Happy Birthday Claire!

Yesterday was my baby's 5th birthday!!!  I know I have said this every year but I still cannot believe that Claire is getting so old!!!  Her day started out with a field trip to Tift Nature Preserve.  She was thrilled to death to be going on a field trip on her birthday!  Claire was so happy to be going to school on her birthday so that she could spend the day with her friends (and sit in the teacher chair).

After school Claire came home and we got ready for our family birthday party.  Claire enjoyed spending some time with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

Claire loved celebrating her special day with our family but I am pretty sure that her favorite part was hanging out with Owen.

Everyone had a nice time chatting and relaxing.

Mark and Great Grandpa.  Mark reminds me so much of his Grandpa.  Such handsome guys.

After some visiting and dinner it was time to get to business and have cake and presents.

Every year I let Claire pick out whatever cake she would like for her birthday.  Some years the cakes have been adorable and others they have been a little different (check HERE to check out one of Claire's different cakes and HERE to check out one of her most adorable cakes). This was the cake that Claire wanted this year.  She was really into The Giving Tree so we went with that for her party.

Mark and I bought her a nice new copy of The Giving Tree for her birthday.  Now, if you have read this story you know that it is not your average happy and silly children's story but more of a story symbolizing (what I think) is the love and relationship of a parent to a child.  In a nutshell, the boy and the tree are best friends and they love each other very much.  Then as time goes on the boy grows up wants different things from the tree.  The tree loves the little boy so much that she will give him anything he wants and never ask for anything in return.  The boy on the other hand, takes and takes and takes until there is nothing left of the tree but a stump.  But the boy always comes back to the tree because he needs her and the tree just wants the boy to be happy.  And for some reason Claire LOVES this story!  But I guess I get it, because for my babies....I will gladly be the tree.

After a nice dinner it was time for presents!!  Claire got some great gifts!  She is such a girl.  She got lots of clothes, jewelry, and shoes and she was thrilled. 

And nothing beats a sparkly Caboodles filled with nail polish and lip gloss!

Me and my baby.  I can still remember Claire being born and everyone being there to celebrate.  She was so loved by so many people from the second she was born.  All of our family and friends were there to greet her!! Then later that evening everyone left and it was just her and I in the hospital.  We were snuggled up in the dark quiet hospital room and I nursed her as fireworks exploded outside our window.  It was one of the most perfect moments of my life.  I kissed her fuzzy little head and told her that I would always remember this moment and that I set up the fireworks just for her and everyone in the whole United States of America would celebrate her birthday by setting off fireworks :) 

After Claire opened all of her gifts and thanked everyone Oliver got in the mix.  He also thanked everyone and then yelled "I a coo dude!  And Ooowen too!!"

Oliver loves Owen and thinks that he is pretty much the coolest human being on the planet.

Oliver and Owen had a blast playing with the train table and this is where they spent most of the party.

Overall, it was great party!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAIRE!!!!  I love you so very much!!