17 Months

Relief! Relief. I am so happy this battleground state went blue. The President won. Wisconsin elected our first woman (and the first openly gay person) to the Senate. Also: go Maine, Maryland and Minnesota! I am still running on adrenaline from last night, so I don't even care (much) that Clare woke up at 5:45 this morning. I was up until 11:30 watching returns. But no matter! It is a good day. It is also the 7th, which means it is time for my monthly Clare update!  Let's get to it.

Clare’s vocabulary has absolutely exploded over the last few weeks. (I, of course, had been worrying that she wasn’t talking enough, even though she communicates just fine. So yes, once again, I was worrying about nothing. I know. You are shocked.) Here is the list of words that she now uses correctly. I’ll get to the one she doesn’t use correctly in a minute.

Hi
Bye
No
Mama
Dada
Baba (Grandpa. I count this.)
Ball
Cheese
Apple
Sock
Shoe
Nose
Eye
Elbow
Belly
Teeth
Bubble
Elmo
Sandy (Her beloved daycare teacher.)
Night-Night
Uh-Oh
Baby
Pee
Pea (Yes, she differentiates between the two.)
Please
Yeah
Keys
Tree
Moo

So, lately, she has been running around the house screaming “Die! Die!” (or maybe it is “Dye! Dye!”?) at the top of her lungs. It is unnerving. I don’t know what she thinks she is saying, because I know she has no concept of death or the use of hair dye.  I wish she would stop, though.

When she first learned the word “eye” and where it is located, she went around her daycare poking all of the other kids in the eye, while announcing “eye!”

She has learned how to prolong story hour at bedtime. If she says she’s still thirsty, and asks for milk (using the sign for more – she still signs quite a bit), then she’ll get another story! Brilliant! It took her not-so-brilliant mom a few days to realize she was being manipulated.

For the past few months, Clare has been testing her boundaries. I always said (before becoming a mother) that I wasn’t going to give in to tantrums or other loud displays. It is so hard not to, though. Sometimes I just let her eat Rice Krispies for dinner, because it is easier than fighting with her about it.  This is something I need to practice. I don’t want her to learn that yelling and screaming about something will mean she’ll get her way. I just need to stick to my guns, even if it is exhausting.

Brushing teeth has been another frustrating endeavor. She just won’t let me do it. Does anyone have a secret to getting your toddler to let you brush their teeth?  I do usually let her try it by herself for a few minutes, because she wants to do EVERYTHING on her own. Which is great! Except when it’s not. 

Loud noises still scare her. She becomes hysterical at the sight of the vacuum.  My mom, Clare and I went out to dinner recently. My mom and I were laughing (quite loudly, I admit), at something. Clare stared at us, and then put her head down on the table and started sobbing. I don’t know if it was the loud laughter that scared her, or this glimpse into her future.

Overall, though, she is just so much fun. She really just sees everything (which is why I am very careful about the TV now).  The other day we were at Hobby Lobby, and we walked by a Nativity scene, complete with cows, sheep, etc. “Moo,” said Clare. Yes, Clare. Moo indeed.

And now, a photo essay demonstrating why the photo at the beginning of this post is somewhat less than fabulous:

Reaction to my suggestion that she sit next to T-Rex.

After several lackluster photos and an attempt to obtain the camera, it was time to explore her closet.

Shoe time!

I thought the shoe would  be a good distraction, but every time I asked her to smile she gave this impish smile, looking deliberately away from the camera. Stinker.