Potty Mouth

Clara Grace’s daddy took his turn changing her diaper on the morning of Friday, December the thirtieth. “Here’s your new diaper,” he told his daughter conversationally as he fastened the snaps. “Diber!” Clara Grace said for the first time.

She's Listening

Wednesday, December the twenty-eighth, Clara Grace pushed a rubber frog across her tiny bathtub. “She ate such a good dinner tonight,” her mommy said to her daddy, “maybe she should get a teensy weensy bit of ice cream.” Clara Grace looked up and said to her parents’ amazement, “Teensy teensy.”

Pavlovian Baby

In her short fourteen months, Clara Grace has become familiar with several routines. For example, when her mommy says, “Get your coat,” that also means “We’re going outside.” On the morning of Friday, December the twenty-third, she heard the familiar “Pop!” of the toaster and naturally assumed her blueberry waffle was on the way. She squealed with delight and was so overcome with joy that she flung the soggy cracker she’d been munching into her Daddy’s cup of coffee.

Big Shoes to Fill

Clara Grace played dress-up for the first time on Thursday, December the twenty-second. She set her mommy’s boot down with a clunk, and then proceeded to place her entire foot, shoe and all inside. She seemed pleased with the boot, even though it swallowed her whole leg and made walking extremely awkward.

It Could be Worse

On Wednesday, December the twenty-first, Clara Grace’s Aunt Amy took her to the aquarium. She watched as Clara Grace splashed her hands playfully in the pool of petable stingrays and bamboo sharks. When an unsuspecting ray glided near, Clara Grace stretched out her hand. On touching its silky skin, Clara Grace drew back with a surprised, “Ooooo!”

And She Sits in the Back Row, Too

Clara Grace’s mommy and nana went out for lunch at the Chinese restaurant on Monday, December the twelfth. Nana was so intrigued by Clara Grace’s folded hands, that she had to peek during mommy’s prayer. Clara Grace unclasped her hands until the familiar phrase, “In Jesus’ name…” Nana reported that the little girl’s tiny hands were refolded just in time for the Amen and opening of eyes.

Mutual Bye Bye's

On Saturday, December the tenth, Clara Grace’s daddy was shocked to hear his little girl repeat “Bye, bye" right in his arms. He promptly began a game of entering the living room and greeting the visiting Paulson family. Then he left with a very loud “Bye, bye,” which Clara Grace happily repeated time after time.

Partners in Crime

Clara Grace followed her cousin Peter away from the noisy Paulson crowd assembled in her mommy and daddy’s living room and into her nursery on Friday, December the ninth. Her daddy peeked around the door in time to watch Clara Grace reach into her diaper holder and withdraw one of the freshly laundered pampers for Peter and one for herself. She then went about showing him how to join in her favorite game of strewing the diapers around the room in all sorts of hard to discover places. Each time she went to the bag, she took two diapers and only went for more until she was satisfied both hers and Peter’s had been adequately distributed about the room.

A Star is Born

Sunday morning, November the twenty-seventh, Clara Grace’s mommy admired her daughter’s frilly Sunday dress as they danced to a Carter’s tune. “Daddy will shoe my pretty little feet, and mama will glove my hand,” she sang. And then, as if Clara Grace had just unlocked the secrets of song, she joined her mommy in a clear high pitched, melody which flowed first up and then down.

Everyday Math

Clara Grace didn’t show much excitement over turkey and cranberries on her second Thanksgiving; however, the ice cream for dessert was a true cause for rejoicing and thankfulness. Daddy fed her bites from her abundant bowl and then snuck one for himself. “I think she has mastered the concept of subtraction,” her daddy announced as Clara Grace waved her arms emphatically and indignantly grunted for daddy to stop digging into her supply.

Ukulele Baby

Clara Grace’s daddy watched proudly on the afternoon of Friday, November the twenty-fifth, as Clara Grace held his ukulele correctly and strummed properly with her right thumb.

Maybe She'll be in Shoe Sales

During the month of November, Clara Grace began several new morning rituals. First, in an extremely helpful way, she always delivered mommy and daddy their shoes at the first signs that they were getting dressed. She ran into the bedroom, dove under the bed and reappeared holding an enormous shoe with both hands. “Shoe,” she would say and lift it to her thankful parents. She always delivered both shoes and never once delivered daddy’s shoes to mommy or vice versa.

Q & A

Clara Grace answered her first question on Tuesday, November second. “What do you want to eat?” her mommy asked while preparing lunch. “Cheese!” Clara Grace answered enthusiastically.

Imperatives

Clara Grace spoke her first two-word imperative on Thursday, November the third. It occurred while her daddy wrestled with a pesky sink pipe. Clara Grace pulled at his arm, whined, and tried all manner of attention getting techniques very non-conducive to plumbing. Finally, she took hold of her daddy’s arm and said “Daddy, cheese!” “Oh, are you hungry?” her Daddy asked. Clara Grace bounced up and down in a happy dance and repeated, “Cheese, cheese, cheese,” all the way to the refrigerator.

Spelling Bee in Training

Clara Grace and her mommy sat on the kitchen floor playing with refrigerator magnets on Wednesday, October the twenty-seventh. Clara Grace plucked three letters from the door and held them out for her mommy’s inspection. “Hmmm, F, R, S. Well if you added a U it could be furs, or maybe an I and a T would make first.” Clara Grace retrieved her letters and as if aware of the new point of the game plucked two others from the door. “GO” was the first word she spelled all on her own. Whether Clara Grace is blessed with extremely high intelligence, or whether she has merely inherited her mommy’s uncanny good luck, it is clear she will go far in life.

