Halloween Part III: Ring Round the Rosy

Clara and Adah ringing round the rosy just prior to heading out for some major Halloween loot.

Halloween Part II: Cow, Lion & Chef

Rolling with the Gurlz in the Hood for Mordecai style Halloween. Thanks to the Quinlans and Clifton Street for hosting! It was a mob of children ages 4 weeks to about 4 years and parents clicking away with cameras.

Halloween Part I: The Bovine Resurrection

Why let a good costume go to waste? It worked well last year (see here and below), Clara's long-term memory is far from developed, so dust off the cow outfit for Halloween II: The Bovine Resurrection!

In Part I, we have Clara showing her udder enthusiasm by jumping on the bed and then plodding around the front yard before we head out to join the gurlz in the hood for the Mordecai neighborhood festivities.

From last year...

20 Months!

Here's a re-cap at 20 months with a handful of anecdotes to share...

- Clara remains fascinated by the Doctor's Office since her flu shot, and she frequently wants to act out the process of visiting the doctor. It goes a bit like this: She gets a boo-boo, we lift her onto the bed, listen to her heartbeat (what does your heart say, Clara? "Choo-choo, choo-choo."), check her reflexes, ask how many ears she has ("one-two"), eyes ("one-two"), knees ("one-two"), and noses ("just one"). Apply a shot and put on a bandaid (what kind? "Dorey" or Dora the Explora).

We had to make an unfortunate visit to the doctor this month when Clara woke up unable to move her head without some serious howling. Paul has tweaked his neck and back enough to recognize the symptoms. But Paul is getting old, and such things are expected in his advanced state. Who ever heard of a 19-month old throwing out her back?

Sure enough, the doctor was able to rule out any more serious ailments and the sprained neck diagnosis emerged through process of elimination. Over the next couple of days, Clara was able to get from a prostate position, to walking around gingerly with her head tilted dramatically to one side (locked-up position), to running around with full range of motion.

- Clara has developed a fascination with sitting in the drivers seat or our vehicles and mimicking all she sees her parents do. She'll stay in the car for 30 minutes at a time doing this! First, she grabs Purell from the console and pretends to squeeze it on her hands. Wipe, wipe, wipe. Next, she grabs for the seatbelt and tries to click it into place. Then, she grabs the steering wheel and jerks it violently from side to side. And then she pushes every button in sight.

- Clara is only allowed to watch football on the television. This is a well-thought-through rule from her parents designed only for her well being and proper development. Clearly, children learn many educational lessons from football. And clearly, this has nothing to do with the fact that her father has an addiction that must be fed for hours at a time on Saturdays and Sundays. There is no rationalizing going on here.

But let's focus on the positive, educational aspects of a toddler watching football. For example, Clara understands that when the referee does the "wheels on the bus" motion, it means false start and results in a five yard penalty for the offense. She also notes how many players get boo-boos and tells us they now need to go to the doctor's office. Finally, and most importantly, she is expanding her language skills to include "War Eagle, hey!"

- Clara has developed a tremendous evil eye. New neighbor, Louise, felt its full effect when moving in this month.

The first time we see Louise, Clara covers her eyes and refuses to look at her. Next time, Clara gives her a full five minute evil eye stare. But the next time, our Clara looks at her intermittently, saying "bye bye" when it's clear we're out of ear shot.

We ask, Is Louise your friend? "Nope."

- Clara is beginning to sing some songs with us. Her first official song is one we made up about her toy "Fat Kitty." As you'll see in the video, the lyrics are simple: "Fat kitty, dong-e-dong. Fat kitty, dong-e-dong. Fat kitty, dong-e-dong. Fat kitty. Yeah!" Um, sometimes she abbreviates to get to the "Yah!" part more quickly.

Counting

Clara counts the stripes on her kitty...

Ahhh...Clara Poops On the Potty

So, after an entry about eating high-fiber chili...

Every so often good fortune will smile upon parents, putting them at the right spot at the right time with camera in hand.

Such was our fortune tonight. We've been warming Clara to the idea of the potty, realizing that the transition out of diapers could take some time, so just trying to ease her into the concept. For a week we've been reading books about kids, poops, tee-tees, and potties and noticed that she has begun showing actual interest. So, we've had her sit on the big potty for a few minutes each day around the time she usually does her business. (With some success, as noted previously here.)

Tonight, waiting for mama to come home from work, Clara was willing to sit on the "baby potty" while watching out the front door for the tell-tale of a 4runner pulling into the driveway. We chatted. We read books. We sang songs.

And just as mama pulled up (correlation or causation?), Clara formed that recognizable grimace of concentration.
Then jumping from the potty, she pointed confusedly then acceptingly then excitedly and remarked "Poo-poos? Poo-poos. Poo-poos!"

