Two

Two years ago today my life was forever changed. Miss Clara Joanne was born. This time last year I spent a lot of time reflecting. And even more time (if that's possible), creating a fun and memorable first birthday party. You may remember it.

This year I have again done some reflecting. Birthdays seem like a natural time to slow down a bit - to think back on the happenings of the past year - and to celebrate what is in store for the year to come. But I must admit, I have felt guilt at times over the lack of time/effort/energy devoted to the Claranator on this 2nd birthday. I've likely set myself up for many guilt-ridden birthdays in the future after her 1st birthday party. If only I would've known this last year. I might have toned it down a bit ;).

Thankfully our delight in Clara is not proportional to the time I spent birthday planning. Our sweet girl brings more joy to life than I ever thought possible in the days before she was born - and even what I imagined a year ago.

A few months ago I asked Jonathan if he could come up with one word to describe Clara. I, of course, had given it plenty of thought and was happy about my choice. In just a few seconds (which is quite fast for my deep-thinking, slow-processing husband), he said, "that's easy: bright". Which was, ironically, my same word.

bright

-adjective

1. radiating or reflecting light; luminous; shining: The bright coins shone in the gloom.

2. filled with light: The room was bright with sunshine.

3. vivid or brilliant: a bright red dress, bright passages of prose.

4. quick-witted or intelligent: They gave promotions to bright employees.

You can't sum her up any better than that, I think. And the really great thing? Clara actually means "clear, bright". I know, we picked the perfect name. Or did she just grow into her name? I've never been a big meaning of names kind of girl. I may have just become one.

Here are just a few tidbits about our little two year old. Entirely random little things:

*She is social. Like really social. She loves giving hugs and sometimes doesn't have a great idea of "personal space". This can be a problem when she interacts with more "space conscious" little ones, like her cousin. She also has this crazy aptitude to remember names. On the way to Kindermusik last week, she started listing off kids I hadn't even remembered were in her class. Upon our arrival to class, Clara proceeded to hug all her classmates, and even ran to greet one little boy by name (whom I had, again, forgotten). Oh my. My mom tells stories of me as a toddler, asking little girls to "be my fwend" at the park all the time. This may prove interesting over time.

*She LOVES music. This, again, is no surprise. She has loved it all along. What I am absolutely eating up lately, is how singing has become such a part of our daily routine. Clara can match nearly any random song to whatever activity we may be doing. Putting on shoes? How about Shoe shoe, how do you do? The toast coming up? Pop goes the weasel, of course. Passing a grassy field? Walking in the green grass. And then there is the song she sings at any dull moment, which is Go round the mountain (not to be confused with She'll be coming round the mountain)You haven't heard of it? You're really missing out.

My new favorite thing - in the music category - is listening to her sing her way to sleep. It's quite hysterical. We left her at a friend's house to attend a concert last week and we returned to a "wow, Clara definitely likes to sing in her pack and play" comment. I'm really hoping the singing doesn't stop for a long time.

*Her eating has improved exponentially. I re-read my post last year and am so glad our picky eater has almost entirely disappeared. She certainly has her preferences, but she will try almost everything - and eat a surprising list of food. Her favorites? She asks for tuna and pickles and nearly every meal (no, I don't give them to her every time). She's never met a fruit she hasn't liked. Pizza is certainly a hot item. But so is curry, veggies with some kind of "dip", spinach and seaweed, and scrambled eggs. She loves scrambled eggs. Oh, and of course she loves sweets. Surprise, surprise. We are still limiting them, but it's getting more challenging! I also wanted to point out two special features of the Claranator when it comes to eating. #1. If she likes something, she consumes quickly. If I placed a cup of crackers between her and her cousin, she would eat about nine before her cousin finished her first one. #2. She audibly lets you know when she's eating something she likes. As she chews she makes this "mmm" kind of purr. I've grown accustomed to it - but a friend pointed it out again to me at a play date last week. Pretty ridiculous. And cute.

*If she could live outside all day long, she would. Every day, multiple times a day, she asks to go to the park. And I'm convinced if I ever left the door open, she would be outside and running down the sidewalk before I had the chance to say "hippo". I actually have some serious fears about her speed and desire to go after what she wants. She does not understand streets and cars in the least - it's the highest item on my agenda in the coming weeks!

*She continues to have quite the tenderness towards her daddy. Maybe it's the fact that it's all fun and games from the second he gets home to the second she goes to bed. She can barely contain her excitement once we finish dinner. Can we play outside? Make a ramp? Draw a picture? Go for a bike ride? The fun had with daddy is basically limitless. The daddy/daughter official dates are starting to emerge around here - and I, personally, love it.

