Monday, March 10, 2014

Klairisms: The 15 Month Update

I never did an update for Klair and the fact that she is now 15 months old! What? I've said it before and I'll say it again... where does the time go? Can someone please tell me how it's March already? How is it that the weather is warm enough for Klair to go jacket-less and drink her first Slurpee at the park? I don't understand. I'm really starting to understand why the elderly constantly tell you that life passes quickly. It rings truer with every passing day.

(With regard to the Slurpee, she may have liked it too much. She was extremely possessive.)

So, in order to better remember this rather fleeting and hauntingly beautiful existence, here are some cute things that my baby girl has been doing lately,
or "Klairisms" as I like to call them.
For the past month or so, she has been extra cuddly and loves to lay her head on our shoulders and sleep on our chests. She prefers to snuggle up and sleep on me during nap time. And, sometimes I let her. Actually, I give in pretty often lately. The way she nestles into my shoulder, it's the sweetest thing this world has to offer. With her head pressed against my lips I breathe her in, trying to memorize her smell, and the way that she feels in my arms. Her tiny, chubby fingers play with my hair, and stroke my arm as if to say "thanks for staying, mama." It reminds me of when she was first born and the sweet skin-to-skin time that I briefly enjoyed (after a few weeks she was done being my cuddle buddy). Now, at 15 months old, she loves to cuddle again and I'm not complaining. I think in large part it's due to the fact that for the last couple of months she has been either sick, teething, or both. I know that she won't be small enough to nap in my arms forever. Do I get as much done around the house on these days? Of course not, but I don't really care. I'm savoring these experiences--savoring her.

Speaking of sleeping, she is especially mischievous at bed time. After her nightly story and a family prayer, I hold her in her rocker, sing to her, and play with her hair until she falls asleep. Lately, when she's not ready to surrender to bed time, her little head will pop off of my shoulder. At this point I know it's coming. She'll stare at me, and if I give in and look at her she'll smile and kiss attack me. I'm barraged with kiss after kiss after kiss. Often, she'll lift her head and press her chin or neck against my lips, leaving me no choice but to kiss them too. If this doesn't make me laugh, she goes for round two. Next up: she commences funny noises. And, if necessary, she'll tickle me. The combination of the kisses, silly noises, and tickling is too much. My devious child knows exactly what she's doing. I can only hold it in for so long before I end up laughing. Once I start, she copies my laugh. Naturally, this makes me laugh more... I'm only human. Before I know it we're having a giggle-fest. Wake time is prolonged, and she gets exactly what she was aiming for.

Her 4th molar finally came in. I can't emphasize the word finally enough. I knew that molars would be tricky, but no one warned me it could take months of pestering before finally making an appearance. The poor girl has had a rough go of it, but I think we're finally starting to see the light. And, just in time for spring! The warm weather brings with it lots of promises--reduced sicknesses and warm, sunny days being my personal favorites.

She is running these days. She made her mind up to start walking, and almost immediately after she took off. She moves so quickly, I actually have to exert some effort to keep up with the little tyke. She especially loves to speed up when she's headed toward something forbidden (like the dog food) and I object to her plans. She'll typically look at me, smile, and take off at a full sprint towards her naughty destination. Thank goodness she's so adorable. Little stinker.

She is in love with her books. They are her prized possessions, and she prefers to pass the day away reading them and being read to. Just today she wandered off and I found her in her in the corner of her bedroom, leaning against the wall, independently (and intently) looking at one of her books. There were plenty of times I thought maybe we were crazy in our efforts to read to her while she was in the womb and in establishing a bedtime story from the day we brought her home. I'm so grateful now. It seems that our diligence in reading with her has paid off.

We've cultivated within her a love for reading and learning, and now we just have to continue to nourish it and watch her grow. My teacher self is jumping for joy.
Some days she eats as much as her dad. Other days, she eats like an overly picky little bird. But, all days, she wants to eat fruit snacks and applesauce. She would live off of these two things if she could. We have this big bottom drawer in our kitchen that's filled with her sippy cups. She loves to open this drawer and play the game of taking them out so I can put them back in--out and in out and in....you get the point. Well, I had this great idea to put her snacks in that drawer so she could grab one and effectively tell me when she's hungry. What I didn't account for was that she would work the system. If she brought me fruit snacks, I'd let her have 1 packet a day and after that I would get her something of real substance to eat. She figured out that if she brought her dad a packet of fruit snacks, put it in his hands, and looked up with those dreamy blue eyes, he would give it to her without a second thought. I bought a box of fruit snacks on Saturday. The box was gone on... Saturday. Sam realized this after the damage was done, and since then I've had to relocate the little gummy temptations. Her applesauce still resides in the drawer, and lately she's been back to her old tactics.

