Claire is two - but not so terrible

Claire turned two on March 22. As I struggle to reconcile myself to her leaving babyhood behind, I think about how I'd like to go back in time and hold her again when she was so tiny, but also how grateful I am that she is healthy and growing up the way children should.



Claire is at a stage where pretty much everything she does is cute. Even her tantrums amuse me, more or less depending on our location, but she is adorable even when she is angry. Most of the time she is happy, and often shows a serenity I aspire to. She seems to have found and accepted the princess inside her, but doesn't feel the need to be precious.



Wherever there is food or fun she is happy to join in. She plays a lot, likes to look at her books and also enjoys a good lounge.



She has discovered and seems to relish her role as the younger sister and understands that it is her job to annoy and mimic Audrey.



They fight over toys and their daddy, but I have high hopes that they will be good sisters and friends.



Claire likes dirt, loves water, but isn't crazy about the wind. She loves fruits and vegetables and eats almost anything else you give her. When we go to the farmer's market she wants everything and will take it for herself if I do not watch her.



At mealtimes she shows she's finished eating by dropping whatever she hasn't eaten into her cup and making a lotion she rubs all over her arms. That takes us to bath time where she has discovered bubbles and seems to be very thirsty.



She sleeps well and is so pleasant to tuck in for naps or bedtime. If you ask her if she is tired she will often say "yes" and walk to her room without pressure. A kiss and a blanket is usually all she needs, but if she is not quite ready for sleep I give her a toy. She'll play awhile and when she is finished she puts it in the corner of her crib, lays down and goes to sleep.



Some of Claire's favorite things right now are chips, candy, everyone else's shoes, Mickey Mouse Playhouse.



She has always loved to wear our shoes.



She also has a thing for Audrey's bicycle helmet and will wear it all day if you let her.



Claire cannot resist an empty laundry basket.



Claire does not like having her clothes or diaper changed - so she is nearly naked in a lot of our photos. I get tired of chasing her around forcing her to get dressed so if we are not going anywhere I don't bother. We don't put her shoes on until we have reached our destination because she takes off her shoes and socks compulsively.



Claire is talking so much and saying many three-word sentences. One of her latest words is "Dangit!" Who knows where she learned that?

Other words phrases:
Gobop = Get up.
Otay = Okay
Nuna = La luna/moon
daw = straw
All get it
Dopped it
Turn
First
Self
Doradegoboots
Whe ah you?
Tanny = candy
Care = Claire

Claire talks a lot, but also makes a lot of faces that tell us what she is thinking.











She has a teriffic "I'm about to cry" frown and heartmelting "Shirley Temple with the eyelashes" smile.



So much to say and so much to remember. She's just wonderful. Happy Birthday, Claire

Kids incognito

My kids are always in costume. Are they just playing dress up or are they hiding from their grouchy mom? Claire's a super hero impervious to threats and scolding, Audrey has got a pillow on her head she won't have to hear my lectures or see my stern looks. I'd better start saving for their therapy.

Guess who?

OK, the color of the chair is going to give it way for those who have been in our house, but if it weren't for that, isn't it tough to tell who's who? One is Audrey in July 2005 when she was 1 1/2, the other is Claire in early February this year at nearly 2. Uncanny!

Girls everywhere

Our Valentine's gift this year was a visit from two of my nieces - Chelsea and Courtney. We had a blast - went to the beach, did some shopping, saw the dumbest movie ever (Paul Blart - Mall Cop, and yes, I laughed, but only because it was so dumb) and had lots of girl time. It was a great weekend. My only gripe (besides the bad movie) would have to be the fact that no matter how many pictures I took either Chelsea or Courtney or BOTH were sticking out their tongue!

This dinner sucks!

I thought the meal was quite tasty. My children did not agree, and being my children, took no pains to hide their disgust (Audrey) and disinterest (Claire). Such is my life, battered about by the whims of my progeny. In truth, I was pretty amused by the whole thing and quick to assert my authority as the one who cooks and the one who can say "Well, that's your dinner, and if you don't eat it you are just going to be hungry." But I never really let them go hungry. I'm sure I made them popcorn about an hour later, so who's really in charge here?

Audrey is gagging down her "three bites!" and Claire is looking for the spoonfulls she has actually dumped down her shirt.

