Belated Birthday Pics

It's March! And I haven't put up Clara's birthday pics yet! Ack!

Well, we had a smashing party for our girl in honor of her 7th birthday. Yaya and Papa even made it all the way from Wisconsin (we celebrated big with the other Grandparents on/around her actual party - fresh donuts...even the ballet!). She was spoiled rotten, as she should be.

Just look at my beautiful and wonderful toothless wonder of a girl:

My girls - nothing warms my heart more than seeing my kids' love for each other.

Me and my girl.

And Clara and her Daddy - this little girl is going to grow up and fully expect to be loved, adored, and cherished...because her Daddy has done a spectacular job of showing her that a man loves a woman, and that she is lovable. I love that my kids have this man for a Daddy:

Yaya and Papa - no one brings smiles like this quite like the grandparents :-)

Of course, no birthday is complete without the "birthday spanking":

We had her party on Valentine's Day this year, so Clara chose a "Heart Party":

We decorated heart necklaces with all sorts of glue-able goodies:

Wait, where did all the men go? Oh, there they are. Why are they crowded into that little corner of the kitchen?

There's the reason...do you see the reason now??

We had some fun games to play. One of my recent favorites is to under-inflate balloons and then have the kids use their bodies to pop the balloons. All the balloons have a piece of paper in them, but only one has a paper with a sticker on it. The person who gets the sticker wins a prize.

The best part though, is watching them struggle to pop the balloon :-)

Opening gifts - I love the looks on the kids' faces as they watch:

The whole gang:

I had fun making a heart cake - confetti cake with strawberry frosting - yum!

Clara got her very own camera for her birthday, and she's been documenting everything since. Here she is capturing her cake (atta girl!):

Holding her hair back before blowing out the candles...we were at a party a couple of years ago where the birthday girl's hair CAUGHT ON FIRE as she leaned forward to blow out the candles - it made quite the impression!! (thankfully, the parents acted quickly and the little girl wasn't hurt at all...just a couple of strands of hair)

Big brother - what a silly little punk he is lately! Love him to bits!

So there you have it - Clara's 7th birthday party - her "heart party". We're so blessed with wonderful loving family and friends who spoil us. I pray that this year will bring my sweet Clara a couple more inches on the growth chart (she grew about 4 inches this past year!), a few healthy front teeth, and lots of good times with the many people who love her.

God is good!