"Hey Everybody! I'm THREE!"

The day finally arrived!  Claire has waited ever so patiently for her birthday for about three months now.  And I think she had the perfect day!  Or two!

Claire's birthday was actually on Friday (the 28th), but we did most of our celebrating on Saturday.  However, Grandpa Richard was on the ball, and Claire got a birthday card in the mail on Thursday afternoon.  I held her off until Friday morning, and figured since it was her actual birthday, she could open her card.  She was way excited about the card with the animals on it, and the fact that she got mail, but was kind of confused when the $5 bill fell out.  :)  I tried to explain the significance of her birthday loot, but I don't think it really made sense until she got to trade that seemingly useless piece of paper for a much more useful Belle action figure!  Thanks Grandpa Richard!

She also got to open a present from Mom and Dad before bed, which ended up being the cute Tinkerbell jammies in the picture.  She went to bed happy, and Danny and I stayed up talking about how incredible it was that our baby girl was already three...

Saturday morning, Claire woke up early (around 6 am).  I overheard her through the baby monitor talking to her reflection.  This is what she had to say: "OH!  Hello!  It's me, Princess Claire.  It's my birthday today!"  She went on to sing, "Happy Birthday to me!  Happy Birthday to me!  Happy Birthday to Claire!  Happy Birthday to me!"  Needless to say, she was pretty excited!"  We packed a yummy lunch, got the girls dressed and the car loaded, and headed down below (that's Antelope Valley slang for going to LA) to check out the zoo...

We had so much fun!  We got there before the gates opened, so we didn't have much of a crowd to deal with, and the animals were incredibly active.  The zoo grounds are gorgeous, and the weather was perfect!  

After about 4 hours of fun at the zoo, I could barely walk anymore and Claire and Sophie were starting to lose it!  We drove home, barely awake, and once we got home we all kind of crashed for a bit.  We made Claire's favorite dinner, grilled chicken and pasta with broccoli, and then we Skyped Papa and Grandma Call so we could open presents!  It was cool to have them, along with Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie, involved with opening presents and doing cake and ice cream!  It made us feel not so far away...

Claire ended her day with an hour long bath so she could really play with her new bathtub princess toys.  When we were tucking her into bed, she reached up and gave me a second hug!  I usually don't even get one...those hugs are for Daddy only!  She went right to sleep, and we're positive it was the best day she ever had.  We feel like successful parents!  We love our Claire Bear, and can't wait to see what another year will bring in our life with her.  Love you, Claire!