Backyard Fun

We have been treated to such great weather this winter which has made for some fun trips to the park - not as many as Scout would like with Mommy feeling a little drained from baby #2 - but enough for some serious exploring to take place. When the sun is shining after lunch it is so hard for Clara to accept going down for a nap. I have resorted to some bargaining (which I always said I would never do, so let's frame it as positive reinforcement). If Clara takes a nap, she can go outside and play when she wakes up. Some days this turns into a grand playdate with all sorts of other kiddos in the park, while some days (like this day) we only get out to the back yard.

Clara is a funny combination (maybe similar to Mommy?) of being a girly tomboy. She enjoys playing with all her boy friends and when she is with them has no problem getting dirty playing in the mud and sticks - even eating mud with Davis a few days back. She must see this as a trade off because once she gets them clean and inside she coerces them into trying on the fairy wings, silly hat, jewelry and tu-tus in her dress up bin. Then there are days where she has to have her hands wiped off after merely picking up a rock!

The one thing that we are constantly impressed by with Clara is how well she is able to communicate. Once she hit two, it seemed that she went from knowing a lot of words and using simple sentences to stringing complex phrases together, using adjectives and understanding EVERYTHING we say! "This rock is too heavy for me. I will set it down! (Drop) Now I NEED to wash my hands, Mommy!"