The Little Things

Future American Idol Winner?

One of my favorite things about Claire right now is the singing.  I know the singing is typical for her age, and she’s always been a ’singer’ so the singing in and of itself isn’t magical or anything but it sure is cute.  Everything is worthy of song or the flip side to singing, worthy of whining over. These days she is really embracing song and she is now singing all those songs she’s learned along the way rather than the songs of her own creation.  It’s fun to hear her in the backseat doing the Claire version of ‘Country Roads’ or ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’.  And it always makes me smile to hear her singing herself to sleep.  I wish I could go in there and video tape her.

We’re also heavy into the toddler love stage, and is there nothing more awesome than toddler love?  All you have to do is say “I need a hug” and you’re blessed with the most perfect bear hug and licks.  Licking is the same as kissing so you basically have to be related to her to tolerate THAT.  She’s also in that phase where she’ll put her little hands on either side of your head and force you to look at her.  I know all kids do this, but man, it’s freaking adorable.

She’s all over pigtails, pretty dresses and making sure her dollies are taken care of.  She’s chatty and now competes with Callum to get in on the dinner time conversation annoucing to Papa what she did with crazy, and very LOUD enthusiasm.   She has to do things ‘by myself’, unless it means attention then she’ll demand that Steve and I take turns feeding her dinner like she’s a baby.

dare devil

Everything must be climbed, including people.  She doesn’t seem to have an internal safety switch because she just leaps off things fully trusting that someone is going to make sure she lands softly. Even when someone isn’t anywhere near her.  Yet if a stranger smiles at her she hides behind my legs.  At our creative dance class (it’s basically kids running around a gym) when the teacher says “Good Dancing Claire” she immediately has to be carried around, that is the horror of being spoken to by a stranger.

Sibling Love

She is also unbelievably bossy.  I swear, I have the two bossiest kids on the planet.  I do not want to know what this says about me.  Both my kids are extremely bossy, and everyone who lives in this house has mastered the art of whining (including the pets).   The days?  They’re long.  But fun!  At any rate, it cracks me up to hear her bossing Callum around, who just bosses her right back.  There is going to be some serious clashes as they get older.

And she’s Mama’s Girl.  There is no doubt that I’m the center of her world (although Grandma-Mammai takes a close second) and I have to admit it feels pretty nice to be held in such high esteem.  Callum is a cuddly little bug, but he’s not really a Mama’s boy.  In fact, Papa is the center of Callum’s world.