Kissy Litter

Thursday, October the twenty-seventh, Clara Grace blew her first kiss to mommy. It took almost no time for her to realize the vast potential this one gesture held for obtaining attention from family to complete strangers. If kisses were tangible things, the isles of stores, neighborhood streets, and house floors would be littered with the thousands she liberally dispensed during her first years.

Would You Like some Cheese with Your Shoes?

Wednesday, October the twelfth, Clara Grace announced “Shus” as her mommy slipped her shoe over her wiggling foot. The following week, Wednesday the twenty-sixth, she announced, “Chus!” as her mommy opened the refrigerator drawer where the dairy products are stored.

Tickles and Kisses

Clara Grace was particularly charming on Wednesday, October the fifth. She crawled over to mommy and tickled the toes. Her mommy rewarded her with a high-pitched, “hee hee hee!” which prompted the same giggle from Clara Grace as well as many more tickles. When her mommy couldn’t stand it any more, she bent down and retrieved the little girl for a kiss. Clara Grace seemed to find this fascinating and brought her round cheek close for mommy to kiss time and time again. Each time, she screamed for fun.

Morning Duties

Clara Grace has what has become almost an obsessive-compulsive ritual to complete each and every morning. Each day, before she cries out to alert her mommy and daddy that she is awake, they hear one by one, pacifiers kerplunking to the nursery floor. When the binkies are all dispatched, Clara Grace calls out her greeting to the world. Each morning, mommy or daddy enters and lifts her from her bed, but before any good morning kisses or hugs can be dispensed, business must be taken care of. The little girl wriggles until she is set down on the floor. Then she pops one pacifier in her mouth and collects two for each hand. Now she stands and is ready to be hoisted back up to the side of her crib where she ceremoniously pitches the pacies to bounce around on the waiting mattress. It seems her day cannot begin until each and every binky is in its proper place. This ritual carried on well into her first year.

Told You So

Clara Grace and her mommy sat across from each other on their music room floor in the late morning hours of Tuesday, June 14. Strewn all about them were the contents of the little girl’s band in a box. Clara Grace had rattled the maracas, beat the drum, tapped the triangle, shaken the tambourine, and clicked the castanets. She had even delved into experimental and creative forms of music such as clashing the cymbals with the maracas, and tapping the drum with the triangle. Finally, Clara Grace sat still as if to say she had gone as far as her eight months of talent would take her in percussion and knew it was time to branch out. Tentatively, Clara Grace’s mommy honked a purple kazoo and handed it to her daughter. Clara Grace accepted the woodwind and gave it a resounding toot. There was some discussion and a good deal of pulling and tugging between Mommy and Baby about which end was to be blown upon, but seeing as how both ends produced the same sound, in the end, Clara Grace’s mommy graciously decided not to belabor the point. It could be noted that when Clara Grace showed her new talent off for her daddy that afternoon, he confirmed that his daughter had been using the correct end all along. In light of the new circumstances, in what can only be described as genuine humility, Clara Grace refrained from telling her mommy, “I told you so.”

Churchgoer

During the church service on June twelfth, Clara Grace rummaged through her diaper bag tossing toys, shoes, burp cloths, and various and sundry other baby essentials onto the floor. At last, she dug out a pair of overalls from the very bottom of the sack. While her mommy and daddy and all the churchgoers in the near vicinity tried desperately to keep focused on the sermon, Clara Grace pulled the clothing over the front of her head and then the back. It was obvious she was trying to dress herself, but unfortunately, she had forgotten the minor detail of putting her head inside of the clothes. Or, perhaps since the over-the-head part happened to be Clara Grace’s least favorite aspect of dressing, she was actually attempting to figure out a way of getting the job done without those dark and suffocating seconds her mommy mercilessly inflicted upon her each morning. After four or five goes, she stared at the uncooperative overalls as if to say, “What’s the problem? You never give Mommy this much trouble.”

Mobility

On Sunday June 12 Clara Grace gained a new measure of independence as she crossed the threshold from one room to another for the very first time. She spanned at least ten feet in her momentous crawl beginning in the music room and ending by her mommy who stood brushing her teeth at the bathroom sink.

Let's Not Rush Things

“Maybe it’s time for her to learn how to kiss now,” Clara Grace’s mommy said, On Thursday the ninth of June. So Clara Grace’s daddy puckered up and made a smooching noise with his lips. Clara Grace watched intently and then did the same. “Well,” her daddy said with a shrug, “that was easy, what’s next?”

Interpretations in Communications

“I really think she is imitating our eating sounds,” Clara Grace’s daddy observed after some careful scrutiny of his daughter’s novel sucking noises during dinner one night. Clara Grace’s mommy paused to evaluate the little girl’s loud smacking and slurping. “Well,” she told him after finding no better explanation, “I only hope it’s your eating sounds she’s imitating.” It was the next morning when Clara Grace’s daddy found the true purpose of his daughter’s odd noises though. While feeding his daughter some delicious butternut squash, he noticed Clara Grace begin her strange slurping ritual. This time however, she also pointed to her sippy cup of water, which remained just out of reach on the highchair tray. “Ah, ha,” her daddy exclaimed, “you want water, WA-TER.” By the end of the meal, Clara Grace’s daddy had her saying “Ahhh,” and pointing to the cup whenever she was ready for a drink. Of course, sometimes the little girl forgets herself and reverts back to her old, slightly less refined, way of communicating, but her parents feel confident that even the etiquette columnists would be understanding at this stage.

