More Choppers

So I have been a little cranky the last few days. Daddy just assumed it was coming down off a week at Grandma's.

Then he finally checked the back of my mouth the other day and saw what I had been whining about.

Two new teeth.

These ones aren't like the six I have in front, though. These are all the way in the back. Hopefully I can get some to fill in the gaps between the old ones and the new ones.

Takin' Care of Bidness

Since its colder than formula straight out of the fridge here, Daddy and I have spent a lot of time inside. And while that can get kind of stale, it gives a baby time to think - and I have come up with a great business idea.

C. B.'s Puppy Identification and Location

Let's say you have a book, but you aren't sure where the puppies are on a particular page. Just call up old Claire Bear and I will point to the puppy.

I figure I can charge $5.95 per page or $14.95 for the entire book. For $19.95, you can get the "Deluxe Package" where I will not only identify all the puppies in the book, but I will also say the word "Puppy" during each identification and quite possibly call a horse a puppy at no additional charge.

If this works out I may expand to pigs and monkeys.

Can't Talk, Coming Down

Oh man. You ever had one of those vacations when you come back and need another vacation? Well, its kinda like that with me.

Actually, it isn't that I need the rest - I just need to get used to being home.

Basically, I need some Grandma Detox. Spend a week somewhere and you get used to being treated a certain way. I feel like I have gone from the Waldorf-Astoria back to a Super 8.

None of this is an indictment against Daddy, of course, but he has a different way of showing his love than Grandma does. He seems to want to do things OTHER than play with me every second of the day.



Grandpa taught me how to play cards.

Headin' Out

Well, my legs are feeling a little better. I've got a sweet bruise on one side, though.

That being said, I need a vacation. So I have decided to send Mommy and Daddy up to the cabin next week so I can stay with Grandma and Grandpa. I think we will swing though Iowa City on the way by, though. (I can only assume Iowa City is on the way back and not roughly 320 miles out of the way)

Since I am one now and able to eat "whatever I want" according to my doctor, I'm finally going to get to try some of that pizza from the Wig 'n Pen.

See you guys in a week.

Dr. Feelgood?

Just got back from my 12-month stab-fest at the doctor. Remember how I told you last time I went to the doctor and got a shot I didn't cry? Well, apparently they took that as a challenge, because this time they came after me with FOUR needles.

And this time, they got me. I'll admit, it hurt REALLY bad. And I cried. Hard. For a while.

I tell you what, I tried everything I could to avoid it. I was super nice and cute with the nurses, the doctor, the secretary, the janitor... ANYBODY who may have said - "You know, I just can't let a cutie like that get jabbed repeatedly until she balls like a three-month old. Let me put a stop to it."

No dice.

So when the doctor left the room and Daddy didn't pack up our stuff, I knew what was coming. My mind was racing for some way for me to MacGyver my way outta this. Then I remembered that word everyone always says when you leave...

"Bye Bye"

I figured if I tried saying it, Daddy might be so excited about my new word he would forget about the shots. When the doctor left I said "Ba Bye" and waved at her. Then when the door closed I kept pointing at it and saying "Ba Bye... Ba Bye... Ba Bye". I was PLEADING with Daddy... "Ba Bye!!! Ba Bye!!!"

Then the door opened and Nurse McSticky came in with her tiny little swords.

Ba Bye.



Oh yeah, if anybody cares...

24 lbs. 9 oz. (90%)
29 in (50%)
46 cm head (75%)

And the doctor said I am very smart for my age. Well duh. It's not like just any moron with a computer can have her own blog, right?

Flip Around

Had a bit of a surprise today when I hopped in the car with Daddy. Apparently, when you are one year old somebody comes around and turns your carseat around. Now, instead of looking backwards at the back seat, I'm facing front and center looking straight out the front.

Holy crap, do you have any idea how fast Daddy drives? I never knew about the other cars either. This driving stuff is hairy business. It was a total thrill ride... and I loved every minute of it. Now I know why people ride roller coasters.

All fear aside, however, it's nice to be able to see where we are going for once. And I have found that it is much easier to hold a conversation with Daddy when I am facing forward. Before, I kinda got lost in my own little world. Now, I blab the whole trip.

I can't wait to take a ride with Mommy so I can talk to her too.

B-Day Weekend

Had a blast this weekend. Birthdays, I have found, are kinda like your own personal Christmas.

So yeah, there were presents. Lots of presents. And new foods. Have any of you ever tried this cake stuff? That is some good action. WAY more taste than anything I have ever eaten.

Friday night I got to stay and hang with Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rico while Mommy and Daddy went out to celebrate my birthday for me. They said the restaurant they were going to didn't have high chairs. Bummer for me.

But on Saturday they totally made it up to me by taking me to this place called the zoo. Basically, it's kinda like the Mall, except with a bunch of animals all over. You know that book I have with all the animals in it? Well, they were all there. Fishies, big kitties, snakies, penguinies and monkeys. Basically, if I have a toy of it, it was there. Except I didn't see any Toodees.

I think the monkeys were my favorite. They would come right up to the glass and pound on it, then roll around laughing. Then they would wrestle and stuff.

