25 June 2004
25 June 2010
I love celebrating my children's birthdays. Clara has so many characteristics I admire and wish I had more of. She is funny, compassionate, silly, serious, aware of others and yet has plenty of attitude to top it all off!! Not to mention she has the best memory!
Her birthday began with the tradition (we stole from the Tustisons) of having her follow a string from her bed in the morning throughout the house with small presents and a pound (or dollar - depending on where we are living) for each year old. At the end of the string are her presents and the promised birthday donuts for breakfast.
This year we stayed up way too late the night before so when she came in at 5:00am, we sent her back to her room for a little bit. I couldn't blame her though, it is bright as mid-day before 5am these days.
Thanks to year round school, this was the first birthday where she had to go to school. So after breakfast we let her open a few presents before going to school. She picked the two from her grandparents and Mayka's.
She loved them all but gave the best quote of the day when she opened one part of Grandma Morris's present..."What? Knickers for my birthday?"
I can promise you she didn't learn that at home - good English education there. The tea set and Kool-Aid from Grandma Osterhout was very exciting and she couldn't wait to get home from school to try it out with Jonas.
After school we had the requested pepperoni pizza for dinner and opened the rest of her presents.
Then it was off to the "Summer Fayre" at school. She had a fun time playing games, going through the grass maze
and getting her face painted.
It was a lovely day. Perfect to celebrate such an amazing girl! Before tucking her into bed that night, I gave her a little interview so we could remember what she liked at age 6. Here's how it went:
What is your favorite food? Strawberries
What is your favorite toy? My new Barbie
What is your favorite game? Guess Who
What is your favorite book? Cinderella (going strong 5 years in a row)
What is your favorite animal? Golden Eagle (pretty sure this has something to do with her class being called the Golden Eagles...we'll see what she says next year)
What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor maybe...I'm not sure yet
Who are your friends? Leah, Emeline, Rhys, Gray and Abby
What would you like to do this year? Play with my tea set (I've always taught her to aim high)
What are some things you like to do? Have my birthday and play at a friend's house
What sports do you like? Cheerleading & Gymnastics
What is your favorite thing to wear? My new green dress & my new orange dress
What is your favorite color? Pink
What makes you happy? When it's my birthday
What makes you sad? When it is bedtime
I love Clara more than I can say. I can't imagine my life or our family without her in it - she brings so much happiness and joy to me. It is so cliche, but I just can't believe how quickly she is growing up. I couldn't ask for a better daughter. I love you, Clara.
I love your blog Melinda... your kids are so darn cute. Happy Birthday to Clara! I loved the knickers comment (as did Ryan, he went to London on his mission) and I love that she wants to be a doctor. She can do it! Hope you guys are doing well there. Ryan keeps promising me a trip to London to revisit his mission, with a little luck it will be while you guys are still there and we can say hello!
ReplyDeleteThat's so sweet that Clara included Leah as someone she considers her friend. Leah still thinks about Clara and wonders when she will be back. It's pretty special the friendship they have and the lasting impression Clara had on Leah...
ReplyDeleteMERMAIDS ROCK! you know when I was a wee one I use to pretend my legs were one big fin when I went swimming... I was a mermaid.. until I thought I was drowning! She really is funny, I'm glad she had a good birthday.
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