18 months old

Well...it's the winter solstice which means that it's Clara's "half" birthday. She is 18 months old today and getting bigger and less babylike, more toddler/little girl. Clara has recently grown, I swear, an inch or two. Her pants are so much shorter on her and she just looks so much taller. She can climb up on the kitchen chairs with no help and the ottomans in the living room are no problem to scale. She can reach shelves in the kitchen which were previously too tall for her even standing up on her tippy-toes. Clara's vocabulary is growing every day too. It's becoming more challenging for Tom and I to stay one step ahead of her. One of Clara's favorite things to do is bring me a book, plop down in my lap and listen to a story. Her favorite right now is Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss. She also likes ABC picture books and the story of Baby Jesus. Clara also has two music CDs that she loves, as do Tom and I. As soon as we go in her room she is pointing to her cd player for her music to start. The music keeps her happy in the car, during diaper changes, and in her crib reading while I get other stuff done...it's just amazing to me how she responds to the songs. Here's a video I took today...nothing too exciting or special about it. It shows a pretty typical occurrence...playing in the kitchen. Clara's favorite word (and favorite doggy) is Chelsea. I love hearing her little sweet voice call Chelsea's name. Also, I'll attach some 18 month pictures and Christmas pictures. Can you believe this is the first family picture we have had taken since Clara was born?