Piano playing and Clara updates

I have been trying to practice the piano on a more regular basis recently.  Mostly I play hymns or Disney songs and Clara often grabs onto my left arm begging for me to lift her up into my lap so she can play with me.  She uses the often overlooked "foot technique" to pound out scales and thinks she is hilarious because of it.

One of my earliest piano teachers used to have me place my hands on top of hers while she would play songs so that I could get a feel for proper hand positioning I guess so I thought it was so cute when Clara placed her left hand on top of mine while I was practicing "Go the Distance" from "Hercules".

Yesterday when I wasn't looking, Clara climbed up onto the piano bench all by herself.  I heard her "playing" the piano and came in to find her sitting up, tall as you please, sightreading the church hymnal.  I was shocked that she could get up on the bench on her own and I maybe should have been a little more concerned about her stability at the time, but instead I ran and grabbed the camera to take this photo of her. 

Another funny thing that Clara has done lately was to try on my running shoes that were laying on the ground in the guest bedroom (along with other clothes that should have been put away but were not).

Clara actually enjoys wearing her sunglasses and tries putting them on herself sometimes. 

And these last few are just to show what a big girl she is becoming.  She talks to me all day long and is my fun little pal.  We play games of chase and hide-and-seek and often times when we are out running errands, Clara prefers to help me push the cart or stroller rather than ride in it or walk beside me holding my hand which slows me down a ton but I am absolutely loving it because it is the most precious thing you have ever seen. 

This is what Clara does when you ask "where is your tongue?"  She also knows ears and nose (and can say "nose") and bellybutton.  She knows the difference between when we ask where her nose is and where my nose is.  If her shoes or Mickey Mouse or a pacifier is in a different room, we can tell her to go find the particular object and she will stand contemplating for a second before dashing off and coming back as quick as her little legs can carry her with the correct item in hand. 

Clothes sizes are a little tricky on her right now because she is so darn skinny.  I put her in 12-18 month size bottoms because the 6-12 month sizes are just too small but the bigger sizes tend to slip off her wee waist so even though the length is perfect, her pants are often sagging unless I use a safety pin to make the garment fit her better.

And that is the latest on our little Miss.