Our little plumber.

I mean, it's much easier for her to get under the sink, so why not?

(p.s.: is there a feminine version of "plumber?" "Plumberina?" "Plumberess?")

Besitos

Water Baby.

There is little doubt that Clara is a water baby. The excitement surrounding the inflatable wading pool she received for her birthday only confirmed it.

With the scorching heat wave of the last 10 days, there have been lots of opportunities for backyard pool time, and Clara is all too eager to dive in head first (literally).

In addition to exploring the backyard "watering hole" ...

Clara has also been enjoying the refreshing water of the North Atlantic.

When not in the water, Clara has been doing her best to warm up to the many family visitors that came to help celebrate her 1st birthday.

She was also excited to have her first taste of chocolate, although she was clearly less than thrilled with the musical serenade that preceded the chocolaty treat.

Back to the Mason-Dixon line.

Just before Clara's birthday, we took a trip down to Pennsylvania to see my grandparents, as well as the multitude of aunts and uncles and cousins who inhabit that part of the world.

Before we left on our trip, of course, preparations were required.  Katie and I prepared by packing obscenely large quantities of luggage into the car, while Clara prepared by unspooling all of the toilet paper from the roll in less time than it took for Katie to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.

Once we arrived, we generally occupied our time by eating large numbers of crabs and visiting with some of my cousins and their kids.  Among the people that Clara met for the first time was her second cousin Bella (who is a whole 4 months older than Clara).  Bella was pretty quiet, but I think that she was focused on imparting the wisdom of her advanced age solely via the use of subtle facial expressions.  In this picture she is demonstrating the toddler version of Blue Steel.

Clara tried to use the same expressions to communicate with Grandma Jean, but she needed a little more practice to express "Please come here and pick me up."

After that performance, Clara decided to try using a different expression to persuade my grandfather to give her a crab.  Alas, he gave her raspberries instead.

Of course, we had to have the requisite time with various mechanical contraptions...

as well as some serious target practice.

Suffice it to say that she was satisfied with her role as the center of attention most of the time,

And with a mug like this, who am I to disagree?