I love that with Memorial Day comes Claire Bear's birthday. Memorial Day is the first day of the summer season, in my book. And it seems fitting that the first day of a sunshiney summer should be made a little brighter with Claire's birthday. This girl is living, breathing sunshine. :)
Over the years, our children have really come to look forward to their birthday cake. We've always ordered them from Walmart, and the kids can barely wait for months before their birthday to go and pick the cake they want that year. The cake usually becomes the theme to their party, with decorations and presents to match. But this year was a little different for Claire. Luke had been in and out of the hospital, and to be completely honest, I didn't realize until I was on my way home from the hospital with him on Sunday evening (the day before her party) that I hadn't ordered Claire's cake! I felt absolutely horrible. I knew there was no way to order her cake and have it ready by the time her party started on Monday afternoon.
Luckily, Claire is an amazingly accommodating child! I was honest with her and told her what had happened, and that it was my fault she wouldn't get to pick out her cake. But I offered her the alternative of helping me decorate her cake. The disappointment left her face and she was immediately running off a million ideas of what she wanted to do for her cake! :) We went to Walmart the next morning, Memorial Day Monday (the 27th, a day before Claire's actual birthday), and got our decorating supplies. As it would turn out, Walmart lets you buy the decorating kit separate from the cake, which is really what my kids like and look forward to anyway. So we got her "Hello Kitty" toy kit, a Devil's Food cake mix, frostings and sprinkles, and dashed home to get that cake in the oven. As soon as it cooled, Claire was ready to decorate!
Danny and I had been so excited to give Claire her present of art lessons! She has been begging for months, and Danny and I have both recognized her talent and felt strongly that we should encourage her art and get her some guidance. But the impact of the gift was somewhat lost on Claire. I'm not sure she really understood what the paper was all about, and how it translated to art lessons. :) But, once she got started going to classes, she loved it! She has continued to love it through the summer, and I'm pleased to say that she is indeed very good at art.
We just love birthday parties! Everyone had a great time, and played and visited while we got ready for cake.
Luke was fresh off of his birthday party, and he was starting to think this whole birthday business is pretty great stuff! :)
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Claire, you are an absolute joy. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl. We have loved spending the last six years watching you grow and teaching you what little you need to know from us to be basically perfect. We look forward to watching you continue to blossom into the beautiful girl you most certainly will be. Ok, let's be honest...already are. :) We love you, Claire!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Over the years, our children have really come to look forward to their birthday cake. We've always ordered them from Walmart, and the kids can barely wait for months before their birthday to go and pick the cake they want that year. The cake usually becomes the theme to their party, with decorations and presents to match. But this year was a little different for Claire. Luke had been in and out of the hospital, and to be completely honest, I didn't realize until I was on my way home from the hospital with him on Sunday evening (the day before her party) that I hadn't ordered Claire's cake! I felt absolutely horrible. I knew there was no way to order her cake and have it ready by the time her party started on Monday afternoon.
Luckily, Claire is an amazingly accommodating child! I was honest with her and told her what had happened, and that it was my fault she wouldn't get to pick out her cake. But I offered her the alternative of helping me decorate her cake. The disappointment left her face and she was immediately running off a million ideas of what she wanted to do for her cake! :) We went to Walmart the next morning, Memorial Day Monday (the 27th, a day before Claire's actual birthday), and got our decorating supplies. As it would turn out, Walmart lets you buy the decorating kit separate from the cake, which is really what my kids like and look forward to anyway. So we got her "Hello Kitty" toy kit, a Devil's Food cake mix, frostings and sprinkles, and dashed home to get that cake in the oven. As soon as it cooled, Claire was ready to decorate!
As it would turn out, Claire was thrilled that I screwed up and didn't order her cake. She decided that she wanted to decorate her cake with me every year as her new birthday tradition. I loved the idea! It was fun to spend the one-on-one time with my baby girl...and the cake was cheaper and maybe even more delicious! It was a win-win situation if I've ever heard of one. :)
In true Memorial Day fashion, we had a BBQ cookout for dinner. Claire's request was "teeny tiny hamburgers", or sliders, and all the fixings. Claire LOVES her meat, and the thought that they would be cute little hamburgers was perfect for her birthday dinner!
Everyone enjoyed dinner...it was a big hit!
And Luke especially enjoyed the festivities. He loved having so many people around, and he especially loved being home! Indeed, the whole party was that much sweeter because Luke-Son was there.
And after dinner, as always, comes the long awaited presents! Claire made a haul...again! Our kids are just too loved. :) Claire got some books she can read on her own, in preparation for first grade, which she is terribly excited about. :)
Sophie got Claire a Hello Kitty bead set...that they can work on together, of course. :)
Claire got some fabulous clothes! From her Dad and me she got a new outfit for Sunday and some cute pajamas. Both of her Grandmas got her some fun outfits for summer, including but not limited to more Hello Kitty paraphernalia. :)
In Danny's family, they have a birthday tradition of playing "Heavy, Heavy Hangover" when opening presents. Danny decided to resurrect that tradition this year. Johnny was more than happy to play along! The person giving the gift holds the gift over the birthday persons head while the rest of us sing "Heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head; what do we give this person with a BUMP on the head?!" When you sing "BUMP", the person holding the gift thumps the birthday person on the head with the gift. I know, right?! And all this time Danny has said it was my family line that contained the savages... :)
Sophie just had to get in on the fun, but Claire wasn't so much a fan. I put a stop to the madness before too many presents had been BUMPED on her head. :)
Except Danny just couldn't let it go! He had to do "Heavy, Heavy Hangover" for our big present to Claire. I decided to let him go ahead...it was a light present. ;)
We just love birthday parties! Everyone had a great time, and played and visited while we got ready for cake.
Luke was fresh off of his birthday party, and he was starting to think this whole birthday business is pretty great stuff! :)
Ah, Claire's Birthday Cake creation! We both think it turned out pretty cute, especially for our first effort. If you look closely, you can see we wrote "Happy Birthday Claire" on it, but we had no idea that the fun pink gel would be so clear!
Claire was happy with her cake, and made her birthday wish. I have no idea what it could have been after opening all those presents! She remained tight-lipped when questioned. I guess she really wants it to come true!
I can't believe my baby girl is six! She really is the cutest six-year-old on the planet. Easily. :)
Her party was a great success, and Claire was so happy with all her presents. But because we celebrated on Memorial Day, which this year was the day before Claire's birthday, the fun didn't end with the party! She woke up for school on her birthday and donned one of her cute, new Hello Kitty outfits. She took birthday treats to school, and enjoyed everyone doting on her for the day. After school, I picked her up and took her to her well-child checkup with the doctor. Of course, Claire was the epitome of health! Then I surprised her with a lunch with Daddy. Since it was her birthday, she got to pick the restaurant. Without hesitation she declared she wanted Mongolian BBQ, which made her Daddy very happy. I have to laugh because Claire has always been such a healthy eater. Since she was little, she has asked for broccoli and steak and all sorts of things kids her age generally won't touch. Of course she would want a piping hot bowl of meat and veggies for lunch...as opposed to fries and a toy. :)
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Claire, you are an absolute joy. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl. We have loved spending the last six years watching you grow and teaching you what little you need to know from us to be basically perfect. We look forward to watching you continue to blossom into the beautiful girl you most certainly will be. Ok, let's be honest...already are. :) We love you, Claire!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
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