Recollections of Clara's 2nd Birthday

Because I want to remember....

....the GORGEOUS gift wrap that I picked out especially for Clara's birthday presents (yes, I do serious searching for the perfect wrap for each of my girls' birthdays!).

.....just how much Clara loves cupcakes!

(Whew, this photo, I die!)

.....how sweet and excited she is when she unwraps presents.

.....how much she loves wearing her bathing suit.  Or, as she says, "babing suit".

.....how much I LOVED the little cupcake flags I made for her small party.  And how Sophie said that was her favorite part of the birthday celebration!  She insisted that she get to pick out the cupcake flag that Clara would get ~ the one with the wide flower ribbon.  Such a sweet big sister!

.....how crafty I felt leading up to her birthday and how excited I was to make these things for her.  She may not remember all of this but she'll see these pictures when she gets bigger!  (And, Sophie will remember!)

.....how much I love this wreath I made for Clara, which I intend to hang in her bedroom.

....how delicious those cupcakes were (from Trader Joe's!)?

....and, how Clara gave us such a funny look when we sang Happy Birthday to her, that I laughed and blew out the candle myself.  I had to relight it and then let her blow it out!

.....and, even though I don't have a photo, how our nephews, Benjamin and Mimi, sang Happy Birthday with us via Skype!  Seriously, that made us all so happy!

.....how much I enjoyed going back through the last two years of photos to choose the ones for her birthday collage.

.....how girly and rustic everything was!

.....how Clara would scream out "cake, cupcake, hearts" each time she saw the little cocktail napkins!

 

.....how I got to use one of my favorite antiques.  The phone number for the farm is so old that it's only 5 digits!

.....how much my sweet grandmother loved the strawberry/pistachio bark.  No matter how small the party, I go all out. I made the bark simply because I knew it would look great with the rest of my party decor.  The funny thing is that I don't even like white chocolate!  But I thought it looked great, especially in the little antique candy jar.

.....the beautiful, gorgeous, colorful, amazing dress that Clara wore for her party (consignment, of course!). "Butta-fly, butta-fly", Clara would respond when I asked what was on her dress.

..... and, last but most definitely not least!, how my sweet, gorgeous, lovable Hubbell was still around to celebrate with us and how he wanted to get in on the action of opening presents  (I HAD to include this picture!)!