Daddy: Clap On, Clap Off

On Wednesday, June 8th, Clara Grace clapped for the very first time. “I have a surprise for you,” her mommy explained when she met her in the crib that morning. “Your daddy is home with us today!” Clara Grace’s anticipation mounted as she understood the word “daddy” and picked up on the obvious excitement in her mommy’s voice. Just then, they rounded the corner of the computer desk and there was daddy himself. Clara Grace kicked her legs, bounced in mommy’s arms and yes, clapped her hands for the very first time.

She'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

Clara Grace has the knack of making everyone around her happy. It isn’t just because she is an adorable baby either. She actually goes out of her way to smile at each person she sees. First she makes eye contact and waits for them to notice her, then her whole face lights up as though they were the very person she had been longing to see all her eight months. “I’ve never seen such a happy baby,” the cashier at Home Depot reported after receiving several of Clara Grace’s smiles. “She’s the most pleasant baby I’ve ever run across,” a woman on the downtown bus admired. On and on the compliments pour in, and Clara Grace’s proud mommy feels that this talent is the very best thing a baby could receive acclaim for at this age. Clara Grace does not show discrimination when bestowing her smiles, everyone; young and old, men and women, and people with any color of skin enjoy a greeting of equal enthusiasm. “She makes everyone happy wherever she goes,” her grandma commented, “That’s a real gift.”

Safety-Deposit Pants

Clara Grace’s daddy was dismayed to find her after naptime with only one pacifier in hand. “Now, I know I put three of those in the crib,” he told her. “What have you done with them?” After a thorough search under and around the crib, her daddy decided that a diaper change was quickly becoming the more urgent matter. He unsnapped Clara Grace’s pants to get at her diaper and out popped the two missing pacifiers. “Were you storing those for a rainy day?” Clara Grace’s mommy asked. Perhaps Clara Grace is hoping to receive for her birthday clothes with pockets.

Clinch Park Zoo

During Clara Grace’s second trip to the zoo, she thoroughly enjoyed her introduction to the fauna native to her daddy’s home state of Michigan. Of particular interest to her was one very energetic otter, two wily coyotes, a friendly elk, and a pair of playful black bears.

Clara Grace Dictionary 1st Edition

These are the words Clara Grace has demonstrated awareness of as of her seventh month. Of course, there is dog, daddy, mommy and Clara Grace. In addition, she can pat and kick on command. She also clearly becomes excited whenever she hears the words eat and water.

Dolly WWF

Clara Grace enjoyed playing with Nana’s baby doll during her May visit to Michigan. The doll has no hair and is a little slow, but does have a pacifier and so is okay in Clara Grace’s book. Using this doll as a model Clara Grace’s daddy attempted to show his daughter the motion required for a forward crawl. Clara Grace sat opposite the two and watched curiously. After a moment’s observation, she got on all fours like the dolly. Pleasantly surprised, her daddy sat the doll on its bottom and Clara Grace sat herself down again. Even more amazed, her daddy stood the doll in front of her at which Clara Grace attempted to stand. She got as far as one knee in the kneeling position and the other bent to push upwards when gravity inevitably took over. To the great delight of her daddy Clara Grace imitated her plastic friend’s positions reliably time after time. On another evening, Clara Grace’s nana observed her attempting to coax the floppy baby into some sort of play. Generously, Clara Grace offered one of her orange interlocking stars to the motionless infant. After no response was forthcoming from the doll, Clara Grace took the baby’s hand in both of her own and pressed it firmly onto the star several times. Nana reported that she looked a bit puzzled at the new friend’s inability to open her molded plastic fingers. The two still get on well enough, though, in spite of Clara Grace’s repeated knocking of her new friend’s bald head onto the floor.

Reading into Speech

It could possibly be argued that dog was Clara Grace’s first word. It is even more probable that Da-da was her second utterance with meaning, and Clara Grace’s mommy wonders whether or not she might have spoken her third word on Sunday, May the 29th. This all came about, ironically, in a church service during which Clara Grace’s mommy was doing her utmost to keep the little girl quiet. Numerous toys lay strewn below the pew at Mommy and Daddy’s feet, but finally, a shoe seemed to hold the baby’s attention for longer than the customary thirty seconds. Clara Grace pressed the shoe to mommy’s nose, then to her eye. She rubbed the shoe up and down mommy’s cheek and then shoved it into her mommy’s smiling mouth. At this she giggled and uttered what sounded very much like “Eat!” As with her other forays into speech, the merits of this imperative could be debated; however, she did only speak the word when the shoe was thrust into the exact location where she has observed the act of eating occur. “Eat” does also seem like a word that she has had ample opportunity and motivation to acquire.

Michigan Milestones

Clara Grace’s grandpa was hoping to see her achieve one major milestone during the week of her first visit to Michigan. As it turned out, he got his wish several times over. On Sunday, May 29th, Clara Grace pulled herself to her feet in order to meet her daddy in the morning. He reported to her mommy that he found her standing up and gripping the crib bars tightly. Clara Grace also found a new melodic way of talking that week. It involved her upper register and most of her conversation came out as cheerful singing. Finally, while Clara Grace was still by far a better backwards crawler, she did find enough inertia to get herself moving forward during the stay at her grandparent’s house.

