That One Time When... (Funny Stories from our Lives)

Funny stories from Clara (age not-quite-4) and Matthew (age not-quite-2)

That one time when:

Matthew was put in time out in his rocking chair (in his room) for crying and whining. ...And then we forgot about him in the hustle and bustle of cleaning up dinner and preparing for company.

Fifteen minutes later I noticed something was amiss and hollered to Mitch in the family room, "Hey! Is Matthew still in his room??" Rather than Mitch's voice, I heard a muffled, yet somehow chipper, "Yah!" come through Matthew's cracked door.

I hurried in, and there he was, right were we left him. Patiently waiting. We had no more whining that night.

That one time when:

Clara called Mitch onto the carpet for leaving the toilet seat up. He looked at me with a suspicious eye, wondering if I'd put her up to this.

Toilet seat etiquette had, in fact, never been explained to her. She figured that out all on her own. She became borderline emotional when explaining that... she can't potty when it's like that. And asked him to please put it down. 

I thought it was a very compelling plea, but have yet to see if it influences change.

It did influence the most sheepish grin I've ever seen.

That one time when:

We were listing to a concert in the coffee shop inside our church after service one Saturday evening, and Matthew motioned for me to come with him somewhere. 

Thinking he wanted to go closer to the musician I encouraged him to proceed alone. 

To my surprise, he headed not toward the show, but sidled right up to the bar and patiently stood in line at the register. After several minutes of waiting, and just about everyone around us gushing over the cuteness of the whole thing, Matthew won. I raced up there and bought him the cookie he was eyeing through the glass.

It made me ever-so happy to do so.

That one time when:

We were at a birthday party a Chuck E. Cheese. Suddenly I turned around and Matthew was gone. I began running around hunting him down when he caught my eye. He had approached the man in a giant Chuck E. Cheese costume and was staring him down from about a four foot distance. Suddenly, he broke forward and gave Chuck E. a huge hug on the leg.

That one time when:

We found Clara in her room at 10 o'clock at night. She was fully dressed and sitting on the edge of her mattress quietly. When Mitch asked her what she was doing, she responded, "Mom told me no playing. So I'm just sitting here."

That other time when we went in to check on her at 10:00 (when we go to bed) and found her asleep in her suitcase...

That one time when:

Matthew was supposed to be napping, but instead he got into my sister-in-law's make up and had a grand time ruining a pack 'n play.

That other time when:

Both kids were stripped down and in the bathtub as it was filling with water. I noticed the water was getting hotter, so I kept turning the cold knob more and more to no avail. 

Suddenly, it snapped off in my hand, sending a fire hose of cold water across the tub and forcefully spraying both kids and the far wall. In my shock I began screaming for Mitch to turn off the water to the house and pressing the broken nob against the spout, only causing a more dramatic spray of the whole bathroom.

Matthew was whining and trying to get out of the tub, but quickly calmed down once the water was off (12 seconds later).

Clara, on the other hand, was tripping over herself trying to get out of the tub and as far away from the bathroom as possible. She was screaming and crying hysterically, and took quite a while to calm down to figure out whether she was actually hurt in some way. (she wasn't) She was able to laugh about it later, and I'm still chuckling at her response today.

The kids are getting used to showers until further notice.

That one time when

Clara actually got to go to the doctor when she was sick because she said three magic words, "My ear hurts."

She really enjoyed the attention of having an appointment scheduled, going through the visit in which the doctor directed all questions to her specifically (it was so cute I almost cried... she felt so important), and having "medicine" to take, since she in fact did have an ear infection.

I was the same way as a child.

There's no doubt these two keep us on our toes!

Peas

Matthew is not a fan of the green stuff. Vegetables that is.

Our pediatrician laughed when I told her of his faces when first introduced to peas and encouraged me to try them 12 times before drawing any conclusions.

Well, I haven't counted, but I think we're nearing 12, and he is cracking me up with his well-established opinion on the issue. Same goes for green beans.

Today as I was attempting to shovel some in his mouth, not only was he using his growing coordination to block and push the spoon away, but he was also pinching his mouth closed and pursing his lips. Of the few spoonfuls I got in there, I think more came out than went down, and he repeated shuddered throughout the process. Hilarious.

But he never made a peep. He makes his opinions known, but does so in true Matthew fashion: quite, calm, pleasant, and relaxed.

