Adventure Clara

Clara is into trying out everything these days and asking a lot of questions.  If she sees me doing something she quickly says: "I try." and tries to do it herself.

A few nights ago, I flipped over our leather swivel chair to tighten some of the bolts.  Clara saw the crescent wrench and said: "I try."  After watching me tighten one bolt, she went in with the wrench and actually tried to tighten bolts.

That same day, in the playground she decided to try going down the slide feet first on her stomach while whooping in delight.  And then tried face first on her stomach but got her hands caught under her chest and did not whoop in delight - she cried - but bravely went and tried again.  That night in the bath she discovered she could flip over in the water - almost submerging her face - and float.  She kept saying: "Oooooooooh" I think to hear how her voice sounded underwater.

She is also constantly trying to figure things out.  Like crawling through this tube at the zoo.  First she had to see that Gerald was on the other end - now she bravely scrambles through on her own.

At the playground she spent 20 minutes figuring out how to pry up loose soil from the ground and then make tiny piles of dirt. She did not ask for my help, just worked at it intensely on her own. I love this exploration. I loved digging for worms as a child - I can't wait to show her how to do that.

She can also be a bit of a minx.  This is the calm before the storm at a recent demonstration art class.  Clara probably drew for thirty seconds before she picked up the glue sticks and ran around evading my grasp while eating the glue stick like it was a popsicle.

She is determined to understand everything.  Up until this week, Gerald has managed to cling to some tattered shreds of privacy by insisting on closing the bathroom door while he is in there.  I gave bathroom privacy months ago.  I am used to Clara pushing back the  curtain peremptorily while I shower - her gleaming mischievous eyes dancing  while she throws tiny toys into the tub at my feet.

Somehow this past week Clara muscled herself into the bathroom while Gerald was in there.  He realized she was in there when he heard her piping little voice say:"Pee Pee Stand Up."  

As the last vestiges of his  privacy blew away on the wind, Gerald was impressed by Clara's acumen. 

A funny thing happened...

Last night, Gerald, Clara and I were having a lovely evening together.  Clara and I played while Gerald made chicken parmesean.  I made a salad and we had a nice family dinner together.  After cleaning up the kitchen, I thought to myself:  Gerald is home.  I could actually take a hot shower with the bathroom door closed.  And that's exactly what I did at 6:20 last night. It was such a luxury to know that I didn't have to peek out of the shower every few minutes to see if Clara was unspooling the toilet paper roll, trying to open the toilet bowl lid, or pulling things out of the trashcan.

I got out of the shower and into pajamas - shorts and a tank top.  (this becomes relevant later)  Clara was already in her nightgown and overnight diaper and the three of us were watching a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while Clara took occasional sips out of her bottle. Clara toddled over to me and held up her arms: "Mama, Up?"  I picked her up and snuggled her in my lap for the final fifteen minutes before her bedtime.  Gerald took this opportunity to go into the bedroom for his version of what we call: "letting our brains fall out," which is basically any mindless (yet entertaining) activity we no longer have time for.  In this case - Gerald had to go send the heroes of Marvel Avengers Alliance out on quests.

6:58 PM.  Time to pick up Clara and take her to her room. She has handed me her giraffe doll and as I pick her up my thumb touches the inside rim of her diaper and comes away covered in poop.  Now I have a poopy thumb I am trying to keep away from the giraffe doll and the task of changing her into another overnight diaper.  But then I realize there's not just poop on my thumb.  There's poop squished up all up the inside of Clara's nightgown. That is enough to send my poopy thumb directly onto the giraffe doll's face as I reflexively flinch in horror. Poopy giraffe, poopy thumb, poopy baby.  All this I could have handled until this thought invades my mind: "Why do both of my legs feel wet?"  Yes.  There's poop running down both of my legs.

I call to Gerald for help and we go into action like a crack commando team who have been training for this for years. Ignoring my poop covered legs - Gerald takes the giraffe and nightgown to set them to soak in the sink and has the unfortunate task of wiping the poop I had been too distracted to see off the couch. At this point there is more poop than baby. I wipe Clara down with about 400 baby wipes and change her into a new pair of pajamas.  Through it all Clara is happy and cooing...I lie her down in her crib, pull out the spare giraffe from its hiding place, give her some milk and head to the shower to finally clean myself off.

Clara went to sleep without a hitch and that's all she wrote.

Except I am somehow ridiculously proud of us.  A year and a half ago we were bleary-eyed neophytes in the ways of parenting.  Everything was new and required instant learning curves.  Our world had narrowed to the minute details of Clara's every move.  Is she wet, hungry, or tired?  Is she sleeping?  Is she breathing?  Is she too cold or too hot? Does she have gas?  Is she sick? Is she happy?

I don't remember even once asking Gerald if he was okay, hungry, happy, or sick. It was the 24-hour Clara reality show.  

Fast forward to last night and Gerald and I are the A-Team.  Cool, calm and collected in a firefight that would send everyone else running for cover. It's been this way for a while and  it's nice to be able to have thirty seconds to string together to appreciate it.

Purple and Turtle

Clara is full of energy and getting into everything which is why I was dreading the idea of being shut inside all winter with a toddler bouncing off the walls.  Going anywhere in the freezing cold is daunting with a small child and it turns out there are not a lot of structured activities or classes for under-2's.

Over the Spring, Summer and Fall I organized a meetup in the park for local moms with babies. We have a local yahoo group for parents and I posted there to see who might show up. I got a nice response - some became regulars, others drop-ins.  We spread out blankets and brought some toys to share.  It was a great way to meet other parents and have some adult conversation while the babies played.  I also thought it really helped the babies.  I could see Clara watching older kids who had mastered things she hadn't yet, and I could almost see the brain synapses firing.    Inevitably she would start doing something she had watched another baby do a week or so later.

But with the cold weather closing in around us, what could be done?  Along with a few other moms we have organized a weekly toddler playtime once a week in the Inwood Library Children's room.  We sing some songs, read some books and watch the toddlers play.  It is parent run - we came in and cleaned all the toys.  We set up the toys and clean up at the end of the hour.  But it's a huge success and Clara loves it.

This past Friday she amazed me by picking up a turtle figurine, bringing it to me and saying: "Turtle."  Then she picked up a dinosaur with purple spots, pointed to one of the spots and said: "Purple."  She smiled after each one, knowing she was rolling out something new for her Mommy. Just a little impressed with herself - and so she should be.  I applauded.

I think there should be more activities like this for children under two.  And not necessarily classes that cost money.  All of us parents want our children to grow and challenge themselves to do more. Organize something - you'll be surprised how many people show up.