Sit Ups

Clara Grace’s mommy went in to greet her daughter on the morning of Sunday, May the fifteenth. There was Clara Grace, sitting up in her crib and proudly waiting for someone to notice.

As Good as it Gets

On Thursday, May twelfth, Clara Grace, her mommy, and her daddy all went to a party. During the mingling, many people tried to figure out exactly which parent the little girl took after. “I can’t tell,” they all concluded, “When her mommy holds her, she looks like her, and when her daddy holds her, she looks like him.” “She is a good mix,” Clara Grace’s mommy told them proudly, “that is exactly what we wanted.” Furthermore, as more of the baby girl’s personality is revealed day by day, it is clear she got the very best of not only each parent’s looks, but of their inner traits as well. For example, she seems to be as curious, excitable, and determined as her mommy, and as content, happy, and playful as her daddy. All of this goes to make Clara Grace a truly amazing baby.

Mother's Day Resolutions

On Mother’s Day, Clara Grace’s family celebrated with a picnic outside after church. Clara Grace sat on her Grandma’s lap and was quizzed over three familiar words. Unfortunately, it became quite plain that she was most familiar with the word dog. A close second was the word daddy, and then bringing up the rear was mommy. “Where’s the dog?” Grandma asked. Clara Grace looked down at Katie who was making a general nuisance of herself by scrambling over people’s feet under the table. “Where’s daddy?” Grandma asked. Clara Grace turned toward her daddy and grinned. “Where’s mommy?” Grandma asked. Clara Grace looked at Uncle Jimmy. “No, that’s not mommy, where’s mommy?” Grandma tried again. Clara Grace began to suck on her toes. “I’m right here,” her mommy called dejectedly. “Remember me? Happy mother’s day and all that?” Daddy snickered, obviously a bit pleased with the turn of events. “Well,” Clara Grace’s mommy asked, “how do you think she learned your name so well, hmm? And maybe if someone said ‘there’s mommy!’ whenever I walked into the room, she would know my name too.” Slightly less smug, her daddy promised to put more effort into teaching the word mommy from then on. Good to his word, her daddy wore out the word “mommy” that afternoon. By evening, Clara Grace knew it as well as daddy, but, try as he might, “dog” was still the front-runner.

First Mother's Day

Clara Grace’s first Mother’s Day fell on the eighth of May. Before mommy awoke, she and her daddy secretly cleaned the entire house. After that, they cooked a marvelous breakfast for mommy over an open fire. After mommy unwrapped a box from daddy containing all sorts of jewelry, Clara Grace decided it was her turn. For several weeks, she had been preparing her gift with much secrecy by building lip strength with funny sucking sounds and many spit bubbles. Now, the time had come and she proudly blew her very first raspberry. To the little girl’s extreme delight, her stunned mommy and daddy praised her profusely and laughed hysterically. Their reaction resulted in a bumper crop of raspberries that morning. The excitement carried on into the afternoon when Clara Grace found it even more fun to blow raspberries with a mouthful of sweet potatoes. Not only was a better sound possible, but daddy’s face was splattered with orange goop and mommy was thoroughly amused. Of course, after the second time, mommy decided laughing might not be the best reaction since it would be her turn to feed little Clara Grace next. In the end, both parents resorted to a firm, “Not while we’re eating.” And the raspberries held off for dessert.

She is a Biped

Thursday April twenty-eighth, Clara Grace, sat on her Mommy’s lap to play with her wooden activity block. Without warning, she took hold of the squiggly bars on top and pulled herself up to a standing position. She was wobbly, but held on for at least five seconds without support. “What a big girl,” her mommy declared in surprise.

Impressive in a Scary Kind of Way

Clara Grace’s Daddy left his daughter alone for just one second on the morning of Thursday, April twenty-seventh, but just one second was all it took. When he departed, Clara Grace sat benignly on her nursery rug rocking her toy fishbowl in front of her and listening to its cheery bubbling sounds. This would be a fine moment, her daddy thought, to go and put on a pot of coffee. He promises he was only gone for half a minute, but when he reentered the nursery, an extremely different scene played out before him. Somehow, there was his baby girl in the air, tummy down on top of the fishbowl, with her arms and legs flailing wildly to maintain balance. For a few seconds, Clara Grace remained suspended in a superman like pose, until inevitably, she rolled not so gracefully onto the carpet. Happily, her daddy reports that Clara Grace shows no signs of trauma. Without a peep, she continued her play. Though her daddy did not see the means by which his daughter actually mounted the wobbly fishbowl, the incident clearly prophesies events to come. If Clara Grace can manage to get into this amount of mischief after being able to sit on her own for only a few short weeks, her parents shudder to imagine the future predicaments greater mobility has in store.

First Word?

