Finally at 16 1/2 Months...Walking

I've been trying to get this video up for two days...here she is on two feet WITHOUT holding our hands!

Progress

We are settling in to the routine with much less angst these days. Claire is no longer crying when I drop her off in the morning, and I'm feeling a little more organized at school.

The distance Claire is willing to walk increases slowly. This weekend she managed about the length of the rug in the living room. She also walks more willingly holding ONE instead of both hands--so we are encouraged that maybe she still won't be crawling when she heads to kindergarten.

Claire's also adding all kinds of new words to her vocabulary. This weekend the refrain seemed to be either "bubble" "duck" or "cracker," but she's also added "nana" (banana) "baby" "Hem" "kitty" "horse" "cow" "home" and several more. When I pick her up after school she goes into these long strings of semi-intelligble words/phrases--just like she's telling me all about what she's been up to for the past few hours. It's fun to see her communicating her ideas to us, and we are working hard on "please" and "thank you" as the next words to learn!

The picture reveals how much Claire is learning by imitation! I think she can move a mouse better than some of her grandparents...ha ha!

Back to School

We were back to school this week. The adjustment was actually harder this year than last year as I have a bit more of a work load and Claire is adjusting to a new daycare. We are still working out the kinks of the schedule allows a balance for all of us for work/play/household chores and so on. Of course Claire caught a cold the first week and has passed it on to all of us, so we are spending a wet/blustery Labor Day trying to recover (although Nate did hunt in the rain for a few hours this morning). We did have a nice day yesterday in the Paradise Valley. We did a short hike in the morning, went to Chico Hot Springs and swam, and then had an early dinner in Livingston. (no pictures--sorry forgot the camera) Claire is STILL not walking--though we can get her to take a few steps between us and sometimes walk holding ONE instead of BOTH hands. Talk about baby steps. Literally.

I never did get a chance to post some of the incredible pictures from Nate's climb to Granite Peak. They actually didn't quite make the summit as a few pitches from the top they determined that having ropes would be prudent. Nonetheless, the terrain and views are spectacular.

Granite Peak behind Nate and his friend Dave.

Some of the views from "Froze to Death Plateau" where they camped before attempting the summit.

Last Day of Summer

It's Friday, the last day of summer break for me. I'm back to school on Monday, and although a week ago I didn't feel ready, I can say I'm looking forward to it by today. We've spent the last week transitioning. I spent two mornings at school, and Claire spent a few hours at daycare. While I still have some anxieties about a slightly different teaching schedule (though I'm still just teaching mornings) and Claire changing daycares, I do feel ready to get back to a regular schedule and have a different kind of interaction each day. Claire seems to be needing some more stimulating interactions with others too. Since we've been back from Washington she seems bored with all her toys, unwilling to play independently, clinging to me, still not walking and not really wanting to crawl either (meaning I spend A LOT of time during the day holding her two hands as we do loops around the house or outside--as seen in this picture from Washington), in short, my patience has been worn thin most days.

Nate left early this morning to climb Granite Peak with two friends. It's the tallest peak in Montana and about a ten mile hike just to set up base camp. When he gets back I'll be sure to post some of the pictures. In the meantime, I might be facing two long days alone until he gets home late Saturday night.+-

Back from Washington

We arrived home Wednesday night after spending two weeks in Washington with my family. It was an action packed visit with plenty of socializing with cousins for Claire. My sister Christine and her family were also visiting from Indiana, so we had the whole Lagerwey clan together. Nate drove over for a long weekend as my parents rented a house on the Olympic Peninsula that was big enough to hold all 12 grandchildren and their parents. We spent time at the beach, hiking, and even got in a mountain bike ride together. Claire has now been on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts this summer! Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting us and all you did to organize the family reunion; we had a terrific visit!

A quick update from Washington

After arriving and finding some cool/rainy weather for a day or two, we've been enjoying some of Washington's best: blue skies, beautiful mountain views, gorgeous water, and a break from the heat of Montana this time of year. We are getting in lots of time with my parents and siblings and their families. Claire is enjoying all the activity--though she did need to catch up on some sleep by yesterday night. After a two hour nap this afternoon, she was back to her cheerful self and ready to mix it up with the whole crew.

Claire with cousins Elly VandenBosch and Jessica Sheeres.

Aunt Chris and her first little pig tail!

Uncle Tim telling her it's been a while since he had one this little.