April 25, 2014

Three

My little girl turned three.  THREE.  No longer a toddler, she's a real little girl now.  I'll write more later about what Clara is like at three (spoiler: awesome), but for now, let's capture the fun of her special day from start to finish!

We started the day with yummy cinnamon rolls and the first of several rounds of "Happy Birthday" before she was even out of her jammies or had a brush to her hair (obviously). 


And she opened a couple of presents before church.




She was excited to have a car seat for her baby doll (and I hope it might distract a little from the car seat that will soon contain a real live baby)!


And then since her birthday fell on Sunday, we got to head to church and celebrate a little more there!  She enjoyed sharing cookies with all her Sunday School friends.


After a good three-year-old-nap, we had a few friends and their mamas over for a tea party celebration!


We had hoped it could be an outside garden party, but the weather at the end of March is wildly unpredictable and this year we got unlucky with cold and rain.  But we were still all set up for dress up and dining, indoors!









A big thanks to longtime friend Karen Neal, of Black Mountain Cakes, for this lovely tea party cake that was rivaled in its beauty only by its taste.  Yum!


For party favors, the girls got to each take home a real china teacup of their own, stuffed with some fun goodies!


When our beautiful guests started arriving, the fun really began!






A little practice tea party, before the real deal: 




Then we did some crafts together.  The girls decorated their own teapots and cups with glitter glue.








And they also decorated some wands...


Then the girls got one last dance in before settling down for a story before tea time.






 The girls enjoyed the crustless sandwiches (PB&J of course) and cucumbers and fruit kabobs as they sipped on their tea.



 Watching their little hands drink from these old fashioned demitasse cups was just too sweet.


 Please note that proper pinky placement.


There was even a brief appearance by the King Fairy.



Here are a few more closeups of that amazing cake...




 I don't know if we'll always get so choked up at the sight of Clara breathing in deeply enough to blow out these birthday candles, but there's something about that moment that reminds us of how hard she fought to take those breaths and how sacred they really are.




Chocolate cake with (per Clara's request) a chocolate custard layer and buttercream icing.  Divine.







And before we could end the party, Clara opened some more (very thoughtful!) gifts from her friends.





A big thank you to her friends who helped us celebrate this special day and to their mamas who were good sports about dressing up and joining in, too!  We will treasure these memories!


(tired girls)

Thanks be to God, for three years of abundant, joyful life!

2 comments:

  1. Chrissy....
    Oh man!! Just by reading your Blog alone, my Sweet Tooth is now craving cake!! ;)
    "I don't know if we'll always get so choked up at the sight of Clara breathing in deeply enough to blow out these birthday candles, but there's something about that moment that reminds us of how hard she fought to take those breaths and how sacred they really are." This sent chills through my body!! Quite literally!! I am going to "steal" it for my private offline journal/diary!! ;-D
    Happy, happy, happy birthday, Clara!! Here's to many, many, many more!! ;-D
    Love you later, Raelyn

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  2. The magic of being three and a soon to be BIG sister. Clara Mae, your life is a beautiful adventure just waiting for you to explore. My wish is for your every dream to come true. Happy, happy birthday, dear one.

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