Happy Birthday Clara

Clara turned FOUR on the 9th (I'm a little behind writing about it). We had a family celebration Sunday, some more celebrating on Wednesday (her 'real' birthday), and then had a little friend party at Monkey Island on Saturday to finish off a full week of fun! Here are some things we love about Clara: - She's always up for a dance party - And believe be, she can boogie! Her favorite dance song is Tiao Cruz's 'Dynamite' but she calls it 'Ae-Ohh' - She loves to sleep in - Chase is on the early to bed early to rise schedule (always has been), which is fine now that he's old enough to take care of himself at 5 am without assistance. But Clara enjoys staying up late and sleeping in 'till a more convenient hour. - She's a devoted hand washer - I'm not saying OCD (yet), but we have to do regular Aquaphor treatments to re-hydrate her hands due to all that scrubbing. At least she's clean! - She remembers every detail of her dreams vividly - and likes to share them with us each morning. We get the biggest kick out of them! - She loves her Sunbeams class and singing primary songs - She's lucky to have wonderful Sunbeams teachers. When she comes home from church we're always surprised at how much she remembers and can share with us from her lesson. She is often singing primary songs around the house during the week too. Right now she's into 'Follow the Prophet' - She usually runs errands with me without complaint - "I'm a shopper girl" she says as she grabs her purse. We might be in trouble with that one in the future. - She snuggles when she's tired - With all the energy she has balled up inside we rarely get cuddle time, but when she's tired it's a whole different story. - She loves Pedecures - One of our favorite mommy-daughter things to do together. I love to see the different color combinations of nail polish she comes up with. - She is great about giving compliments - Clara will often come into my bathroom when I'm getting ready and compliment my shoes or my skirt or my hair etc. She also likes to give positive comments on Chase's art projects or tell Brian that he's the fastest runner etc... - She is affectionate - At least twice a day (always out of the blue) she says to me "close your eyes and lean down because I have a surprise for you" and then she comes and gives me a kiss on my cheek and says 'I love you.' It's pretty much my favorite thing, and I hope she never stops doing it! - She loves dressing up - Clara likes to change her clothes frequently, and when friends are over it's always a dress-up party. Although it results in one crazy mess of a room, it's still fun. - She is a great eater - Besides pickles, there isn't much that Clara won't eat, and she's always up for trying new things! Yay! We love you Clara, and can't wait to share another wonderful year with you!