Claire's hair

This is Claire's hair on a good day:




This is Claire's hair in the morning:




This is Claire's hair when it rains:




This is Claire's hair after nap:




This is Claire's hair if you brush it:




This is Claire's hair on the trampoline:

January, brrrr

Just kidding, it hasn't been cold here. We went to the beach yesterday and it was about 80 degrees, dolphins swimming, seagulls attacking, children eating sand... all very lovely.

It is hard to believe January is over. It is even harder to believe I have been sick the entire month. Regular cold turned to can't swallow-sore-throat-with-fever-and-chills, then back to just regular cold, then stomach flu including fever and all the fixings (we went down like dominoes: first Claire then Audrey then me then Mark - who thought he was safe and was taking care of us so heroically), then back to regular head cold and now bronchitis with my glands so swollen it hurts to turn my head. What a sob story!

I've got an antibiotic and am getting back on track. Thank heavens because we are still reeling from the great toilet paper debacle that befell us during my first terrible cold when I was so sick I had to send Mark to the grocery store. The orange juice and People magazine were totally perfect, but the one-ply toilet paper is not cutting the mustard (gross!) and there is still a 12-pack in the garage. I'm thinking of donating it to the Salvation Army or just the regular Army so they can use it to torture suspected terrorists.

The stomach flu was actually pretty scary and now part of my experience as a mother includes how to not let your child get dehydrated and avoid dirty looks from your doctor and terrifying hours of spoon-feeding her Pedialyte (Audrey, not the doctor). I myself am a professional thrower-upper from my months of "morning sickness" with Claire, but this stomach flu was a whole other deal. I hope to avoid it in the future.

Otherwise, everything is going great. We had a fun Sunday when we were all too sick to go to church, so we just sat around the house, as a family, watching TV, eating plain toast, and laughing at the kids - who seemed to perk up much faster than the
parents.





And we also went to Las Vegas to see my nephew, Josh, and my sister. Good times at the Bellagio fountains and a breakfast buffet - yum. And I guess that's all for now unless you want me to ramble on and on about toilet paper and vomiting - because I could do that, you know.

Merry Christmas!

Dear friends and family, while we love sending Christmas cards, we didn't get around to it this year. We took the picture and wrote the letter, but the labeling, stuffing, and stamping didn't happen. Still, it's a fabulous picture, and a riveting Christmas letter, so we are sure you won't mind the change in format (and it will save you a trip to the trash can.)

We have not taken a breath since last Christmas. If I stop to breathe now you’ll never get this Christmas letter, so I’ll just keep going. We have had another eventful year with an accomplishment almost huge enough to compare with bringing two children into the world, but not quite. We bought a house in July. We’ve been talking about doing it since we moved to California 7 years ago and the timing, although questionable to many outsiders, was finally right for our family. The economy might prove us absolute fools, but so far we are secure in our decision and it is an exciting and overwhelming feeling to be homeowners, finally.



At the end of May a good friend told me a house on her street was for sale. I drove by and the agent happened to be inside, so I looked around. Mark looked at it the next day. I called my parents and they came to see it the day after that – my dad gave his stamp of approval and pronounced all its defects to be purely cosmetic. By then we were pre-approved and had a realtor. After a month of confusing negotiations and secret hopes that the whole deal would collapse and we would be spared the reality of a major mortgage, our offer was accepted, our contingencies met, and the house was ours.

We spent every weekend in July fixing up and when we moved in it was almost habitable, but not quite. After two weeks we had doors, a fridge, oven and microwave, and a clear path (outlined by boxes) from room to room. We are so grateful to our parents – Mark’s and mine – for all the ways they helped us get into our house. We also owe a lot of favors to the generous friends in our ward at church who helped us paint and move.



The house is much more habitable now, although still in need of towel racks, several key light fixtures, and a lawn in the backyard, and we recently hosted my parents and brother Adam, with his wife, Joli, for Thanksgiving. It was a fantastic holiday with beloved family members and weather so warm we were able to eat our turkey and trimmings on the patio.



As for the rest of the year we spent January and February nursing colds - somebody was always sick. The kids were regular booger fountains, and I had a sinus infection that took three rounds of antibiotics to cure. Mark got so sick he actually missed work. He slept for three days and took another week to get back to normal.

In March we celebrated Miss Claire’s first birthday with a family party at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. She thoroughly enjoyed the attention and smashed her cake to bits. Audrey commandeered all Claire’s presents. Spring and summer were utterly consumed by our new house (new to us!). Early fall saw us settling in, attempting to spend weekends doing enjoyable things as a family.



