The Amazing Adventures of Claire Bear: October 2014

Eeek ... I have done a horrible job at updating this blog. I mean, I almost don't want to post a new entry because then I have to admit how long it has been since I last posted (over 5 months) and how much has happened since then that I really should have been posting about (Claire turned one, she started walking, etc. etc.), and when I think about all of that, I start getting overwhelmed. But, here I am, so here we go .... (I will try to keep this as short as I can, but y'all should know that doesn't really mean anything).

Birthday

Super cute birthday banner made by an amazingly talented friend

So Claire turned one on May 16th. Two days prior to that (five days after the last blog post), Claire had an appointment with her pediatrician, who recommended that we remove dairy from her diet due to a suspected milk protein allergy. I am sure no one will be surprised to learn that I *slightly* freaked out about what to do for Claire's birthday cake (and birthday cupcakes at daycare) given this new development. Fortunately, my best friend (and the mother of Claire's best friend) stepped in and ordered vegan cupcakes and a smash cake from a local cupcake bakery. I am relatively sure that the Bear didn't even notice the difference ...

Birthday cupcakes with BFF

Posing with big brother at her birthday party

Claire had a great time at her party, and we were so happy that we were able to celebrate the Bear with so many family and friends.

Birthday outfit

Summer

Soooo many things happened over the summer that I don't even know where to start. I think it will be easiest to handle this via bullet points.

It seems like we had just gotten used to Claire crawling when she decided it was time for her to start walking. Once she sets her mind to something, that is it, and there is no turning back.

Walking to Dad at her birthday party.

Claire's bottom middle teeth were joined by two teeth on the tops - no, not her middle ones. Instead, Claire grew her "fangs" first, which, in my opinion, gave her the cutest smile EVER. (She has since grown her top middle teeth, along with two more teeth on the bottom, for a total of 8.)

I spent my first nights without Claire when Bo and I went to Vegas in June (Bo had already met that milestone the year before when he went to Chicago for his brother's bachelor party). Claire had a great time with both sets of grandparents, and I discovered that blackjack is a really great distraction. (Oops.)

We went on a cruise with Bo's parents, two of his brothers, and some family friends in July. Claire had an absolute blast - her favorite part was running around the ship with an adult trailing behind her.

Despite taking allergy medicine and being on an (almost 100%) dairy-free diet, Claire continued to have double ear infections. We were referred to an ENT in July, who confirmed that Claire needed ear tubes. Her surgery was on August 4th at CHKD, and, once again, Claire handled the whole thing like a champ (even though Momma and Daddy were more than slightly nervous). The difference the tubes have made is amazing. Claire has been ear infection-free - and we are keeping our fingers crossed that this continues, even though the tubes will not entirely prevent infections from occurring - and she has just been a happier camper overall.

Watching a movie before surgery

Claire moved up to the Toddler room at daycare at the beginning of September. It was a bit of a rough transition, but she now loves her new teachers as much as she does her old, and she is happy to walk into the room each morning.

First day of school

We took a mini-vacation to the Outer Banks with some friends at the beginning of September. The waves were a little rough, so I thought Claire would be hesitant to go into the water ... boy, was I wrong! I spent much of the first day at the beach running after Claire, who kept beelining for the ocean. :)

Claire also discovered her love of "Frozen." I am pretty sure we have watched the movie over 100 times, but it continues to mesmerize her.

Watching "Frozen."

There is so much more than happened, but I figure, as always, it is best to tell the story through pictures.

Tea party with Daddy

Enjoying a baseball game

Discovering her love of swings

Splashin' around with her BFF

14 months old!

Mmmmmm ... raspberry sorbet!

Bike ride

Summer visit with Uncle Sammy

Fun with the fountains at the Zoo

Daredevil

Fall

We have had a great fall so far. Claire continues to grow (too fast, if you ask me). She is talking more and more, both verbally and using sign language. Her favorite words are Momma, Dadda, cat, dog, juice, dance, and hot, while her favorite signs are baby, airplane, dog, hat, more, and please. Claire still loves all things "Frozen;" she has LOTS of Frozen figurines, a Frozen lunchbox, a Frozen coloring book, a Frozen toy bag ... you name it, we most likely have it. Bo's parents took her to see Frozen on Ice in September, and they said she enjoyed everything about it (except for intermission). She still loves goldfish and Doritos and strawberries, but has expanded her palate to include peas, corn, green beans, chicken nuggets, carrots, peaches, eggs, and edamame. Not the most diverse diet, but I do like how much she loves her vegetables.

One of the biggest things that has happened this fall was Claire's article in our local children's hospital magazine, "KidStuff." Back in May, my sister met someone from CHKD at a marketing event - Kati mentioned Claire and gave the woman a link to this blog. A couple of weeks later, I received a phone call from the woman asking if they could use portions of the blog in the magazine. I, of course, said yes, and we got to have a mini-family photo shoot in June. The magazine came out last Friday, and they did an amazing job, both with the photographs and with choosing what parts of the blog to use to tell Claire's story. I have not gotten my copy yet, but a friend was nice enough to share hers with me.

Finally, we hit the one year anniversary of Claire's surgery on October 16th. It is still hard to believe all that has happened since we first learned of Claire's omphalocele and that we are were we are today. We are incredibly blessed.

Okay, enough procrastinating ... time to do some real work. As always, I will end the post with some more Claire photos. I hope everyone is having a great fall, and I will try to post more often!