our little squirrel.

These are just a few funny, recent pictures of Clara.

I posted this on Facebook with this picture:

This is Clara's shopping cart. The first time she came to me, the grocery store lady, she bought "schmarshmallows", chocolate, salad, lettuce, and Cheerios. The second time she came to my store, she bought beer and told me she was a grown up who had a baby whose teeth just fell out because she ate too much candy.

 Enjoying the sunshine in our backyard after a picnic lunch last weekend.

She proceeded to strip down because she thought it was warm enough to swim in her pool.  She begged me to fill it with water.  It was only 72 degrees.  I just couldn't comply.

She then sat in some pots I bought for some houseplants.  She propped up her baby to.  That girl!

rock climbing with Auntie Angie and Uncle Brad.

Clara was lucky to be invited to go rock climbing with her Auntie and Uncle at their climbing gym.  She ended up loving it, but at first was a little hesitant!

So, they spent some time just laying on the mats and tumbling around.

Then Uncle Brad convinced Clara to try to put her foot on a hold, and..

she came running toward me, freaked out.  Stinker!

So Brad and Angie showed Clara how fun it is to climb way up high!

And Clara decided to give it a whirl!

She started by just hanging and dropping.  First, somewhat low to the ground...

and then a little higher!  Go Clara!

Before we knew it, she was going for it!

Getting way up there!

Wow!

Her favorite part of rock climbing was the bag of chalk.  She ended up using quite a bit of Brad and Angie's chalk!  She loved that part of rock climbing!

We think she would have done even better if we hadn't been there!  So next time, we'll just drop her off and let Brad and Angie do their thing!  It's pretty awesome that Clara has family members who do such cool things!

Clara's 3rd Birthday Party.

We had another family birthday this year!  We just have way too much fun together!  I know someday I'll have to include friends at birthday parties, and I look forward to it.  But I don't feel like Clara has missed out at all so far...her family are her favorite people!

Here are Auntie Em and Uncle Brian looking super excited for the party!

Clara's one wish for her party was to have pink cupcakes and a pink cake!  Easy enough!

Here is Clara with Auntie Angie!

 And here is the three-year-old opening a few gifts!

She was most thrilled when her cousins walked in the door.  Ben and Will are a whole lot more important than any of the rest of us!

I wish I knew what she was saying to Bill!  She looks like she's got a lot on her mind!

It was mild outside, so the kids enjoyed getting out of the house for a good part of the evening!

They also found time to be monkeys jumping on the bed!  Yay for no injuries!  I walked in and saw them doing this and pictured a birthday trip to the ER!  Whew!

Sorry Teenie for showing your child's b.c.

Baby Bill's turn!

Here is the big girl listening to her family sing the birthday song to her!  I should have video taped it. So precious!  I think she was feeling excited and special, but maybe a little uncomfortable too.  I know when I was little, I hated being sung to on my birthday!

And then it was back outside for some soccer!  Look at that zooming girl!

Near the end of the night, Clara had to get out her sleeping bag and take a rest with the boys!  Birthdays are exhausting!

The party was so much fun!  After it got dark, we kept eating the appetizers (that's right...I didn't even serve a real meal - poor family members!) and whipped out some board games.  We played for quite a while and enjoyed lots of laughter and fun!

After all the guests went home, and our big girl was tucked in her bed sleeping sweetly, Kurtis and I marveled at the fun we had!  It was such a blast with our family!  We're so lucky to have everyone so close!  And Clara couldn't be more fortunate to have so many people supporting her and loving her!  Kurtis and I rely so much on our families to help us raise Clara!  It truly "takes a village".  And we love our village!  Thanks family for coming to celebrate Clara's 3rd birthday with us!