What we've been up to...

This post is a bit delayed, as we were without a camera for a couple of weeks and have been on vacation this past week. I mostly wanted to write some of these things down so that I don't forget them.

Joe was out-of-town for the first couple nights of the Olympics, so I let Clara stay up with me to watch. Those first few nights were full of swimming races, and we soon realized that Clara had developed a huge crush on Michael Phelps!! She would get giddy and dance around when he came on the TV (which seemed to be any time we turned it on) and she could pick his mom out of the crowd. She was asking if she could go visit him at his house when he got back from China! That led to a little lesson in geography, and the long distance between our house and his. She even got out our map so that I could show her which state Michael lived in! Clara renamed one of her favorite dogs Michael Phelps, so the legend will live on in our house! I guess he is a step up from her last crush on the little boy "Steven" in the Barney video.....

Clara and Michael Phelps :)

Today, as we were walking into church, Clara was asking me if she could get a dog and a cat when she gets married. (I've pretty much told her that she won't own a pet in our home!) She then went on to tell me that she doesn't know who she is going to marry yet, but that she will wear a beautiful white dress! This girl has some big ideas beyond her years!!

Hannah's talking has exploded in the past month, and it is so fun to see even more personality come out with her words. Some of her common expressions lately have been:

"Mommy, I DO IT!"
"I'm real, real thirsty-I want juice" and when I tell her that she already had enough juice today, her response is, "Just a little bit".....already negotiating!
"Clara, I did it!" She is so proud of every new thing that she can do. She insists on putting her own socks and shoes on, zipping her own coat or pajamas, and drinking from a cup without a lid "like a big girl"
"Hey guys, what you doing?"
And if she sees any member of the family is missing, she will ask, "Clara is?" "Daddy is?"

Hannah usually starts the day by putting her favorite Clifford movie on the TV, watching about 5 minutes of it, and then coming into the kitchen to climb up on the counter and help me make "panpakes". She loves helping me scoop, pour, and stir anything she can get her hands on. Her other new discovery is climbing out of her crib! She called me after one of her naps this week, and when I walked in, she was hanging on for dear life from the outside of the crib, not quite sure if she could make the drop to the floor. We put a big rubbermaid bin next to the crib, and she is getting pretty good at climbing in and out!