Clara at 2.5

QUOTES
"I want to hold you"
"That would be nice and good."
Asking the obvious, "Mom, are you drinking your water?" "Dad, are you taking a shower?" "Mom, are you feeding Matthew?"
"Rawr! I'm a tiger!"
"I got a snotty, bergy nose."
"Do you like that Matthew?"

She loves putting together puzzles. She can do puzzles meant for an older child, such as her 20 piece jigsaw puzzle, with ease now. She doesn't get frustrated. It's amazing to watch her work through it.

She also loves having pretend picnics.

She's independent at the playground, which is nice. Although she does like playing up the damsel in distress at times. She will intentionally get herself stuck on something that's a little too hard for her and then sweetly cry out "help! help!" After doing this once, three preteen boys ran over and escorted her the rest of the way up the ladder. She was quite pleased with that outcome and attempted to repeat the scenario a few more times. I chose to intervene because those boys were being sweet, and I didn't want to see them taken advantage of. :)

Canned green beans are arguable her favorite food. She'll eat about too adult servings of them at dinner and then want more. We find ourselves saying things like, "Eat some pasta first, then you can have more green beans." Strangely backwards... but diversification is good, right? If unchecked she will polish off a whole can.

She is very meticulous and organized. She systematically works through her play. For example she creates a stack a books, and then reading one at a time, page by page until they're all organized into a separate "finished" pile. Or she colors with her crayons one at a time until they've all made their mark and been arranged in a neat row. She doesn't appreciate being interrupted from these tasks. She likes to accomplish.

She can sing songs, identify her letters, spell her name (verbally), sort, recognize quantities, and all kinds of other amazing things. Her sentence structure and vocabulary are very good for her age. She amazes us in new ways every day. She's sweet too and good about "thank you's."

She also likes to say, "mom says I have to...(fill in whatever she wants to do)." There are other variations of this too. I've heard about commands from dad, nana, and grandma as well.
My favorite was a few days ago when she very dutifully told me, "dad says I have to go to Chick-Fil-A." I made the mistake of checking with dad, only to discover that he, in fact, did not say that. I missed a window of opportunity there...

Some good Clara faces. She's quite expressive.

So fun.

All Boy

Last night during his bath, Matthew was busily kicking around in the water when suddenly he paused and looked over at me.  Our eyes locked.  He proceed to paste a smug smile on his face, and with perfect comedic timing began peeing a little fountain into his bathwater. He appeared QUITE pleased with himself.

Oh, Matthew, you're such a boy.

Fortunately I happen to think little boys are pretty darn cute: love for peeing in unsanctioned areas and all.

One day I might be less than humored by these actions, but for today... hilarious.

The best picture I can find to represent his little smile in that moment.

"I sweet"

The other day Clara woke up from her nap all smiles. She strutted into the kitchen where I was, threw open her arms in a grand fashion and in a loud voice proclaimed, "Dad!  I love you!"

She then made a dramatic circle around the island and stopped near where I stood, and shouted into the house again, "Dad! Come here please!"

Unfortunately I had to bear the news that dad had left for softball and was not home.

Thankfully it didn't totally crush her enthusiasm. I don't know what she had planned, but I know dad missed out.

Clara is becoming a sweet, loving, appreciative little girl, and it warms our hearts.

In fact, she informed me of that herself this morning. After deciding I needed a hug, she administered one and then began patting my arm and saying, "I sweet" with her chin down and head tilted sideways.

Yes. Yes you are.

It's fun. Two-year-olds are beyond cute. And it doesn't hurt if one happens to have curly blond hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a spunky personality either.

An Interview with Clara

Clara, what's your favorite animal?

Cowboy. 

Cowboy?

Cow! Moooooo!

What's your favorite food?

Eat!

No, what food do you like to eat the most?

Cheese.

What's your favorite color?

Yellow

What's your favorite letter?

2, 3, 4, 5

What's your favorite number?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!

What's your favorite toy?

Elephant! 

What's your favorite book?

Elephant! 

Who reads to you?

Ummm.... Humpty Dumpty?

Who's your best friend?

Jacob.

What's your favorite song?

ABC's.

Who's your favorite person?

Clara!

Cowgirl Clara at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade. Photo credit: Crystal.

There you have it. Clara, according to herself, at age 2 years 4 months.

Toddlers Are Funny

Some things Clara does that make me laugh:

• She gets out of bed at nap time, plays in her room until she decides she's ready to sleep, and finally slips her books out under her door before falling asleep right in front of it. One day she didn't have books available to her, so instead she took off her socks and shoved them under the door. It's like a little flag of surrender. Or maybe it's something fun to do that then removes all her entertainment so she succumbs to sleep.

