Claire is 5!

2010

Our little Claire turned 5 last week! I honestly can't believe she's only now 5. It seems like she's been 5 for 2 years already. All of her friends have been 5 for a while now, so in my mind, she's been 5, too. 

Claire was born with a lot of cheek. Luckily she's grown in to them. I'm not going to lie; she was not the cutest baby. But that's ok, because after just a few months she turned in to the most beautiful person I've ever seen. 

2012

Though quite crusty and icy on the outside, she's very soft in the middle. She's an anxious child who holds in her emotions in public and then dumps them all on me when we're home. I'm glad I can be there for her, but it's been hard to know what to do with it all. This one won't go to sleep unless she's touching me. It's my moment to remember that she's a sweet child, so I stay with her. 

2014

She's working hard every day on her violin Twinkles! 

And she loves to dance. She makes Ruby put on shows with her all the time. 

She's also an excellent chip bag opener. Yes, I'm putting it on the list of talents. Gabriel and Ruby automatically hand her their bags and ask her to open them because they like it when she makes it explode from squeezing it. She's a good sister. 

Favorite Claire memory: Her first night in a big bed. We had bought bunk beds for her and Gabriel and we threw them together. I left the monitor in the room and closed the door. She was only 2 and had never been able to get out of bed before and had never had anyone to talk to at night. She would not stop talking to Gabriel. I kept hearing  her say, "Dabble! Dabble!" (her version of "Gabriel"), and poor Gabriel eventually out of his mind with frustration, finally crying to make her stop talking. After a few hours I put her back in her crib. The next night, we tried it again, and Gabriel said, "Oh, no! Not this again! Get her out of here!". I think that's another reason I stay with her until she falls asleep: so she can't talk all night.