Vacation

Talked to Daddy today. Ends up that he and Mommy are headed to some place called Colorado to do some skiing.

So, naturally, I get the good end of the deal and get to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Should be a wild time.

Although, that skiing stuff sounds like it could be fun...

An Important Message

Share and Share Alike

Some people say only children struggle with sharing. Personally, I don't think that applies to me. I think I've gotten pretty good at sharing. Like when we were at Tommy's house and he was playing with a toy, I grabbed it so he could share it with me.

But, it's something Daddy thinks I need to work on. He wants to give me a little lesson in morality, and what it means to be a decent member of society.

That being said, Daddy doesn't play with my toys whenever I share them with him, so what's the big deal?

Well, the other day I shared something I knew he would use.

I gave him my cold, and we both still have it.

Somethings Afoot

I'm working on something big here. Last night was a major step forward. I should know more next week.

Keep an eye on this space for a major announcement.

Fashion Faux Pas

I went to the Children's Museum with Daddy yesterday. Had a problem though.

I noticed when Daddy was getting me dressed that he was wearing a nice green shirt. Problem was, he was putting me in a pretty green outfit. The EXACT same color. But he didn't notice until we had left the apartment and it was too late to change.

It was SO embarrassing!!! We looked like one of those couples.

And to make matters worse, we were meeting Tommy at the Children's Museum. I thought I was going to die.

Not that he is my boyfriend or anything, but, you know, you never want to burn any bridges.

Reading is FUNdamental

Yesterday, Daddy and I went to the library. Now, normally I consider this a very quick, boring trip. We go in, grab one of those stupid Daddy books that have no pictures and no puppies (except for this one called Cujo... Daddy said there is a puppy in that one), and leave.

This trip started off no differently. But then, after Daddy got his rippable paper book, we went over to the other side of the library. Apparently he had been holding out on me all this time because there was a cool children's area. They had toys, stuffed animals (including a GIANT red puppy) and books. Whoa man did they have books. I couldn't get through all these books with a month's worth of bedtimes.

So we read and played and read some more. The best part was it was kinda quiet there, so when I yelled out "PUPPY" I knew the people across the library could hear me.

Treasure Hunt

So the other day, Daddy and I went to the grocery store. It was really cold out, so Daddy put on me the leg warmers that Grandma Sara made for me.

We were roaming the aisles, grabbing what food we could, when I lost one. Problem was, Daddy didn't notice it fell and I was stuck in the basket of the cart. As we pulled away, I kept trying to tell him that I dropped a leg warmer, saying "Puppy.... puppy". (I tend to use the word "puppy" when I don't know how to say the word I need.)

Needless to say, he was oblivious. Didn't notice until we got to the check-out. By the time we got though, then went back and looked for it, it was gone. Luckily, somebody picked it up and took it to customer service so we got it back and my legs were nice and toasty again. It was a close call.

Speaking of knitting, Mommy made me another hat the other day...

Big Weekend

Auntie Megan and John came out this weekend to visit me, so we had lots 'o fun.

I took them to the zoo and showed 'em the monkeys and fishies and meerkats and birdies and bobcats. I think they were fairly impressed. The jungle exhibit was closed, though, so we didn't get to see some of the monkeys and birdies. Maybe next time.

On Saturday night, I took everybody out for pizza, which was awesome. The pizza place sent me a coupon for my birthday for a FREE pizza, so I wanted to share the wealth. I mean, everybody has been so generous to me over the year, I wanted to give back.

I figured a small pizza would be plenty for all of us... I've never eaten more than a half piece myself, but Daddy wanted to play it safe and he ordered another one. Good news was he didn't make me pay since I just had the one coupon. That was nice of him.

Happy Valentines Day

This is definitely one of the top two Valentine's Day I have ever had.

Yesterday I got a card from Great Grandma and Grandpa, and yes, it had balloons in it again. That was perfect, because my birthday balloons - while still here - were getting a little weak. These ones came just in time.

Then after breakfast this morning, I got a present from Daddy...

A VALENTINES PUPPY!!!

Its totally the best. I didn't let it out of my hands all morning.

Puppy Love

So, I have been fairly obsessed with puppies lately. Always playing with my stuffed puppy, pointing at puppies on TV, saying the word "puppy" constantly, in place of most other words I know.

Today, Daddy took me over to Tommy's house to play with him... and his puppy.

It was more fun that I could have imagined. I got to look at the puppy, point at the puppy, pet the puppy. I even got some kisses from the puppy.

LOTS of kisses from the puppy. In fact, the puppy was a little forward with the kisses.

Oh well, better him than Tommy, right? That would have been embarrassing with Daddy around.

A Tower of Learning

In the spirit of gifts that keep on giving, Daddy brought out a Christmas present that we hadn't opened yet. It was a set of blocks, and it is awesome.

