Smarty Pants

I am going to make a conscious effort to not be one of those Mom's that brags about how smart, or athletic, or musically talented, etc, her kids are, except maybe to the doting grandparents and aunts and uncles because it can create undue competition or comparison.  God has given each and every child unique gifts and talents- not one was left out!  I do like, however, to jot down funny/interesting things my kids do or say on my blog because it's the main way I document them.  I am creating a Shutterfly photobook (with the AWESOME new scrapbooking tools! So fun!) for the entire year.  It's a combination of posts from my blog and pictures.  I am going to buy two copies and keep one in our bookshelf and pack the other away.  Eventually, both Claire and Max will have a series of books to take with them.  It's not cheap (the price right now is $191 for just one! But I'm going to wait to print it until they're offering 40% off, minimally) but in the end, I think it will be just as cost effective, if not more, and way more fun than printing photos and placing them in photobooks. 

Anyways.... so this is a post about funny or smart things Claire has said recently. 

She can count to 10.  Before she would say, "1....2...3....4...9!", but now she can say all 10 numbers, and in the right order!  She is also fluent in her ABCs.

Last Sunday night we drove home for the cabin.  After being in the car for over two hours, which surely feels like an eternity to a 26 month old, we passed Burnsville Center and Claire said, while pointing, "That's Noodles right there!". 

Yesterday afternoon we were playing outside. Claire pointed to an airplane in the sky and said, "That's Mommy's right there!".  Over a week ago, Omi told Claire that Mommy was coming home from work on an airplane (the day I flew home from NYC).

Claire talks to Max a lot. It's ridiculously cute to me.  The following are phrases I've heard Claire say within the past few days to Max.  And they are always said in the right context! I wonder how much she thinks he can comprehend?
"Max, Nana coming!  Nana coming, Max!"
"Max, you wanna plant the garden?"
"Max, we gonna go to Target!"
"You want some wa-wa (water), Max?"
"Oh, CUTE shorts, Max!"

This morning Josh said to Claire, "Honey, can you get me a diaper for Max?  They're on the kitchen table".  Claire looked at him thoughtfully and replied, "No, I can't reach it".  A very normal and logical dialogue, but one that is fascinating to have with a 26 month old, who not long ago only said one word at a time.  It's also amazing to me how gramatically correct her sentences often are. 

When I was young, I struggled with proper pronounciation for a long, long time.  We're talking speech therapy from age four until 13.  For many of those years the only remaining letter I could not consistenly pronounce was "r".  To this day, I still have to concentrate on occasion if I'm saying a word that has both w's and r's in it.  I am thankful that Claire is not demonstrating any issues whatsoever with her speech.  She speaks very clearly and can pronounce each letter correctly.  Thank you, God!