We have been to Disneyland and the beach quite a bit. I took the girls to Hemet for a long visit and hours of swimming at Audrey’s favorite place to stay – the Hampton Inn.



In October we went “camping” at a county park in San Diego that offers heated cabins. We cooked outside and trekked to the bathroom so that counts as camping for me.



Mark was quite the pyromaniac and master campfire chef (bacon, eggs, onions, hash browns, wow) and the kids had an outstanding time despite their matted hair, sticky faces and filthy clothes.



As for the individual members of our family, Audrey is in preschool. Her December birthday means she doesn’t start Kindergarten until next year.



I am happy to have this extra time with her and am trying to make the most of it taking her to dance classes, teaching her to write her letters, and forcing her to entertain her sister. Audrey is very loving, has a talent for pouting, and is always full of energy, but often uncoordinated (not the safest combination).



Claire is still a wild card.



She seems to have a strong will, but moderate requirements for happiness. She is learning to talk, loves the word ‘NO’ and says many words in Spanish thanks to our El Salvadorian baby sitter, Noemi.



Audrey and her toys and activities are very interesting to Claire. I am frequently called upon to negotiate peace when they want the same toy at the same time. Claire screams bloody murder and that, understandably, scares the stuffing out of Audrey, who starts to cry even if she has the prior claim. They usually get along well and my heart just about bursts when I hear them laughing together at some antic they have put together all by themselves – like sweeping each other’s hair with the broom or putting Claire in the laundry basket and pushing her down the two steps to the living room.

Mark works very hard for Samsung and spends all his spare time keeping three females happy. He’s also a young men’s advisor at church.



I tripled my freelance clientele this year and find I am always occupied feeding the kids, doing laundry, running errands and squeezing in time to work whenever possible.



There was a tiny earthquake as I sat trying to write this letter. The house is still standing. We are still standing. Even though I like the metaphor, I have to say we are doing more than just standing. We are running at full speed. We have so much to do and so much to enjoy. Our kids are growing and changing every day.



Sometimes it feels like our responsibilities are unmanageable. But I know at the end of our lives we will bless these years of intensity and thank God we were allowed to experience the joy and aggravation of being parents and the privilege of having formed our own family. We might stop to breathe sometime next year.

Love, Mark, Melissa, Audrey, Claire
Christmas 2008

our new address: 4706 Laurette St. Torrance CA 90503 / our website: www.beansandtaters.blogspot.com

Audrey is 5!

Our baby is 5 and we can't believe it! Audrey had a weeklong birthday celebration with cupcakes at school on Tuesday, Grandma on Wednesday, Disneyland on Thursday, Nanie and Papa on Friday, and a small birthday party on Saturday. Her actual birthday was Thursday. She opened one gift (a new sweatshirt and Cinderella toothpaste) and named her breakfast: Spaghetti. Then we were off to the Big D where we hit Small World, the Tea Cups, Jungle Cruise, cotton candy stand, Autopia, Starship Pizza, etc, etc. We had so much fun Claire actually threw up, and Audrey, in the bathroom on our way out, said: "Mom, I'm just......... so......... tired." It was a great day at the Magic Kingdom. Audrey opened the rest of her gifts sometime Friday (here she is very generously allowing Claire to tear into one of them).



We are so proud of Audrey. She is a smart, funny, energetic, and loving child. It is her lot in life to be the first - the one who benefits from and bears the brunt of our mistakes as we learn to be parents. Every new stage for her is a new stage for us. One of her first words was "cooperate." I fed her baby food until she was 2 - oops - she still doesn't like crunchy food. And while I was pregnant with Claire she lived on cheese sticks and juice boxes. These last 5 years have not gone by fast. We spent her first 6 weeks visiting her in the hospital waiting for her to get big enough and strong enough to come home. She actually spent her first Christmas in the NICU. Her first year was a long adjustment as we became accustomed to the sacrifices and delights of parenthood. Since then she's been a wonderful and challenging part of our daily efforts to make a living, fulfill our resposibilities to each other and the world around us, and provide her with a younger sister, who we hope will enrich her life in many beautiful ways. Despite our blunders, she's developing normally, has good manners, does well in preschool, and seems to love us. We love her more than we can say.

Our new address

We want those Christmas cards! Here's our new address:
4706 Laurette St. Torrance CA 90503
same phone, same email