Claire's Actual Birthday

On Sunday morning, I knew Claire was up, and I wanted to help her realize that her birthday was finally here, and I wanted to help her have fun on her special day. I grabbed the balloons, and Jordan and I went into her room and surprised her with them. How simple is that! She absolutely LOVED it! I love these pictures - where she's so, so excited! (Oh, and if you're not a grandparent or a certain Aunt Laura, you might not want to look at all the pictures on here! But I want to put them up, so here they are!)







Since our church is at 11:30 and our family in town had to leave before then, we celebrated Claire's birthday at breakfast. We had her favorite: SAUSAGE.



After breakfast, Claire opened presents. Kids this age are so fun because they actually (at least somewhat) know what's going on! She was excited about her presents. - She got her very own boots! Now she doesn't have to use Dad's all the time, (although I know she'll still wear his, too!)

She's showing Grandpa a pretty new dress.


A swimsuit from Grandma!

Grandmom made Claire a beautiful blanket. Claire LOVES blankets!!!! And so far this week, every time I put it on her when she goes to bed, she says something about how Grandmom made her this blanket. (Then she also says that Grandpa went back to Texas - because I told her those two facts back-to-back one night).


She loved the new church books from Aunt Laura and Uncle Matt.

Playing the new xylophone!

And Claire got her very own tricycle! She has enjoyed trying to learn how to ride it this week.

Aunt Laura and Claire

After presents, it was time for cake! (I love a great excuse to eat cake in the morning!)

She tried to blow out her candles; I may have helped her some.

At first, Claire was unsure about how to eat her cake.

She asked me to cut it for her, and then she finally went to town with it!



Claire was so happy on her birthday morning! We are so glad that so many family members came to celebrate with us. - I know Claire enjoyed seeing each of you because she has certainly missed you since you all left!

Family Time

Claire loved having her grandparents and Aunt Laura here this weekend. Since they've all left, she now says their names and says that she wants to see them. I tell her we'll see them again sometime.


I love Claire's toothy, cheesy grin!

Ward Picnic

On Saturday, while our family members were still in town, we went to the ward picnic. They were good sports to be willing to come with us! (Thanks, everyone!) We ate, Claire played, (she wanted lots of time on the swings, but since there are only 4 at this park, she couldn't swing as often as she wanted), we flew a kite, and we tried to guide Claire through an Easter egg hunt. And I believe we all had a good time!


The younger kids before the hunt!

Each time Claire found an egg, she immediately opened it to see what was inside. She definitely was NOT concerned with how many eggs she had. - She was content with however many she had because there was CANDY inside! Yum!



When I told her to go show Dad her eggs, this is what she did. Cute!


Our ward definitely knows how to put on an awesome activity! Way to go, and thanks for your hard work!

Hats Off to Claire! She's 2!!

Claire's birthday party was a success! I chose a hat theme because Claire loves to wear hats so much - or maybe it's just that she turns so many random items into hats! At any rate, the rain, (which poured and poured all day Wednesday and had me wondering if and worrying that the party might end up at our house instead of at the park), -- the rain stopped! The sun was out drying all the rain, (or trying to, as you'll see in some of the pictures), so we had a lovely, gorgeous, rain-free Friday for a party at the park!

My parents, Jordan's parents, and Aunt Laura were all here for the party, so, thankfully, there were plenty of helpful hands as we set up the party. - And Laura took these pictures for me. It was great to be able to hand the camera over to her so that I could be more in the moment! - Thanks, Laura!

I think Claire would have been perfectly happy if she could have stayed in the swing the entire time. It seems that she only thinks of getting out if someone else suggests it.
I made hat cupcakes, hat party favors that were filled with surprises, newspaper hats,

and a hat party mix, (all thanks to Pinterest -- NOT my own creativity!)

And the kids played!


We served pizza and some fruit for dinner.

When it was time to eat, all Claire did for quite a while was drink her Capri Sun. She finished one and asked for another. - She had been getting thirsty on the playground, I guess!
Next -- time for cupcakes! (They were strawberry - to coordinate with the pink and yellow).



She did a great job blowing out her candles!



Claire started her cupcake,

and then she ran around and finished it.


She had a blast jumping!


And then it was time for presents!

Every time she pulled out a piece of tissue paper, she said, "oooooohhhh," and her voice ascended and then descended - in complete amazement. It was adorable!



I love the idea of giving items to go in a dress-up box! I'm totally going to remember that one!


She loved getting this cup!


More fun on the swings as the party finished

Claire REALLY looked forward to this party. She's been to some birthday parties for some friends, so we had talked about how she would have one, too. And as it got closer, she certainly talked about it! Every time she saw something I had made for the party, (the party favors, the cupcake stand, or the cupcakes, which she helped me make), she talked about her birthday party. So --- Happy Birthday Party, Claire! I'm glad you had fun!

We love you!