So many tidbits to share about Claire, who is such a marvelous and interesting little person. Without further ado:

• She’s becoming more aware of feeling and articulation and is building a narrative. One say she fell down hard on her back at Little Gym after stepping on a ball. She was uninjured but scared. The next week when the balls were brought out, she started to cry and said, “I’m scared!” and then “I want a hug.” I held her while she watched kids play with the balls. She is also fascinated by trains, but finds them scary. We often visit the train station and watch about four trains come and go. She told her father the story about how their loud screeching brakes frightened her.
• Claire also finds certain songs in minor keys that sound mournful to be scary, such as All the Pretty Little Horses, or certain Loreena McKennitt songs.
• When she gets mad of late, she often throws down what she is holding – a book, stuffed animal, crayon – and announces through tears and wails that she has thrown the item down. Or she spits and then says, “I’m drooooooling!!!!” Or she bangs her head against a wall and cries that she is hurt. It’s so dramatic. It’s so clear that she is angry and the only way she can express it is to throw down something she values or to hurt her self and then cry and exclaim what she did. She also narrates her actions: I’m crying, I’m sad, I’m mad. I think it’s wonderful that she can say these things. I hope she outgrows the self-injury behavior soon, though.
• When Claire leaves her music class, she says, “Bye-bye, music class.”
• We are teaching her the word please. I used to say, “Can you ask for [X] nicely?” And she’d parrot, “Nicely.” Then I’d ask her to say please. And now it’s a game. Sometimes I request she ask nicely, and she says “Nicely,” and I look at her and say, “No, come on, what’s the magic word?” To which she replies with a cheesy grin, “Pleeeeeeeeease!” Yet she also more frequently uses the word voluntarily when asking for something.
• Claire is discovering more of her body. She announces while getting dressed or bathed, “I have nipples!” and touches them. The other day I changed in front of her, and she said, “Mommy has nipples. Mommy has owls!! Owls!” I can she how she would think that part of my anatomy looks like owl eyes.
• She knows her belly button, and below that are what we call her “girl parts.” I was changing her diaper, and she reached down with her hand and said, “Girl parts!” I replied, “Yes, those are your girl parts.” She exclaimed, “I LOVE girl parts!!” Made me laugh. (And yes, I’m aware this of one of those stories she might cringe over later; I’m still pondering when I will start restricting these little stories to email.)
• She sings a lot: ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Two Little Blackbirds, Ally Galoo and more. I’m amazed with her retention.
• The other day after I sang her nap lullabies, Claire said, “The end,” and kissed me.
• Claire has used the potty four times to pee. It’s not something I press, but it’s interesting she is expressing interest.
• She nows plays pretend with her toys. She changes Waddles the penguin’s diaper, does nosy-nosy (Eskimo kisses), tickles the toy, asks if he prefers to hear one song or another.
• We have had to put the Babar book away for now. The first Babar book explains how he came to be alone – a hunter killed his mother. Until recently it didn’t bother her. Then one morning as Husband read that part, she went ballistic with tears and demanded me. She has been very intensely attached to me more of late. I’m sure she doesn’t understand the concept of killing, but she does grasp Mommy, gone, and sad.
• We have a going out ritual that I think helps her deal with separation anxiety. She stands at the top of the stairs and says, “Mommy close the door.” I go through the door to the garage to put stuff in the car, and behind me as it closes I hear a wail. I turn around immediately and go back, and she is standing on the top step looking worried and relieved with her arms outstretched. I pick her up and we go to the car.
• We take daily walks in the neighborhood and find interesting things to explore. We found an almost whole eggshell that looked as though it had hatched a bird. We’ve seen snails and explored how their antennae curl up when touched; I picked them up the by the shell so she could see the underside. We sniff flowers (we love jasmine), pick up pine cones, and watch ants. We do the “silly walk” (sort of a goose-step) or walk on tippy-toe. I’m not self-conscious about being seen doing silly things; I even caught a driver smiling at us.
• She’s still fascinated by trucks, and we watch the garbage truck every week. She says she wants to ride in it.
• Claire also says some other charming things, or speaks sentences that surprise me, such as:
  • ’Member to look out for cars! Don’t bump cars.
  • Crayons are fun! [sniffs them] They smell good!
  • Daddy reading a magazine on the sofa.
  • I love [this book, cookies, bubbles]. (I find it interesting that she has naturally come to use “I love” as an expression of enthusiastic endorsement of things she likes.)
• One of her books features a lost kitten adopted by a family of mice. He encounters milk in a saucer, though, and his brother mouse warns him it’s probably poison. He drinks it and says, “Mmmmmm! Wonderful stuff!” Claire also says after drinking water, “Wonderful stuff!”
• There’s another book she loves: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk, then a straw, then a napkin, etc. Well, upon reading this to her the other day, she requested milk in a glass with a straw and drank about three ounces! This is four months after we took her bottles away. She has only drunk a sip from a straw and glass since that request, but it’s a start. She did eat half an ounce of smoked mozzarella yesterday, too.

Claire will be 21 months old in about a week. We’re having the time of our lives.