There are quite a few other wordless picture books out there (Goodnight Gorilla is a Claire favorite) but this article on ohdeedoh had a number of titles new to me. I'll post Claire's version of the events in the book, I can't wait to listen to her tell the story.Success! An early morning dig to find a few spuds worthy of roasting yields an entire colander full of gorgeous little potatoes and one excited little girl.
We’ve had great luck with our raised bed gardening at home this 
The potatoes were surprisingly productive for such a confined place and we’re happily watching two watermelons grow inch by inch outside.
Unfortunately with all the travel in the past few months I didn’t get much into the ground at the CSG, we’ll 
What a fantastic garden assistant Claire has turned into! She’s no longer snatching fruit off the vine and with her newfound love of scissors I’ve relegated all the swiss chard snipping to her. Never was there a kid more happy to eat her homegrown goodies!
I wish the photo below was a little clearer (Dan snapped it with his blackberry) but check out our carrots and beets! See the carrots? The carrots are a cultivar called “thumblelina” and are happy growing in shallow or rocky soil (yep, that’s us!).
The root vegetables have really been a delight to grow. Claire is always shocked at what we pull out and to be honest, so am I…how tiny those carrot seeds were, and now look what we’ve got!
PUFFY PAINT?! They still make this stuff? I have to tell you that my inner (1980’s) child was squealing when I saw these little squeeze bottles.
I’ve got a great little craft project in the works, more to come.
Claire LOVES all things art. She's happy with her watercolors for at least an hour and draws happily with crayons and sculpts with playdough nearly everyday.
I've written a bit in the past about the evolution of Claire's artwork, the unusual places we've painted (rocks, jeeps and unfortunately walls), and even how we reuse medical supplies in our art projects.
I recently came across a great blog about one parent's quest to enrich her child's art experiences. I've been thirsty for some new ideas and will be giving many of these activities a try in the coming weeks.
My husband (aka the bearded maniac) doesn’t shave, but for this awesome project idea I’ll make a trip down the hair removal aisle!
In autumn and winter, as the late afternoon sun pours in the front door it will be the ideal location to try out this project from The Artful Parent. I think the tinted shaving cream will be gorgeous and since my entryway is tile we'll have a quick and easy cleanup!
In fact, it’s already one of my favorite spots to snap photos of Claire. Remember these?
I gather breakfast makings while Claire enjoys a morning story. I crack the eggs, hunt down the whisk (in the play kitchen again?!) and rustle up some fruit and Claire’s handy-dandy knife.
Once Claire puts her apron on (too cute, right?) she whisks the eggs while I melt some butter.
Whisk whisk whisk whisk. I swear that she is a neater cook than I am, just ask Dan.
Salt, pepper. Perfection. Just look at her work that pepper grinder! This is when I need to pay close attention, we’ve had some s-p-i-c-y eggs thanks to Miss Liberal with the Pepper Grinder.
While I cook the eggs, Claire cuts up some fruit for us. Grapes are a favorite (but a bit challenging) and cantaloupe often makes an appearance. This knife is fantastic, Grandma CaCa picked it up from a Pampered Chef party and it makes Claire really independent in food preparation. She cuts up her own cheese and fruit for lunch and snack when our schedule in the afternoon allows it.
I love the look of determination on her face in these photos. Soon she’ll be whipping up meals all on her own and delivering breakfast-in-bed to her parents on Saturday morning (let me dream, please).
I wrote the post below when we found out Claire’s great-grandfather had few days left in life. I was torn about taking her to the wake, and eventually decided with my husband to take her. What a great decision! The deacon who spoke to us in the evening said he loved to see children at wakes because they are a symbol of life, love and family. I wish I had a tape recorder for his talk, he did a beautiful job turning a few of my handwritten notes into a well spoken eulogy.
