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So, don’t yell at me… I know it’s been too long. Where do I start?

Claire is running everywhere: climbing, scaling, up and down, fast fast fast. She has the cutest little waddle/run but she is really efficient! She is amazing both Matt and I with her communication skills. Here is a list of words she says: Mom, Dada, cheese, dog, banana, shoes, keys, cookies, yes. Here is a list of words that she signs: more, milk, eat, drink, potty (toilet), airplane, car, ball, socks, help, please, baby, And Claire’s favorite things are animals so she either says/signs/or makes the sound of these animals: cat, cow, elephant, snake, bee, seal, spider, hamster, lion/tiger, lizard, horse, monkey, chicken, bird, bunny, fish, She also knows and can point to these body parts: head, hands, feet, toes, belly, belly button, hair, cheeks, chin, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue. Well, I know that I forgot lots of them, but at least that’s a start for the record.

Claire has just gotten 4 molars! And she is such a champ about it too. She’s already got a high pain tolerance, we know that.

At least 3-4 times a week we have been going to the park. She likes to swing and slide. She also likes taking all the wood chips out of the play box and making piles on the side walk. She is pretty independent, playing mostly by herself. When she does notice a kid her age/size she always signs baby and then the next thing she does is run up, get right in their face and touch their nose. Claire then looks at me and points to her own nose… it’s like- “hey- I found another nose!” Good job Claire. You are so smart. What Claire doesn’t care for is when the older kids try to lead her around and take her places, she pushes them away and doesn’t want to be carried of forced to do anything that’s not her idea!

We aren’t getting our hopes up, but Claire has shown interest in using the “big potty”. She has signed to us, run to the bathroom, and sit down to go twice now. This could be a good sign?!

She went for a 15 month visit at the doctor this week and she is now 31 1/2 inches long (about 70th percentile) and only 22 lb 3 oz (25-50th percentile). She did not even cry when they gave her a shot. And when the nurse asked us to describe her personality, and much as I could think of demanding, independent, strong-willed, loud, boisterous… I settled on “out-going”. That pretty much sums it up.

Enjoy the few pictures, we have been busy lately, but that’s a blessing because Matt has been working so much. God has given us so much to be thankful for and we truly are. Please keep my dad in your prayers as he is trying to recover from a stem-cell transplant after his lymphoma diagnosis. Fortunately we are set up to Skype (web cam converse) with him while he is in the hospital, so we are still in good contact with him.

Happy Halloween!
Love, Matt, Co and Claire

PS – I guess I should give a Sooner update. Today she ate about 10 pieces of chocolate (doh!) and so other than a sore tummy and some extra food to work off, she is doing her best to keep up with Claire. They actually play so well together.