It is a very real possibility that Clara Grace vocalized her first word on Monday, April the twenty-fifth. While playing in the yard with her mommy on a cheerful spring day, Clara Grace watched Katie, the Australian Shepherd; persistently drop her slobbery ball on mommy’s foot to be kicked. Distinctly, and with evident effort, Clara Grace announced, “Dog.” Her mommy interrupted her phone conversation in order to report to Liana, “What do you know? My baby girl just said ‘dog!’ Of course,” Clara Grace’s mommy acknowledged after the long moment of disbelieving silence on the other end of the line, “Of course, she probably didn’t really mean anything by it.” Tuesday proved to be rainy and cold, so Clara Grace and her mommy stayed indoors. And that might have been the end of it, except that while playing in the back yard on the afternoon of Wednesday the twenty-seventh, Clara Grace very clearly declared “Dog,” once more. This time, her mommy reacted with a bit more enthusiasm “Yes!” she exclaimed, “Yes, this is a dog!” As she spoke, she bent down to scratch the top of the drooling Australian Shepard’s head. Clara Grace’s mommy is well aware that most everyone will read this report with a skeptical eye. After all, at this point, the consonants D and G do admittedly make up the vast majority of her daughter’s vocal repertoire. However, the facts remain that Clara Grace made a distinct effort to pronounce each part of D-O-G. She has repeated the word twice so far, and she has not vocalized it as part of her many babblings while indoors. And so there it was, with that one little vocalization, all the hopes Clara Grace’s mommy had cherished of hearing that magical word, “Mama,” roll with first importance from her daughter’s tongue were painfully stripped away. And as much as Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy hate to admit it, after a few more days of examination it may be declared that Katie, the insanely irritating Ausie, has claimed the honor of being Clara Grace’s very first word.

Potential for Percussion Concussion

Clara Grace learned to beat two toys together on Tuesday, April the twenty-sixth. Proudly she sat on the living room floor and began a percussive concert for her mommy. In her right hand, she held the yellow ball that crowns her stacking tree, and in her left, the red stacking star. The two plastic toys made extremely gratifying knocks as Clara Grace beat them together in varying rhythms.

Makes You Sick

On Sunday, April the twenty-fourth, Clara Grace showed signs of being sick for the second time. Her mommy got her fever down with a little bit of Tylenol, but poor Clara Grace was left with a runny nose and sore throat. It wasn’t until Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy also succumbed to the illness that they realized just how stuffy and sore their daughter must be feeling. Yet again, Clara Grace never once showed signs of complaining. Even when her congestion made eating and sleeping nearly impossible, she smiled and kept at it. While listening to the hoarse coughs from the crib in the middle of the night, Clara Grace’s mommy wanted to cry for the little girl who refused to cry for herself. But on hearing Clara Grace babbling herself to sleep with her new consonant sounds, she decided to be brave just like her little daughter.

Animation

On Wednesday, April the thirteenth, Clara Grace presented her mommy with yet another new trick. All at once, she began bouncing up and down like a pony rider on her mommy’s lap. This was an especially fun developmental milestone since she now looks absolutely adorable when she becomes excited.

Copy Frog

On Monday, April the eleventh, Clara Grace invited her friend Nicholas over for lunch. While the two mommies conversed, Nicholas showed off one of his old talents. Since a very young age, whenever his feet come into contact with the ground, Nicholas has been jumping like a frog. Clara Grace watched in wonderment. Jumping was something she had not yet attempted in all her six months. In sheer admiration, she bent at the waist and then threw her body upwards. Unfortunately, this did not have quite the desired effect. Time and time again, she studied the bouncing baby boy and then doubled over for another go. When things seemed to be at an impasse, Clara Grace’s mommy tried to lend a hand by pushing on the backs of her daughter’s knees. “Bend yourself here,” she told her perplexed child. Several days after Nicholas went back to his home, Clara Grace was still valiantly trying to propel her fourteen pound self into the air from the waist up. In the end, she put jumping on the back burner in order to focus on other more pressing developmental milestones.

When There's Nothing to Do

Clara Grace experienced her first trip to the zoo on April ninth. Any animal that was nearby and fast moving held her in rapt attention. The lumbering elephants in their multi acre habitat, on the other hand, were a mammoth disappointment. Their fence was rather tasty though, so it wasn’t an entire loss. Her favorite exhibits included the mere cats, llamas, goats, monkeys, birds, and fish. A tank full of tropical sea creatures absolutely delighted her. Perhaps this has something to do with the early influence of her daddy’s murals in the nursery.

The Best Toy

Clara Grace amused herself on the morning of April sixth by rolling across her nursery floor through the obstacle course of interesting toys her mommy had laid out. First, she pulled the large gumball machine toward herself and pressed the lever to receive her prize. Then she rolled twice and wound up beside her fishbowl, which she rocked vigorously to obtain music and bubble sounds. Then she was off for a rocking dish, which contained several large balls filled with various sea creatures. She kicked it repeatedly and was rewarded with the raucous knocking of its plastic balls. Next she found her way to a cloth block, which she flipped over and over with each side producing a different song. She reached the finish line and bumped up against her blow up turtle on whose back she had first rolled over so many weeks ago. Her mommy reentered the room after eating breakfast to find Clara Grace stroking the turtle’s polka doted foot as if to tell mommy and the turtle, “Look what I can do now. Although this was not the first time Clara Grace played by herself, it was the first time she played in her room making decisions about which toy to play with. Mommy is still useful however since at this point, Clara Grace only rolls one direction efficiently and needs to be reset at the beginning of the track.

Gives Carousel a Whirl

Clara Grace experienced her first carousel ride on Friday, March twenty-fifth on probably the first truly perfect spring day in Coolidge Park. Over the noises of children laughing, the riverboat’s melodeon, and fountain spraying, the happy music of the merry-go-round called. Clara Grace and her Mommy raced through the turn style and made a dash to claim Ziggy Zebra for their mount. It was Clara Grace’s fascination with contrasting stripes that commended Ziggy to Clara Grace’s mommy above all the other animals. To their left Clara Grace’s Nana and cousin Lucy rode atop a goat like Creature known as Sir William. Aunt Keri-Lynn and Cousin Peter took up the rear on ____.. Clara Grace gripped Ziggy’s metal pole valiantly and held on wile he arched up and down in dizzying circles. Her daddy described her expression as conveying “I don’t know about this, but Mommy seems to think it’s all right, so I’ll give it a whirl.”

