(2nd Annual) November: A Retrospective

November seems like a great month to reflect, generally speaking. November was the month we *really* became parents to this bright eyed girl and it seems like kind of the calm between her birthday and Christmas.
Here is Clementine's first November. She was just a few weeks old. She was little and hungry. We lived in Issaquah this November, not knowing BIG changes were coming around the bend (a move to a whole new city, new jobs for both Cam and I, etc. etc.).
Here she is in her second November. She'd just turned one and started walking. We lived in Bellingham in the smallest apartment. I had just returned to work and Clementine suddenly decided to ween herself. She was still pretty hairless! Change was sneaking up on this November, only this time we were working pretty hard to make this one happen. In the next month, Cameron and I would put our first THREE offers on homes. Luckily, number three worked out for us in the end!
November #3. She's just turned 2 but the famous terrible phase had started months earlier. Clementine's favorite word was "NO!" and her favorite sound was her own screaming. She was no longer in the 5th percentile for height and weight. She was in the 95th. She discovered carbs this year. We discovered gymnastics and went religiously; trying to find an outlet for this girls energy! We were living in our first house--trying to make it feel like a home of our own. Once again, change was right around the corner and, boy, did it catch us off guard. Cam was laid off from his job just a few weeks after this. It took months for our lives to return to normal.
Here is my beautiful girl this November. She is a three year old explorer/comedian/chef/swimmer/musician. We love 3. She finally has enough hair to put in pigtails. She's in the 95th percentile for height and weight still. She is absolutely fearless and totally bold. Clementine is potty trained and sleeps in a big girl bed. She gave up her binky ages ago. In every way, she wants to be a big kid. She is very literal--to the point where she cracks me up (if I call her "Sweetheart," or "Monkey-butt," she corrects me, saying "I'M Ten-Tine!").
Our lives are very settled now with Cam working at this new job the last 6 months. We keep working on making this house feel like a home--there are constant projects happening around here.
I'm excited (and a little nervous) to see what the next year brings us.

Pretty-ful!

This morning we woke up to several inches of SNOW! Just outside Clementine's bedroom is a sky-light. She saw the snow piled up on there and said "OOOH! Pretty-ful!"
Of course, we were out there playing in it at 7:30 am

It's hard to tell because the wind has blown some pretty deep piles in place but I think we've got about 6 inches of snow!

Here's my little Clem-sicle. She is rocking the pjs, bedhead and ladybug boots. Look at those pink cheeks!

Cookie Party

Clementine and I love to bake together. She has several super adorable aprons she loves to wear whether she's really baking with me or just pretending in her own play kitchen. For this picture I told her "Show me your pretty smile," and she brought out this cheesy grin. Now she does this everytime she sees the camera!!
Clementine really is a great baker. She works the Kitchenaid while I measure. Then she pours all the ingredients in. I love having a little baking-helper!

Big Wheelin'

I found a great deal on a Big Wheel bike for our little bug! Cam and I wanted to save it for Christmas but when we had a rainy day cooped up with little to do, we decided it was time to break out the Big Wheel.
Here she is still in her PJs riding around our house. She rode this bike for nearly 3 hours then sat in it to eat breakfast and watch a movie. She LOVES it!

Performance Artist

This girl lives to make people laugh. She has incredible comedic timing and isn't afraid to try new things in her act.
And then, of course, there's the shock value that gets plenty of laughs. Lately we've been noticing how quickly we go through mustard (or that the mustard container is all together missing). It's because of this: Clementine literally drinks it. She can get into the fridge by herself these days. She takes the mustard bottle and squirrels it away in her play fridge or under a cupboard somewhere only she will know. I don't know why it's mustard but she loves it.

Here is part of her stand-up act: fake sleeping.