• Clara seems to feel quite "bullied" by young babies who may reach for a toy she's playing with or pull on her in some way. She screams, pulls her toys in close, and runs to mommy, proceeding to climb on my lap and glare at the offending baby (who's happily toddling along, oblivious to the situation). It's a comical sight considering she's often far bigger than the "culprit."

• She loves "coloring," which more or less consists of handing mom or dad the crayon of her choice and commanding them to "draw tree"... over and over again, until we have pages and pages of trees in every color in Clara's personal notebook.

• When she gets in trouble, she tends to take it very seriously. As a result, she often spends time rehearsing what she's been told earlier that day. While we were driving a few days ago, I'm hearing the little voice in the backseat say, "Do not 'frow" it --milk! Don't do dat!" over and over again. Today I overheard her saying, "Look at me. Time out!" 

• When Clara wakes up in the morning she comes out of her room to find us. As soon as she sees me she gives me the brightest smile and the most affectionate, "Hey mom!" you can imagine. If she sees Mitch first, he gets an excited "Dad!" squeal. It's a great way to start off our day. It always makes me giggle.

So fun. :)

The Eye of the Beholder

We all see value in different things. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

This week I prepared a baby gift for my expectant friend. I placed it in a bag, arranged tissue paper neatly around it, set it aside, and continued on with my daily household activities. 

About five minutes later Clara walks into the room proudly wearing the gift bag on her head, grinning, and repeating, "hat. hat." I grab it off and look inside for the gift. It is empty. I retrace her steps back to my bedroom and look around the for the newborn sleeper and book. They are no where to be seen.  

Eventually, after a thorough search and in slight desperation, I return to Clara, get down on her level, and showing her the empty bag and pointing inside, attempt to communicate my question... hoping she can understand.

Thankfully, she does. Without a word she slides off her chair and traipses back into the bedroom, guiding me directly to the trash can and standing hesitantly a few feet in away. Sure enough, there they are. 

Despite the fact that I had to fish my friend's gift out of the trash (thankfully it was still wrapped in tissue paper and otherwise undefiled), I appreciated Clara's perspective. She saw value where I did not: a hat where I saw irrelevant and trash where I saw worthwhile.

I guess it's true what they say: one man's trash is another man's treasure. Literally.

And beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

My Beautiful

Crying Can Be Distressing

A crying baby can be distressing. 

Clara's recent visit with her baby cousin Anna illustrated this sentiment well. Anna was crying in her room, trying to get down for a nap, and we were all listening to her on the monitor to make sure that happened in a timely fashion. Meanwhile, Clara wandered around, apparently distressed by the crying, unable to get on with her play, and periodically whining and searching around in the vicinity of the monitor for the baby.  As this process continued, Clara eventually identified the monitor as the noisy culprit... and proceeded to deposit it decisively in the trash can.

Then, last night, after a long, hard afternoon of playing at the Magic House and eating at Fitz's, Clara and her one-year-old buddy Zoe were clearly overtired. On the 25 minute drive home, Zoe expressed her fussiness in periodic shouts of discontent, while Clara furiously sucked her thumb and twirled her hair, brow furrowed. After about 10 minutes of unsuccessful attempts to quiet Zoe, she let out another shout, and Clara lost it. Her body was racked inconsolably with sobs.  After several rounds of singing songs and rubbing her leg and holding her hands, she calmed down. No sooner than we all breathed a sigh of relief, Zoe let out yet another shout, and Clara melted down once again.  This same cycle repeated itself the rest of the way, with the final shout-meltdown combo producing the most forlorn plea I've heard.  Through the tears Clara shook her head, and through her tears sobbed "no mo! no mo! no mo! no mo!"

It gave us all a good laugh in the midst of a stressful circumstance.  Thankfully we were almost home, so there was to be "no mo."  And, what's more, once Zoe and Clara were out of the car, diapers changed, pj's on, milks in hand, they decided they liked each other again.  All's well that ends well!

Poor Clara's in for some rude life changes in only a few months now.

Clara and Her Bucket

In our playroom there is an ice bucket.  It's too leaky to use for its intended purpose, but makes a great receptacle for the various kids balls we've accumulated.

Clara, being the girly-girl that she is, has little to no interest in playing with these balls.  Her main entertainment comes from dumping the out (they roll under couches and behind play bins), and dragging the bucket around to sit in.  

