Under the Big Top

Clara recently acquired a few new toys that she is loving.  I made an Ikea trip the other day and saw this circus tent for $19.99 which didn't seem very expensive and it was so darling and I imagined so much creative play, so I bought it.  The original plan was to save it for her birthday but, well, clearly that didn't happen.  Paul and I just get too excited and we decided she was getting other things for her birthday, so she got her circus tent early.  She likes one of us to go inside with her and then she will velcro the doors shut and we read books together in there.  Or if we play hide-n-seek, that is where she hides.  Yesterday I made it even cozier by stuffing it with blankets. 

 

 

She also loves her Schleich animal figurines.  They were putting on a show for her yesterday by marching around the big top.  I adore the Schleich toys because they are so sturdy and realistic - they are heavier and well-balanced so they don't wobble and they feel like they will last a long time because they aren't flimsy little plastic pieces.  I want to collect more of these, but we will have to do it one piece at a time because they are a little on the pricey side (for a small toy).   

 

 

Here are some of Clara's other favorite toys.  Her puzzle set is from Costco and it has a bunch of 2-3 piece puzzles and then a few more difficult ones.  Clara is getting surprisingly good at putting these together. 

She LOVES her stackable wooden ice cream sundae that I found on clearance at Pottery Barn Kids.  It is by a company called Le Toy Van.  She pretends to lick the cherry on top and loves "sharing" it with mom and dad when we sit at her table with her. 

And for the past week or so, this is the book she has wanted us to read for her bedtime story.  It is just a little Shutterfly book I put together of her newborn photo shoot with pictures of her and us and our Kayli.  I have been updating my adoption education hours for our profile and did an entire segment on how important it is to talk to your child about adoption early and often and it makes me so happy that Clara will always know where she came from and how loved she has always been.