Clara in May and June 2013

What has Clara been up to??

In May, it was still cold...believe it or not. But, we did a lot of fun stuff. We took our first trip to the NEW Zoo. We missed out on feeding the giraffes, but I know we'll be there a bunch more times before the end of the year. She had such a fun time last time when we did that. She got up close with some of the goats. She did well...until one sneezed right by her. It freaked her out. :) But she recovered quickly. I think that was one of the nicest days of the month! 

We also went to visit Nama and Grandpa at their campsite. Come to think of it, the weather was nice that day, too! We played a lot at the little playground at the campground. 

We went to the Two Rivers Memorial Day parade. That was NOT a nice day! Last year, we were trying to find a piece of shade to watch the parade in because it was really hot. This year, we were in sweatshirts and pants...and the boys had blankets on them in the strollers! Totally ridiculous for the end of May.

June was a really fun month, too! The weather finally got warm! 

We took a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo. I took Clara's picture with the famous Lion fountain that's right by the front gate. She didn't want to at first, but then she was ok with it. 

We also went to see Thomas the Train at the National Railroad Museum. I don't have any idea why, but she was NOT having fun that day. She was pretty much a sourpuss the whole time we were there. The big picture in the collage might be the only one we have of her smiling! 

Other than that, we've been enjoying the warm weather by playing outside as much as we can. She and Sam even went swimming at Mimis already! They both love swinging. She loves making things for us in her playhouse. Sam just loves climbing on the table to look out the window. :) 

So aside from the fun things, life just goes on around here. Everyone in the house was sick for the last couple weeks, but we're feeling better now. 

Clara is doing really well with the potty training and now stays dry during naps as well as all day. She is even mostly going to the bathroom all by herself without even telling us.
Developmentally, she's really growing by leaps and bounds. I need to keep a piece of paper and a pen handy for the hilarious things she says. 

For the most part, she's a great helper. She loves to help everyone do things. She and daddy make "chocolate milk (milk with Nestle Quick in it)" at the kitchen counter. And I know she helps Mimi with the cooking and baking. She helps me feed Scooter in the mornings. She likes giving him treats, too.

We're going on our first family vacation in July. I can't wait to take a ton of pictures and have a lot of fun. I just hope it's as fun for the kids as I'm hoping it is. I have things planned that are their speed, so I think they'll have a good time. Summer is going by so quickly. Pretty soon we'll be having birthdays again! Hard to believe that in a few months she'll be 3 years old! OMG!