"Shjush"

Clara's first four real words are "Mumum" "Dada" "Baba" & "Puppy." I'm not sure why she says puppy, we don't even have one, but every live animal is a puppy and she'll bark "Aah" "Aah" any time see sees/hears one. She also calls her stuffed animals "Baby" and she'll put a telephone to her ear and say "hi!" Her newest word is "Shjush" which is the closest way I can think of to spell her word for "shoes." It's really cute. She'll also just say the first sound of words like "book" is "buh" to her and "duck" is "duh," but she won't say those without hearing it first. She gets very excited and runs around frantically when she hears the door opening saying "dadadadadada!"

I could just listen to her jabber all day (Oh wait, I do! And I love it!!!) I love seeing things click for her, wheter they be new words or sounds that she can produce, or learning how to crawl off the couch without taking a nose dive, and she'll even say "no, no, no" when she's doing things she knows she isn't supposed to be doing (doesn't stop her though!) She'll throw a diaper at you when she knows that she's wet, but she still won't cooperate in getting her diaper changed. She gives great kisses, but has finally learned how to give a hug when asked for one. Now I'm just trying to teach her that kisses are only for mom & dad & grandmas & grandpas... Not for the little boys at church! Haha.

She's a very independent eater. She won't allow us spoon feeding her for long, so most of what she eats has to be finger food. She still hates sitting in laps for extended periods of time (and by extended I mean longer than 3 minutes.) This makes church a bit difficult, but we actually got to stay for most of relief society last week!

Naps are still a bit unreliable, but she is averaging one 30-60 minute nap a day. That's just not much time for me to shower/sew/edit/craft/etc. (Hence the blogging at 11:30 at night) She's still going to bed at 10PM and waking up at 8 or 9AM. Can't complain about that. :) I am SO not a morning person and I'm afraid my sleep schedule is permanently wired into my little girl now!

You can't post about an adorable little 13-month-old girl without a picture...

She would spend all her time upside down if she could.

Piggy Tails

Blanket fight

Clara & I had a blanket fight while daddy was branding cows on Saturday.

Here she is... Unedited... babyfood on her forehead, snot under her nose, and her beautiful 6 teeth!

Okay... So I edited this one. ;-P

Mom's awesome hair after the blanket fight!



Fluff

Realizing that I probably won't get this moment down in my "real" journal (I haven't really written in there since Clara was born), I thought I'd turn to this blog. So much of what I record on here is just fluff. Not, unimportant fluff, but fluff nonetheless (is that one word or three?) Anyway, I don't really share my emotions electronically. I'm not one to profess my undying love for my husband on my facebook status (not saying that's bad, I just prefer to lean over and tell him in person.)

This is more of how my journal entries sound like... read like... whatever. I kind of miss it. Maybe someday I'll pick the pen back up, but for now, in the darkness of my living room, the laptop is so much more convenient.

My baby just fell asleep in my husband's arms. She sleeps so soundly- which is a stark contrast to her awake self. She doesn't stop for a second. She has skipped walking and gone straight to running. Her personality is so fun. I can see so much of Dennis in her, especially in her go go go attitude. In an attempt to teach her how to cuddle (something she hasn't endured since she has been physically able to squirm her way out of any such mushiness) Dennis and a I would pick up a teddy bear and rock it and give it hugs while saying "aww, sweet baby." It hasn't really helped her want to cuddle, but she now goes around carrying any stuffed creature she can find, saying "baby." It's rather cute.

Despite her anti-cuddling, anti-hugging nature she is a very social girl and loves to have company (and people to show off to!) She likes to play independently but will get upset if I leave the room. She especially doesn't like it when mom & dad are home and we're not in the same room. She brings us books all the time because she knows she will gain our attention when we read them to her.

I'd like to say that she looks so peaceful when she sleeps, but she often is most comfortable in the most uncomfortable-looking positions. As a newborn she would fall asleep on Dennis' chest, but now I just have to enjoy the few minutes that she naps next to him with her head on his shoulder. The living room is a mess, despite it being clean this morning. I don't care. That's one of my faults, to be able to so easily tolerate un-tidiness (is that a word?) It will need to be cleaned before the missionaries come over for dinner tomorrow, not that 20-year-old boys really care, so long as the food's good- right?

Anyway, I figured Clara wouldn't sleep long in Dennis' arms. She is starting to stir. Dennis will put her down in her crib, she might cry for a minute, but she might just sing songs to herself until she falls asleep in another awkward position. I have a goal to actually go to bed when Dennis goes to bed. I am such a night owl; I feel most productive after the sun goes down. But I will finish this post, close Photoshop, and go kiss my baby and husband good night...

Right now.