Eight Years

Clarita continues to be a little firecracker! She's smart, silly, and stubborn to the max! Over the past year she really took off in reading, partially due to not having a lot else to do while we were on lockdown. She progressed so much that she ended up getting 400% of her AR goal in school (and most of it reading books at a fourth or fifth grade level)!

She's been my little helper through the pandemic. When we suddenly got thrown into homeschool and work from home I had more work than ever before and was so stressed out. She helped with Emmett when I had millions of meetings, read him books, and even put him down for naps. I even had her "watch" Bailey and Emmett one day while I had a several hour long meeting and she took it so seriously, got them all the snacks, and told me that "babysitting" was so much work and she understands why I am always tired!

Clara is my lover of animals, especially cats, and cannot bear the thought of anything bad happening to an animal. She was in heaven over the past year when we fostered several litters of kittens and ended up keeping two. She could often be found in bed or on the couch surrounded by kittens. The downside was having to say goodbye because she is also my child with all the feelings. When she's sad about something, she can't think of anything else and can cry for days. It drives me crazy, but I'm glad she is sensitive.

My little Snugglepuff is a social butterfly and the lockdown was really hard for her. She missed her cousins and friends and couldn't wait to get back to school. Clarita had a hard time going from being super busy to nothing. She is the kid who wants to do everything, and although she sometimes complains about having to practice something, she would rather be busy than sitting around doing nothing.

She's also super creative and loves dancing, acting, writing stories, and doing anything crafty. I bought a ton of craft supplies at the beginning of COVID and she definitely kept busy creating new things. One of my favorites was the drum she created out of popsicle sticks that she hot glued together and decorated with puff paint. Always the little teacher, she made up crafts for Bailey and Emmett to do as well.

Although Clara and I often butt heads because we are so similar, she's my little buddy and keeps me on my toes. She's so much fun and we love her to pieces!

Yearly Pictures

Stats

Weight: 50.4 pounds

Height: 50 inches 

Wearing

Clarita didn't seem to change a whole lot in the past year. She continues to be tiny with long legs and arms like her mama. She can still pretty much only wear leggings, but her leggings from last year actually finally (mostly) fit her. She has to wear size medium (7/8) for length but her shorts are small. She's a pretty solid small in shirts and her shoes are size 1.

Likes

Mama and Dada and Emmett, playing outside and going to the park, reading, riding her scooter/bike/hover board/roller skates, playing with her cousins, anything to do with cats, singing, dancing, anything craft related, playing with her friends, dressing up, Barbies, dolls, movies, playing school where she's the teacher, painting her nails, playing the violin (sometimes), listening to Lindsey Stirling, watching Liv and Maddie.

Dislikes

Not getting her way, being told no, waiting, Emmett, Bailey, or Elise doing things she doesn't like/annoying her, not being able to see her friends.

Sleeping

Clarita goes to be between 8:00 and 8:30 and generally wakes up around 6:30. She sleeps in a twin bed and Emmett generally sleeps in her room (she sleeps on the bottom bunk and he sleeps on the top). She doesn't really care about stuffed animals, but will occasionally chose one to sleep with. She would prefer that one of the cats sleep with her.

Nicknames

Clarita, Snugglepuff, Snuggle, Birthday Twin, Clarclar 

Eating

Clara is still not a huge fan of meat, but will eat almost any vegetable. She prefers salad to cooked vegetables, but eats both. She loves yogurt and would eat it for every meal if I let her. She was not a fan of the school lunches they sent home each day and really only wanted to eat the sugary food. Clara loves bread and often eats sourdough bread with butter and spices for a breakfast. She also loves Grapenuts. She got my sweet tooth and often states that she would just like to eat sugar!

Favorite Colors

Pink, purple, and teal. 

Best Friends

Bailey is her best friend/sister. Olive is her "BFF." Reed is still her boyfriend and she plans to marry him. 

Future Career
Teacher, actress, or social worker.

Exciting Events

April 26, 2020: First tooth falls out
April 28, 2020: Expert at tying shoes

May 28, 2020: Gets fourth finger tape on the violin
June 25, 2020: First time painting her own nails (she killed it!)

December 19, 2020: First honor orchestra (virtual)

August 29, 2020: Plays first video game (Roblox)

February 14, 2021: Gets ears pierced

Blossoms February 2021

It wouldn't be spring without our annual blossom photos. Every year it gets easier as the kids get bigger and can focus for longer periods of time! We always have to take at least one picture with the hot dog costumes and let the kids choose some other fun props. There is still some whining, but overall it's a fun experience! This year we had tons of time to make sure we got good blossoms. As usual, the kids chose their own props and costumes and did not disappoint. Emmett was not feeling super photogenic, but Clarita was on fire with her poses. Emmett was learning to wink and there are a bunch of photos where he's winking!