*Up until a few months ago, Clara was not much of a cuddle bug. She'd always fallen to sleep without rocking - and I usually let her cry herself back to sleep if she awoke early in the morning or from a nap. It was never a long, torturous cry, and she was such a great sleeper (she still is). But lately, a few times a week she'll wake early from her nap and cry "mama, mama, mama". And I've been giving in. But the great part about that is that she'll crawl into my arms in the chair and fall back asleep. Sometimes for as long as an hour. Some days I'm thinking of all the things I could be accomplishing during that hour - but most days I'm savoring the cuddles and taking a little snooze myself ;). Maybe after being the very scheduled, nap nazi, I am just realizing my little girl is getting so big - and way too fast?! I don't think there is anything better than a sleeping little girl on your chest. So I'll savor the moments for now.

*The questions have started coming. For now they are mostly, "what's this". I'm trying to teach her to say "who's this" when asking about a person. We'll get there. The funny this is that I've already been stumped a few times. Like when she pointed to this strange yard machine at the hardware store. Or a small plant of sorts that I didn't recognize. I anticipate this will only get harder.

*Books are still her favorite "toy" probably. She loves anything by Sandra Boynton, and knows most by heart (and of course I could recite them in my sleep too). She's starting to have the attention span to read Dr. Suess and my new favorite series of all (thanks to Carly's recommendation), Read Aloud Bible Stories. So good. I get excited just thinking about some of the books she'll start enjoying in the future.

*She's started to have a few melt-down moments and showing her just about two side. These mostly happen when leaving the car cart at the grocery store (new moms - steer clear of these for as long as humanly possible), leaving the park, or getting into the car when she'd rather be pulling her red wagon. I'm learning new strategies that avoid these lovely events. Mostly, if I give her warning and let her "kiss the slide, the swings, the car cart, and the wagon goodbye", she is okay. But she has started testing boundaries more and more. Wanting to see if mom and dad are really serious when they say no. It has made parenting all the more an adventure. We're learning as we go (don't we all?), and are doing our best to stay consistent and compassionate. Let the fun begin!

And that, folks, is our Clarabelle. There is much more, but a mom has to stop somewhere, right?

On to the party! This year the goal was to simplify. I'm not certain that was accomplished. Maybe it was in terms of preparation, but not necessarily in number of guests. Example: Uncle Trav was in town since KKI is hosting an event at the Bing tomorrow night. He didn't have individual transportation to the party, so if we wanted Trav to come, we also got six bonus party guests. So seven extra Bloomsday finishers joined our post-Bloomsday brunch party in pale yellow style.

We crammed right in to our cozy home and it worked out well. Funny that in the end we could've celebrated outside since the day was so lovely. But one never knows what to expect from a May 3rd Spokane day. Rain? Wind? Snow? All three? So we played it safe. Maybe next year we'll try for a park celebration again.

We kept the food quite simple. No six layers of rainbow fondant cake for us this year. Just these lovely cinnamon rolls, frittatas, and plenty of fresh strawberries. Ironically, when asked what she wanted for her birthday, Clara could only come up with one answer: cake. And she didn't even get her wish. While she was consuming her cinnamon roll at rapid speed, I'm not sure she was disappointed. There will be plenty of cake in her future, I can guarantee that. But it's not every day that one receives a very first pioneer woman cinnamon roll.

This year we splurged on what is probably the only new toy she's received to date from mom and dad (I honestly can't think of any other toy we've gotten new?): a vintage wooden kitchen. And she loves it. The first thing she made? Cookies for her beetle. I'm not joking. She has this beetle obsession (I'm sure I'll post about this later). I'm focusing on her kind heart - sharing her first batch of birthday kitchen cookies - and not on the part about a creepy beetle.

Some close friends and family came to celebrate with us - including my Aunt Gayle from Colorado and Uncle T (and crew) from Cali. Everyone showered Clara with lots of love. Thank you all!

And that basically summarizes our day. It was (mostly) simple and quite lovely.

Here are just a few from our simple pizza dinner from today. We had Anna, Aaron and Sophia over - as well as Kelly and Norah (they couldn't make her Sunday party). Is it just me or does Clara all of the sudden look like a two year old today? So big and so full of life.

Now I just need a little more time to let it sink in that I have a two year old. Wow. She's a joy and a gift. A bright light. And I am thankful for her every day!

First Race

Today Clara got to experience her first race. She ran in the Marmot March - a 1.2 mile loop through the park downtown. Since Bloomsday (10k road race) happens tomorrow, this little race is for kids seven and under. Let's just say there weren't too many not quite two year olds participating in the race. I think our group of four toddlers might have been the youngest participants, minus the ones who got the free rides in the strollers.