The Dawn of Percussion

On Wednesday, March the twenty-third, Clara Grace discovered the satisfaction of open handed patting. During breakfast, she surprised her mommy by striking the table with several resounding slaps. Since then, she has enjoyed the hollow thumps she can make on her own tummy, the muted slaps gotten from the carpet, and the particularly rewarding splashes she is now capable of during bath time and swim class. After a few days, Clara Grace even worked her way up to one-handed bongo playing. She sits on her mommy’s lap with the bongos in front and strikes each drumhead alternately after watching mommy’s hands beat out a rhythm.

Unprofessional Development

Clara Grace went to work with her daddy on March the eighteenth. Her daddy arrived late and there was certainly no sneaking into the room with an adorable little baby on his shoulder. Awkwardly, he attempted to hush the “oos” and “aws” from his fellow teachers and glanced apologetically at the in-service presenter as he scurried for a seat. Due to the monotone presenter, most teachers and even the principal were glad for the distraction Clara Grace provided. A half an hour before time to go, just as her daddy had rehearsed with her, Clara Grace began to wine inconsolably. “Oh, she’s hungry,” dozens of matronly teachers informed the new father. Neither bottle nor pacifier would do the trick though. In the end, his principal allowed Clara Grace’s daddy to take her home early. All in all, Clara Grace seemed to enjoy her first day at school very well. Although, the thirty-five to one teacher to student ratio will be hard to beat in future years.

Calisthenics

Clara Grace seems to do everything with a determination that would make any parents proud to watch. When learning to babble with new sounds, she furrows her brow and scrutinizes her Mommy and Daddy’s lips and tongue for long intervals before taking a turn. This determination also seems to have carried over into her motor achievements. Somewhere around the middle of her third month, Clara Grace began performing tummy crunches twenty at a time. It was as though she knew the next stage in her development was to strengthen her stomach muscles and wanted to accomplish this as quickly as possible. While seated on her Mommy or Daddy’s knees she threw herself forward until her head rested on her toes. Next she sprung upright again with her arms raised in triumph. She repeated this in rapid succession multiple times. Now, in the middle of Clara Grace’s fifth month, she is rolling all around the room. At the beginning of the fifth month, she was rolling, but only with that determination mentioned earlier. Each roll was accompanied by all manner of grunts and wriggling. Two weeks of that, and she was flopping from front to back like a fish. Her Papa from Michigan commented, “Wow, I’ve never seen a baby roll on command like she does.” It’s true, Clara Grace, rolls to her parents when they call from several feet away, and grins proudly on hearing their applause.

Raspberries

At Clara Grace’s fourth month appointment, her doctor asked her mommy and daddy a series of questions. “Can she sit up well? Can she roll over?” “Yes, yes,” her eager parents replied. The doctor concluded his interrogation “Can she blow raspberries?” Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy stood in silent disbelief. Here was a developmental milestone their daughter had somehow missed. “Not to worry,” the doctor assured them, “just start practicing.” Poor Clara Grace endured the showering flecks of spit that night as well as anyone could be expected. As usual, she watched intently and then did her best to imitate. Clara Grace stuck out her tongue and even got as far as blowing, only the vibration was lacking. And here is where she gave up. Her parents still blow raspberries, but mainly for her entertainment. Oddly enough, when mommy makes the sound Clara Grace pays attention politely, but for some reason, the very same sound produced in the very same way by Clara Grace’s daddy has an entirely different effect. When her daddy blows a raspberry, Clara Grace practically doubles over with laughter. Surprisingly, this reaction has not diminished with time or exposure. While it has proven very handy for invoking smiles during picture taking, it leaves Clara Grace’s parents a bit concerned about their daughter’s budding sense of humor.

The Evolution of Cry

Gone is the goat cry that amused Clara Grace’s parents so much during her early weeks. It was first replaced with what her mommy referred to affectionately as the “foghorn” cry. Sometimes, in the dead of night, Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy were awakened to loud and repeated calls of “Wa-ah! Wa-ah!” The two syllables in these exclamations descended in perfect fifths, just like foghorns heard on large seafaring vessels. Clara Grace’s mommy mused sleeplessly one night how not only was her daughter’s cry similar to a foghorn in sound but in function as well. Clara Grace bellowed her loud “Wa-ahs!” from the crib not in panic, but in what sounded almost like a question. “Wa-ah! I’m floating alone in this dark crib in the center of my ocean of a nursery. Wa-ah! Is anyone hearing me? Wa-ah! and if so, respond please.” For better or worse, the foghorn went the way of the goat after only a few short weeks.

