Happy Birthday, Claire!

Look who is 2!!! Just like last year, Claire celebrated her birthday with family, pasta, and hamming it up. She loooved being the center of attention, and flirted with anyone who made eye contact with her all dinner long. But the real party started once she saw the candles and realized that everyone was singing just for her.

Talk about delight! She even made an excellent attempt at blowing out her candles.

She has been changing so much in the last couple of months. Up until just a month ago, she wanted very little to do with books. Whereas Isaac had been into books since he was about 9 months old, Claire just had too much to do to sit still. But just in the last month, that has started to change. She's really getting into reading, and that makes her mama very happy!

She's also breaking out the full sentences, and more complicated syntax. Although she's quieter than Isaac on first contact, she has quite a bit to say after she warms up to you. Some of her favorite words right now (and mine) are "Sis-mas wites" (Christmas lights), "Taw-babies" (strawberries), and "Baby Soup" (bathing suit). She loves her daddy's new profession, and would eat strawberries all day every day if she could. She loves food, and is very adept with her fork and spoon. She loves to sing (quite loudly), and I'm starting to wonder if she's going to be the next family vocalist. She provides BGVs for a lot of the songs we play in the car, and she regales us with "ABC's" and "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" all day long. She still loves to be held, and wants to be in the center of it all as long as she can be close to someone she trusts. Although she has earned the nickname, "Clairedevil" for her reckless attempts to break a bone or try something outside of her age level, she is also very cautious around almost any kind of animal, and some people.

Claire is no shrinking violet...she has to keep up with Isaac and does so without any problems whatsoever. We're working on not grabbing, patience, and obeying the first time.

Claire has definitely taken the place of cutest Whitaker in the household, and she is a joy to live with. We love you, sweet girl, and can't wait to see what is in store for you this next year!