I am not exaggerating when I say that we finished last. As in dead last. Yep. They were picking up the cones and streamers as we crossed the finish line. But Clara walked/ran-ish-walked the entire thing (except for the beginning and end - where the giant mascots freaked her out). It was great.

With Jess and Maddie before the start of the race. Jessica and I go way back - as in seventh grade. Who would've known we'd move within two blocks of one another and have girls five weeks apart?

All the mamas and kiddos.

And we're off!

The melt-down begins (after seeing the large, stuffed mascots)...

Recovery. This is fun after all.

Holding hands with Hunter was probably Clara's favorite part.

The whole group -in what appears to be a BOB stroller advertisement.

All of us (minus Maddie - her parents were on the ball) got to participate because three kids from our toddler co-op ended up with pink eye. So Clara took the spot of C.W. (whom I've never met). So thank you C.W. Next year I will be on top of registration. And I can't help but get excited about the improvement we might see. It seems only fitting that the little girl who entered this great world on Bloomsday - participate in some sort of Boomsday-ish activity, right?

Dirty Thirty

Jonathan is officially 30. My countdown has ceased. The forty-eighth-ish birthday related activities have come to an end. It's been a great (and slightly tiring) month ;).

We finished off this great month of celebration with a little party with some dear friends on Saturday at Luke's BBQ near Loon Lake (the dive of all dives - please notice the decorations in the room where we ate).

Let's just say that a whole lot of meat (and very few vegetables) were consumed by all... Certainly by Andrew.

Chris, Steph, Shelley and Dan. The classic picture: wives smiling happily. Husbands, not so much.

Neal, Carly, Kelly and David.

Anna, Aaron, Joel and Amy. Isn't it always awkward to be in the front of a picture like that? Sorry Aaron.

Aaron, Sarai, Kristin and Matt.

Then we went to the Hook's house for some delicious pie and games. What could be better than two kinds of pie (strawberry-rhubarb & peanut butter), the family game and being with friends?

Of course we had to do something on his actual birthday (the 26th), so we had a special dinner out with both sets of parents. You just can't beat the Europa birthday bomb. It's pure chocolate-espresso deliciousness.

So there you have it. We went big this year for the landmark 3-0. And next year, Jonathan is getting a store-bought bran muffin. I'm sticking a candle in it and we're singing happy birthday.

Easter

Not surprisingly, Clara stole the show this Easter. She loved every moment of the egg hunting, the time spent with all the people she loves, and of course the food. We actually let her consume far too much candy --especially when you consider that we've definitely been the overprotective parents when it comes to sweets (If she's anything like us, we know it will be her eventual demise).

Yet again, we made it through an entire weekend of fun family affairs without a single picture of anyone besides the Claranator. This is kind of a bummer. We did have a wonderful Easter brunch with many lovely family members. It just wasn't documented very well. I suppose the lack of pictures kind of summarizes our life right now. Who wants a picture of mom or dad when you could have 10,000 of a little girl in an Easter dress? Here are just a few of the 10,000...

Oh yes, and a few of Sophia (Clara's friend - not to be confused with her cousin, Sophia). The two girls sat in focused silence for quite some time after the egg hunt, helping one another open their chocolate and sharing bites ;).

Wait a moment. I found a few more. These pictures were stolen from my cousin, Dusty's, facebook page. He and his wife have a photography business. As you can see, he's quite talented.

Surprise

This weekend I accomplished what I am calling a minor miracle. I managed to surprise my husband with a little trip for his 30th birthday. It is quite the miracle because:

a). I'd been planning it for over five months and didn't let it slip. This is truly a miracle because there were so many times I came close to mentioning it, and caught myself.

b). way too many people knew about it. My friend commented on the eve of the trip, "you've really told a lot of people about it". To which I replied, "well, a few". Her response was "pretty much everyone who knows you knows about it". Yikes. Maybe I didn't like the truth, but it was the reality. I told far too many people. Even with all that information out there and out of my hands, no one gave it away (thank you everyone).

So as you can see it was pretty amazing that he was surprised in the end. Like really surprised. As in didn't even have the slightest inclination that I would be planning something. I love it. Or should I feel a little lame that he wouldn't have thought I'd do something special for his thirtieth? I'll focus on the loving it part.

So where did we go? We went to one of the Jono's bucket list locations. Was it the beach in Mexico? Nope. Shopping in NYC? C'mon, you know him better than that. Greece? That's next year (in my wildest dreams, at least). We went to Yosemite. As in the national park. Jonathan has been talking about going there for years. Seeing pictures of our friends' trip, Katy & Jeff, got the wheels in my mind turning over Thanksgiving break. And thus the planning began.

