Sweet, sweet Claire bear with a twist

Daren has been out of town since Saturday. I have missed him very much, but I have LOVED the time with Claire. I am tired but it reinforced how much fun my life is going to be at home full time with her very soon. We fingerpainted, played outside, went to church, ran errands, planted flowers, sang a lot, dressed up like princesses, had picnics outside, took walks and loved on each other. It was really special time. I do have many cute pictures but until Daren gets home to hook the fixed computer back up, I won't have them online. Trust me, though, I will back them up. :-)

Last night, Claire and I were up all night long. It was back to 'newborn baby style,' up all night, sleeping in the chair while Claire sleeps against my chest, snuggling, nuzzling and crying off and on. Claire has a terrible cough that finally took its toll and she couldn't sleep. The only way she could sleep is if she was against my chest and upright. In a strange way, I will treasure last night forever. She was miserably sick and I was miserably tired, but moments like last night are pretty rare these days. Claire is too busy to snuggle for hours. :-) There was a time at 3 in the morning where about every few minutes, she would lean back, look at me and say "I love you, Mommy." Every single time, I cried. It rocked me to the core and melted my heart. We were playing today and she looked at me when I got close to the stairs and said "Be careful, Mommy." It cracked me up because I say that to her every time we go near the stairs. I guess she listens a little closer than I realized. I, too, have a cough that won't quit and every time I cough, she says "Bless you." Sweetest little girl in the world... I am so thankful.

(Dr Diagnosis: I took her to the Dr. and she has double ear infections. I was really surprised because she was up and upset last night with a cough, so the ear thing threw me off. Poor baby! Anyways, we had a sweet, low-key day today with more dress-up and lots of cuddling. She is sound asleep for now... Hopefully, she gets some rest. She is definitely worn out and tired. (and so is Mommy)

Just so I sound too obnoxious about how sweet she is, I will also write a different kind of story. We have a little potty and we are practicing. She is doing very well. She pee pees on the potty from time to time but is no where near being in underwear. I am not in a rush but I do want her to start learning. Right now, I just want her to learn the process of the potty and the little princess potty is working quite well. Potty training is one thing that I truly knew nothing about, but I have read A LOT so we shall see... It will be a long process, I am sure, but I am ready for her to exit the diapers if she will!! So, today for a while, she wanted to be naked so I let her. We were playing outside and Claire was in her "birthday suit." I didn't notice but I looked up and Claire was holding her poop. She didn't mind one bit and probably would have played with it for a while. :-) She is fascinated with taking her diaper off right now so I now have to put the diapers on backwards. So far it is working and she hasn't figured out yet how to undo the backwards diaper, so keep your fingers crossed.