Finally, after almost a year of waiting, the big day arrived. Claire turned five on May 28th! This birthday was special for a couple of reasons. First, our oldest turned five! That seems like a milestone of sorts. Secondly, Claire's birthday fell on Memorial Day this year...just like the day she was born. It was so fun to reminisce.
Claire woke up as excited as could be that she was finally five! She was also very excited for the first of her birthday adventures. For weeks before her birthday, she had been asking to go eat at Panda Express every time we'd pass it on our way home from our weekly Costco trip. And every time we'd tell her no. And then I would add that the food wasn't really that great anyway. Well, Danny decided it would be fun to take Claire out on a lunch date for her birthday, and we thought it would be a fun idea to take her to Panda Express. Danny excitedly told her that he was going to take her to lunch at Panda Express, and Claire was immediately excited. Then, she got thoughtful and said, "But Dad, the food isn't very good at Panda Express." :) We got a good laugh out of that. But Danny was able to convince her to give it a try...
She approved. ;) Danny just loves this little girl. I think it's fair to say it was a bittersweet day for him. He was so happy for Claire, but sad that his first little girl was already five. Sigh.
Another funny story from Panda Express. Apparently, there were some people in the restaurant speaking Spanish. In a not-so-quiet tone, Claire pointed and exclaimed, "Look! Those people are speaking Chinese!" This girl is too much!
After lunch, we spent some time as a family doing some Memorial Day type activities, which will be covered in its own post. But it didn't take long before it was time to get ready for Claire's party. In all fairness, the girls and I did get started the night before on some decorations. Claire wanted a "Little Mermaid" theme for her party, so we made some Under The Sea decor. We got to the school in time to get the decorations hung before everyone arrived.
Ok, so it's not much. But keep in mind I had a week-old infant and a fresh incision! I was impressed we got anything done at all. :)
Once the decorations were hung with care, Claire's guests arrived and it was time to got the food on the grill. Danny took care of that. And looked good doing it! :)
Claire is so fortunate to have so many people that love her. And even luckier that so many of them live close enough to come celebrate her birthday with her. Uncle Matt, Aunt Jenny, Isabelle, Eli, and Ava were in attendance...
As well as Grandma Candy, Aunt Jessie (and baby!) and Uncle Devin.
Uncle David, Aunt Millie, and Ruby were also there. Ruby was so excited to be with the birthday girl! It's been fun to watch Ruby grow up enough to play with the girls. She's a cutie!
I didn't get pictures of everyone there (sorry!), so I'd like to give a shout-out to Grandma and Papa, Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie, and Uncle Kenny, Aunt Susie, Braxton and Tavin. And Claire had some extra special guests this year. She's made such good friends with the triplets next door that she just had to invite them to her party, too. I don't know which one is which, but we were happy to have Rebecca, Hannah, and Jessica there with us! :)
Once the food was ready, we all ate our fill and the kids played together for a while. The school is such an awesome property, and there was plenty of room for the kids to run their wiggles out.
Then it was time for the presents! Obviously Claire's favorite part. Can you blame her? This year, like always, she got amazing gifts and a lot of them.
Among the loot was a Princess Activity Book from Sophie and Johnny and a sticker castle from one of the triplets. Side note: Sophie was so excited for Claire. We worried that she would have a hard time not being jealous of Claire and all her fun presents. But, being the wonderful sister she is, Sophie just stood behind Claire and watched her open each and every present. She was excited for each one, but kept her hands to herself. We were so impressed with her maturity, and once again touched to see how good of friends these two are.
Claire also got a Kid Baking Set, apron, digital camera, and a decorate-your-own jewelry box with money for jewelry shopping from Mom and Dad.
But that wasn't the end of the fun! Claire loved her diva swimwear from Grandma Candy and Isabelle and her new outfit from Grandma and Papa. She also got a bead set from Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie that will be great for making new necklaces and bracelets for her new jewelry box. :) There were many other gifts that I can't remember specifically, but I do know that Claire loved each and every one.
After we filled an entire garbage bag with all the wrapping paper, we brought out the cake. This has also become something of a birthday experience for our kids. They are always so excited to pick out their cake from Wal-mart, and the chocolate with Bavarian Cream is a pretty good cake. As mentioned, Claire was going for a Mermaid theme, and so the choice of cake was obvious. :) It turned out awesome, Claire loved it, and it was delicious to boot. Success!
Claire had a wonderful birthday, and I'm sure she felt every bit the special girl she is. We can't believe it's been five years since she joined our family and made us parents for the first time. I swear Claire has been happy every day of those five years. And I know without a doubt that she's made her Dad and me happy every single one of those days. We love you, Claire Bear, and can't wait to see what the next year brings. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!
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