Quick Visit

My good friend, Andrea, came for a visit this past week. It was a bit last-minute, so we didn't do the typical fill the week with adventures (trips to the lake, etc) that we have done in the past. I had a few commitments that I couldn't shake. So she just joined in the fun of a week in the life of Amy and Clara (and not so much Jono, sadly. It was a very busy week at work!). It's a good thing Andrea is so easy to please because we didn't do much. Here's the good and bad of our week...

Good: Trip to the farmer's market to get some fresh fruit and veggies.

Bad: Forgetting to refrigerate the carrots upon our return home. 85 degree house + fresh carrots = mush.

Good: Participating in a local 5k race & heading straight to book club (Andrea read our book The Red Tent in four days in order to participate). Running + books = happiness.

Bad: Coming home to find out my husband pulled the car into the garage with his mountain bike on top, thus shattering our back windshield, denting our car and his bike (He destroyed his very nice road bike the same way a few weeks ago). Huge bummer.

Good: My mom's goat cheese bruschetta.

Bad: The empty plate when you realize they're gone.

Good: Quality time between Clara and Andrea.

Bad: Missing out on some of it because of volleyball camp.

Good: Clara's new skill (thanks to Andrea)= raising her fist in the air when we yell "victory"!

Bad: The fact that despite our best efforts, she would not do it for the camera.

Good: Spending quality time with a dear friend.

Bad: Saying goodbye. And contemplating just how different Clara will be the next time she visits.

Camping at Farragut

What do you get when you have twelve adults, eleven kids (ten of them under the age of six), one RV, two tent trailers, and four tents on two very hot summer days? A weekend getaway to Farragut State Park, of course, with our home group from church. (Here are just some of the kiddos...)

Let me just start by stating the obvious: camping with a fourteen month old is quite different than camping with a three month old. Last year Clara spent most of her day sleeping. When she wasn't sleeping, she was hanging out in her bouncer or snuggling in a lap. Here is what camping looked like last year. This year, the theme was dirt. Clara was all about grabbing it, trying to eat it, and basically attempting to roll around in it.

I know I've mentioned quite a bit just how different this summer is than last. But on our camping trip I had a constant reminder: sweet little Hollyn was born on May 3rd of this year, Clara's exact birth date! So every time I glanced at this darling little bundle, I remembered that Clara was that little just last year. Wow.

This year: (the only closer-up picture I captured of Miss Clarabelle over the weekend, oops)

(Sidenote: We almost didn't make it on this excursion because of a little bout with Roseola. Let's just say that last week was not the happiest week in the life of the Claranator. And it certainly wasn't happiest for me either. At all. But that is behind us, thankfully.)

What a wonderful weekend it ended up being! The crazy part was just how relaxing and laid back it was, despite the fact that there was a constant swarm of activity at all times. The kids played hard, but slept hard too. The adults even got about four hours of uninterrupted campfire game time. Pretty incredible, if you ask me.

The trip was wonderful. It really was. But not every moment was delightful, let me tell you. What was not entirely delightful? That's an easy question to answer. Saturday morning from 1:30am to 3:00am, precisely. Our little darling awoke around 1:30 and when Jonathan checked on her (and she saw him...a deadly mistake on his part), she lost it. I mean, went completely off the handle. Neither of us could calm her down. At all. In fact, after ten minutes of crying, the only thing that calmed her was the presence of the banana next to her bed. Somewhere mid-scream she paused, pointed to the banana, said "nana", and then screamed again. Desperate for anything, we gave her the option of eating it and she did. At least 2/3 of it, that is. And then continued crying. So we put her in the car (still screaming), and went on a drive. A long drive. She fell asleep. We almost did too. And then we returned to our campsite. Jono to recline his seat and spend the night in the car, while Clara slept in her car seat. Me to spend a few hours in the tent trailer.

What was wrong with Clara? Absolutely nothing. This same event has happened on a trip once before. If she wakes in a strange place and sees us at night, she just freaks out. But that time she didn't wake an entire campsite full of friends and strangers alike. Ugh.

On Saturday morning we decided that we can understand why some people might take a little break from camping when their kids are at the one year old stage. But we were not going to give up that soon. I'm sure there is a challenge when it comes to camping with kids at any age, really. We had a game plan for night two: do not check on her if she squirms, or even calls out. The result? Twelve hours of peaceful sleep for the Claranator and a very happy mom and dad.

