Signs

Clara has been doing signs since she was about 9 months old. I have been meaning to record her doing them, but of course, I never got around to it. She now does the signs and says most of the words. I have enjoyed watching her learn signs because its a way she can communicate with us before her speaking skills are completely developed. I think using signs has helped Clara speak so quickly as well. I am amazed everyday by the new words she is able to say.
Thanks to Aunt Shala & Uncle Pat for introducing us to baby signing!

St. Jude's Marathon

Go Jeremy!!! Jeremy finished his 2nd marathon in 5:14. He had horrible knee pains, but fought through them to finish the race!!
Chris, Darren, Geoff, Jeremy and Jon ran the full marathon together. They trained together leading up to the race and helped each other to finish. Will ran the 1/2 marathon. Julia and I ran the 5k.
Clara and I were very proud of daddy!
This is my 30 weeks pregnant picture taken 5 days before I ran the 5k. I was very pleased to do the 5k in 36 minutes considering how pregnant I was. I might actually buy the race pictures just so I have proof that I did it. :-)

Cousins

I am so glad were able to spend Thanksgiving in Texas. Clara and Brennley had so much fun playing together. They were so cute to watch.
Cheese!
Hugs!
Clara was so excited to see baby McKay. She wanted to hold him, pat him on the back and just be near him.
She also wanted so badly to kiss him!!

Baby McKay is a perfect baby. He eats, sleeps and poops very well! He was so fun to snuggle with. Thanks to Pat and Shala for sharing their home and sweet family with us. We love ya'll!

Texas

I love pictures of my angel sleeping... Can't get enough of these...
Clara and Brennley did story time and bedtime stuff together every night while we were visiting in Texas. Pat was so kind to read to both of the girls even when they weren't the best listeners. :-) Clara enjoyed having a big sister to play with and look up to. Brennley was so nice to share her toys and play with Clara. We miss Pat, Shala, Brennley and McKay so much! I wish we were neighbors.
It has been months since Clara has taken a nap with us. She has to be in her crib all alone to fall asleep, so this was a very special moment.
Clara especially liked playing with Brenn's cowgirl hat and horse. She would put the hat on all by herself and carry the horse all around the house.

Ice Cream

We love Arctic Circle and now Clara does too! Their kiddie cones are so yummy and free! We gave Clara her very own ice cream cone to eat all by herself. She is very independent so this made her extremely happy.

Halloween

Clara loved trick or treating! She quickly learned how to grab the candy, say thank you and put the candy in her bag. She even got to eat some of the candy. It was her first encounter with candy and it was love at first bite. Jeremy and I also dressed up for Halloween. I wish I had a picture of my costume because it was awesome! I cut arms & legs off a baby doll and attached them to my tummy so it looked like my baby was poking out. Funny and creepy all at the same time. :-)

Where's Clara?

Clara loves to explore! She can be found hiding anywhere she'll fit. I'm always surprised to see what she's gotten herself into.

Pumpkin Patch

I am very behind in posting these pictures, but they had to be seen!! Clara had so much fun visiting the Walden Farm Pumpkin Patch. She enjoyed seeing the pumpkins and petting the animals. This is our second year visiting this farm and I'm sure it will be a family tradition for years to come.

Story time with Dad is part of our bedtime rituals. Clara loves spending time with Dad before bed.
Clara loves drinking out of a straw, no matter what size the cup may be.


This is a video of some of Clara's first steps. She's a much better walker now! I'll post more video of her walking soon.

Momma's Lil Helper

If I'm in the kitchen, Clara wants to be in the kitchen. She is a great helper when it comes to unloading the dishwasher, cooking, cleaning and putting groceries away. Clara loves helping me clean and take care of the house. She'll be a such a huge help when the new baby arrives!
She'll always be daddy's 'lil girl.

Clara loves to read!! She evens enjoys reading the newspaper with me.

Clara found this little purse and loves carrying it around. She puts it on and takes if off all by herself. I have found some of the most random things inside her purse...

Party Time!

We hosted a House Party for Fisher Price Toys!! www.houseparty.com It was so much fun! Fisher Price sent us this huge box of toys and goodies. It was Clara's first play date. We had 10 friends come and play. Thanks so much to everyone who came. We had a blast!
Clara is such a character! She loves bath time.

Clara loves her Daddy! She gets so excited when he comes home from work each evening.

Our 1 year old

Recently, Clara has shown interest in being a big girl. She loves sitting on the couch with Mom & Dad. She also enjoys holding the remote and changing the channels.
I will randomly find her just sitting, lounging or laying on the couch. She can climb up and down from the couch all by herself. She is such a big girl!!

Clara also likes sitting in boxes or anything she can fit inside. She really likes taking the lid off the ottoman and climbing inside.
I'll always love pictures of my babies sleeping. This was on the morning of Clara's 1st birthday.

Happy 1st Birthday Clara!

On August 11, 2010, Clara DeeAnne Zurawski turned 1 year old!! Our little baby is getting so big so fast! It's been an awesome first year. Clara is such a sweet addition to our family. Her smiles bring us so much joy each and every day. We love her so much and hope we can fill her life with as much joy as she has given us as her parents.

For her birthday, we had a fun lunch party at McDonalds. It was Clara's first time eating a Happy Meal and she learned how to drink out of a straw! That night for dinner we ate with some friends at IHOP. Clara had pancakes and loved them!These are pictures of Clara on her official birthday. I will post pictures later of her birthday party.