Clara Beth one year ago
Clara Beth today!
We celebrated her birthday on Sunday, but Clara Beth’s actual birthday is today. I can’t believe it’s been a year since this precious, darling baby girl came into our family! She has changed the dynamics of our world so much! Collin and I were talking about what it was like a year ago. We were amazed from the beginning at how different she was from Makgill. I guess I always thought a newborn was a newborn, but she seemed so much more fragile and….girly. I have never in my life touched anything as soft as my baby girl’s cheeks on the day she was born. For some reason, that alone sticks out more to me than anything else from those precious first days with her in the hospital. We would touch her cheeks and it was as if we could not even tell we were touching anything- she was so delicate. The most beautiful girl we had ever seen! Introducing Clara Beth to Makgill was another memory from the hospital that really stands out. He was so proud of his new baby sister! He strutted into the hospital room wearing his big brother tee shirt, and in that moment he completely changed from a baby to a big boy in my “mommy” eyes. He hopped up onto the bed with me, clutching the “bundy” rabbit he made for his sister, and gave me the best hug. He felt so much bigger in my arms. It was so sad and so completely perfect all at the same time. He peered at his new sister with a huge smile on his face. He was so impressed that she had eyes! Clara Beth was a very smart baby from the beginning, and she had brought her big brother a present when she came into this world. This definitely helped boost Mak’s feelings toward her!
She has eyes!!!
This year has gone by so fast. Clara Beth is just so much fun to be around. Her personality is hilarious! She seems to have grown up so much faster than Makgill did. This was completely not my plan. She is our last baby, so I imagined that she would stay a baby much longer. She has different plans. Clara Beth has specific interests. She is in love with baby dolls. She actually screams for them when she sees them in a store and has huge crocodile tears if she doesn’t get what she wants. Mak was 20 months old before we hit this stage with him! She also loves shoes. Typical girl! She knows where they go and can amuse herself for short periods by trying to put them on. She then gets frustrated and brings them to me to put on. She doesn’t like wearing two of the same shoes, though. And she doesn’t like wearing them when I want her to wear them. Strong willed child? She is also a daredevil. The girl can climb, and is really good at it. She loves climbing in chairs, standing in chairs…she can even climb on top of the Art table if we let her. She definitely keeps me on my toes! Clara Beth has learned to blow her nose. It’s so cute and funny to watch! Her favorite words are still Da-da and uh-oh, but she has added no no no and dat(that?) to the list. She can say Ma-ma, bye, and hey, but she doesn’t do it very often. She has taken as many as 5 steps, but is still much more interested in crawling, which is fine with me. She is so amazing and beautiful, and I can not imagine life without this sweet little one! We are so thankful to God for our precious family. His blessings are so mighty and wonderful!
Here is a slideshow of her year in review: www.cmsmithportraits.com/slideshows/cb1styear
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