These next few weeks will be the true test. We have a few adventures ahead and I have a feeling we will learn a lot about flexibility and patience in the coming days ;). And we'll definitely make sure to bring along a generous supply of bananas.

Summertime

This summer and last are about as different as can be. Last summer we went on walks, spent time at the lake, and hung around the house, just like this summer. The difference, however, is in the Claranator. This is what Clara looked like during most activities last summer (think calm, serene, napping...)

This summer it's go go go from the second she wakes up. Usually, I get a nice "mama" and smile before she signs for food, asks for books, and then tries to grab anything interesting within reach. And then she's off to explore the world around her. My friend's little four year old pretty much summed it up when he commented on Clara's behavior (trying to get everyone's calzone, watermelon, salad, grapes, plate, napkins, sodas, shoes, hats, jewelry, etc.) at a picnic this past week. He said something like "mom, Clara likes getting into everything".

Some of the developments in the last couple weeks have been...

*New foods topping the charts recently: grapes, peanut butter on Dave's good seed bread. We're still working on loving vegetables in this household but are happy to say she's tried and tolerated, if not liked, many new foods in the past few weeks.

*The one year molars are popping through. And probably taking energy away from her side hair growth.

*Vocabulary is being accumulation at a rapid pace! Some of my new favorites include: hellooo (think Frank from Father of the Bride), Elmo, yo yo, bike, and Ella (which sounds a lot like Alla)

*Saying animal noises on command. Her repertoire has grown to: cat, dog, monkey, sheep, duck, cow and horse. By far, horse is the best sound. You have to get up right next to her in order to hear her inner-throat "neigh". Hysterical.

*Walking!!! Horray. She has come a long way in the last two weeks. These days she is walking almost everywhere. And getting back up on her feet when she falls.

*Obsessing over her Elmo sing-along book (thanks, Rhiannon), and participating in the "blanket dance" with enthusiasm.

*Stairs, stairs, stairs! The girl can climb & descend them all day long. She's finally mastered the backwards technique of descent and I am quite relieved.

*She's a waterbug! The girl cannot get enough water. Big pools. Little pools. Lakes. Splash pads. Fountains. She loves them all.

*Finding bellybuttons is a new source of enjoyment. I'll tell her, "find daddy's belly button" and she'll proceed to lift up Jono's shirt and stick her finger in his belly hole, then laugh with glee.

She's at such a fun stage right now. Here's a bit of what we've been up to lately. In pictures...

Reunion #2

We got back last night from a week at the lake. Officially, it was our second Vaughn Family Reunion. Unofficially, it was a week at the lake with my immediate family. The term reunion came into play with the appearance of grandchild #1: Clara. Now there are two grand-babies in the mix, so we're definitely in full-fledged "reunion" status and will be from this point on. Of course it is different than the large "Vaughn Family Reunions" that happen every four years and involve 40ish people, though we have one coming up next summer (horray!).

The week was great. Really great. There have been a couple glimpses of summer in the past weeks, but it's been a really cool June overall. I'm so glad the weather warmed up during our week at the lake, though! If we were up there a week ago, it would've been a different story. And the best part about being up at the lake when the weather is hot, of course, is the fact that a). there is a cold body of water to jump into and b.) even on an 80 degree + day, the nights are still cold (I love that). When we came home our aircondition-less house was stifling. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here is our time at the lake. In pictures...

An amazing double rainbow on the way up to the lake...

Playing in the kiddy pool on the deck of the cabin.

Climbing in and out = a new favorite activity for Clara.

Hanging out at the beach.

Eating good food.

Accumulating dozens of splinters.

Golfing off the dock, a fierce competition among the guys.

Going for runs. Alas, the "slow but motivated" sisters unite!

Evening concert + pizookie a la mode & coffee (followed by Up projected on the side of the cabin) = glorious

Lathering up with sunscreen.

Grammy & grandpa made it all the way from southern California, along with their dog, Bobby. Clara was all about kissing Bobby ("baba").

Family time in the cabin (including a visit from the cousins on Wednesday).

Of course there were two trips to Hills Resort to watch World Cup soccer, and an all-girl walk to Hills for breakfast. As if I haven't posted enough pictures already, here are the final few. I promise.

Every moment we get together is precious and this past week was no exception. Clara is going through people withdrawals. Jonathan is going through golfing/napping/family/adventure withdrawals. And I am gearing up to do the 5+ loads of laundry and to fill our fridge with food again. Oh, the post-vacation blues ;)...