In this photo she brought me four applesauces. Do you think she was trying to tell me something?
She likes to point and ask us "what's that?" Once we tell her, she remembers. She has such an impressive memory. She can point to most of her body parts, and she knows all the animals and objects in her books.

She understands so much of what we say, and I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of her ability to comprehend. The other day I couldn't find my phone. In a moment of frustration I jokingly asked her "Klair, where is Mama's phone!?" She put her book down, looked at me, puckered her lips (I've since discovered that the lip pucker is her thinking-face) and said "oooh, hmmmm." She then proceeded to look around the living room, checking the furniture. Amazed, I just watched her search. At one point she looked up at me,  and babbled in Klairinese. I responded, "I know I just had it! Where could it be?" She shrugged her shoulders, and continued looking. When we found it behind the couch pillow, she pointed to it, gave me a few lines in her little language, and went back to her book. Tonight I told my sister and her husband, Jake, about this experience. We decided to test her. We asked her wear Jake's shoes were. She immediately threw her hands up in a shrug that said "I don't know," puckered her lips, and started looking. And she found them! She went right to his boots by their back door, pointed, and said "der" (meaning "there"). She's brilliant. I know all moms say that about their kids, but I'm convinced she's really a genius.
This is her thinking face.
These photos are from the same day at Scheels. She was extremely enamored with the fish. 
These three pictures perfectly capture her infamous use of the word "wow." 


She imitates. I've mentioned before that she's figured out cell phones, iPads, and other technology that kids aren't supposed to have. We haven't encouraged it, but as soon as she gets her eager little fingers on these devices she knows exactly what to do--simply from watching us. Well, I recently discovered that makeup is the same way. If she gets her hands on my makeup she immediately starts pressing lipstick to her face, eyeliner to her eyes, and lotion to her hands.

This particular photo is the result of me leaving my purse unzipped and in a location that she could reach it... I learned my lesson. 
It was everywhere. 
She looks pretty pleased with herself.
She throws tantrums like a toddler and she has the most distinct, over exaggerated frowny face. One of these days I'll snap a photo of it. With every red-faced-all-out-angry-mad-cry-and-thrashing I am  more and more convinced that she's actually a toddler. If she wants something and I deny her, it is
The. End. of. the. World.

She's a stair master. She climbs up and slides down on her belly with ease. She also climbs onto and off of the furniture frequently, and it's almost surreal to see my little baby toddler sitting solo on the couch all grown up like.

She's a shoe girl. During dance class she likes to try and put on all the other girls' shoes. Whenever I put shoes on her feet, they come off and she attempts to put them back on herself. And, occasionally, I find her trying to wear our shoes.

She looks good in Sam's boots. (This photo also illustrates her long-standing habit of getting into my jewelry box. I can't even keep most of my jewelry in it for fear of it getting lost or destroyed.)
Oh! And that reminds me. Klair started dance! My sister-in-law teaches a class for baby girls, and Klair joined a couple of weeks ago. She's a little young to really understand what's happening, but she really enjoys being around the other girls. I think it's a great experience for her--even for the exposure alone. Plus, I love watching her run around in a tutu :)

    First Week:
    Second Week:
Overall, I have to say that I love this age. 
She is too much fun! 
I'm excited for all of the adventures ahead.

10 comments:

  1. I love this!! I think Ezra and Klair would get along famously. Ezra is almost exactly the same way with everything you've mentioned. She's so darling! We really need to set up that play date. ;)

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  2. Wow, your daughters sounds so much like mine!! The cuddles, the shoes, & the tantrums. ;)

    She is adorable!!
    wordsaboutwaverly.blogspot.com

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    1. Isn't it so fun? Never a dull moment... :)

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  3. She is such a doll Autumn!
    Totally feel you on the tantrums...
    but they are still so cute [;

    Emma
    www.emmacristy.com

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    1. Yes you have two girls, right? Oh I'm sure you know all about tantrums!

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  4. she is SO cute! I can't wait until addilyn is super snuggly! and LOVE that she is in dance class. how cute!

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    1. It is so random how snuggle she is... But I'm okay with it. I hope it's not just a phase but a part of her emerging personality :)

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