A special treat

Clara loves candy corn and gets to have a little treat after dinner each night.  She has also been counting just about everything!!  It's fun to watch her master simple skills like this, as she becomes a toddler.

Our Toddler

Time is flying by, and Clara is growing up so much lately.  She is such a talker and tries to learn new words everyday.  There have been times when she doesn't want help going down the stairs, and insists that she does it by herself (luckily without falling yet).  Clara also has been helping set the dinner table.  It is so cute to see her become so interested in helping around the house.

Lately she loves helping around the house and adores her baby doll.  She invites her to the dinner table every night and loves to bring her along on errands.  I enjoy watching her take care of her doll with such love.  I hope this translates into her being a loving big sister.

Precious Time

So last Thursday I had a little complication with my pregnancy, that put me on bed rest.  Luckily, we are in the clear as of now, and bed rest has been lifted.  It was so wonderful to see all of the support that our family and friends showed for us during this stressful time.  We are so thankful for them and know that we are lucky to have all of them in our lives!

Now, I need to focus on taking it easy so our little baby boy can go full term.  Here's a handsome profile picture of the little guy.  Can't wait to meet him in December!

Clara & Wally

Clara is a wonderful helper around the house and she LOVES her Wally.  She will feed him and give him multiple kisses goodnight every night.  When bringing Wally outside to go to the bathroom, she always wants to hold his leash and walk him around the yard.  Sorry for the shaking, as I was zoomed in a lot to get this on camera.

I am so happy that Clara loves her pup so much and hope that she will have the same love for her little brother that will be here in early December!

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July up in NH at my family's cottage.  I have been going here since I was born and love to watch the fireworks at the lake.  Clara had her first experience with fireworks and enjoyed watching them.  She would clap for some and say "more" for others.  It was a relief that she enjoyed them, as I have watched many younger cousins scream and cry throughout the years at the cottage.

Here are a few photos from our weekend...

Watching fireworks with Mommy.

Happy 4th!

Swimming with Daddy.

Fireworks with Mommy's cousins.

We hope you and your family had an enjoyable 4th!

ABC's

I love catching Clara when she is singing.  Here she is watching Abby on Sesame Street and tried to sing the ABC's with the show... Too cute!

18 Months!

In honor of Clara being with us for 1 1/2 years, here are pictures of her when she was first born and every 6 months from there.

November 23rd, 2009

6 Months Old

November 23, 2010

18 Months Old!!  (Look how long her hair has grown)


We can't believe how big our little girl has gotten.  She is officially a toddler; she runs, plays and talks all day long.  She is so expressive!  It will be so much fun to watch her become a "big girl" over the next 6 months!

Rain, rain, go away

It is one rainy week here in the northeast.  Since Clara hasn't been feeling great this week, she has an ear infection, we have been pretty lazy.  We've caught up on all of our Sesame Streets and had many naps on the couch in the afternoon.  I would have to say we are getting very sick of the four walls in our house!  We are wishing the days were more like what they were a week ago...

Here's to a beautiful weekend!!!  :)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

It was so amusing to watch Clara find and go through her Easter basket.  :)  Hope you all had a fantastic Easter with your families.

Spring time!!

It has finally been warm enough to play more outside.  Clara loves the fresh air and it definitely makes her nap better too.  If you know Clara, she has never been a great napper...  :(  Here are a few photos of our outdoor adventures.

Peek-a-boo!

Wally taking in all of the scents he missed this long winter.

The cozy coupe has been outside a lot, but I keep forgetting my camera.

The newest utensil...

Being creative isn't always easy, and I hope that Clara will continue to be creative as she grows.

A perfect day

I love the afternoons where Clara is so cranky and then "BAMM!"  she falls asleep.  This day, she was very cranky, so I resorted to a Sesame Street on DVR.  I was watching it with Clara, when she started nodding off in her chair.  Her head was bouncing up and down like a yo-yo.  I picked her up, as she was half asleep, and she slept in my arms four about 25 minutes.  It is so rewarding and comfy to snuggle up with your child.  It can make an rough day turn into a perfect day!

