Claire's Birthday

We're so excited and lucky to have a 1 year old! I adore 1 year olds. They're so generally happy and cute and puppy-like, and cute (cute deserves to be mentioned twice). We've loved our first year with Claire and are looking forward to more.

Claire picked taco salads for her birthday (ha). She does adore shredded cheese, so it was a pretty good pick. And, I found fresh sour cream for the first time in Macau for these taco salads. :)

Haven and I picked a chocolate mango and passion fruit cake for Claire. I think she liked it ok. It was kind of weird, as fruit cakes go. Not the best.

Jozie performed a song from school for Claire and then Claire opened her present (my mom gave us a new toy for Claire that I hung onto until her birthday). Jozie and Haven also made cute picture for her. We missed relatives being with us - maybe next year or so. :)

We had Jozie and Haven take pictures of us with Claire - they sorta worked (this is the best one):

Here's a birthday letter for Claire:

Happy birthday Claire!

I’m excited to be able to write your first birthday letter. Happy birthday baby!

Clairy Berry, you are a true joy. It’s been a blessing to have you in our family. Jozie and Haven love playing with you, making you laugh, and calling you “darling.” You’re easygoing and often enjoy whatever’s around you – you’re always finding things to learn about and figure out. You’re one smart baby. 

You learned to walk right before your birthday and that has been so fun for you! You were an expert crawler, but walking helps you get around even better and it’s so cute to see you toddle around. Some of your favorite things to do are play with snacks from the kitchen cupboard (we’re living in Peony Court in Hellene Garden, Macau), put things into and out of little boxes, and ride in the red car. You also love doing superman dives off the master bedroom windowsill. It is a rush!

You love Daddy and always need a hug from him when he gets home. You also have a great time when Haven plays little games with you and makes you laugh. And you enjoy hanging out with Jozie, who adores you and is great to help you out when you need it. 

You like to eat most things we’re eating. You adore (die for) shredded cheese. You also love cucumbers and green peppers, noodles, and refried beans.

Lately you are sleeping in the office in a playpen. It’s a cozy little bed and suits you fine. You like to sleep with a rabbit stuffed animal on one side of you and a big mickey mouse on the other side. It’s very cute. 

You’re very popular here in Macau because of your light hair and blue eyes. You are in many Asian photos here. J You’re often pretty good about all the attention, especially when people play peek-a-boo with you. 

Thanks for being in our family. We’re looking forward to getting to know you even better this next year.

                              Love you so much,

                              Mommy