For the photo drop this week I’m mixing a combination cute and silly photos and cute/silly quotes and stories to go with them.

We’re all enjoying the new yard toy – as you can see above.  When Clare climbed on it (below) she was proclaiming “I’m the top of the world of champions!”

While the whole family was here, we asked our favorite photographers (and friends) David and Jenny come and try to wrangle some good pictures from our motley crew.  It wasn’t an easy undertaking but they, of course, got some gorgeous pictures.

And then came the part Clare was waiting for – the dessert!  When I asked her a few days ago what her favorite part of the party was – “The chocolate cake and pie.”

Well, maybe her other favorite was the Helicopter from Grandma and Grampa!  Of course, with all the best gifts it involved several hours of assembly.  It took two engineers and a nurse to put it together, with some supervision from Great-Grandma and Sammy.

Arriving first was my grandmother – Clare’s great-grandma.  We went to the coast with her for an overnight trip, which was a lovely way to get some one-on-one time with her before the rest of the family arrived.  She got plenty of Clare-playing and some Sam-snuggling, and the kids got some precious great-Grandma time.

This is just the first of many posts about Clare’s birthday, a family photography session (with our favorite photographers), JP, Debbie and Maddy’s visit (!!) and a bunch of other stuff going on around here.

Dear Clare,

You turned three years old yesterday.  When I told you it was your birthday you said “Really?  Is it really, really my birthday?”  Yes my dear, after those months spent waiting, yesterday was your birthday.  I hope it was everything that you wanted it to be.

You were quite particular about what you wanted for your birthday.  You wanted a party, with balloons, friends and “pie, cake and ice cream.”  You wanted your pie and cake to be chocolate, which we provided, and you wanted everyone to sing to you.  You were surrounded by love all day, which was a wonderful way to celebrate you.  You bring a tremendous amount of joy to all of us both with your mere presence, but also with your wit, charm and thoughtful but joyful way of viewing the world.

At three years old, your favorite things in the world are (still) music, books and animals.  You are developing more of an imagination and really enjoy playing imaginary games with your stuffed animals and little figures.  You cook meals in your kitchen and serve them to your animals at the table, read stories to them, and change their diapers and put them to bed.  You’re a very loving caretaker to your babies and animals.

This year you became a big sister and have embraced it.  You love your little brother very much, though you occasionally get a little bit possessive about your toys.  It’s so heartwarming to see the two of you play together.  He absolutely adores and idolizes you already.  I hope that you will continue to be good friends as you get older.

You are very aware of emotions and relationships between people, especially when people are sad, angry or have conflict.  You’re a sensitive soul and we talk a lot about big emotions like anger, sadness, frustration but also joy and happiness.  I know that you won’t always want to confide these big emotions to me but I will always try to listen to you when you do.

You are our little climbing monkey and love to be outside having adventures.  This year you’ve developed an appreciation for digging in the dirt, running barefoot in the grass, climbing rocks and jungle gyms, playing in sandboxes, wading in puddles and fountains and lots of active “big kid” stuff.  It’s been a bit hard for you to leave behind your “babyhood” and accept the wild world of being a “big kid” but, as is your way, after you gave it careful consideration you’ve embraced it with gusto.

I can’t wait to see what the next year brings for you as you continue to discover the world.  We’ll be right here by you, holding your hand if you need it, eager to hear your interpretation of what you see, and supporting you whenever we can.

Lots of love,
Your Mama

This boy!  He is rolling everywhere!  I found him trying to get under the guest bed…

Clare’s taking her adventures vertical.  Yep, she climbed to the top of this thing but I put the phone down so I could spot her.

She’s our little Clarie-Monkey!  Seriously, this kid has perfected her climbing and never misses an opportunity to get some air between her and the ground.  She’s pretty sure-footed and (though I’m tempting fate writing this out) rarely falls.  The picture above she did entirely on her own – my dad is just casually spotting because she wouldn’t let him (or anyone) touch her to help her out.  If we’re at the playground, which we often are, Clare is on the monkey bars.  If we’re home, Clare is often using the couches and chairs as a jungle gym.

 She’s still a huge HUGE lover of books and we often find her “reading” to herself or her stuffed animals.  She’s beginning to get the concept that stories come from words, words are composed of letters, and that each letter makes a sound.  It’s fun to watch her put all of that together with her beloved books.

One of Clare’s new favorite books is Teach Me Spanish, complete with a CD.  I borrowed it from the library and will probably need to buy it soon.  She asks to listen to the CD and read the book every day.  She can count to ten in Spanish and the other day told me “me llamo Clare!”  

One of Clare’s favorite books lately is Madeline, which was one of my favorite books as a kid.  She doesn’t get the idea of Paris, so much, but she loves the rhyming lines.  

We work pretty hard to limit Clare’s “screen time” but in the past few months we’ve started doing Family Movie Night.  It’s fun to explore movies with her and see her taste develop.  Her favorite movie, by FAR, is the documentary Babies.  She LOVES this movie and requests we watch it every time I offer movie night.  She can practically quote this movie – or, rather, she could if the movie had dialogue.  Instead she will tell us “the baby will fall over” or “the puppy is chewing on the Mommy’s toe” before certain scenes even begin – and she’s right!

Other movies that Clare likes include Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, and the TV show Word World.

Two has been a really fun age for this girl and I can’t wait to see what three brings!

I feel like I write this every week, but is getting more and more mobile.  He’s getting into stuff all the time – he’s particularly interested in the living room rug.  The other day I came in from the kitchen to find that he had pulled up a corner and was industriously picking off pieces of the rug pad.  He’s also started pulling apart the dog’s bed when he gets near it, pulling at my laptop cord (so my laptop now has a new home), and upending his play gym (which will soon be put away along with his outgrown baby clothes).

He hasn’t quite figured out how to get from sitting to all-fours, but he’s working hard at it.  He also LOVES to practice his standing, and bouncing, but he doesn’t have much balance so he’s quite a ways away from standing on his own.

Now that the weather is finally turning to summer, we spend quite a bit of time outside.  Sammy’s a little nature child and loves to be outside.  He watches the sky and the trees, picks at grass and leaves, and is generally in a good mood.  If he’s having a rough day I can usually cheer him up by taking him outside for some fresh air.