Although Neal’s parents come to visit roughly once per month, they always see a difference in Claire. In fact, before they even arrive, Neal and I often remark on how we’re sure they’ll see a difference in her. Physically she is changing very slowly these days – she doesn’t gain much weight (perhaps due to her sudden pickiness!) and she only gains a teeny bit in height now and then. But developmentally? She is changing all the time.
Language is really where it’s at right now. She is now constantly stringing at least two, and sometimes three, words together. She is also repeating a lot of what she hears people saying. It always makes me giggle when I hear her saying familiar things to her dolls that we have said to her. She did something rather cute tonight. She had her stuffed monkey and she set him down on the coffee table, lifted up his legs so she could look at his bum and said, “Poopy? No poopy!”. Then she would slide him down a bit and check again.
The repetition does not, however, always work in our favour. If anyone tries to do something she doesn’t like, she will become very serious and say in a stern voice: “No thank you!” She will also tell people “Not nice!” even if it’s her who is not being nice.
She has also become extremely possessive. It’s “My chair”, “my house”, “my milk”. If she wants me to read her a story and put her to bed instead of Neal, she will announce that the rocking chair in her room is “Mommy’s chair”. When Neal is away or on duty and it’s just me and Claire having supper, I will usually sit in what is normally Neal’s spot, next to her. She will look at me in confusion at least once during a meal and say “Daddy’s chair”, and then point to where I normally sit and say “Mommy’s chair”.
She is also getting better at telling us what she doesn’t want, although we can’t always comply. She has an ingrown toenail and it has become infected.* Obviously it hurts, and Neal has been trying to make it better by pushing the skin around it down to loosen it up around the nail, using floss to get under it, etc. (suggestions he has read about). As I’m sure you can imagine, none of this is very popular with Claire and it has been resulting in a screaming, furious child who yells “No touch! My toes! No touch!”
Good times.
(* Neal took her to the doctor today and we now have oral antibiotics for her to take. The doctor also said that he doesn’t think it’s necessary to really do a whole lot with the nail other than taking the antibiotics as it usually grows out with children. I’m sure hoping that’s the case because I’ll be starting single-parent duty next week when Neal sails for 2.5 months and fooling around with her toe is a two-person job!)
It’s really fascinating and fun to witness all of these changes going on with her. Her imagination is growing – she has started to set up “tea parties” with her stuffed animals, she has even “scooped up” imaginary… stuff and given it to me, and she is playing more and more with dolls and these miniature “My Little Pony” knock-offs we have.
Helping Mommy make soup
And on Saturday, we are having her birthday party, celebrating a little early before her SECOND birthday on April 9th! I can’t even wrap my head around the way that time flies!
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