It's Snot Funny

On Saturday, March the fifth, Clara Grace woke up with the sniffles. Possibly, she hasn’t seen enough sick people yet to know the expected behavior during times of infirmity, because she bore up amazingly well, smiling and giggling throughout her entire first cold. It could here be noted that both her mommy and daddy were sick earlier and neither managed to come through without a grumble. Even when the sniffles descended into her lungs and caused her to breath with a rattling wheeze she kept up her cheerfulness. During particularly congested morning times, Clara Grace’s daddy affectionately referred to her as his “little monster” because of her gravelly sounding rasps. Despite the baby’s good attitude, it was evident that breathing was becoming steadily more uncomfortable. Her mommy took her into steamy showers and slept with her propped on her arm so she could breath through the night. Clara Grace’s doctor told her that she would have to take breathing treatments in order to get well again. He gave Clara Grace’s mommy a mask connected to a loudly rumbling machine that pumped vaporized medicine through a tube and into the mask. Coincidentally, anything noisy and anything designed to cover her face are on Clara Grace’s list entitled, “New discoveries in the world that I do not like one bit.” In the end, Clara Grace’s cheerfulness barely faltered and she even smiled through her mask once or twice. Much to her mommy and daddy’s relief, her lungs cleared and the sniffles finally went away a little more than a week later.

Field Trip

On Thursday, February 24 Clara Grace’s Grandma took her on an outing to the pet store. Clara Grace watched hamsters and mice running, fish swimming, birds fluttering, and snakes slithering. Only the rabbits were a bit of a disappointment providing little more than nose twitching for Grandma to comment on. Her grandmother reported that she watched all of this with rapt attention. Clara Grace returned home to her well-rested mommy, proudly baring a crinkly bag of doggie biscuits for her own puppy.

Hard Habit to Break

Somewhere in her fourth month, Clara Grace became fascinated with her mommy and daddy’s faces. At times, while sitting with her mommy on the couch, she reaches upward and tenderly strokes her mommy’s cheek or softly pats her mommy’s nose. Then, she finds a few wisps of her mommy’s stray hair and combs them with utmost delicacy until, on a whim, she yanks them right out of her mommy’s head. Other times, she goes straight for the eyes without warning. One of her favorite tricks is to lull her parents into complacency by patting their cheeks lovingly. Just when they smile approvingly she digs in her fingernails and twists the loose skin until their faces are grossly contorted half from her yanking and half from pain. Clara Grace’s daddy remarked, “I didn’t have jowls until Clara Grace got a hold of my cheeks.” On another occasion, Clara Grace’s daddy awoke from a deep, morning nap to the sensation of his ear and nose being tugged simultaneously. His eyes popped open, which sent Clara Grace into a fit of giggles.

It' Don't Mean a Thing

A lonely red and blue baby swing had dangled from the gingko tree in Clara Grace’s backyard for months. Her mommy and daddy had paid two dollars for the swing at a yard sale the previous summer. Their shrewd bargaining was a good thing since it had taken twenty dollars for the rope and chain needed to string it up. The gingko’s leaves had turned yellow and fallen to the ground by the time Clara Grace finally arrived. During the long pregnancy and exciting first days of Clara Grace’s life, her mommy often pictured her daughter in that swing for the very first time.

It is when she voices excitement about things like this that mothers of older children often chide her for wishing away the baby’s early moments. Though Clara Grace’s mommy nods politely, she secretly believes there must be a way to enjoy each of her daughter’s moments while at the same time looking forward to each of the coming changes and experiences. That long anticipated first swing ride finally became the present moment On February 12. Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy took turns pushing their baby back and forth. She laughed when daddy twisted the ropes, causing the swing to spin gently as it arched away from him. Clara Grace’s mommy listened and made a mental note to pick up a tire if they should happen to chance upon one at this summer’s yard sales. She smiled, picturing a tire suspended from the same sturdy branch and the little girl with curly brown hair and the same light blue eyes giggling as she whirled and spun beneath the gingko.

English Rose

Clara Grace celebrated her fourth month with a tea party at the English Rose. Those in attendance were herself, mommy, daddy, grandma, and Aunt Amy. In honor of the grand occasion, Clara Grace enjoyed her first teething cookie. Clara Grace’s waitress called the cookie a Rusk and told her family that it had come all the way across the ocean from England. The eager baby gummed the entire circumference making a general mess of both herself and the Rusk.

Deep Water

Clara Grace is becoming quite a swimmer. She attends swimming lessons twice a week and seems to enjoy them thoroughly. Her mommy is becoming spoiled by the heated pool though and may never swim anywhere else again.

X's and O-o-o-o's

Clara Grace gave her Mommy a kiss. To be fair, Daddy had a lot to do with it. He brought the baby close and Clara Grace puckered up to plant a big slobbery mouth on mommy’s cheek. “You gave mommy a kiss!” her mommy said excitedly then felt warm, wet drool running down her face. “We couldn’t find a rag,” Daddy admitted with a grin.

She Grasped the Gravity of the Situation

Clara Grace has developed quite a strong grasp. Her Mommy first noticed this on January 22nd when Clara Grace made a game of taking pens from Daddy’s pocket and tossing them down to the floor. Since then, she has been quite dedicated and vigorous about grasping Mommy’s hair, however forkfuls of food that can be dumped onto Daddy’s lap are also intriguing.

Taking Our Lumps

Clara Grace was never the “lump” that most people told her Mommy and Daddy to expect for a newborn. From the very first moments of her life she did so much more than eat and sleep. Even shortly after delivery, her personality poked through in beautiful smiles. Week by week, she has been giving her Mommy and Daddy even more glimpses of what they can expect in future years. Clara Grace laughs all the time now, but even more interesting are the things that make her laugh. Most of the time, she laughs whenever she hears someone else laughing. Her Mommy first noticed this when she was listening to a recording of her daughter’s laughter. Every time Clara Grace heard herself laugh, she giggled. Now she makes loud and funny noises and when Mommy or Daddy laughs, she joins in. It is also fascinating that she seems kind enough to reward her Mommy and Daddy with “pity laughs” whenever they are trying very hard to be funny for her. These chuckles are nowhere near as long and happy as laughter, which erupts spontaneously, but it’s the thought that counts.