Mommy and Daddy bought me a membership, so just like the Children's Museum, we can go whenever we want. I hear that when it is warm outside there are all kinds of animals outside too. Can't wait.

One-Year Anniversary

Today marks the one-year anniversary of this blog.

Coincidentally, it also marks the one-year anniversary of me. Yup, that's right. This baby ain't a baby anymore. I'm officially (as of about an hour ago) one year old.

Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday I was meeting Mommy and Daddy for the first time. Man, they have changed so much in a year. When I first met Daddy he couldn't change a diaper without using nine wipes, two diapers and a change of clothes for both of us. As for Mommy... she's a lot smaller now.

So far the birthday has been awesome. Auntie Megan called me to wish me a happy day, and I got a card in the mail from Great Grandma Lorna and Great Grandpa Charlie. It had some good advice, some money (which I just let Daddy have - he takes care of my finances) and these tiny little rubber things that Daddy blew into and they became balloons. Good thing he is full of hot air.

Daddy also let me watch this TV show called Sesame Street, which was awesomely awesome. Usually I don't pay attention to TV, but they have this host named Elmo who is probably the funniest dude I have ever seen. He could totally win Last Comic Standing. Best of all, he has a voice that isn't annoying at all. Daddy said if I am really good this year I could maybe watch it again next year on my birthday.

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Rich are coming down tonight, and rumor has it they are bringing presents too. Hard to believe, since I figured they had bought everything in the world for Christmas.

An Open Letter to Everybody That Thinks I am a Boy

Dear every grocery store employee, Target clerk and old lady at the mall --

Hello. My name is Claire and I am a girl. Let me stress than one more time. I am female.

While I appreciate the fact you feel I am a "hansom little fella" and have "blue eyes that will break a lot of little girls hearts someday" (not that there is anything wrong with that), I feel that I must correct your misconceptions of the contents of my diapers.

I understand that I don't have much hair and sometimes wear colors other than pink, but let me assure you of my non-boyishness. But why should I feel compelled to dress in a frilly lace dress every day just because you can't tell the difference between the two sexes.

Love--

Claire

PS - Seriously, what about this looks like a dude...

Children's Museum Workout

Daddy and I met Tommy and his mommy (whoa... that rhymes) at the Children's Museum this afternoon. It was fun seeing my buddy again. You know, swapping stories about Christmas, seeing who got what and all that.

Anyway, as I mentioned before I've been working at walking a lot lately. In fact, I have woken up early the last two days so I could get practicing. It's funny, Daddy keeps working with me on my walking, but when I want to get up at six to practice, he doesn't want to.

Well, I realized today that the best place to work on walking is the Children's Museum. Not only is the padded floor in the wiggle room perfect for the inevitable falls, but having an audience makes you work that much harder. Daddy and I criss-crossed the Wiggle Room over and over - me holding his fingers but stepping on my own.

But it didn't stop there. The fear of failure in front of my peers even drove me to stand on my own. First for five seconds, then later for ten, then next for even more than that.

We gotta get back there soon so I can work on that first step. Of course, you can't work on staying vertical the WHOLE time you are there.

FORE!!!

It's always a big day for a woman when she graduates into bigger underwear, and today is such a day for me.

After weeks of squeezing into No. 3 diapers, we finally ran out of them and moved on to the No. 4s. I feel so much better. It's liberating.

Speaking of growing, I'm still working up to walking. I've pretty much mastered cruising around holding onto the couch and coffee tables, and I'm getting better at taking steps when I hold onto Daddy's fingers. He's doing a good job of working with me. He knows when to push me and how to motivate me... usually by putting Toodee or Moxie across the room.

I feel those first steps coming soon.

Weekend Update

Sorry its been so long. As I mentioned before, Grandma Sara paid me a visit and I have been too busy doing stuff to write about doing stuff.

We had lots of fun while Grandma was here. We played games, we ate food, we went to the Children's Museum with Mommy. Not sure what Daddy did. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing much of Daddy during the week. I wonder what he was up to. I can't imagine him having fun without me.

Another thing I kinda figured out this weekend was sippy cups. They are kinda like bottles, but more like sippy cups. If you suck like you do with bottles, you get to drink out of them like bottles. Pretty simple, eh? You gotta tip them up a bit more, but its all good. Claire's gotta get her drink on.

A Visitor

So guess who showed up during lunch today...

Grandma Sara

She's going to stay all week and play with me. I'm not sure what Daddy is going to do. I feel kinda bad ignoring him like this. What will he do if he can't watch me every second of every day?

Happy New Year

So, apparently a LOT has happened since I went to crib last night.

Like, we have a whole new year. 2008, y'all.

I don't know about you, but I think that is pretty cool. It will take some adjustments, since I only know about 2007, but I can manage. I don't write that many checks, anyway.

I've also heard that people make all kinds of new promises for the new year called "resolutions". I made a few myself.

First are the basics that everybody makes. I want to stay in the 97th-percentile in weight and not drink as much formula. I'm also hoping to learn to walk and quit pooping my pants.

I wasn't the only one handing out resolutions, however. Daddy has apparently decided to watch more football and lay on the couch more, while Mommy must have decided to stay home and play with me instead of going to work.

All in all, sounds like a good year.