The alternates

Here are a few of the second-choice pics for today's picture of the day over at Terrific Twos.

Eating waffles with baby Joy in their matching, Gramma-knit hats.

 

Surveying the snow outside.

 

Helping make applesauce (note the concentration and the multi-tasking! :)).

Trying to eat snow...

and the real alternate that I almost did post, making tracks in her cool shades. :)

Clara, Sadie and one big Carrot!

We had another sunny day today! According to the weather man yesterday it was supposed to rain all day today, so sunshine was a welcome surprise! I got more work done in the garden during nap time and then Clara and Sadie had fun playing in the neighbors' yard after nap. Clara adores Sadie. Sadie is fonder of Clara than she used to be and I think she actually does enjoy her company sometimes (she has always been protective of her but not always wanted to be close to her). But Sadie still loves to run away and Clara still loves to chase. They had a blast this afternoon, good exercise for both of them!

We also picked all the carrots from our back garden!

We had a large range of sizes, but we did have several good size ones. This one was the largest by FAR, it's probably 2 1/2 inches wide at the top!

 

Our Morning in Pictures

The sun was out today and it was a lovely morning to get out and do our errands (first grocery shopping since we got back from Gramma's last Tuesday!). First, Clara helped with the grocery list.

Gotta make sure everything's on there!

Taking "her" grocery bag out to the car...

Beauty is all around us. Tree in the Aldi parking lot.

After getting our groceries, we went to the Apple Barn to get some utility apples (time for apple butter!). We sat at a picnic table and enjoyed apples...

...and an apple cider doughnut. Clara's first - it was a big hit!

 

Mama had some fun with the camera.

 

 

Then we headed home. Clara is so funny in her carseat! She loves it. Looks pretty comfy to me, too!

Another tree by the side of the road on our way home, just one patch of red amidst all the yellow.

At home, we found a fuzzy caterpillar! Clara was enchanted.

He felt pretty funny in her hand! She very gently carried him over and put him in the grass.

That was our morning! Hope yours was lovely as well!

Gramma's House: Reading

We had such a fun time at Gramma's house last week! As I have time to edit and arrange pictures, I'll be putting more up from our trip. Clara did a lot of reading at Gramma's and loved having lots of people to read to her! Uncle Joel quickly won her heart on our first day there by spending lots of time reading to her (sadly this isn't the best picture).

Gramma was next.

 Papa, of course, got in on the reading action too (sensing a theme in the reading location yet??).

Uncle Andrew read with Clara and played with her lots while he was home on break - so glad our trips coincided!

But, of course, Gramma got in the most reading of all. You have to be up early if you want to get extra time with this girl in a house full of adoring family members!

A plumber in my kitchen...

I had a little plumber in my kitchen this morning...

Apparently the faucet needed a little work. The downside of having a skinnier-than-average kid potty train at a younger-than-average age: none of her pants fit! The ones that fit her skinny bum are too short for her long legs and the ones that fit her legs fall off - or do this! One reason we mainly stick to skirts and dresses around here.

Once the faucet was operating to her liking, she proceeded to scrub some dishes. I'm so thankful for my little helper! 

  This was actually pre-dishes, but she was also a great help vacuuming this morning!

After our work was done (and Clara had a little nap), we headed out raspberry picking! There weren't tons, but we were happy to get to go at all. Clara made friends with the farm's kitty. :) No surprise there!

To see the post-picking face, visit Terrific Twos. :)

Exercise with Gramma

Clara was up early this morning. After a little snuggle time and milky with Mama, she headed out for a walk with Gramma in the stroller. (Not a picture from this morning, but I didn't go with them...)

When they came home, of course it was time to finish the exercise routine. Sit-ups... (Clara's good at posing. She didn't actually do any, she got tired of lying there and investigated the headband on the side of the mat.)

Stretches...

Plank pose... (yeah, we're working on that one...)

Cobra... (she's got this one down!)

Downward-facing dog. (An old favorite.)

Exercising with Gramma is so much fun!

No Hands!

We are eating dinner. Suddenly, there's a noise from the living room, where Clara's play food is spread out all over the floor (she was "cooking" for Luke before dinner).
Clara: "Oh! What Sadie do to my food??"
Luke: "I don't know! Do you think she's cooking with it?"

Clara: "She doesn't have any hands!!!"
*laughter from all*

Almost 20 Questions

Mommy, who give this shirt to me?

Aunt Kandyce and Uncle Jonathan gave you that shirt baby girl.

Aunt Kay give this shirt to me?

No, Aunt Kandyce gave that to you.

Mommy, where's Aunt Kandyce?

She's in India, sweetie.

Where's India Mom?

It's across the ocean.

Where's ocean Mom?

It's... at the beach babe.

What's ocean doing at the beach, Mama?

The ocean is a lot of water, baby, like a big, big lake.

Where's lake Mom?

Well, there's a lake in Greenwich...

Where's Greenwich?

Greenwich is where Annabelle lives.

I live in Greenwich, Mom?

No, you live in Hoosick Falls.
I live in Hoosick Falls Mom?
Uh huh, you live in Hoosick Falls.

You live in Hoosick Falls too, Mama?

Uh huh, we live in Hoosick Falls together.

Where's Hoosick Falls, Mom?

It's here, where we live.

But where's Hoosick Falls, Mom??

It's in New York, baby girl, in New York State.

Uh huh.

True conversation we had Friday night while she was nursing before bed.