Clara's birthday post #1...the preparations.

We celebrated Clara's first birthday party on Monday, February 20, 2012 at our house.  We invited family members to come celebrate the special day with us!  Kurtis and I both had the day off so we were able to spend a little time getting the house ready for our guests.  We also snuck in a few photos of the birthday girl...but you'll have to check back later to see those!

I made Clara's cake, and the single cake would have been just fine.  The latest craze for first birthday parties is a "smash cake" for the one year old.  I didn't feel like that was necessary, but as the day wore on, I thought maybe a little something special would be nice for our sweet one year old.  So at the last minute, I whipped up a single serving of cupcakes (the recipe made 3) and topped them with sweet, pink, buttercream frosting.  It ended up being just right for the little one.

And here's a shot of the inside of her cake.  I didn't choose a big theme for her birthday celebration, I just wanted a lot of color for our colorful little child.  So I made her an easy version of a rainbow cake.  It turned out pretty cute!

little reader.

Clara spends a lot of time each day reading books.  We read to her each day too, but she loves to go to her bookshelf, pull a whole bunch of books to the floor, and sit and read the stories out loud to herself. 

And here she is in action...

Of course, as a teacher, I couldn't be more pleased.

first hair cut...and happy valentine's day.

On February 14, 2012, Clara:

got her 10th tooth, the bottom left molar,

celebrated her first Valentine's Day,

and got her first hair cut. 

I've been putting off cutting her hair for a while.  I couldn't quite let go.  But with some encouragement, I finally took the plunge and snipped those little stragglers! 

Before:

 After:

Now she's stylin'!

new look.

This is the face Clara has been sporting for the last week... non stop! She gives this face when we take something out of her hands, when
someone greets her in the grocery store, when she takes a bite of food, etc. We hope it is just a phase!

playing with Auntie Em.

Auntie Em came over last night to play.  Like all good Aunties, Em searched long and hard to find something that would make her niece look as silly as possible.  In the end, Clara was placed inside her doll buggy (the same buggy that I used when I was a little girl) and pushed around the house.  I think everyone had a good time!

chatterbox.

This was Clara the other night, just chatting away in the kitchen.  She makes this much noise a lot of the time!  I'm afraid being a chatterbox runs in the family...both sides of the family! 

applause.

Clara loved watching the State of the Union address given by President Obama.  Not only does she agree with most of his ideology,  but she loved all the clapping that went along with his address!

Blue girl...red state!