New England Aquarium

This past weekend we visited the New England Aquarium.  Clara enjoyed her first trip here.  She stared at the penguins and loved getting up close to the glass to check out all of the different fish.  Here are a few pictures that we captured during out visit.

After we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Joe's American and then headed to the park to run off our meal.  Matt and Clara ran all around Columbus Park.  The weather was perfect for just enjoying the sun after a long winter.

Needless to say we throughly enjoyed our day in Boston!

A rainy afternoon... enjoy!

Concentration

I love seeing Clara focused on a task.  Whether she is learning how to use a fork, playing with toys, or discover something new, it shows how she has grown into a toddler.  At this point she runs around the house from one task to the next.  She loves having me chase her around the house, playing her own form of tag.  She has become a toddler so quickly and it amazes me how much a child learns in such a short span.  It is so exciting to see how her brain has developed to analyze things in her world.

Northern Vacation

While visiting my parents up in Jackson, NH, Clara and I cross country skied for the first time.  I have always grown up downhill skiing in the White Mountains and have never slowed down to try cross-country skiing.

My brother and I skiing at Bretton Woods.

Let me tell you, what a workout I was in for!  We went for two days and I could feel the burn in my legs each day.  My father had purchased a Burley for Clara to ride in while he pulled her.  She ended up napping each day while we enjoy the intense workout and beautiful scenery.

In the Burley

One of the many rivers we passed over.

Clara's first time in the White Mountain National Forest

All warm and well rested in Grampy's truck.

Overall we had a fantastic and relaxing time up in Jackson.  We got to see my mom's two sisters, Cindy and Sue and my cousins Richard and Robert.  We enjoyed spending many hours laughing and eating great winter comfort food.  We can't wait to go there again.

Jackson, NH

Today Clara and I are off to my parents' ski house in Jackson, New Hampshire.  We are so excited for our trip, but will miss Daddy and Wally, as they still have work this week.  Wally will be sleeping, like everyday and Daddy will be bring home the bacon!  Love you both.

15 Months

This morning Clara had her 15 month appointment and did a great job.  Like always she was very active around the exam room and pulling open drawers and cabinets to see what they had to offer.  She weight in at 23lbs. 4oz. which puts her in the 66th percentile.  She was 31 inches (80th percentile), which hadn't changed since her 12 month appointment.  The doctor's office doesn't measure the most accurate way, but it was done twice, so it must be pretty close.  She is healthy and developing right on schedule.  She was walking around the exam room, and talking in her "baby talk".  The nurse practitioner was laughing!  She was amazed at how well Clara understood what you were saying to her and how she responded back, but in baby talk.
Overall, the appointment went well.  She did get her MMR and Chicken Pox shots, one in each arm.  This was her first shots in her arm, which only resulted in screaming for under a minute (not too bad)!  :)
I'll leave you with a picture from Clara yesterday.  She was feeding her baby some food.  She has never done this before and it's nice to see that she is caring for her baby, which I'm sure will lead to being the boss of her baby!

Pandora

For a birthday gift, my parents got me a Pandora bracelet.  I truly loved the gift, as it reminded me of my Great-Nana's charm bracelet that I inherited.  There was a pine tree charm that I remember looking at as a young girl and wondering what the meaning of that charm was to her.  Now with my own charm bracelet I will be able to build a memorable and unique piece of jewelry, that someday maybe I can pass down to a family member.

For Valentine's Day Matt and Clara added a new charm to my bracelet.  This is only my second charm, but it excites me to see what charms I may get in the future!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Clara loves singing songs....

We sing songs in the car, changing her diaper, getting dressed, cleaning up after a meal, at story time.  Pretty much all day long.  It is a great way to keep her still and calm.  Especially, when changing a dirty diaper.  The other day when singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider she started doing the hand movements to the song.  As any mother, I was so proud of her and surprised that she caught on so quickly, since my hand are usually busy when we are singing.  

Here is her performance:

Welcome!

Since I am new to blogging, I will keep this short and sweet.  As a new stay at home mom I wanted a way to share with family and friends the ups and downs that my daughter Clara and I have.  She is a doll, but also has a ton of personality.  I hope you enjoy our moments.

Clara and I (November 23, 2009)