Lots of Talk

Teagan has been talking up a storm.  She's says a lot of "b" words like ball or book and is into expressions like whow and uh-oh.  She also nods her head purposefully for "yes" and understands so much; it's really quite amazing.  Teagan is also a climber, hoarder, and snuggler.  She likes to jump on Claudia and forcibly snuggle her.  She also (unfortunately), bites and pulls hair.  She is very fascinated by socks, underwear, and bras.  She wears my undergarments around her neck and pulls them out of drawers and hides them in other places.  She has also recently mastered walking backwards and likes to "moonwalk" on the kitchen floor.  Her climbing has gotten out of control and she can get up on the coffee table or kitchen table.  Let's just say, she keeps me on my toes.

Claudia is also quite the talker.  She sometimes barely takes a breath between sentences and can go on for 20 minutes easily without taking a break.  She even likes to watch herself in the mirror while she talks and monitor her expressions.  She is now able to hold thoughts and memories longer, so we have to be careful the conversions we have because she often remembers it and brings up all the details later.  Although, her speech is quite good, she still says a few funny words like "Cos-ca-co" (Costco),  "in case of" (instead), and "borning" (born).  I've tried correcting her, but certain wrong words have just stuck.

We got a mini-vacation last month, with my parents buying us a night at the Great Wolf Lodge near Olympia.  Teagan stayed back with Grandpa & Grandma, but Claudia, Glen, and I had fun going on water slides, playing arcade games, and playing mini-golf.  Claudia injured herself twice at the water slide park and may have a scar on her chin from one bad cut, so we kept mostly to the arcade.  Her highlight was me winning her a Hello Kitty backpack in the "claw" game.  It was also her first time in a hotel room, so she loved just having a big bed all to herself and played for a long time with the telephone because she had never seen a land line before!

I'm sad to report that my Grandma O. (dad's mom) passed away in November.  Here is a link to her obituary.  She was in nursing care for a long time, so visits from my girls as well as my Dad sharing photos and videos of them had definitely been a highlight for her these past 5 years.  She lived a long full life, and I'm thankful for the memories I have of her.  Teagan shares her birthday, October 14th, with 96 years between!  You will see photos of Teagan's 1st birthday party below.  We just had a small party at our house this year with family and a couple of friends.