Last night we watched a movie with some friends.  Clara cracked us all up by moving her bucket right in front of the TV and reclining there for the duration of her movie-watching attention span.

Now, this evening, as I cleaned up dinner, she bustled and banged around to get her bucket into the dining room, select a book, and situate herself in her bucket to read it.  I had to laugh... and take a picture or two.  She's so funny!  And so serious about seeing her mission through to its completion!

The Busy Work of Being a Toddler

This is the second day in a row Clara has insisted on wearing her "jress" ...aka "dress" ... aka "tutu" for most of the day.

It's fun to see her getting more and more a mind of her own, although challenging at many points as well.

This little girl makes my heart happy.  How can you not smile watching this image prance around the house, busy with the important work of rearranging teacups, building towers, and coloring all morning.

Oh to be a one-year-old again, no worries, no fears, just knowing you're safe and loved, with little more on the schedule than eating, playing, being rocked and read to, napping, and pausing once per hour to do a little dancing when the Christmas clock plays its carol.

Although, now that I think about it, the one thing better might just be being the parent of a one-year-old...  It's definitely good for a lot of chuckles.

Popcorn

"Like father; like daughter," as the saying goes, continues to hold true for Miss Clara.  Brian, Jan, Brandon, and Kevin will understand the significance of this video easily, but for the rest of you who have taken an interest, let me explain.

Mitch is serious about his popcorn.  He ate it nightly during his teenage years.  When we started dating, I was a little put off by the fact that he didn't seem too excited about sharing any of it with me either.  

Since we've gotten married, he's taken his popcorn habit to the next level.  He doesn't make it every night, but he will frequently fill our largest mixing bowl full of "home-made" popcorn.  It's quite a science.  He will either air pop it with a spray bottle of melted butter in hand, evenly coating it as it pours out, or kettle cook it in our giant stock pot.  

He's much better about sharing now, but can still finish this large quantity on his own, and often does.

So for me, it's quite entertaining to see Clara insistently interjecting herself into the "popcorn" way of life, as Mitch tries to relax with his popped handiwork while watching some Hulu.

This is a small sample of what went on for quite some time.  Notice he's rather stingy with the popcorn he gives.  But she was relentless.

Makes me giggle.

The Container Phase

Clara has recently entered into what I like to call the "container phase."  It's a developmentally-expected phase in which children find it fascinating to put objects into containers.

The unexpected part is the quantity of less-than-desirable item/container matches she's managed to make.

So far we've had:

• a shoe in the kitchen trash
• a plastic clip in the dryer
• a toy in my friend's glass of water (she was holding and drinking from it at the time)
• my cellphone in water-filled BATHTUB (There it was, looking back at me through four inches of bath water.  I saw it all happen, and rescued and dried it instantly.  Somehow it's still working...)
• toys in our shower
• items in the dishwasher
• my glasses case in the bedroom trashcan 

She made for the toilet with a container of my makeup, but thankfully I intervened in time.

What's more she's managed to "hide" two of my contact cases.  Now I'm using my double back-up and last option.  I've searched the house for them and can't image where they could be.

Looking so innocent.

Aside from all her container work, she's also constantly misplacing items from one room to the next.  She'll walk out of her room holding a diaper, then enter my room and notice a more interesting hairbrush. So, she drops the diaper, picks up the hairbrush, and toddles into the kitchen where she notices the dishtowel.  She drops the brush, pulls down the towel, and toddles into the family room where she notices a toy.  Down goes the towel, and with toy in hand she ventures over to the office where she finds a coaster that's calling her name, etc.  She seems to always have some treasure or another in her possession.

On a mission, bookmark in hand.

Picking up the house has become quite an involved task.  It's fun though.  I just really wish I knew what she did with my contact cases...

Energetic Afternoon

I wonder if blueberries + banana + manderine oranges can give a kid a sugar high, because my one year old is literally bouncing off the walls right now. She's staggering around her playroom, falling about every four steps, running into everything, and laughing a squealing in great delight. I don't think she's even looking where she's going, but she seems to be having a wonderful time! What's more, she's over the top excited about her toys, including her "push popper," which she just figured ut how to use. Mitch and I are cracking up watching her.

I think we hit the ultimate combination of energy food at lunch today or something.

Here is a sample of what I'm watching.

Katie Left Her Computer Unguarded

This is a guest post by Mitch. WARNING: the subject matter of what you are about to read is 100% male. Being the resident male in the household, I was the only one willing to "man-up" and tell it like it is.

