Happy Birthday Claire!

What an exciting day! Claire is a whole handful of years old! Can you believe she is 5 today? I'm not old enough to have a 5 year old, and surely we haven't had her that long! She is such a blessing to our family and such a great help to me! She loves her little sisters so much (even though she can push Meredith's buttons like no other!). She's a little cheerleader to everyone. Let me give you a quick example: At lunch on Tuesday, I was making grilled cheese sandwiches. I seriously burned the first two sandwiches that I made (there are certain tasks that you shouldn't multi-task...laundry and grilled cheese is one of them). Anyway, so I began my 3rd grilled cheese and I decided to stand there while it cooked. I flipped the grilled cheese at the perfect moment, and Claire starts clapping and cheering! "Mom, you didn't burn it this time! That is so great!" :) That truly brightened my day and encouraged me in my cooking quest.

Claire is extremely athletic and picks up quickly on anything that requires coordination. Playing golf and wrestling with Daddy are two of her favorite things. She is full of "great ideas" and will gladly share them with anyone who will listen! She loves to write and is really looking forward to reading. She has been such a joy to all of us, and we can't wait to see her grow up even more over the next year...especially since she is starting kindergarten in the fall! We love you so much, Claire; you are such a special little girl!

Here are some pictures of Claire throughout the last 5 years!