Clara's Blog

Just wanted to let everyone know that my one year old check up went fine last week. I was really squirmy (I can't help it!) so they had a REALLY hard time getting my height and weight but I'm about 21 pounds, 1 ounce now and 30 inches long. My blood was normal - I'm not anemic and I don't have dangerous levels of lead in my blood. Whew.

Dr. Jim says I seem to be doing all the things a one year old should do. He says that I seem like I'm more active and curious than some babies and that I might just hurt myself with all my climbing and that it is Mommy's job to keep that from happening. Whew - glad it isn't my job! Oh and he said I'm more talkative than most babies my age. Hahah. He didn't really say it that way - he said I might be a little ahead verbally because I was showing off and I said "Hi" right when he walked into the room and some other things. I don't know what other babies say but talking is fun even when no one else understands you. He also said that I should get 2-6 teeth in any day. Mommy sees bits of at least 2 teeth but my gums are red and swollen everywhere in the front. No wonder I've been fussy.

Speaking of fussy, they gave me FOUR shots and then took some of my blood. Yikes. I was pretty upset. I liked the nurse Heather, though, even after she gave me shots. I even reached out for her to hold me when she came back after the shots. She was shocked that I forgave her so quickly and she gave me a baby cookie! Lesson learned: Be sweet and get sweets. SWEET!

Kisses to everybody! (Oh - there's a new Mommy's Day post somewhere below - I forgot to write about that before Grandma and Grandpa came.)

No, silly, we didn't barbeque any dogs! Sadie and Lucy came over with John and Marjon and Ryan and Megan and we had a barbeque. It was a lot of fun. I wish I always had 3 dogs at my house! I laughed watching them run around and I visited with all the grown-ups. I made Ryan nervous so I cried for Mommy to take me so he wouldn't be nervous anymore. He's nice, though, I'll just have to teach him some games to play - he'll stop being so nervous around me. Megan's a baby pro, though, she was fun to hang out with.

Lately, I've decided it is about time to walk so I am doing my exercises. I like to squat down low and come back up over and over. It makes me stronger. Also, there's a bonus - I can play peek-a-boo that way too!

I'm also practicing moving from one piece of furniture to another. I will be cruising around in no time - watch out!

Mommy thought it would be fun to take a bunch of pictures of me on my first birthday. We had a good time....mostly I wanted to have the camera but I tried some other stuff too. Anyway, yesterday was fun...I got a few more presents and I had a weird watermelon cake and some fajitas to celebrate. It was a yummy birthday! Oh, and I tried on one of Mommy's baby dresses that Grandma saved. It was pretty cute but it isn't meant for important baby business like crawling.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everybody! Gotta get ready to see Dr. Jim.

Last week was crazy. Daddy went away to a place called San Francisco and I was out of sorts without my bedtime stories. I didn't really want to sleep without them. The good news? Grandma and Grandpa came from Connecticut! We had a lot of fun...we went to the park and played on the swings, we went to see ducks at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, we had barbeque at Uncle Todd's (YUM) and we hung out on the front porch.

When Daddy got home we had a birthday party for me, a little early. It was a lot of fun. I got a little tired and cranky but I was really glad that everybody sang for me. I love singing!

Today's my _real_ birthday and we haven't done much special but the day's not over yet! Maybe we'll get a puppy or a kitty or some ducks!

Daddy was away for Mommy's Day so we celebrated with John and Marjon (and Sadie!). Marjon made waffles and we read some books and went for a hike. It was really great. We wished Daddy was around but we had fun anyway. I was really happy that Scout came to celebrate too but it's too bad Tuxie was home all alone when we were having so much fun. Maybe next time Tux!