Clara

Clara continues to be a good big sister, my fun little buddy and Miss helpful. She is such a unique, special little girl and sometimes I feel so underqualified to be her mother. This past week she's been especially funny. In addition to idolizing Rachel while she was staying at our house, she has been saying and doing some really funny/interesting things. At church she drew a picture of her without clothes on in the shower. She also told Rachel, "My mom is really good at popping zits but my dad isn't very good at it." Glad she helped me recognize one of my talents. She's really into people's appearances and honest to a T. We've had some really funny conversations, but this could be my current favorite:

C: I have something to tell you that might make you cry.

M: (brushing her teeth) Okay. Did you do something naughty?

C: No.

M: Okay, what do you want to tell me?

C: I think this might make you sad, but I like the way the people on TV look because they have shiny teeth and shiny faces and I wish you could look like that.

M: Yeah. Just remember a lot of people are fake. They spend lots of time and money to look like that and I'd rather spend my time and money on other things, like you and Hazel. Plus, I'm happy with the way I look but I care more about the way I act and treat people than how I look.

C: And sometimes when you wear a t-shirt you look like a boy.

M: Well, the reason I wore a t-shirt today is because I worked out in a garage for 4 hours sweating my guts out.

C: But I just really wish your teeth and face could be shiny like that lady with dark hair that comes over (my VT that is beautiful). 

M: Well, some things, like the shape of our teeth, are genetic and there's not much I can do about them, so I don't worry about it. I'm just happy with the way I am. 

C: And you don't look good in zits.

The next day she told me I looked pretty when I went to work and that she liked my hair curly. She also finally told me I have shiny teeth and she likes them. So she does give out plenty of compliments too.

Here was another awesome conversation:

C: Can I put makeup on?

M: Why?
C: Because I want to play boyfriend.

M: How do you play boyfriend?

C: Oh, I just run around and get the boys to chase me so that when they catch me and ask me to be their girlfriend, I can say NO! 

Or maybe when she told me she had a dream that she went to school without her clothes on and I asked her if she was embarrassed and she said, "No, I liked how it felt."

Clara's new vocabulary words make me laugh because of the grown up tone she uses, how she pronounces them and sometimes even the words themselves since they are clearly made up: dangin' (pretty sure she's combining dang+stinkin'), decision (pronounced: decishion) and perhaps are some of my favorite.

One day she was a horse and hooked herself up to the car to give Hazel a ride. 

Clara loves to pretend, especially with food. She set up her own little kitchen (below) to prepare all sorts of meals, which entertained her for an entire afternoon.

I have had so many people tell me I'll have more pictures of my oldest child. Unfortunately, lately that isn't close to being true. It seems like most of the time I pull out my camera, it's when Clara is gone, so I take pictures of Hazel. I need to take more pictures of this cute face (but maybe without her lioness hair... I'm not exactly sure how that came about...)