The other day Clara was playing and started to get her grunt on. Katie took her into the bathroom, sat her on the toilet, and Clara did her business. That alone is pretty impressive. Even more impressive... that's the fourth time she has used the toilet for its intended purpose. She has been known to use it for unintended purposes though. Who doesn't want to splash in a random bowl of water?

Great story so far but nothing that would make a me too proud.

Later that evening I got home from work, and Katie yelled from the other room, "MITCH, will you unclog the guest toilet."

I quickly replied, "Why? I NEVER use THAT bathroom."

"Because YOUR daughter clogged it up today."

At that moment I didn't really know what to think. I was overcome with emotion. My eyes started to water a little bit. My throat tightened up, and as a tear* ran down my face I realized why I was so proud. Because deep down inside, in places no one wants to talk about, Clara had a little bit of me in her. 99.9% of the time she's the cutest, most girly, little one-year-old I know. Which means we couldn't be any more different. But every once in awhile, when no one is looking, just like on this beautiful Spring evening, she shows that she is indeed my daughter. And what dad doesn't want that.

*parts of this story might stray from the truth to enhance the overall effect of the post

Clara's First Set of Wheels

It's cute to see how proud Clara is of each and every new discovery she makes.  Working on her "walking" these past few days has been a highlight for her.  When she gets fussy, I stick her behind her walker and she's all smiles!

The one requirement for her forward progress is that I'm standing in front of her.  Otherwise she doesn't make it anywhere because she's too busy stopping to turn and grin at me.  She wants to make extra-certain I'm seeing her accomplishment.  She's impressing herself.

So fun.

10 Reasons Why Babies are like Puppies

Let me start by saying, babies are people and WAY cooler than any pet.

But, some of the baby/puppy behavior similarities are pretty entertaining.  I don't currently have a dog, but I know a thing or two about them.  Here are a few of the similarities I've noticed.

1. They both travel on all fours.
2. Both carry things around in their mouths
3. Both beg for treats (when I'm eating something in the living room Clara pulls up on my knee and looks at me imploringly with her big eyes.  I share)
4. Babies and puppies eat things off the floor (I can't wait for the end of this phase)
5. They know their names and simple commands
6. Both enjoy going for walks
7. Both chew things up (thankfully babies don't do too much damage, usually not anyway...)
8. Both whine to communicate what they want or need
9. They will both pee on your floor if you don't take preventative measures (it's happened)
10. Babies and puppies both go in a pen (playpen, dog pen)

Has anyone else noticed this?  Any that I missed?

Mischief

Clara has gotten herself into her first mischief recently.

After changing her diaper one day earlier this week, I left her playing in her room while I removed a trash bag full of dirty diapers.  When I returned, I discovered she had crawled out of her room, down and across the hallway, into the bathroom, had pulled up on the toilet, and was gleefully splashing around in the water.  And all in less than a minute!  It was pretty humorous.  Needless to say, I won't be casually leaving the bathroom door open anymore.

Then today, Clara managed to get the Kleenex box down from its perch on our end table.  She proceeded to rapidly pull the magically reappearing Kleenex out of their box one after the other, successful littering the floor with about ten of them before I noticed and confiscated her fun.

As her decision-making skills continue to develop, I have decided to set a couple of household "expectations" to work on with her, after being encouraged by Jan (my mother-in-law) that she's old enough.  I figure we'll start with this and then work up from there:

1. Sit in the bathtub (tough for a baby who's just figured out how much fun standing is)
2. Don't play with the Blu-ray Player (it's so temptingly accessible!)
3. Lay still during diaper changes (they didn't cover "how to diaper a baby who's crawling away from you" in childbirth class)

Clara seems to have some formulating understanding of the word NO.  Although at this point, when I say "Clara, No," as she inches her way toward the Blu-ray Player, she turns and gives me the happiest, most beautiful beaming smile.  I think she enjoys it because I said her name and looked directly into her eyes to communicate my little message.  Many times she turns away from her mischief to crawl my direction, possibly getting distracting by one of the toys strewn across the floor in the process.  Otherwise I go intervene, redirecting her and reiterating "no" to help her understand it's meaning.  So far she's been accepting of that.  She's pretty happy-go-lucky in general.  Hopefully she'll be easy on her parents

Dot dot dot...

Little Fingers

Clara's little fingers are becoming increasingly dexterous.

