Clara is ONE!

Matt and I were laughing (in an ironic, not at all funny sort of way) yesterday that the post of the last blog post was about feeling better.  Poor Clara has had a really tough winter, and is just now recovering from being as sick as she ever has been.  Clara and I rang in daylight savings at the E.R., where she was recovering from a 105 fever.  One of the scariest nights of our lives.  Verdict: a virus, the third or fourth for her of the winter.  I took her into a local clinic to check her out again yesterday, and they also found an ear infection and some mild wheezing, so she is now on antibiotics and steroids to round out her tylenol and advil dosages.  Poor sick baby.  Poor sick ONE YEAR OLD baby.

Yes, Clara is one.  So hard to believe that a year has gone by already!  We were planning on celebrating Clara's birthday on the 10th, but ended up pushing it to the actual day to give her some more recovery time.  She wasn't 100 percent, but was feeling well enough to eat, play with her food, and smear ice cream and cake everywhere.

The pasta fit PERFECTLY on her finger.  Awesome. 

Here comes the cake! 

Prefers the ice cream, but will hold on to the cake too just in case

Yes, Grady is wearing a postage sticker.  Please don't judge. 

Can't smile, eating dessert

SO FULL

But let me back up.

Grady was very excited about Clara's birthday, and wanted to help in whatever ways he could.  He was an amazing sous chef, and helped whip up Clara's blueberry birthday cake.

He also helped open her presents.  In fact, he was a bit too helpful on that front....

Where's my present?

He started opening this one before she was even in the room.  Now I understand why he was so excited about her birthday!

We definitely have second child syndrome with Clara.  We bought her some blocks, but her other gift from us was a “retired” gift that used to be Grady’s. Grandma and Grandpa sent Clara a bucket and watering can (among other well-received gifts), and she has been enjoying putting the blocks into the bucket.  She’s actually really into all her gifts – perhaps because she now knows that toys come in forms other than cars? – and has been working hard at them. 

Grady also helped make Clara's birthday special by singing her the happy birthday song three times, each time with such enthusiasm and love.  She is a very well-loved girl, this one.

Birthday and sickness aside, we've had a fun few weeks.  Matt was in Delaware and Pennsylvania for much of last week to attend the service for his grandma and spend some time with his family.  Clara, Grady, and I held down the fort while Matt was gone.  When I asked Grady if he had any special requests, he decided he wanted to go to the playground; eat a big pancake at a diner; and hold my hand while going for a walk.  Done, done, and done.

Eating wood chips.  Can someone explain to me why she keeps getting sick?

Excited for the big pancake!

Clara ate all her egg and sausage, though she can't quite believe it!

Grady ate all his pancake and fruit.  They're like Jack Sprat and his wife, these two.

We've had a lot of fun playing around at home too.  Building forts, playing games, and getting into various predicaments.

No children were hurt in the taking of this photo

Peek-a-boo!

Goof

Just another day in the life of a 2 year old firefighter.

Here's a cute video of them having fun in the bath.

Clara's big milestone these past few weeks has been learning to drink by herself from a cup.  We are still having lots of spills, but she is making progress and is so proud of her accomplishment!

She is walking along furniture constantly now, and will walk from one piece to the next as long as one hand is always touching.  She is still at the stage where she will sit down and stand back up if she can't quite reach.

Grady's imagination is in overdrive.  He is always making up songs and jokes, and has started making up stories as well.  Today he told me he wanted to go to the library and get the book "Grumpy Bear's Bad Dream."  I asked if this was a book from school or a book that he made up, he said he made it up, and that it started "Grumpy Bear was trying to sleep."  Wow, I want to read that book!

He is reasoning and arguing a little too effectively now.  The other day I asked him if he wanted to start sleeping with his door open - because his door sticks and he can't open it himself, I worry that he is sometimes up in his room for a long time in the morning before I hear him and come get him.  He replied "No, because the cats can get in and sleep with me, and I don't want them to do that, so let's just wait a bit."  Okay.

We did finally get some news on the timeline for Grady's kidney procedures.  We are expecting a call to schedule a minor surgery in the next week or so.  That one should take place in the next month.  It's a day surgery, but still has a pretty lengthy recovery time where he's not supposed to jump, bike, or run.  (Good luck.)  The second, more invasive, procedure will likely be scheduled in the next 6 months.  That one will involve a 3 day hospital stay and another 4 week recovery time. Very scary, but we are taking it one day at a time, and are looking forward to having him off his antibiotic.

And on the personal news front, I can now publicly announce that my business partner and I sold our website, PDX Kids Calendar, to a local magazine called Metro Parent.  Although I had the option of staying on, I decided that for a host of reasons, my sanity in the forefront among them, I would resign.  I'm having fun with my extra time, am finishing up knitting projects, and getting started on my 150 New Yorker backlog.  My goodbye post is here.

Took five months, but it's done! 

And before closing, a little love note to our Clara Boo.  Clara is an energetic, loving, adventurous girl.  She will throw herself down a slide without a second thought, but she will also give you the best hug in the world. She is opinionated, knows exactly what she wants, and is pretty good at communicating that.  She is curious about the world around her, and wants to know what everything is and how everything works.  She is full of joy and giggles.  She's already making jokes and making us laugh. She loves her brother, but isn't a pushover. We've only had you for a year, but we cannot imagine our lives without you.  We love you Clara.