The rundown on one.

Notice anything different about Clara?

Her pigtails just grew in. Plus, she turned one today. We've been having a super-dee-duper time around here lately. Balloons, candy and icing—strewn about the place. Last night was her birthday party which was kicked off at Goodwood because that was her one and only request. We had all sorts of friends and family come and throughout the evening Clara graced all with the kindliest of toothy grins, but was not nearly as generous to those who attempted to hold her. I mean, birthday amicability can only go so far, am I right? During the course of our dinner, Clara twice managed to get her hands on a steak knife. You know—those big, burly serrated things that you're generally supposed to keep away from babies? Well. This just goes to show you that Tom Thomas and I offer a wonderful example of attentive parenting. Don't worry. No one was hurt. No eyeballs, ears, tongues or appendages were lost. But you should have seen the look of power gleaning in her eyes for the .02 seconds she held them.

The next phase of Operation Clara Turns One took place back at base camp Giles, where a whole mountain of loot awaited to be opened. Seriously? This girl is loved by her grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends. Oh, and her parents.

That cute little pixie hiding behind the yellow balloon is Penny. She was having a riot boppin' Clara in the head with the balloon and I totally got the giggles over it.

Good ol' Grammy came through with a doll for Clara. A pink and purple doll no less. Thankfully, Penny showed Clara what the heck she's supposed to do with it.

 

By the time we got to the cake—you know, one of the most pivotal moments at a first birthday party, it was two and a half hours past the ol' bedtime and Clara was decidedly wiped. She didn't give two hoots about her cupcake, but did dabble in the frosting for a bit before giving a determined swipe of the arm and chucked the whole thing away. Dismissed.

By this point she was more or less pleading to go to bed. Which I obliged. We tried another cupcake again this afternoon. Rejected. Again. I guess there's always next year.

In the whirlwind of our day today, I never got a picture of the little miss one-year-old in her Easter dress, which is a shame because she looked as cute as a little spring flower, as a lady at church said. We rushed out the door this morning so we wouldn't be late to church and by the time we came home Clara had already filled her tired-but-still-happy storage tank (as evidenced by her total meltdown while I got set apart for my new calling in Young Women's...) and was in that I'm-going-to-wail-over-every-little-thing-because-I'm-dramatic mode. So clearly, an Easter picture was a no-go.

The nap was a yes-go, however. And after glorious naps-all-around we had oodles of fun playing with all the new goods. I did most of the playing though. Because even with new treasures all over the place, Clara still preferred to play with my cell phone, which technically is off-limits because it always ends up in a puddle of slobber. But heck—it's her birthday for pete's sake.

Oh, and the Easter bunny? He brought the two oldest members of the Giles household a load of candy but bestowed Clara with her first toothbrush. Such a kidder, that Easter bunny.

And finally, to end this monumental post I'd like to announce that I made a whopper of an Easter feast (roast, mashed potatoes, rolls, asparugus, gravy, water...) and didn't mess up any of it! This, friends, is big. *Takes bow*

Happy Easter to all! And happy O-N-E to our sweet little miss.