Happy Birthday, Claire!

Yesterday, June 23, 2008 was Claire's 6th birthday. In lieu of a "regular" birthday party, Claire chose to take her best friend, Amelia, to Build-A-Bear Workshop in Tulsa.

David took the afternoon off and we started the celebration at our house, with a bear cake, presents and a pinata. Claire made the pinata almost completely by herself and she chose the candy she wanted in it -- actual packages of Orbit cinnamint gum, Worther's Original candies, and candy bracelets. (Unique choices, I thought, but that is my Claire Bear!)

Then we left for Tulsa for Build-A-Bear, which was so much fun for them. Being a Monday afternoon, we were the only people in there when we arrived! It was awesome! Claire made a stuffed dog, which she named Ashley. She dressed Ashley in a High School Musical shirt and a denim skort with a sequined belt. Jack made a dog, which he named Rex and dressed him in a police uniform. Amelia made a sweet bear which she named Carrie; she dressed Carrie in a little tank top that was red with white polka dots and white leggings. Brooke probably did not know what in the world we were doing, but we helped her make a little bear which we named Cutie because we dressed it in a little shirt with the word "cutie" sequined on it.

After Build-A-Bear we went to IHOP for dinner -- what kid doesn't like having breakfast foods for dinner?! Although Claire was excited about having pancakes for dinner, she was probably more excited about getting to have a real, caffeinated, coke since it was her birthday. (Their birthdays are the only time that we let Jack and Claire have cokes.) Amelia and Claire were pretending that they were "mommies" since they were drinking real cokes -- very telling, I am sad to say!!

Aside from having to pull over on the way home to move Claire so she would quit kicking Jack's seatbelt, it was a very pleasant day!

Here are Claire's 6-year-old stats:

Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Peanut butter and jelly -- since we can't have this at home because of Jack's allergy, she eats it at friends' houses. I think the forbidden nature of PB its status in her eye! However, she is my daughter, and I loved peanut butter and jelly so much that I ate it probably every day as a kid (for a meal or a snack).
Favorite activity: swimming at the pool
Favorite book(s): Junie B. Jones books
Favorite toy: Paints
Favorite song: Rhyme and Move (a song they did at school)
Number of children she wants when she grows up: 6
Best thing about being 6: Getting presents
Favorite presents: Jack's and Amelia's. Jack bought her a Hannah Montana watch with his allowance. Amelia gave Claire a little stuffed puppy in a carrier.
What she wants to be when she grows up: Doesn't know

My observations of Claire right now are:

She likes to mix things up and have variety. She is the only person I know who likes to mix her cereal in the morning -- it is typical for her to have LIFE, yogurt burst cheerios, and Oh's in the same bowl. She changed all of the lids on her markers, so for instance, the green lid is on the blue marker and she likes to wear a black flip flop on one foot and a white one on the other foot.

She is very bright and insightful -- both academically and socially. She is developing a sense of propriety and what it means to be a lady. I have been impressed a few times when we have talked about different social experiences to hear the maturity of her interpretation of inappropriate versus appropriate behaviors.

She is athletic -- although we have not found the right outlet for that athleticism yet. Right now, I am just trying to keep Brooke safe as Claire knocks around the house attempting different feats.

Claire is very compassionate, considerate, and generous. She wants things to be fair and everyone to be taken care of, even if that means sharing her last bite of brownie.

Happy Birthday, Claire Bear!

(I am so frustrated because I can't get the photos to upload. I will try again later! Also, is anyone else having trouble getting your vertical photos to upload without being rotated sideways?)