Week of Fun!!

Having a one year old is SO much fun! For a while, we (mainly me) were a bit sad about our baby turning one already, but have now realized that Clara is at such a fun stage in her development, and have finally embraced it! She still is adamant not to walk independently, but following Mom around the kitchen just holding on to the bottom of her sweater works just fine. She is making some progress, taking a few well planned steps on her own as well as a few for Grandpa Mark when he visited on Saturday. The bright side to her approach to walking is that she has to conduct a great deal of problem solving in getting from one place to another while constantly holding on to something.


Scout's top teeth have come down quite a bit since her birthday, and it is getting harder and harder to keep her hair tucked behind her ears.

Playing in her tunnel! Oh how our home has transformed in just a few months! Now toys, big and small are everywhere and all the decorator pieces have been stashed out of Clara's sight & reach! It sure is a lot of fun though! Mommy & Daddy have been known to take a crawl through the tunnel or shoot some hoops in Clara's sport center too!

Still our adorable Clara buns!

We have been enjoying Mother Nature's treat of sunshine the past few days with frequent walks and trips to the closest park. Clara has taken several rides in the wagon Grandma and Grandpa got her for her birthday!

Valentine's Day

Make a Smilebox scrap pages

Clara had a fun Valentine's Day! Mommy & Daddy went to see The Lion King and had a relaxing and delicious Valentine's Day dinner out with friends Brooke & Tyson. Grandma Carol came to spend time with Clara and I think we all had a fabulous time! By the end of the weekend Clara even seemed to prefer Grandma Carol over Daddy & Mommy!!

Scout photos

Since turning one, Scout seems to be learning new things each day. She signs "more", "please" and "all done." She has been doing a great job following simple directions and trying to say new words. She loves the celebrations when she learns something new! We have started to branch out and have attended some new play groups and Clara is making lots of new friends. It is a lot of fun for Mommy to meet other mommies with little ones around Clara's same age!

Clara has such a silly side! When a blanket, pillow, or in this case the bean bag chair is on the floor, Scout often dives onto it and rolls around like a happy little puppy! It is like she has realized that rolling is more than just a means to get around, and gives us both the chuckles to watch.

Clara loves playing in the parks near our home. She loves to watch the other kids run around, climb on the equipment and explore things on the ground, like the bark! We can't wait for Spring to be hear so we can go to the park more often.

Clara is ONE!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow Could it possibly be that we have a one year old child!?! How fast the year has flown by, but what a wonderful year it has been. Clara is now so much fun. She loves to do new things and be around people. She is constantly exploring whatever environment we are in - she pulls things out of drawers, knocks down items from the grocery store shelves and has also tried alternative uses for some of her toys, like climbing through her exersaucer (and getting stuck). She remains stubborn about the walking and while she will cruise all around the house holding on to one of our fingers, or pant legs for that matter, yet seems terrified by the idea of taking a step independently! Silly kid! At her one year doctor visit, she weighed 21 lbs. 13 oz. and was 31 inches long. She is the high average range for weight but the 95th percentile for height. She is not as verbal as her Mommy or her cousin Taylor was at this age, but she loves to sing and babble as if she were talking. Her favorite toy remains to be the Little People, although she is pretty taken with the new Aqua Doodle that Ori & Itai gave her for her birthday. On Clara's first birthday, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and played in the park for quite a while. She loves the swings and climbing on the steps. We met Daddy at the Cheesecake Factory for a kid friendly place to eat and then Clara played in the Kid's Cove area of Bellevue Square Mall for over an hour. It was really fun to see her interact with all the kids. She also loved it when Kevin put her on the slide.

Scout's 1st Birthday Party

Make a Smilebox scrapbook Clara Natalie had such a wonderful birthday party. Mommy & Daddy were

silly to have scheduled her party during the same time as the Super Bowl, but we still ended up with a house full and it all worked out. Mommy decided on a sweet treat theme this year since Clara has yet to have a favorite character or activity. We collected all sorts of different types of candy and everyone was encouraged to take a bag of goodies home. Most of Clara's cousins (Ashley, Taylor Ann, Hailey, Zane, Taylor Ann, Jaclyn & Justin) were able to make it along with some of her buddies: Hayden, Logan, Ori, Itai & Davis. She was so delighted to see everyone and did pretty good for a day with such commotion and excitement. She has still yet to really understand unwrapping her gifts, so her cousins helped in that department, but nobody had to show this girl what to do with her cupcake! She was a bit timid with the frosting (probably because it was so sticky) but after her first taste, it didn't take her long to eat the entire cupcake! She has a sweet tooth like her mommy, I guess!