Clara's 1st Birthday

Our baby girl turned 1 on Saturday. It's hard to believe that we don't have a baby in the house anymore, but she is turning out to be such a fun little girl. She is getting better at walking each day. She is really good at communicating with us - she signs "more" says "up" and throws tantrums fit for a two year old. She is doing better at holding her own and wrestles Quinton back now. And she melts our hearts when she gives us her big open-mouth kisses. I wish she could stay right where she is forever, but I also love the girl she is becoming.

For her birthday she got to have german pancakes with syrup for breakfast and then she opened her tutu Mommy made for her. Then we got ready for her party at Grandma Packer's house. Stealing the idea from our friends the Bernts, we had a ladybug theme. Grandma Packer made her a really cute cake. We played pin the ladybug or bumblebee on the flower, baby bottle bowling, and guess the number of cheerios in the jar. It was a lot of fun having family to celebrate the day with us. Jeni, Shari, Andrea, and Brian were all there with their families.

Clara wasn't too into opening her presents, but she did like her Raggedy Ann doll, ball toy, Cabbage Patch doll, puzzle, and all sorts of cute clothes that people were so nice to get for her.

Clara got to really enjoy sugar for the first time that day. She wasn't quite sure about her ladybug cupcake at first, but by the end she really got into it!

After the party we did a little Christmas shopping and took Clara out for her first Happy Meal. It turned out to be a fun day for all of us.