I secretly hid some of my hard-earned volleyball money, some Christmas cash that Jono hadn't accounted for (sneaky, I know), and some money from my little bow business (yeah little bow business). I booked our accommodations, flights and rental car through my dad's credit card. I arranged a fun weekend for Clara with the Hooks and Pickerings (thank you nana/papa and Carly + boys). I called his work and schemed with his co-workers a conference he would attend, since we couldn't figure out a way to keep fake patients on his schedule. And it all came together perfectly.

On the night before we left, I really started to freak out. Was Jonathan going to be upset that I didn't let him mentally prepare? He loves planning and looking forward to trips. Was he going to be mad that he wasn't caught up with his charts at work? I tried everything (short of telling him) to get him to go back to work Wednesday night and catch up on them. In the end I decided that I'd kept it a surprise for five months, I might as well tell him at the very last minute.

A little background: On March 27th I started a thirty day countdown to Jono's birthday. I had kind of screwed myself over last year by listing twenty-nine things I loved about Jonathan. I should've saved that idea for this year! So I had to come up with something else - and thus, the countdown came to be. Every day from the 27th to his actual birthday (April 26th), I have been giving Jonathan a little number card with some kind of gift. Things like special books, lattes at work, massages, art projects from Clara. Acts of service like making a lunch (I never make my husband a lunch - pathetic, I know), dumping our leaves from the fall at the waste to energy plant, and ironing pants (another dreaded task). You get the idea.

So on the 14th of April at 3:30 in the morning, I turned on the light and handed Jonathan his day #18 card with a wrapped present. He was mostly asleep, but proceeded to open the present. It was a wrapped Yosemite book I had ordered online. He said "oh cool" or something like that. So I said, "we're going there." And he said, "oh cool". And I replied, "I mean we're going there today. We're leaving in an hour." Then I spent the next ten minutes convincing him that we were, in fact, going. I brought up our packed bags and finally it began to sink in. I'm pretty sure it took him most of the morning to really get it. And by then we were in our rental car outside Oakland, on the way to Yosemite.

And it was at that moment that I actually started enjoying our weekend. I was a bit stressed out beforehand. That Jonathan would find out. That he'd be mad when he did find out (ha. quote: " besides our wedding day and Clara being born, this is the best day of my life"). That I'd booked something incorrectly. That something would go wrong.

Thankfully, everything went according to plan. The weather was amazing (the park had been closed the week before due to a huge snow storm). Even Obama got his act together and extended the federal budget - or the park would've been closed. Ugh. I'm just glad that even the things out of my hands turned out okay.

If you've made it this far (congrats), here's the good stuff: the pictures. If any of you have been to Yosemite, you know how breathtaking it is. As in utterly ridiculous. Holy. Amazing. Even these great pictures can't even begin to capture the place.

On Thursday we got there in time to see a few sites, eat out at the Yosemite lodge, eat some s'mores over a fire, and collapse into our cozy little tent cabin. All of these pictures were taken the first day (by Jono, of course). I love a great picture - but let me tell you that my husband has some serious stamina. I just can't keep up. There is evidence below (one or two where he's captured me sitting by the car, waiting). It's quite the beautiful place to be "waiting", I know. I'm not complaining. But I didn't complain when our friends Jeff and Katy arrived and Jonathan had another photographer to join forces with.

Some pictures from day one.

Jeff and Jono awoke early Friday morning for some sunrise shots of Half Dome and El Capitan. I love the reflection shots.

Later that morning, we watched this little rascal cross our paths. Jonathan jumped out of the car and ended up getting this picture of the bobcat.

And here are a few other animal shots from the weekend, while I'm thinking about it...

After tracking down the bobcat, we drove to the mariposa grove and met Leah and Travis. They drove up from Orange County early in the morning and spent the weekend with us. We spent the day hiking around the giant sequoias and other landmarks, eating Leah's delicious chicken chili (once frozen, as you can tell) and later eating a fancy dessert at the Ahwahnee, a four diamond hotel in the park.

Saturday we decided to go on the six mile round-trip hike to upper Yosemite Falls. It was a killer hike (switchbacks the entire time, basically), with quite the rewarding views. We made it nearly to the top before exhaustion set in. Pizza and a relaxing night of games at the Ahwahnee lobby rewarded our hard work.

And on Sunday we said our goodbyes. And made the trek back to Oakland to catch our flight. We made just one more important stop before leaving the state of California.

And that concluded our trip. Thank you Leah and Trav, Jeff and Katy for an awesome weekend. And thank you "everyone" who knew - for not ruining the surprise ;). I can rest easy these days. It's been done. It was great. I have officially surprised my husband and I don't have to do it ever again, right?