Caught!

This is a nice place to sit...

Oh darn! They see me!

Oh well, I don't want to get down! 

Playtime favorites

Since it is cold and rainy/snowy, we have to find ways to entertain Claire at home. Whenever Paul is home it is go, go, go, ALL the time. She does not let him rest. They chase each other, rough around, and are constantly laughing. It is fun to watch and isn't that what a dad is for?

What is more fun than hanging out in a laundry basket with soccer balls?

Claire's preferred way of transportation.

Swimming

For the past month, Claire has been taking swimming lessons. It was her first time in a large pool and overall she loved it. Since we signed up for Saturday's Paul has been able to come to a few which is nice. For the most part Claire smiled constantly and enjoyed the songs the swim instructor sang. The only part she was unsure of is dunking fully underwater. Afterwards she was extremely clingy to me. Of course, her favorite part of the swim lessons was jumping in the pool(with help) and swimming to a ball. As long as there is a ball around, everything is  OK.  Yesterday was her last swim lesson. The pictures turned out a little grainy.

Science Center

In Ithaca, there is very little to do when the weather turns cold. It seems like a place that has five months of winter would have more things to accommodate kids inside when it is freezing outside. One of the places we go all the time is The ScienceCenter. Claire is finally old enough to do a lot of the activities and spend a good hour or two there playing. I took her there today with Grandma Louanne (or as Claire calls all the grandma's "Mi-ma", grandpa's are "Bi-pa"), who has been here for the past few days while Paul is off traveling and interviewing all over the county. It has been nice to have an extra set of hands around.

One of her favorites spots is a ball activity. Well, there are about four of them and at every one we have to stop and hold the ball for awhile. Thankfully today she decided to share with other kids. So nice of her. When she holds on to a ball, she says the word "ball", for most of the time she is holding on to it.

Another activity she enjoys is the puzzles. 

Hopefully she won't get too tired of visiting the center!