JOB in the HOF

In the summer of 1996, just prior to her freshman year at Davidson, Kate received a call from Jen in Connecticut. The abounding wisdom of Davidson College RLO had selected these two as roommates and this was the introductory call. The girls made idle chit-chat and formed quick mental images of what the other might look like. Jen thought Kate sounded...well, Asian, given her somewhat high pitched voice at that age. Kate thought Jen sounded...well, gruff and perhaps a bit manly given her slightly deeper tonality and the knowledge that Jen was on the basketball team.

Those were first introductions, and neither impression held true. When it came time to actually live together, we can say that RLO not only got it very, very right, but they did the McKnight and Dryden families an enormous favor by placing Jen in our lives. She and Kate went on to room together the entire four years in college, and the friendship remains a treasure to them both.

So the Drydens and McKnights were beyond themselves with excitement for Jen when she received the first ballot invitation to join the Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame. Jen wasn't just on the basketball team. Jen was the star point guard who still holds the records for points, assists, and steals.

And though Jen gave a riveting toast of Paul and Kate at our rehearsal dinner five years ago, we did not know the full power of her public speaking ability. At the induction ceremony, Jen was the last inductee of four and (not surprisingly) easily packed the house with fans, friends, and family. True to form, as she found ways to pass off credit for her success to pretty much everyone but herself, there was nary a dry eye in the room. It was a brilliant, funny, endearing speech that none of us will forget any time soon.

For Clara, the highlight was seeing the Davidson Wildcat in person during the men's basketball game (during which, at half-time, the inductees were presented with their fine medals) and giving him a high-five. (For the record, Davidson managed to win in an exciting finish but could have used Jen's help at several points during the game.) 

Clara at 23 Months

Well, we've just wrapped up the 23rd month of Clara's existence in our lives, and we're a stone's throw from the official commencement of the terrible twos. Here are some highlights from January...

That's What the Clock Says; That's the Rule

Temper tantrums reached a crescendo over Christmas time, erupting most frequently when Clara sensed a lack of control over diaper changes, changing clothes, and taking baths. The fits were happening on a daily basis, but they've seemed to recede (insert superstitious ritual here) over the previous week or so. 

The only truism we've recognized in our brief parenting careers is "this too shall pass." It's a knife that cuts both ways. The moment we relax (ahh, she's sleeping through the night) it changes, and the moment we're nearing our peak of bewilderment (temper tantrums) we seem to figure something out. Temporarily. 

The latest solution to controlling the fits has been the introduction of the kitchen clock as the third party power. It makes the rules, and who dares question the rules?!  Using diaper changes as example, we smell a stench and ask Clara if we should change it now. Always "no!" So we say, "The clock says 5:25. When it says 5:30 there's no choice. We have to change it. That's the RULE." We then count down the minutes ("ah, it's 5.26...now 5.28...") and announce the deadline with fanfare. Her objections have been minor and easily countered by offering a small, final choice: "Should we do in Clara's room or Mama's room? You get to decide."

It's working for now, and we estimate it's cut the fits by 95%. We'll see what tomorrow brings and adapt to that, too.

Night Wanderer

We already highlighted Clara's sudden switch to the big girl bed. It has created some interesting nights since then. While she took it in stride to begin, we now believe that she didn't fully comprehend that the side railing was gone and that this presents certain opportunities for freedom.

She understands this concept now. Thoroughly.

Clara woke from a dream this morning at 1 am shouting "No Clara want edamame! No Clara want edamame!"  She proceeded to exit the nursery and come into our room, standing silently for a few moments. Then, abruptly, she spun around and went back to her room, slamming the door behind her for flourish. We hear her climb back into the bed, talk with her stuffed lovies, and give a nice hacking cough to remind us she was awake. This goes on for 30 minutes before...silence. She's asleep!

We were exhausted in the moment, so she didn't get any immediate attagirls, but be assured that our hearts were swelled with pride as we recalled the accomplishment this morning.

We are conducting a house-wide investigation into the overuse of edamame and its potential for deep psychic effects. Given that she's prone to waking herself up through the night regardless, we are resigned to the idea that the night wandering adventures have just begun. 

Clara's Just a Baby

Clara has made strides with her grammar and vocabulary over the month. She really pays attention to what we say and how we say it, making it a lot of fun to watch her quick sentence modifications and word selection. 

We still get a lot of "Mama sit on Clara's lap!", a command that clearly means the opposite. When the neighborhood kids were running by this morning on the way to school, she rushes to the window and says "Evelyn wants to see Clara." She's getting there...

That being said, she has simultaneously developed a fascination with being "Baby Clara" (said with a furrowed brow and pouty lips). When she's Baby Clara, we have to carry her around in prone position. When she's Baby Clara, she wants to drink lots of milk from her sippy cup. When she's Baby Clara, she says "wa-wa-wa!" whilst rubbing her eyes with balled fists.

A friend recently returned the johnny jumper Clara used last year. She was so excited to see it, and jumped right in as Baby Clara.

But after awhile she puts away baby things and proudly announces she is once again "Big Girl Clara."

American Idol 

This has been the month of singing songs. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Ram-a-Sam-Sam. Baa, Baa Black Sheep. ABC's. Open Shut Them. Old McDonald Had a Farm. And a few more that she makes up as she goes.

Kissing (With Some European Flare)

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn't capture this trend for posterity. Clara is leaving her bashful kissing ways behind her and embracing a very European approach to this affection. 

