Happy Birthday to Clara

It was fun celebrating Clara's birthday week. I say WEEK because we had three separate little celebrations for her. At Mimi and Granddad's house we opened a few presents. She got some pretty clothes and her first 'laptop' - why yes, she IS a computer genius; thank you for asking.

Party #2 was a small celebration with just Clara, Momma (that's me) and Daddy. I did not bake a cake but I bought little cupcakes that we found most disappointing. One taste made Clara stick out her tongue with the yucky, bitter, pink icing and cry. In fact she cried when we put on her party hat, she cried when we lit the cupcake, and she cried when we would not let her touch the flame on the lit cupcake, and lastly she cried when she tasted the cupcake. Sheesh! We were lucky to get one photo.

On to presents. Everyone likes getting presents and Clara is no exception. Ripping paper is always fun and the toys Mommy and Daddy picked out were a huge success.

Party #3 took place with the whole Rogers clan at Grandma and Papa's house. I baked Clara's first birthday cake and was very proud of myself and my Halloween decorations. We sung, opened presents and then we ate cake!

Clara was much more impressed with Mommy's cake; though, she was not a fan of the feeling of frosting between her fingers. Daddy fed her instead.

And lastly a few pictures that were taken earlier that day. Our cousin, Madison and Aunt Andria raked up a nice pile of leaves and Clara and Madison had lots of fun playing.


Won't eat pink icing cupcakes but cannot stop eating dried crunchy leaves . . . go figure.

Play

Why spend money on Fisher Price toys when your child is entertained with a straw? Clara gets a kick out of the most mundane objects; it is really cute and also really messy. She is into every cabinet and drawer within her reach.



So far her favorite drawer is the plastic bag drawer (ya, I know babies are not supposed to play with plastic bags). I pick up grocery bags all day because they make the most delightful noises.





My little black cat

Tricksey

Clara has learned several "tricks" that we would like to share. It is so fun to watch her play because we realize how much she watches and learns from everything around her. She understands much of what we say to her . . . now if we could only understand what she says. Oh well, it will come quickly enough - too quickly.



Clara has also recently mastered the stairs. She can go up and down but needs a little more encouragement when going down - I guess up is more fun? Here's Clara showing off her new skill.

Baby Steps

Clara is on the move! Before this she has required a chair or a hand or something to help her stand up. Then one day she picks up two blocks, stands up and takes two steps toward me before falling back on her padded behind. Then came the tears, not from her from me! My baby took her first steps, how did she get so big so fast? When Clark came home we caught a little bit on film.

Eleven Months

My big girl is eleven months old. Clara crawls all over the place pulling anything and everything out of drawers and cabinets. She also likes to pull herself to a standing position to cruise around the furniture. She is a little timid about walking on her own but will walk around if she's got you by one hand and can stand all by herself. The other day when Mom ran up stairs to grab her shoes she came back to a little girl who had already climbed to the 5th step (need another baby gate). She is so excited about eating table food and so far her favorite is cheese and strawberries - but mostly cheese. She can say "Mama" and "Dada" and we like to tell ourselves that she is referring to us when she says them. She gives us nice, big, wet kisses when we ask for them and sometimes initiates them on her own. A little girl at church was not quite sure what to do when Clara leaned in with her open mouth!! She can clap her hands and wave bye bye and now has four teeth.

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend we had a full house! Grandma, Papa, Uncle Robert, Aunt Anne, Aunt Emma, and cousin Rainie all came to see us and our new home. We had a wonderful time! We celebrated Papa's birthday in style at a little Mexican restaurant in town.Ole!The sombrero was a big hit!Clara also got a little birthday action; she opened her birthday present from Grandma early (can't believe we are almost to the 1 year mark - can someone please hit pause for just a little while).Clara loves to watch "big kids." She can't keep up yet but she sure thought Rainie was fun.

Trip to Midland

In August we made a trip to Texas to show Clara off to all my siblings. We had lots of fun - we went swimming, we went to a minor league baseball game and overall just had lots of fun being with people we love. Clara was very happy to have another person she could lead around the house.

Texas wind blowin through our hairWe love Mimi!!

Daily Grind

I'm posting these videos mostly for myself. They will seem long and uneventful to everyone else but for me it is a sweet reminder of why I wanted to be a mother and how lucky I feel to watch her learn and grow each day.

Following the Leader

Clara loves to walk her parents around the house. At first it was hard and scary and then it became the only thing she wanted to do. It's a killer on Mom and Dad's backs but her delighted squeals make it well worth the pain.

Bitter Sweet

Before we said our final farewell to Kansas we made a trip to Cameron, MO to say goodbye to Clark's grandmother who passed away. It was a beautiful service but even more beautiful was the gathering of the family that dearly loves her and will miss her. Here are all of her grandchildren and some of her great-grandchildren.



Clara got lots of attention from her second cousin, Annabelle!