All About Claire - Age 4

Name: Claire Lois Cooper

Nicknames: Claire-girl

How old are you?  4

What is your favorite color? Pink and purple

What is your favorite animal? ponies

What is your favorite book? Three Sprinkles for Claire (The book about me)

What is your favorite TV show? Mickey

What is your favorite movie? Mary Poppins

What is your favorite song? I Am like a Star

What is your favorite food? pasta

What is your favorite drink? Lemonade and koolaid

What is your favorite breakfast food? Sausage biscuits

What is your favorite snack? Goldfish and crackers

What is your favorite outfit? New pink shirt and khaki pants, (what she’s wearing right now)

What is your favorite game? The Ladybug Game

What is your favorite toy? Kitchen set and food and dishes

Who is your best friend? Dayton, Mom, and Dad

What is your favorite thing to do? crafts

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my new bike

What is your favorite holiday?  Easter

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Stuffed animals and blanket

Where is your favorite place to go?  school

What is your favorite restaurant? Rosa’s

Where do you want to go on vacation? Disneyland, (where Stephen and Mel went)

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A mom

What did you do on your birthday?  I got presents. I ate cake and ice cream

Garden 2014

We actually planted a garden this year! We didn’t get around to it last year, so I really wanted to make sure to do it this year. We have tomato plants, pepper plants, rosemary, chives, parsley, and basil.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep you updated with our progress as the season continues!

4 Year & 4 Month Stats

Claire’s stats at 4 years old:

Height: 41 inches - 78th %
Weight: 37 pounds, 8 ounces - 70th %
BMI: 15.7 - 62nd %

Dayton’s stats at 4 months old:
Height: 25 1/4 inches - 52nd %
Weight: 15 pounds, 13 ounces - 57th %
Head Circumference: 44.5 cm - 99th %

I’m thankful for healthy kids!

Cupcakes at School

I took cupcakes to Claire’s school on Wednesday. She was so excited that I was coming that day.

Here she is with her pretty purple birthday crown while she’s about to pour herself some water. (And in case you’re wondering, the green dot on her nose is from a marker; it’s not from a spot on my camera lens!)

Claire’s class

We sang happy birthday, she blew out the candles, and they ate their cupcakes!

I’m glad I got to see Claire at school!

Claire’s Party

We had a simple birthday celebration for Claire on Saturday with some family members. She loved it!

Claire requested a cake with white icing, sprinkles, strawberries, and blueberries. I found an easily-doable idea for the sprinkles - I made a “C.” Claire helped me put the berries around the edge of the cake.

The kids played the penguin shuffle and tried to shuffle their feet across the floor without letting the beanbag fall off their feet. It was actually pretty difficult.

So then they did the kangaroo hop, where they just had to balance the beanbag on their heads while they walked across the room.

And then they walked backwards, too.

The next game was pretty fun! It was the wooden spoon guessing game, where someone wore a blindfold and used two wooden spoons to try to guess who someone else was. Many of us took a turn, and it was harder than it seemed!

Grandmom and Dayton!

Then it was present time!

And tickle time!

More presents

And finally, it was cake time!

Claire had a fun time! Happy Birthday!

Claire is 4!

It’s Claire’s birthday! She’s 4 years old! Wow! She’s definitely a fun little girl with lots of energy. She loves to play, laugh, have fun, play outside, color, do crafts, pretend, and be silly.

I made her sausage biscuits for breakfast. That meal is still one of her favorites!

After breakfast she played with her new play do ice cream shop set. While I was getting ready for the day, she came and offered me some ice cream (many, many times) by saying, “Ice cream! Everybody cheer up for a little bit of ice cream!” And when she asked me what kind of ice cream I wanted, she used a very deep voice - to sound like the ice cream maker!

Last week she requested to go to HEB on her birthday. I laughed when she told me that and then asked why she wanted to go there. She said she couldn’t tell me; it was a surprise. Ha! But I’m sure it was because she wanted to get “food and buddy bucks!” She’s always excited to get those things at HEB! She got a tortilla, some samples from the chefs, and some buddy bucks. She even got an instant winner sticker from HEBuddy! - She was excited that she got a birthday present from HEB! But the best part about that trip for me was that she walked around the whole store saying, “I can’t believe I’m 4! I can’t believe I’m 4!” She said it whenever we walked near someone else - so that maybe they would hear her, acknowledge her, and talk to her. Some people did; some didn’t. But it was hilarious! I just laughed and smiled at my sweet four year old!

I decided we could “splurge” and stop by Taco Bell on our way home. She loves nachos!

Jordan came home from work early and worked in the yard some. Claire played and helped him out there for a while. Then it was time for a special quiet time: She got to watch Sesame Street during her quiet time (and keep an eye on Dayton, who was sleeping in his swing), as long as she told me when he was awake. That way I was able to plant some things in our garden! Win-win situation!

Then she got one of her presents - a new bike! She was excited, but she had a bit of trouble riding it. She rides tricycles at school, and I guess she can pedal either forwards or backwards on those bikes because that is what she wanted to do on this one. It took a bit of coaching from Jordan, (and patience), but she finally did pretty well at only pedaling forwards.

Back inside, she colored some pictures of cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner of noodles with white sauce and chicken, fruit salad, and bread. Next up - present time!

And her birthday wouldn’t be complete without cupcakes with sprinkles!

We love you, Claire-girl! Happy Birthday!!!!

Sleepy Boy

He loves his swing, and I love his naps!

Sweet Faces!

Just look at these two!

Dayton - 4 Months

Dayton is 4 months today! He loves to suck on his hands, eat, smile, eat, take naps, eat, reach for toys, eat, and drool.

(If you don’t care about his schedule, just skip this paragraph!) He tends to take shorter naps in the morning (around 45 minutes) and eat around every 2 to 2 and a half hours in the morning. In the afternoon he’ll take a longer nap and stretch the time between eating to a little longer. He’s been staying awake between his 4:30 feeding and his 7:00 feeding lately. In the evening, I typically feed him at 7:00 and then at 9:00, right after his bath. He stays awake between those meals, too. He LOVES his baths now! It seems that he knows the routine - take off his clothes, (that’s when he kicks and smiles and gets so excited), take a bath, eat, go to bed. (I love that part - the going to bed part!) He’s sleeping at night for between 6 and 8 hours at a time these days. (It used to be 7-9 hours, but it seems more like 6-8 hours now).

Overall, I feel like I understand Dayton these days. He doesn’t just cry for no reason. When he does cry he just might need to burp. He likes attention. He smiles at us. He does a good job at tummy time. He likes to suck on his hands, burp cloths, blankets, and towels. He takes his pacifier when he’s tired; he doesn’t need it if he’s not tired. He is good about napping in the swing.

And he loves us! He knows our voices and smiles at our faces. We love you, Dayton!