Before Paul takes her into the bedroom at night, Clara gives her Mama several kisses goodnight. It started as one on each cheek, but a new slant gets added each night. Kisses on the nose. Nose kisses. Kisses on the chin. Eye kisses. Ear kisses. All too hardy giggles. 

But the grand finale kiss is on the mouth. For some reason, when her Mama offers a gentle lip peck, she has recently taken to going in full bore. With open mouth. With extended tongue. 

We laugh at it in the home. But we must think of the social implications when this expands outside our night time routine. For example, last week Kate and Clara met our friend Amelia for lunch. Clara was standoffish to begin, but surged with confidence at the end as she went in for a goodbye kiss. She started by extending her head and puckering her lips. Amelia reciprocated. But those lips quickly parted and the tongue came out, providing our friend with a memorable departure (and taste on her mouth) to a pleasant visit.

Marbles Kid's Museum

For Christmas, we received the very generous gift of a year-long membership to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. After three visits in January, I think it's safe to claim we're getting good use out of it. And with temperatures lingering in the high-20s this weekend, it was the best way to get Clara burning off energy on a Saturday morning.

Big Girl Bed...The Morning After

5.15 am. We can hear Clara stir. She cries out for Dada for a couple minutes. Then she mills around in the room.

5.25 am. With well-practiced precision she flips open the door knob to our room, flinging open the door. She stands there for moment. We hear her footsey covered feet padding, so slowly, to the middle of our room. Nearly five minutes elapse. "Hi." She whispers. Again, "hi." Then she stands there for another minute or two. Paul pretends to snore. She creeps up to his side of the bed and seems to inspect him in the dark, but no more words.

5.35 am. Clara pads over to Kate's side of the bed. "Hi Mama," she whispers. "It dark in Clara's room.  And, and, and it dark in Mama-Dada's room." Kate invites Clara to return to her room. She politely declines. She is now in bed with us.

5.55 am. Clara is snoring now and lying perpendicular to us, forcing Paul into the now unfamiliar extreme edge of his bed. Paul is up.

7.45 am. After padding about the house for a couple of hours, Paul is stunned that he has heard nothing from the bedroom. He checks in to see Kate wide awake and Clara still snoring away. Kate is afraid to move.

Big Girl Bed (or Things That Go Bump in the Night)

The wake up thing remains a struggle. We put Clara in her pack-in-play during a brief grandparent visit at the beach. She promptly showed her Ga how easy it is to climb out of it. See? She drives her point home the next night by "knock-knock-knock"ing on Mama and Dada's bedroom door at 3.00 in the morning. "Hi," she says when Paul opens it. Climbing sure does create a new kind of mobility that demands closer consideration by the parental figures.

And to put an exclamation point on that sentence, when we get home and put her in the crib for the night (last night) she shows us she wasn't quite done. At 5.00 am she howls from her crib for Mama to come get her. We ignore it for a few minutes. It starts back up at 5.30. Ignore. 5.45. Ignore. The not-so-calm request for assistance continues unabated for the next several minutes until we hear a sharp thud. No need to panic, we recognize that sound as the pink aluminum water bottle she clings to most nights in bed. (And even though 14 months have passed since we heard the sound of her head hitting the floor, it still sticks vividly in our mind.) We roll over, aware of her climbing interest, but confident that she still can't hurdle that high crib rail. 15 seconds later, the door to our room flings open. Clara is standing there rubbing her eyes. Her parents stammer...but, but, but we didn't hear her fall out. "Diaper change," she demands.

After checking for head trauma, broken ankles, and the like we take her back to the crime scene and ask her to recreate the events. She obliges cheerily. "Like this," she says as she tosses her elbows over the rail, leaning in all the way to her arm pits. "Then....like this," she says as she casually (and very flexibly) flings her left leg over the rail. "Then, um, like this," she says as she twists her body, establishing enough torque to pivot the rest of her body over the side and slide down backward facing.

Oh, ok. Like that. It's as if she had it in her arsenal for weeks, and decided to use it early this morning. Because, um, she just wanted to.

"Ok," says Paul. It's about 6.15 am, and he grabs the conversion kit for the crib and spends the next 45 minutes transforming it into a toddler daybed. At least it wasn't 2.00 in the morning.

"Congratulations," we explain to Clara. "You're now a big girl."

A brand new adventure begins. We know she will wake up during the night and early in the morning. How to counteract what's sure to be earlier and earlier forays into her parent's room...

AU National Champs!

Auburn won the BCS National Championship tonight, beating the Oregon Ducks 22-19 on a time-expiring field goal. Who would've thunk that with the two most explosive offenses in the country, this would be a defensive battle? War eagle!

With 37 days between the SEC championship game and this, we had plenty of time to prepare. I don't mean the football team. We had time to prepare Clara. There was no chance we would let her stay up to watch it, but she partook of much pre-game t.v. viewing. Most importantly, she learned the battle cry. Whenever Clara sees Auburn's logo of intertwined A and U she hollers out "War eagle, hey!"

She has one proud Dada.

Dryden (Big) Family Christmas

For the first year in many, we actually got a little break between our return from Pennsylvania and our trek down South. This is often done in back-to-back days, but this year the Drydens were able to push our Christmas celebration all the way out to New Year's Day. It was nice being out of the car for several days, as I'm sure Clara would attest. She has made impressive strides in her car seat resiliency since last Christmas, but any 22-month old has her limits.

We spent a couple of days with family in Auburn, crashed the annual Collins Family New Year's Eve bash, and enjoyed the family party hosted by Julie...a gracious hostess as always.