Claudia's friends Noah and Leah came over last night. Claudia had a good time with everyone.

She is back in her independent phase since we got home where she goes a bit off the reservation for about an hour each day. We are working on being polite during those moments.

So far we have had a nice trip to Pennsylvania. It started with a four hour trip from home. We didn't stop once as Molly slept right the whole way. Claudia was very patient. We had a few issues with sleeping arrangements but Claudia eventually agreed to "camp out" with Daddy in the living room. She eventually found herself under the chair. She hasn't slept away from home since we went to Boston last year so when we actually got to sleep time it was a bit of a shock.

Last night she went to the Parade and saw some of Mimi's friends. She liked sitting on her chair and watching everything. When she got home Aunt Susannah was here and they set up the tent. That was fun, but she wasn't ready to sleep in it yet!

Today was the big day as Claudia rode Wendy. She rode Wendy all over the place and did really well. She was pretty nervous at first but she got right on and had lots of fun.

Claudia has been a busy girl. She had visits today from her friend Taylor and Mrs. Werner stopped by. We also had fun when she realized that there was a steady stream of water dripping down from the light onto the kitchen table ("Daddy? What's that?"). Luckily Daddy was home.

Tomorrow we make our first trip to Pennsylvania in almost a year. First trip with Molly!

Claudia got her hair trimmed tonight and was a very good girl.

We had a good Fathers Day today. Claudia did lots of nice things and worked hard to make it a fun day. We watched a bike race in the morning and went to see the Kopecs in the afternoon. Claudia had lots of fun swimming. She had TWO naps today, and usually has zero. She is pretty wired and Kasey is reading to her now. Hopefully she crashes quickly as Molly is just getting started with her hiccups!

So we are passing the Medical Building in Southbury. Claudia and Molly go there for their baby doctor stuff and their dermatologist.

Claudia: "Grandma doesn't go there"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Claudia: "She has a different dermatologist"

Me: "Wow, Claudia thats a big word! I didn't know you could say that".

Claudia: "Its easy Daddy. Say Derm, then atol, then o, then gist. See?"

TV Buddies.

Claudia went to the track end-of-season picnic tonight and got a T-Shirt! She is very excited.

Tomorrow Claudia goes to see the Backyardigans!

Pictures and video are being uploaded to the flickr site right now.

Daddy arrives home...

Claudia: "How was work Daddy?"

Daddy: "Good, Claudia, thanks for asking"

Claudia: "We had some ravioli for dinner and saved some leftovers for you"

She will be making dinner herself pretty soon...

We know there will come a time, but we are real lucky to have Claudia as a daughter. She is a such a good girl. To be able to go to a restaurant or the bookstore and not really worry about her makes life so much more fun. She is starting to make up stories about things which is fun "Once upon a time Aunt Tootie went to the...." She is really getting into her fingerpainting and her reading. She sits for good long books now and I think we could read to her all day and she would be OK with it.

She still gets real nervous in crowds which is hard to watch but we see signs of improvement. She certainly doesn't respond when she first meets people but we try to draw her out a bit. She went to a birthday party last week and it was fun to watch her talk with the other kids ("This is a fork!"). She loves to talk on the phone with people and find out what they are doing.

I hope to get some pictures up tomorrow. Busy week at work.