Hide and Seek.

Clara loves Hide and Seek...even if she doesn't totally get the rules.

At any moment, she will say,  out of nowhere: "Okay...I'm hiding."  And then run off.

I will count to ten and come try and find her.  The thing is her hiding places make me laugh out loud. In our courtyard she will stand behind a leafless, potted bush.  Or even better, she will walk up to and stand facing a wall.  It seems that if she can't see me, it must be that I can't see her.  And if I happen to spend too much  time "looking" for her Clara will call out: "I'm right here!"

The other day her friend Billie came over for a playdate.  Clara declares it's time to hide and runs off into another room.  Billie looks at me for guidance.  "Go hide with Clara."  Billie smiles at me and runs of to find Clara.  

Count to ten.  

First Hiding Spot:

Billie, poking her head out as if to ask: "This can't be right...." Clara interrupts: "I'm right here!:

Count to ten.

Second Hiding Spot.

They hid here a few times.  

They wanted some toys to play with while hiding, so I passed them some, 

while pretending I couldn't see them.

Count to ten.

Third Hiding Spot.

Billie hid under the desk featured in photo one.  This is the only time they hid separately. 

 I had to step over Clara, pretending I couldn't see her.

Count to ten.

Fourth Hiding Spot.

Brilliant, ladies.

(thanks for resembling the twins in The Shining)

As soon as I snapped this photo, they both starting shrieking and chased me through the house.

Hide and seek is a fabulous past time with one toddler...with two, it's pure comic genius.

Turning 2...telling jokes and making friends.

Clara recently turned two and seems more and more like a little kid and less like a baby.

Clara mugging for the camera.

She goes to sleep pretty easily.  We put her in her crib and sing her a few songs (we take requests), and then we leave.  Just in the past week she has started getting in the last word.   As Gerald or I ease out the door of her room, Clara chirpily cries out: "Bye!" or "Ok, Bye!" Same goes when we put her down for a nap.  

Gerald texted me today's naptime exchange:

Gerald: Clara, are you ready for a nap?
Clara: (happily) Yeah!
Clara lies down.
Clara: Dolly?
Gerald gets Dolly and hands it to her.
Clara: (happily) Bye, Dad!

She also continues to work on her comedy.  Clara is perfecting the art of the "Knock Knock" joke but seems to be missing some essential beats.

Cooling off.

Clara: Knock. Knock.
Me: Who's There?
Clara: Dabo.
Me: Dabo who?
Clara (ponders for while) Moooooooo.
Me: Oh my, is there a cow at the door?
Clara (happily) Yeah! (laughs merrily at her own wit)

a few seconds later, the joke is repeated...with small, comedic changes.

Clara: Knock. Knock.
Me: Who's There?
Clara: Dabo.
Me: Dabo who?
Clara (ponders for while) Oooooo. Oooooo. Ooooooo.
Me: Oh my, is there a monkey at the door?
Clara (happily) Yeah! (laughs merrily at her own wit)

I also love the fact that as she gets older she seems to realize that she has friends her own age that she likes and can play with.  Though they still often play in the style of people playing separately that happen to be in the same room together, there are increasingly spans of time where they interact and seem to appreciate each other.

Clara, Charlie and Marek.

Like the other day when the twins were over to play.  Denise and I were sitting on the couch and the 3 kids disappeared into Clara's room to play.  After they had gone silent for a little too long, we heard the door to Clara's room slam shut.  I got up to see what was up and heard laughter through the door. I walked in to find Marek smiling with a mischievous gleam in his eyes (clearly he was the door closer).  Clara was standing up in the seat of her stroller trying to figure out how to get down, and Charlie was watching it all, as many toy cars as he could carry clutched to his chest. They got to share and enjoy an experience with each other, not their parents.  The seeds of independence are growing.

Clara and Billie.

Now they also seem to be caring about each other. Last week Billie ambled over to Clara, who was playing in a pile of dirt, and they both held out their arms to be hugged.   It was so sweet watching two little girls embrace, until they overbalanced and landed in a mini toddler pile-up in the dirt. Then it was funny. Or a few days ago when Billie and Clara were watching a rainstorm out the window, their faces pressed up against the glass, and Billie reached out her arm and put it around Clara's shoulders. That easy, almost unconscious expression of affection is just so wonderful.  And then one of them pushes the other for taking away a toy and you see that they really are going to be great friends.

All four little ones met up in the park to play yesterday.  After running around willy-nilly for awhile Clara, Charlie, Marek and Billie spontaneously met up and sat together.  Now, to be clear, they were all vying for some of Clara's snack but they sat there together for fifteen minutes enjoying each other and essentially ignoring the moms.