Claire

Claire was born into our family during a time of change.  Two days after she arrived we moved into a new home.  We had been staying with Dan's parents for a few months in the lead up to our move.  Thanks to them things went smoothly and Claire was my biggest baby at 8.5 lbs!  She had dark hair and came out a little blue due to some cord wrappings and she took more than a few moments of worry from all of us before she took her first breath.  When she finally opened up those lungs and wailed we were SO relieved, and she was all the more beautiful!  Her older brother Gideon was very welcoming and when she got old enough to play they were the best of playmates.  Claire of course felt equally at home playing with trucks and laser guns as with dolls and  tea sets.  She also knew she was adorable, and would simply say "I know" when someone said she was cute. Someone also taught her to say that her curly hair came from the mailman.  When she realized people got a kick out of her saying that, she would not be discouraged from continuing.  So we had to teach her to add that the mailman was her daddy. When they laughed at that too she thankfully kept saying that as well.  (Phew!) When she was younger she would smile at everyone.  Though as she got older she went through a phases where she would refuse to smile, even if it was the family Christmas picture and we were in front of a photographer. (I nicknamed her 'Claire, Claire quite contraire' for a while, (contraire is french for contrary.))



Her hair came in curly and blond like her brother and she was the most adorable little fairy angel.  Though she was younger she didn't let anyone boss her around!  She has always had a strong will and temper which she is still learning to conquer, but along with that she also has a very keen mind and intellect and a surprising ability to accomplish things she sets her mind to.  She is also meticulous with her possessions, insisting that her bike gets put out of the weather or that her Halloween candy is put in a safe hiding place. (Her candy lasts past Christmas, she tends to horde it, then use it as leverage with her siblings.) She has lots of friends though and sets a good example for them.


Just like her older brother she has a twin cousin. Sara was born 3 months after her and the two girls have been fast friends and confidants like no one else.  They are very sad to live so far apart, but it makes the reunions all the more joyous!

There is 5 years between her and the next sibling Isaac.  She got a lot of time in there to be the baby and the princess and even now says she doesn't want to grow up, but be little forever.  We keep telling her to grow, but she refuses, it must bleed into her reality because she is one of the older girls in her class but the smallest in stature.  But when she sets her mind to it, she is determined!

She practically taught herself to read by asking lots of questions and continually trying to work out the meaning of all those letters everywhere.  She is a straight A student who takes the initiative with her homework and gets it done with out being asked.  She loves to be spotlighted for things she accomplishes and will sometimes clean major parts of the house so we will notice and applaud her.

She has taken after her brother and started cooking.  (And just like her brother she started out with desserts!) She loves being a princess, but one who isn't excluded from doing anything the boys can do too! Recently she has taken to doing her 'dishes chore' by hand, she decided to dismiss the dishwasher because she wanted to be more like a pioneer.  Its been almost 3 weeks now and she is still going strong with it! Another example of her determined spirit!


Claire is sometimes a very serious girl, often worrying about things that are out of her control or years and years away, but she also likes to pretend and imagine up amazing stories and when she writes them down you can see the variety of her thoughts in them.  She is an amazing and interesting mix of fantasy and sensibility, pride and sincerity, a burgeoning heart as well as feigned indifference.  She will dance around the room spinning in freedom, then later corral everyone into cleaning the room, then even later she'll wail that no one loves her and she can't do anything right. Her emotions run the gamut and keeps us on our toes, but we love our Claire girl and look forward to watching and guiding her path.