Now, while nursing, she passes the time exploring my face with her free hand.  Both of my hands are tied up holding her, bracing her weight (now over 22 lbs.), so she has few defenses to contend with.  Fingers go up my nose as I crane my neck to avoid them.  Handfuls of cheek are jerked this way and that.  And no matter how tightly I pinch my lips together, those little fingers still manage to wiggle into my mouth.  As this struggle continues, with Clara more the victor than me, I become humored by it all and start laughing.  Clara stops nursing to beam at me.  She doesn't know what's funny, but she wants to be a part of it.  For her, any opportunity to share a smile and some fun is a good one.

I used to clip Clara's finger nails for her sake.  The moment they got too long, she would unwittingly scratch herself.  Now I clip her finger nails for my sake.  She no longer scratches herself, but in her constant exploration and climbing of me, she leaves her mark.  Battle wounds.

One of the many occupational hazards of being a mom.

Little fingers are into everything these days...

Clara's First Thanksgiving

Clara's first Thanksgiving was celebrated with both sides of our family.  The weekend before the big day we ventured to my parent's home for an early get-together with my family.  We all went to church together at FBC and then ate a big turkey dinner with my Aunt Myrtle and Uncle Jim, Grandpa and Grandma, and cousin Brian and family, brother, sister and husband, and parents.  My signature dish for these dinners has become the Diary Potato Bake.  Mitch isn't complaining about that at all.  Clara sat in her high chair with us and entertained us with her coos and smiles.

Rather than turkey or stuffing, she was fed carrot/squash medley.  At one point, mid baby food scoop, someone asked me a question.  I turned to answer them prior to delivering Clara's latest bite, with the spoon hovering just out of reach of her mouth.  Suddenly my mom started laughing.  We turned to look at her.  It was a moment or two before she could get out an explanation.  It turned out that while I was distracted, Clara had made several concentrated efforts to eat her bite, repeatedly opening her mouth and lunging toward the tantalizing spoonful of food, but to no avail.

So excited to be eating with the group! (Photo by Crystal)

Clara's handmade Thanksgiving dress from Grandma.  (Photo by Crystal)

We had a fun time visiting.

A few days later, after Mitch got off work for the holiday on Tuesday, we drove late into the evening to get to TX around 2am to spend Thanksgiving with Mitch's side of the family.  The following day Jan, Clara, and I headed into Dallas for a little makeover for me.  Jan had a connection with someone who was doing free haircuts to build their haircut portfolio, so I got signed up for that.  Then, for my Christmas present, and because she knew I was interested, Jan hired her close friend, a professional makeup artist, to teach me about makeup.  I came away from the day with a whole new (yet fairly subtle) look!

On Thanksgiving we got together with Mitch's Grandma and aunts, uncles, and cousins and the Alvey's house for a wonderful meal together.  Later several of his extended family members (32 additional people I believe) came to join us.  Lots of new faces for me!  Clara was funny.  The moment the door opened and 30+ people filed into a home that was already somewhat full with the current 20 some, she commenced to yelling.  For quite some time, she just yelled over and over again, "Ahhhhh!  Ahhhhh!  Ahhhhh!" as if to see how loud she needed to be to hear herself over the crowd.  Overstimulated?  I think so.  Nonetheless, she loved it all and did great.  The moment we laid her in her pack 'n play that night, she was OUT.

David and Carolyn, our hosts for Thanksgiving. (Photo by ...David?)

Clara, Jan, and I at Thanksgiving (Photo by ...Jan?)

Over the next two days we got to spend some good time with Jan, Brian, and Kevin before heading home.  Because we won't see them again until after Christmas, the gave us Christmas presents early.  Clara received a book with the recorded voices of her Nana and Papa.  As Jan turned through it and let it read itself to Clara, she kept laughed, with a good chuckle for each new page.  Jan narrated her thoughts saying, "Hilarious!  A talking book!"  I thought it was pretty funny.

Clara's talking book (Photo by Brian)

"Yay!  A donkey!"  It was part of the nativity set. (Photo by Brian)

Clara was also quite enthralled with her wooden tower of fun.  She got some other super sweet presents like a girly suitcase and a kids nativity set.

Group picture! (Photo by David)

Clara was a hit with her cousins (2nd cousins that is) and they were a hit with her! (Photo by David

She did fabulously on our return drive, sleeping all but 2 hours of our driving time.  We stopped along the way to give her some breaks.

Yay for family time!  We have so much to be thankful for this year as always!