Somehow, someway we were there to capture the epochal moment on camera. So, in preparation of a reaction years to come, a brief note to teenage Clara: you're welcome!

Vegetarian Chili...With Lots of Meat

We took advantage of a lazy Sunday afternoon to cook this season's first batch of veggie chili. This recipe comes from a vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, NY called Moosewood. It's a favorite of PETA for keeping animals off its menu.

So how do we honor its PETA principles? By layering in a pound of ground turkey! Mmmmm....good!

This will become a staple of the Dryden diet through the winter months. We stew up a big pot, munch on it through the week, and keep our systems well acquainted with the effects of fiber. See the recipe below (recorded in THE BLOG for posterity's sake). While we add ground turkey today, pending a successful hunting season we'll make it with ground venison after January.

Red, Gold, Black & Green Chili

1 cup bulghur

½ cup hot water

6 cups undrained canned tomatoes (2 28-ounce cans)

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups chopped onions

6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 generous teaspoons ground cumin

2 generous teaspoons chili powder

2 tablespoons Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, or ½ teaspoon cayenne

4 green bell peppers, chopped

4 cups fresh or frozen cut corn

3 cups drained cooked black beans (2 14-ounce cans)

3 cups drained cooked red kidney beans (2 14-ounce cans)

salt to taste

grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Place the bulghur, hot water, and about a 2 cups of the juice from the canned tomatoes in a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat and simmer gently.

While the bulghur cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and Tabasco or cayenne. When the onions are soft, stir in the bell peppers and sauté for 3-4 minutes more. Chop the tomatoes right in the can and add them to the pan. Stir in the corn and beans, and heat thoroughly on low heat. Taste the bulghur. When it is cooked but still chewy, add it to the pan with its liquid. Cover and simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to meld. Add salt to taste.

Serve plain or topped with grated cheese and fresh cilantro, and possibly with warmed tortillas, or tortilla chips and crudités.

Pumpkin Patch...Year Two

Today we made our second trip to Ganyard Hill Farms to play with our friends in its autumn and Halloween themed attractions. Recalling the fun of last year, many of the same kids and parents re-appeared.

Much like the pick-your-own blueberries field from July, Ganyards is another example of Durham farmers finding that you can make more money off attractions than actually farming itself. As they like to say, for the $12.50 price of admission we'll give you a "free" pumpkin!

Tumbling Class

For the next several weeks, Clara gets to go to tumbling class each Thursday morning. It's a free-for-all jump, spin, somersault, climb, drop, and swing bonanza.

And Clara is eating it up.

Her favorite is jumping on the trampoline while watching herself in the mirror. Anyone surprised by that?

The Number Ten (and Beyond)

It seems Clara is getting a firmer grasp on numbers. For weeks now, she says "1, 2, 3, go" before heading down the slide at the park. Gradually, we noticed that she was using numbers to point out sequences of things (1, 2, 3 pictures of Elmo on the page!). Last week she even told us she's one (holding up one finger to illustrate the point) and that in February she will be two (holding up the same one finger to illustrate the point).

But we were surprised today when, while out in the yard picking up sticks with Kate, Clara started counting them. One. Two. Three.

We expected her to stop here as usual. Nope.

Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Seriously?

Eight. Nine. Ten.

Then with some prompting and assistance...Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.

Where did this come from? We double-checked at bed time tonight. Reading a Sesame Street book, Paul would point to various objects and ask Clara to count how many. Without any further prompting, she would slowly count each object all the way up to ten.

Wow! We're impressed. We'll try to get a video of it to post soon...

Potty!

Ah, pride. Mama's eyes tear up from it. Dada's heart swells with it.

While lounging in bed this Saturday morning, our Clara tells us "I go poo-poo. Potty." It's a concept Kate and Clara have worked on for a few weeks.

We rush her to the big potty, unzip her footy pajamas, rip off the diaper, and set her on the pot.

She goes "tee-tee." She wipes. She flushes. She gives high-five all around.

Could it be we skip the toddler toilet altogether and go straight for the big flusher? Time will tell.

Say My Name, Say My Name

We were on our way home from Christine's wedding this afternoon, asking Clara various questions, one of which gave her the option of saying her name. And...

For the first time, she said it!

We were expecting a "Ca-Ca" like she hears from Adah.

Nope.

This was a clearly uttered "Cwara."

We clapped. She beamed. And then repeated it many times to hear the claps again.

I Want Ca-Ca

"Ah-Dee" and "Ca Ca", two of the gurlz in the hood. From Adah's mom Debra this morning:

So Adah has been saying "Ca Ca" for the last two days (including "I want Ca Ca"). We've been trying to figure out the word she's trying to say... So we can correct the pronunciation. Tonight I asked her who we saw on our walk. She said "Ca Ca!!!". Clara! We'll work on the pronunciation, but I love that she says Clara's name!

See you soon. Debra