52:2:Slide

 My how long New Year's Resolutions don't last... oh, I kept up with the Project 52 alright, but this is OUT of the House instead of in, and remember I said I wasn't going to just shoot Claire?  Well, that went right out the window the minute I decided to drag the camera to the mall for some play time fun.  So here's my second installment of Project 52.  Slide.  Claire LOVES the slide at the play area.  When she first attempted it (when she could barely walk, mind you) I think we almost passed out.  We had a collective, "Oh GOD" from the sidelines and sprinted to the middle, leaping over children, to try to catch her from certain doom.  Only she didn't die, she just turned around and slid herself down the slide (backwards, of course).  Since then we've been all about the play area and try to go about once a week to let Claire blow of some steam. 

peek-a-boo!

 Claire loves the play area.  Of course, we have some trouble of her running off into the actual mall area (and trying to seriously take off to only she knows where), but for the most part she really has fun, and what's great is the more and more we go, we run into kids around her age and end up having an impromptu play date!

She loves the house.  She'll run through, then climb through the windows.  How can you put a price on a face like that though?  Makes me want to take her every day!

 At 14 months, Claire is walking wonderfully.  She does fall down at the play area with so many textures and the spongy floor, but she hardly topples at home at all.  She walks to her room to get a diaper change or to take a nap.  She'll even wander into the kitchen to help me or walk into the bathroom to see what's going on.  The level of childproofing in our house has gone from awareness to code red! 

She just kills me how happy she is playing--and her running is so funny!  Remember when she couldn't crawl?

 Claire runs.  Everywhere she can, it seems.  Sometimes she just gets so excited, even around the house, she'll just take off and we can't even catch her.  My grandfather bought us one of those kid leash backpack contraptions (one of those parenting things I'd said I'd never use).  Now it seems like a real possibility as she keeps carving out her independence... at least I'll have a fighting chance at keeping up with her!

This week she started sliding the "right" way and not going down butt first.  Such a smart cookie!

What I love about Claire is that she can be observant, friendly, she's patient, and can share.  Just as dramatically, though, she'll emphatically tell you something is "MINE" and snatch it away.  Or she'll open up something she shouldn't (the entertainment center?) and shake her head and say "no", then close the door and say "close" then laugh and open the door back up, shooting us a daring look in the process.  She's talking so much and doing new things almost daily.  It's crazy how quickly her cognitive skills are changing.  I guess for the first year all I took note of were the impressive physical changes.  Now I'm excited and amazed by each new word, each new way she becomes her own person.  She's even starting to pick up her own imaginary play--one of those "I wish I had the GOOD camera out" moments yesterday--she had her tent set up with the kitchen inside, plus her phone.  She was digging through her fridge and suddenly grabbed her phone and said "Hello?"  I had to laugh.  She made me some tea to share (she'd come out and give me a cup) and later tried to put the tent on top of me (I guess she wanted ME to play house, too?).  If she could only have put her chair in there, I might never have seen her again.

My oh my how the time flies!