Wokka Wokka Wokka

Almost two weeks had elapsed since the afternoon when Clara Grace’s Mommy excitedly met Clara Grace’s Daddy at the door and informed him of his daughter’s first laugh. Of course, the two spent countless hours during the next days and nearly wore their tongues out with wagging to produce the same reaction but apparently this joke was only funny the first time. Or worse, maybe Leanna was the only person their daughter found amusing.

But finally, early on Saturday of her fourteenth week, Clara Grace laughed for the second time. It happened as her Mommy held her on her lap facing out. Clara Grace wanted to stand up, so her Mommy supported her under her arms and the baby smiled proudly at her Daddy from her new higher vantage point. Unexpectedly, Clara Grace’s Daddy took the baby’s feet and swung gently back and forth like a hammock. Aware of Clara Grace’s easily startled nature, Clara Grace’s Mommy was about to recommend that he stop at once when the little girl erupted in giggles. This time, she laughed so hard that she gave herself the hiccoughs but she indicated by kicking and lifting her bottom that she would like another go.

And so the game went for at least twenty minutes until the baby’s eyes began to droop and she was ready for her morning nap. Clara Grace’s Mommy marveled again at how no laugh had ever sounded quite so beautiful and is looking forward to the time when her daughter’s laughter comes at regular intervals.

Babies These Days

Clara Grace’s Daddy took her on an outing to the post office early one Saturday morning. “That baby is so alert,” the attendant marveled, “How old is she?” “She’s thirteen weeks,” her Daddy informed. The post office attendant shrugged, “None of my kids were ever that alert at thirteen weeks, I guess they’re just making babies more alert these days.”

Magic Daddy and the Eternal Christmas Tree

It was an odd revelation for Clara Grace’s Mommy when the thought struck her that the baby had lived in a house with Christmas decorations for the greater part of her life. Could she even recall a world without red and green and a giant tree in the middle of the living room? So much of her development had taken place in the shadow of the artificial pine’s heavily laden bows.

Only weeks before, Clara Grace had dozed semi-comatose while her Mommy and Daddy decorated the entire house with bright and shiny Christmas regalia. She had taken only cursory notice of jingling ornaments or even the blinking Christmas tree in mid November.

However, when everything came down in early January she gazed with rapt attention as her Daddy unwound sparkling garland from the tree. Of particular curiosity to her was the mystery of how her Daddy went behind the tree on one side and then somehow reappeared again on completely the other side. This phenomenon happened over and over again as the garland wound lower on the tree and each time Clara Grace snapped her head to the place from where he’d popped out unexpectedly. What an incredibly vast amount of things there are for her new little mind to grasp. And how quickly Clara Grace is taking in her new world.

New Threads Already

It was thirteen weeks after Clara Grace’s arrival when her Mommy packed away all of her zero to three month outfits. As she refitted the seemingly monstrous three to six month apparel onto the vacated hangers, she felt the familiar stinging in her eyes and tightening in her throat that warned the job would be more emotional than expected. By the time the project should have been nearing completion, she found herself sitting dazed on the wood floor in the middle of heaps and heaps of disorganized clothing. However disheartening, the project’s necessity had become apparent when Clara Grace’s neighbor, Lillian Smith, had come to coo over the baby days earlier.

“Oh, my gracious, her looks sooo cold.” Lillian commented in her syrupy Georgian drawl. Clara Grace’s Mommy paused in order to think of a way to respond politely without admitting she’d wantonly put her baby at risk of double pneumonia.

“I guess it’s hard to know how to dress them on one of these 70 degree days in January.” She tugged in vain at the cuffs of her daughter’s pants wondering why on earth they refused to cover the bottom half of the baby’s bare legs. This was certainly an unexpected development since the very outfit had practically engulfed Clara Grace just a short time ago.

Mrs. Smith smiled sweetly, albeit disapprovingly, and shuffled back across the street hunched against the spring-like breeze in her, two undershirts, flannel, and down coat.

And so it was that the very next weekend found Clara Grace’s Mommy knee deep in outgrown bows and ruffles. A few hours and several tears later, Clara Grace’s closet was functional once more. It was harder than anticipated for Clara Grace’s Mommy to let go of the seven pound fourteen ounce newborn who remained curled up against her chest just like a little turtle several minutes even after she’d been taken out of her bassinette. However, she did have to admit there were distinct advantages to the twelve-pound growing infant who had recently learned to smile and stretch out her arms when she wanted to be picked up from the bassinette.

The Best Medicine

January seventh brought the most delightful milestone in Clara Grace’s development to date. It all started with Her Mommy holding her facing out while Leanna conversed with her in all manner of “Goos” and tongue wagging. It must have been that something struck Clara as particularly more hilarious than anything she’d heard in the last twelve weeks and five days because she all at once burst out into genuine laughter. These were not just polite giggles; Clara Grace was smiling so big that her eyes squeezed shut and guffawing so vigorously that she almost choked. As Liana put it, “Well, good grief, she’s cracking up.”

Fish on the Wall

On January sixth, Clara Grace finally took the trouble to notice the masterpieces with which her Daddy had spent months adorning the walls of her nursery. As her Daddy rocked her to sleep, she gazed with particular interest at the orange and white clown fish swimming lazily just above his shoulder.