Clara's Birthday

Just a month and a half late, I'm reporting on Clara's first birthday, which was about the most uneventful yet. Sorry, Youngest Child!

It fell on a Sunday, so we had the usual busy morning with Sunday school and church, followed by lunch and late naps. Clara is usually crankier on Sundays because of her missed morning nap, and this was no exception. I made a dinner I thought she'd like, and Jeremy wanted oatmeal cake, so that's what she got for the celebration.

Clara at breakfast, clapping for herself

Poor Clara was so upset when I put her tray back on her high chair after cleaning off the dinner debris. She wanted to get out! So she cried through our singing of "Happy Birthday" and only stopped briefly when she saw the candle on the cake. Then she struck up her sobbing again when we didn't allow her to touch the candle. Josiah blew it out for her (we hadn't practiced blowing, so she didn't know what to do). But her first bite of cake dried up those tears!

Here's the succession of birthday evening pictures:

I modified the More with Less oatmeal cake recipe to replace the sugar with honey (and reduce the amount) and used whole wheat instead of white flour. I thought it turned out pretty well! Everyone enjoyed Clara's cake, and I'm glad it redeemed the tragedy of being stuck in her seat a little longer.

We plan to make a "mud kitchen" (i.e., cute/fun outdoor play kitchen) for her as her birthday present, but it hasn't yet materialized. The older kids are pretty excited about the idea, though.

I took Clara for her 12-month check in mid-November. She continues to follow the pattern of her older sisters in height--she was 31 inches (gained an inch since her well check just two months before), which puts her in the 92nd percentile. She was in the 88th percentile for weight at about 23 pounds.

While she hasn't really added words to her vocabulary, she says "Mama" very clearly and often now. I love it! She says "Dada" for Jeremy and sometimes "da?" in a questioning voice in order (as far as we can ascertain) to ask about things. She growls when she sees animals--toys or the real thing--and is indiscriminate in this assigning of animal sound. Mice and sheep as well as lions and tigers and dogs growl, according to Clara.

She does more baby sign language--she says "ah" and puts her fingers toward her mouth to approximate the sign for "food/eat." She signs "more," "please," and "all done." (She likes to clear her tray with urgent sweeping motions if we don't quickly attend to her when she's all done, too!) She definitely enjoys food and notices when other people have something to eat. Though still pickier than she was initially, she seems to be relaxing a bit and accepting some things she's disdained in the last few months--like scrambled eggs. She has loved roasted sweet potatoes, chipotle pinto beans, and extra sharp cheese lately.

Clara had her first dentist appointment on Nov. 30th, and her eighth tooth finally cut through her gum. It's been working its way out for awhile and caused many a cranky day! (It's the upper right-hand incisor.) Clara also used her teeth in self-defense for the first time at the end of November: Abby was backing into her in order to push her away from certain toys, and Clara bit Abby in the leg--hard enough to cause Abby to cry.

Now that she's confident toddling about (with the cutest wide-legged walk you ever saw!), Clara hardly ever crawls. She likes to climb, too. Outdoors she enjoys the small fort: she climbs up the ladder and slides down the slide. She tries to climb up the big fort's slide, but can't make it very far yet. She loves to have people push her around in the little coupe car and push her on the baby swing we bought for her. Even if the older kids forget about her in the swing, she'll dangle and watch the action with little complaint. She loves to be where they are!

Clara has been quite a bit clingier to me in the last month or so. Even when we're at home, she often wants me to hold her. When she's well-rested, well-fed, and not teething, though, she can happily entertain herself for a decent stretch of time. She likes to play at the kids' play kitchen, with measuring cups in the real kitchen, and with various little toys and animals (most of which still go in her mouth).

She screeches when upset/annoyed, cries as if her heart would break when Daddy reprimands her, and definitely knows when she's being naughty. She likes to grab a marker from the kids' art drawer, pull off the cap, and run off as fast as her waddle will take her--she knows markers are a no-no and Mama will be after her!

We do love our Clara girl!