Are you familiar with blocks? They are really good for both playing AND learning. In fact, Daddy has built quite a curriculum with the blocks

We study modern architecture (building towers) and ancient Egyptian architecture (building pyramids). We study physics, such as the principal that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, and that for every action there is a reaction. Example, if I throw a block at Sophie, she runs away.

We can study spelling, since the blocks have letters on them.

Finally, and most fun, we study gravity. If you knock the towers over, they fall down. Every time.

Democracy in Action

I went out and did my civic duty this weekend. Oh yeah, I got my caucus on.

Being only one, I had never been to a caucus before. It was quite a scene. In fact, there was so many people there that the line to get in went on for blocks and they didn't have enough seats for all the Barack Obama supporters.

I never imagined so many people would take my endorsement to heart like that. I mean, I expected Sen. Obama to get the "Crib Bump", but that was ridiculous. I felt bad for the Clinton supporters, because they kept having to ask them to make room for the Obama people.

With all those people, it took a really long time. But it was OK. There were a lot of people around us to make friends with, and they all wanted to play with me. I didn't even mind that I missed my morning nap. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for Democracy.

Hosptal Visit

So went to the hospital today.

No, no, nothing bad happened. Just went to have a little lunch with Mommy. It was fun. I got to see all the nice nurses and doctors and people that work with Mommy, and they have monkeys and a puppy that sings a song. Awesome.

It was my first time in a cafeteria before, so I decided to hit the salad bar. I went nuts and got like 15 peas, some cheese, a couple strips of turkey, five little tomatoes and some chickpeas. They charge by weight, so I hope it wasn't too much.

In other news, I'm a droolin' fool today. I got two more teeth coming in on the bottom. It's good, cuz my mouth was starting to be unbalanced with six on top and two on the bottom. This will help me be more symmetrical.

Food Fun

As I mentioned earlier, I am now eating mostly big girl food. The reviews are in, and it's a rave.

Cheese, peas, chicken, pasta, turkey, ham, mandarin oranges, peaches, pears, apples, pizza, toast, french fries, bananas, avocados and pretty much anything else you can throw at me, it's going down the hole.

I did discover, however, that green beans not only come in that mushy paste form, but in the pre-pureed style. And those are equally disgusting.

I'm also working on the sippy cup thing. It's going OK. I like bottles better, but I'll get the hang of it soon enough.

Avocados

Baked Ziti

Yogurt

Super Tuesday

On this historic day, one which will go a long way in deciding the next President of the United States, me here at ClairesCrib.com would like to offer our full and enthusiastic endorsement to Barack Obama.

An Obama Presidency would represent a torch being passed to a new generation, which puts the torch just one pass away from MY generation.

I'm not sure I like his stance on children's health care, though. He is for covering every child, which just means more shots for me. I am willing to overlook that, since he tends to like the environment and I hope to be able to breath air and drink water well into my adult life.

In looking at the other candidates, there were tough choices. Senator Hillary Clinton would blaze the trail for a girl like me to be President one day, but she brings more baggage than me packing for a week at Grandma's. Besides, to many voters she is like Green Beans. They don't like 'em and are never going to like 'em no matter what anybody says.

Sen. John McCain seems to be a fairly pragmatic leader, but on the day I am getting out of diapers, he will be getting back into them.

I actually have a lot in common with Gov. Mitt Romney, since we both seemingly change our minds about what we like on a daily basis, but I just couldn't vote for a guy named Mitt. When my parents named me, they used the Oath of Office test. If the name sounded good while taking an oath of office ("I, Claire Miranda, do solemnly swear..." Nice ring to it, eh?) it was OK. I have a feeling "Mitt's" parent's never thought that far ahead.

Super Bowl Weekend

So we went to a party to watch the Super Bowl this weekend. My buddy Tommy was there, so it was fun.

The game confused me a little, though. Last year, the Colts were playing. But this year, they weren't. That doesn't make any sense, does it? Last year they won the game and Mommy and I were really happy. Why wouldn't they be in the game again?

I mean, they tried to fool us by having some other Manning at quarterback, but I wasn't born yesterday.

But on the plus side, have you ever had these things called chicken wings? Its just like chicken, but more awesome. Daddy let me eat the BBQ ones, but not the hot ones. He said they are way better but might be too much for babies.

We'll see about that.

America's Next Top Model

In honor of my first year on Earth, Mommy and Daddy wanted to document the occasion with another session at the Sears Portrait Studio.

This was a lot more fun than last time, too. When I was seven months, there wasn't much else I could do but sit there and smile. But now that I am a big girl (mostly) I can get around and play with all the fun stuff in the studio.

And believe me, there is a lot of fun stuff there. I was all over that place.

One thing I figured out, though, was that every time there was a big flash my picture came up on the TV over by the photographer. So every time I would see that flash, I would just look over there and BAM, there I was. It was pretty cool.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites...