Bits and Pieces: July

Clare has been two for almost two months now. I wouldn't say she's hit the terrible twos, but oh my God there are days. She's even been punished a few times. I gave her a time out once, and she hated it. Since then, the threat of a time out is usually enough to get her moving. Because usually her biggest offense is that she is not listening.

Other than that, though, Clare is doing pretty great. She is talking in complete sentences most of the time. In fact, she narrates everything that is going on. She also repeats everything I say, just with "Mommy" in front of it to make it clear who said it. She loves to sing, and sings along with lots of different songs. Her favorites are the ABCs and the Wheels on the Bus. For some reason when she sings the ABCs she develops a cockney accent a la Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins around the letter J. I don't know why.

We started potty training, sort of. She actually went number two in the potty a few weeks ago, but when the water splashed her behind, she became hysterical and has refused to sit on the potty ever since. I don't want to force her, so I think we'll put potty training on hold for a little while. And as I've been told by over sharing waitresses, Clare will probably completely regress when the baby comes, so what is the point in potty training now, right?

She still loves reading, and now reads books to herself. She has memorized a collection of Winnie the Pooh books that I have read to her several times, and she'll sit in bed and read them out loud. She usually gets the words right, complete with a loud "the end" .

After swimming lessons, Clare and I will sometimes lay in my bed and rest. She gets pretty worn out at the pool (although she loves it, and refuses to get out even when it is so cold that her lips are turning blue), so we need a little quiet time. She usually either commands me to put my "eyes down" or "eyes up" and for some reason I find that to be incredibly cute. I am trying to enjoy all of our snuggles together, even though soon Clare won't be able to sit on my lap. I am glad we've had this summer together, before the changes that fall will bring. Despite the occasional time out, Clare is, at least in my opinion, a pretty awesome kid.

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When we were in Evansville over the Fourth of July, we took Clare to the parade. She hated it. We had to leave and go to the coffee shop. It was really loud, and Clare just does not like loud noises. I hope she outgrows this fear soon.

With Grandma Jo, before the parade of terror began.

With Baba Ralph and Daddy - showing off Daddy's medal from that morning's race. He came in third!

She did enjoy playing in the yard and roasting marshmallows that night, however. I think she was really more interested in eating the marshmallows than roasting them, but who isn't?

We also went to the zoo with Uncle Robby, Aunt Andri, and Grandma Jo. Clare had a blast, so at least she is over her fear of animals, at least when they are in cages. She still doesn't love dogs.

Ben took Clare to his uncle's cabin for the day a few weeks ago. The picture below would lead you to believe she liked riding on the boat. She did not. It was also TOO LOUD.

She had fun with her cousin Gavin, though. And yes, I purposely packed a Packers sweatshirt for her. Ben got me back by hanging the Vikings schedule on our fridge.

Hope everyone has a great rest of summer!