Little Miss Clara Rebecca: Life as a big sister

Clara has been a little whiny lately . . . sometimes, she seems more needy than our two little babies! So, mostly for my own sake, I wanted to do a post just about her, and all of her GREAT qualities right now. Plus, she is just learning so much lately and is growing up so fast, so I want to record all of it while I am remembering!

She started potty training about 3 weeks ago. We had been putting it off until the babies were sleeping through the night, and I was really dreading doing it, because, as most people know, I am not very good at just staying at home for more than a day or so, and I knew we'd have to for a few days. We had about 3-4 days of just running around naked and having lots of accidents everywhere, but then she got it and has done really well since then. She wears Dora underpants, and "Diego underpants" (aka: a Diego pull-up . . . but we like to call it underpants, too, so she thinks she's still not supposed to go in them) for naps and nightime. For the first few weeks, she was getting a little treat each time she went, and a sticker for a chart in the bathroom, which she has filled up and we've basically stopped giving treats every time now. She really hasn't gone too much outside of the house yet, as she just waits until we get home and goes immediately after we come in from an outing. But, she did go at the YMCA nursery the other day, so we're getting better. We're so proud of her!

She has also been learning her ABC's, thanks to the Leap Frog fridge phonics and "Letter Factory" DVD. She was watching it about once a day for a while, but she's a little burnt out on it at the moment and hasn't watched for about a week. Within 3-4 days of watching it, she was able to say pretty much any letter sound, if you ask her, and she recognizes by sight about 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of the letters. She is so cute with it . . . I need to get it on video.

She is really a very fantastic big sister, especially considering that she is only two years old. She loves them very much and wants to hold them on the couch, shake a baby toy for them, or sing to them. Occasionally, she tries to climb on top of them when they're on the floor, or grabs their hands a little too hard, but, hey, I figure it's toughening (is that a word?) them up a little, right?

Since summer has begun, we haven't been to MOPS or Lighthouse BIble study, so we've had to find other things to do, which is hard for her. That is one of my faults as a mom: I have not really taught her how to play by herself, here at the house. We have been on the go so much, that she prefers to go out than be here. But she's getting better. She has a new water table that Grandma and Papa Ellis brought over, and we get it out almost everyday. She is a little more of a TV junkie than I would like, especially since the babies have been born. She likes a lot of the On Demand Disney and Nick preschool shows, so we've watched a lot of those lately. But, we also have been working on Bible stories at home, and she's learned about Creation, Adam and Eve, and Noah. She also loves doing "cutting and gluing" projects with mom (we can just get some paper, scissors and gluestick out and have at it) and she loves to paint on her easel or her princess table.

There are so many great things about our favorite little 2 and 1/2 year old girl. She absolutely LOVES people! She has lots of friends, and she just wants to get together with them constantly. It's funny, though, because many times, she'll acknowledge the friend and say hi, maybe give a hug, and then she's off to play at her own speed. I think that's pretty common for a two year old, though. She has spent some time with Amy and Mia two mornings a week this spring, to give mom a break right after the babies were born, and she did really well over there. My girl is also a sweet tooth, just like her mama, and gets excited about a trip to the store to get a cookie in the shopping cart. But, she is a good eater, and will eat just about whatever we have for dinner. Her current favorites are chicken nuggets, strawberries, grapes, crackers, tacos, and noodles of any sort.

I could go on and on about her . . . she is just so fun and we get such a kick out of the funny little things that she says and does all the time. It's good to sit and type this and remind myself of just how great she is, since she can be somewhat whiny and demanding, too. :) I have a TON of pics of her lately . . . more than the twins, believe it or not, probably because she is doing fun things to take pictures of, and they are just laying around at this point. During her potty training days. It's been a chilly start to summer around here, so the leg warmers were necessary to stay warm, but to not add to what she would need to pull down in a hurry to make it to the potty chair. Gotta love her T-shirt, too!

The two peas in a pod at Decoursey park a few weeks ago

Swimming at the Cashmere pool last week

I would never put this pic on facebook, as I'd probably get in trouble . .. but on my more private blog is ok, right? I couldn't resist. This is a great picture to show about how much she was dressed around here for about a week. Complete with her "puppies backpack" and her "pretty pretty princess bling"

We just started a mommy and me ballet class at the YMCA a few weeks ago, so she gets to wear this to class. We've only been once, but it was really fun and the instructor was really good!