “conversation,” held because I was trying to figure out why she was being a fussbudget:

Me: Do you have a wet diaper?
Clare: No.
Me: Are you hungry?
Clare: No.
Me: Are you thirsty?
Clare: No.
Me: Are you tired?
Clare: No.
Me: Do you want to go the park?
Clare: No.
Me: Do you want to play with your ball?
Clare: No.
Me: Do you want to meet Elmo in person?
Clare: No.
Me: Do you want a trip to Disney World?
Clare: No.
Etcetera to infinity.

In addition to her words from last month, she now says: ball, elbow, bye-bye, nose, and night-night. She is very proud of herself when she correctly uses one of the words. The other day we were driving home from Milwaukee, and Clare was in the backseat saying “Ball! Cheese! Ball! Cheese!” Over and over and over. She has also started having extensive conversations with whoever I am speaking to on the phone. The other night she said, “Bye-bye Dada,” to Ben. It was pretty cute. She can correctly point to her nose, ears, head, cheeks, lips, feet and belly. She loves to show off her belly, when asked where it is she immediately pulls up her shirt.

Clare is very much her father’s daughter, in some kind of funny (to me) ways. She doesn’t like it when her hands are sticky. Dirty is fine, sticky is a major problem. She has an impish little grin, which she employs whenever she is doing something she knows she shouldn’t. (Ben smiles the same way when he is doing something to annoy me.) She is quickly frustrated if she can’t get something right away, like putting pieces in their correct spot on a board puzzle, and will have a bit of a tantrum. Yes, Ben does that too. (Especially with those board puzzles. They really stump him.)

She is up to 16 teeth. She doesn’t always use them, though. She spit an entire piece of ham into my hand the other day because she was trying to suck on it rather than chew it and she choked.  Speaking of food, my good eater is gone. She has gotten so picky! The other night she ate sour cream and corn flakes for dinner. Disgusting, but true. The next night, she just had an absolute fit when I set down her plate.  I tried to reason with her, which of course didn’t work. Then I gave her a fork. The tears stopped. She still didn’t eat much of her dinner, but at least I figured out one thing – the girl wants to eat with a fork, even though she can barely use it.  So much of dealing with a toddler is a guessing game.  I feel so proud of myself when I get it right! I should buy some stickers and give myself a gold star.

One night last week, she outright stole my dinner.

Yes, that is broccoli she is shoving into her mouth. Like I said, a guessing game. I never know what she will eat. I guess I can’t blame her, though. My dinner did look a lot better than this, which is what she was originally offered:

On Friday we went to the park. Clare played on the swings for a while, squealing with delight as I pushed her back and forth. We sat at the picnic table and had a snack, watching the cars drive by. I just wanted to bottle up that day.  Clare kicking her feat back and forth as she sat on the bench, eating her crackers (and feeding them to me), talking about the cars. Me telling her what is going on around her. Her slamming my phone out of my hand when I checked my email. I wish we could do that every day. And next time I’ll leave the phone at home.

We went to visit my grandparents in La Crosse this weekend. Here we were in the bluffs of Minnesota, overlooking the Mississippi and La Crosse.

With her "ball" aka a delicious Fireside apple.

Ready to take dinner out of the oven. Photo by Uncle Robby.

PS. I finished Gone Girl. I really liked it, but it made me tired and kind of angry. I was happy to read a book that I felt strongly about, though. I haven't read one like that in awhile.

PPS. The Packers apparently suck, and it appears the Vikings are good. Not just luck.