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Claire turned 8 a few months ago - I hate to say how many months. The voice that wakes me up at 3 in the morning and lists all the things I didn't do that I need to do has been reminding me regularly that writing Claire's birthday post has been delayed way too long. I know Claire won't hold it against me.
I can say the same things about Claire every year. She is a sweetheart. She is creative. She is a loving person. The thing that is new this year is that she's just about a big kid. We pretend she is still our baby - and she makes that easy by being such a cuddle bunny - but she is not a baby at all.
It is wonderful to watch Claire grow. She is a person who looks for fun everywhere. She always wants to do the right thing - whether it is to be honest or generous or encouraging. She's always looking for tools and supplies for her next greatest creation. She loves the good things in life.
Claire finished second grade in June. She spent the year learning all the things that come with second grade: multiplication, book reports, classroom jobs. She's good at math, a great reader and needs improvement in her spelling and printing.
She's learning more responsibility at home. She has always wanted to be able to do things for herself and that makes it easy to inspire her to stretch herself. One day she got tired of waiting in the tub for me to come and wash her hair, so she did it herself. Sometime later I found she was putting on conditioner before shampoo and we made the correction. She's trying really hard to brush her own hair, too, but gets frustrated by how long her hair is compared with how short her arms are. She still needs a little help with her huge tangles.
Claire is an unbelievably flexible person. Yes, she's easy going emotionally, but I'm talking about her ability to do the splits and all the most advanced yoga positions I can show her. It's astounding. It's very entertaining to watch her contortions. She makes us laugh every day. One of her funny moves is to take the large T-shirt she sleeps in and put it on tail first, or sleeves as pants, or legs in the neck or any number of variations.
Claire's an earthy person, sensitive to smells and textures, flavors, temperatures and feelings. She's not prissy about it at all, quite the opposite. We're working on finding the balance between funny and gross. I have to admit I find it all hilarious.
You can always count on Claire for a hug and a kiss. As she grows, it's easy to see that she has become more guarded, but she still shares her love generously. She had a little heartbreak with a friendship gone bad and after she shed her tears, she took it bravely. She felt lonely, but made her apologies and moved on. I was proud of her.
It's not easy being the younger sister (or the older, I know) and Claire admires her sister but still has her own identity. She loves to play with Audrey and be involved in whatever Audrey is doing. She's a great audience for Audrey's Harry Potter quote sessions and tends to let her sister choose what to watch on TV. We will see how we weather the next few years as Audrey becomes a teen. I hope they will still have fun together.
I can't access recent photos right now, or I'd include a few. I just wanted to write a little to capture what Claire is like right now. I find her so delightful and warm. So unique and beautiful. I'm grateful.
