It's hard to even capture in words the essence that is Claire Elizabeth at three and a half years old. But I will try because I know I will want to look back and try to recollect who this little person was at this age.
Claire is tender-hearted. She calls Max "Maxy" half the time and "Honey" the other half. This morning I was making goodies for Max's birthday party and the two of them played (without needing me to assist or break fights) together for nearly an hour. I heard a lot of "Honey, come here and I'll read you your favorite Elmo book" and "Maxy, I would love a cup of coffee, can you please bring me a cup of coffee from your kitchen? ..... Oh thank you, it tastes soooo good!" (she knows how much he loves bringing people "coffee" and thus asks him to do the same).
She affirms people frequently and I've often wondered if it's just her nature (do we possibly share the same love language?) or if it's influenced by my intentional actions to constantly affirm her. She frequently tells me, Omi, Daddy, and others that we're wearing a really nice shirt or that my hair looks beautiful. When Claire, Brody and Max do projects, she tells Brody "oh Brody, that is SO beautiful! Great job!". She tells me multiple times a day how much she loves me and stretches her arms out as far as they go to illustrate her point.
Claire is hilarious and makes funny inflections with her voice (you should hear her say "HOT Dooooog!") and laughs constantly. Claire and I truly have so much fun together. She loves to tell stories and becomes very animated when doing so. Josh says she's a story teller like her Mama, and I agree except that I think she's much better than me!
Claire weighs maybe 25 pounds and wears size 2T and 3T (except her dress in the picture above is size 18 months!) clothes. She wears size 6 shoes. She goes to sleep at about 8:00PM and wakes around 6:30AM. She naps for about an hour a day on average (sometimes 1 1/2 hours).
She is quiet and reserved in public (I brought her to a jewelry party at my friend Amy's house last weekend and the only thing she said the entire two hours was (in a whisper), "Can you tell Daddy that I was a good girl?") and energetic at home or with people she knows well. She is a people-person and loves to be on the go. She loves to be with her friends (and cousins) and loves shopping and running errands.
Claire is a girly-girl through and through. She is extremely particular about her clothing and that is the source of most of our arguments and frustration. She loves to be outside and also loves to listen to records with Daddy in the basement. She enjoys singing and dancing and we often sing together at the top of our lungs to Christian worship music in my car.
She's my heart and soul. I am so proud and thankful for the little girl she is becoming. She can also make my blood pressure triple in mere seconds and can be my biggest source of frustration. I love her, and I love that she's mine.
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