On the one hand, she is a loving little girl, who loves her baby dolls and playing "Mommy" and "house", on the other hand, she is a strong-willed, determined little girl, who, argues when things are not fair and tries to keep up with her big brother. She loves to perform songs; right now "Frozen" up in her room, singing at the top of her lungs with such abandon that she doesn't care who is listening. I love that about her.
Claire and I often find ourselves in a kind of "battle of wills", something I'm told is because we are two sides of the same coin. I, of course, deny this. Of all my three children, I am told that Claire resembles me the most, both in looks and personality. Part of that is true, but the part where we differ is the ability to talk. While I am more the introvert, observer, speak when spoken to, Claire will talk non-stop. I do mean non stop. When she was 18 months old, she wasn't talking and it was suggested that we take her to a speech therapist to have her checked out. We chalked it up to her having an older brother who spoke for her and put it out of our mind. Sure enough, two weeks later, Claire started talking and hasn't stopped since. She will talk from the moment her eyes open in the morning, till they close at night. She talks through movies, offering a running commentary for those watching with her, talks as she walks to the store. So far, the only place that I think she is quiet is the hairdresser's chair. She speaks nary a word while in the chair, but as soon as we leave the salon, the talking starts again.
Claire's world revolves around her Daddy. Anywhere he goes, she wants to go. She is up and ready to go anytime and anywhere he is going and is right put off when he says he needs to go alone. I love the relationship that they have and hope it never changes.
Claire has brought such joy, love and laughter to our lives. Thank you Claire, for being you.
Happy Birthday, Claire! I love you.
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| Claire at one month |
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| Claire at one month |
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| Claire as a newborn |
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| Claire in November 2013 |
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| Claire (and Emily) in February 2014 |