Dan and I took Claire up to the casket after explaining that Pop had died and is no longer breathing or laughing. We told her that part of him now lived in God’s house. I avoided the whole “oh, he’s just sleeping” thing because I think that explanation can be terrifying for children. Who wants to go to “sleep” at night after seeing a loved one looking strangely still in a casket? So we opted for the truthful route gently explaining that all things live and then die.
Claire took a look into Pop’s casket said goodbye to Pop then promptly asked for her puzzles and toys and ran around the room with her cousin having a grand time. Kids are great, aren’t they? So accepting and resilient. We’ll miss Pop but I’m so happy that Claire really got to know him and will keep him alive in her memories. Not every kid gets to meet their great-grandparents, let alone spend nearly 3 happy years with one of them. I’m grateful for that indeed!
father’s day 2008, all the guys in Claire’s life
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written 12.July.2010As Claire gets older I find myself thinking more and more about choices we make as parents. Not questioning our choices per se, but realizing the magnitude of our parenting decisions and their implications for our precocious little toddler.
Case in point, death and dying. Treated as a natural part of the life cycle, I don’t think it is a scary thing for a child to witness, especially a gradual decline in the elderly.
Claire’s great-grandfather has been in failing health for the past month or two. She visits with him and has not turned off or spooked by the bi-pap machine that helped him to breathe last month. She was a little apprehensive about the “elephant mask” as we called it, but quickly warmed up to her great-grandfather, albeit a slighter and sleepier version then she remembered. We’ve brought drawings for Pop to enjoy and explained about Pop’s “boo-boo” in his lungs which makes it harder to for him to breathe. Claire’s been talking about Pop not feeling “berry good” and is obviously thinking about him throughout the day but doesn’t seem saddened or threatened by the change.
Now that he is weaned off the bi-pap machine and in the hospital being made comfortable in his last days I continue to take Claire to see him. I’m sure she can’t help but notice he’s skinnier and less and less alert but she clings to his hand and smiles at him and Pop seems to really enjoy the time with her.
There seems to be such a disconnect with death in today’s industrialized world. The animals we eat in the grocery store are shrink wrapped and unidentifiable so Claire’s only experience with death is batteries that run out of juice and the occasional mouse that Ray gets.
Of course I’m torn about the whole wake thing. Of course it provides closure but for someone so young would she understand? Should her last memories of her great-grandfather be of him alive and risk having her think dying just means “disappearing?” Or should we allow a goodbye and a viewing of his body explaining the whole spirit/body thing?
Any thoughts or advice?
Our family is participating in a great community supported garden program up at Sunset View Farms in Lafayette. My focus is on the 20x30 plot we’re tending, while Claire is enjoying her time chasing around the chicken and sneaking worms into her pockets. Here’s the cast of characters so far:
The goat. Claire’s favorite mammal on the farm and her curiosity (and love of grass and clover) gives us lots of face time with this critter.
The hen. I’ll have to snap another photo of her as this chick spends little time in her enclosure. I have never met a more patient bird, of course Claire is collecting all kinds of bugs for her so that’s probably why she tolerates Claire’s “love.”
The sheep. Shy and skittish they don’t much care for Claire yet. We’re working on bribing them. Baaaaaa!
This is a teaching farm and there is a fantastic nature playground where Claire explored her balancing skills and did lots of jumping.
The chicks. Our source of eggs this summer. They make the cutest cheeping noise and are so soft! I can’t wait to see the blue eggs from one of the breeds in there. Look at that little one jumping in the right corner!
And lastly, some shots of the play area -
There was too much snow to build a snowman in the backyard during our last storm. I had to carry the poor kid out to her playhouse because the snow was well past Claire’s waist and she couldn’t walk in it. This photo was taken about 3 days after the big storm, nearly 6 inches had already melted, it was insane!
So we moved our snowman building efforts into the plowed driveway. Claire grabbed her little shovel and wound up with a nice toddler sized snowman. She wanted stick arms and a carrot nose (just like the Kipper book we’re reading). I just had to share this picture of Claire’s errrr… “anatomically correct” snowman.
Heehee.
