Happy Birthday

 Above is Luke around 11 months

Below is Clara around 11 months

My little girl turned 1 yesterday.  It's always amazing to see how fast, yet how slow that first year goes.  There are nights in those first few weeks that you think you are never going to make it through.  But here we are, 1 year later, and I can't imagine life without this determined little girl.  Clara is a unique personality, but aren't they all?  She is very sure about what she wants, and it very determined to get it.  She is a true mama's girl.  NO ONE ELSE will do.  She has warmed up to her daddy these last few months, but in her first few months of life, no one else would do.  

Clara is fearless.  I thought Luke was fearless and crazy, but Clara brings it to a whole new level.  She is a climber, and is determined to get up on anything she sets her eyes on.  She can scale drawers to get on top of cabinets, and has a look of devious satisfaction when she does.  She is so much more expressive than Luke ever was, but she is a girl.  She points at things she wants.  She already has a few words like "uh-oh" and "up".  Of course she has been saying "mama" for several months, and knows exactly how to say it in the whiniest voice to break my heart.  She has a love/hate relationship with Luke.  She wants to follow him around and do everything that he does.  However, Luke isn't always the nicest big brother, so she often retreats.  She has learned to be tough because its not uncommon for Luke to push her down, sit on her, or slam doors in her face.  If he only realized that she idolized him, maybe he wouldn't be so mean at times.  Luke thinks all the toys and everything that Clara could possibly want is Luke's.  

Clara is generally just a happy baby.  She likes to explore and is a curious baby.  She just isn't a giggler.  It is so difficult to get her to laugh.  Smiling is easy for her, but laughing is just not something she does.  Luke is such a giggler, so it's such a difference between the two!  Clara does laugh at Luke sometimes, but other than that, maybe she just doesn't think things are funny?

Clara has been taking steps from here to there for a few months, but just about a week or two before her birthday did she really start walking every where.  She isn't the best at balancing, but she is determined to walk every where.  She is such a cute walker, she is slow and wobbly.