I have really procrastinated writing about you after you turned two Claire.
Maybe it is because after two comes three.
And three seems so big. No more baby left in three.
As I drove to work this morning, listening to my new Taylor Swift cd, I heard the song "Never Grow Up" for the first time. Before I knew it, I was in tears listening to the beautiful words of the song. It made me think of you and Hannah. It made me wish that I could keep you both little. That I could protect you from anything or anyone that might ever hurt you in this life. It made me want to tell you to stay little. It made me wish that none of us had to ever grow up.
Last month when we took you to your two year check up appointment you weighed 31 pounds and were roughly 38 inches tall. I say "roughly" because you go into full panic mode when the nurses so much as look at you, so it was a "rough" estimation of your height, considering.
Giving knucks to your Daddy as you ran by with that cute smile on your face.
You are loads of fun Claire.
You are also loads of work.
You have such an adventurous personality. We often say that you are like a bull in a china shop. Running here, knocking things down there, climbing this, jumping off that. Really, it's true.
You hardly ever make it through the day without needing a change of clothes. You love to get dirty. I don't even think you know you do, but you do.
You recently started to climb up onto your changing table all by yourself. The funny thing is that you have not been brave enough to find a way down once you get up there, so you just cry out "Mamma" until I come rescue you.
You are truly the messiest eater I have ever seen. We love to tease you about it, but it is all in good fun. You really do love your food. You are the most quiet that you are all day when you are eating a meal. And also the messiest. A few weeks ago I made pulled pork burgers on baby buns, and you ate two whole burgers. I could not believe it. Hannah did not touch her burger, and you ate two.
I am constantly reminded that I should never under estimate what you might do Claire. On November 20th, you and Hannah were sitting at the island, doing some coloring. I must have been busy with dinner or something and when I looked to see how you were doing, you had emptied your box of crayons, peeled the paper off of every single one, broken each crayon into about 6 tiny pieces and had them ground into every nook and cranny of your booster seat imaginable. I am still finding bits of green crayon underneath your seat.
You love your routine Claire.
You always look forward to bath time after dinner, but you absolutely hate to get washed. When it's time to wash your hair I just dread it. You kick and scream, and hold your breath, and then scream some more, splashing water all over the tub. I don't know why you hate it so. I am gentle, I try to keep it out of your eyes, I check the temperature of the water for you. And still, you scream.
A couple weeks ago I was folding laundry on my bed while you and Hannah were playing in the tub. I peeked in to check on you, and you were squeezing almost an entire new bottle of shampoo straight into the water. Giggling like it was the most funny thing you'd ever seen. Oh I was mad. I just bought that. Now we were out again. And more recently I caught you doing the same thing with the bubble bath, half a bottle straight into the already plenty soapy bath water.
Your favorite movies are Beauty and the Beast, and Tinkerbell. Those two hold your attention like nothing else. Oh, and The Princess and the Frog. That one makes you laugh. Belle is your favorite character, and you say "Belle" and "Booty" (Beauty) whenever you see any princess.
You and Hannah have lots of fun playing together, but you also spend a lot of time arguing over things. It is difficult right now for both of you. Hannah gets frustrated because you don't talk much, and you get frustrated, and don't have the words, so you just scream like a banshee and that makes us all go a little crazy.
One thing is certain though Claire, you are ruthless.
You might not have a large vocabulary just yet, but you can certainly hold your own. You don't take no crap from nobody.
Get her with a nice firm arm pulling, and if that doesn't work...
simply resort to the head butting method.
The funny thing about these pictures is that Hannah tried to steal your shopping cart, and we have TWO shopping carts to try and prevent this exact scenario.
Just last week on December 23, 2010 you jumped out of your crib for the first time. You were supposed to be napping and I knew you weren't, but I was not rushing upstairs to come get you. Suddenly I heard a loud THUMP, and then I heard you doing the ugly cry, and I thought Oh Lord, she jumped and she's broken something. I ran upstairs faster than I thought possible, and there you were, banging on the crib slats, trying to get back in.
Claire you make me smile every day.
You have the softest cheeks, and you still have that bit of a baby smell.
I sniff you all the time, and give those cheeks hundreds of kisses on a daily basis.
I hope I never forget the images of you carrying around your nie nie, with your tongue sticking out, while you run your fingers up and down that blanket, while it is nestled up against your face.
My crazy Claire Bear.
I love you with all my heart.
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Lyrics to "Never Grow Up"
by Taylor Swift
Your little hand's wrapped around my finger/
and it's so quiet in the world tonight, your eyelids flutter cause your dreaming/
so i tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light/
to you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret/
i'd give all i have honey
if you could stay like that/
Oh darling don't you ever grow up/ don't you ever grow up/
just stay this little/
oh darling don't you ever grow up/
don't you ever grow up/
it could stay this simple/
i won't let nobody hurt you/
won't let no one break your heart/
and no one will desert you/
just try to never grow up, never grow up
You're in the car on your way to the movies/
and you're mortified that your mom is dropping you off/
at 14, there's just so much you can't do/
and you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots/
but don't make her drop you off around the block/
remember that she's getting older too/
and don't lose the way that you dance around in your pj's getting ready for school/
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up/
just stay this little/
oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up/
it could stay this simple/
no one's ever burned you/
nothing's ever left you scarred/
and even though you want to/
please try to never grow up
Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room/
memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home/
remember the footsteps, remember the words said/
and all your little brother's favorite songs/
i just realized that everything i have is gonna someday be gone/
So here i am in my new apartment/
in a big city, they just dropped me off/
it's so much colder than i thought it would be/
so i tuck myself in and turn my night light on/
Wish i'd never grown up, i wish i'd never grown up/
oh i don't wanna to grow up/
wish i'd never grown up/
i could still be little/
oh i don't wanna grow up/
wish i'd never grown up/
it could still be simple
Oh darling don't you ever grow up/
don't you ever grow up/
just stay this little/
oh darling dont' you ever grow up/
dont you ever grow up/
it could stay this simple/
won't let nobody hurt you/
won't let nobody break your heart/
and even though you want to/
please try to never grow up/
don't you ever grow up/
oh/ never grow up/
just never grow up.
(And tears.)
