Look who's 3

Friday, our Clairey-bear turned 3 years old. We have been talking about it for weeks...it's finally here! What a princess we have. We tried to make it a special day for Claire...December birthdays are going to be tricky. My parents and sister were going to drive up for the night to be with us; but alas, a snowstorm cancelled the plans. So we invited our good friends the Beutlers to come celebrate with us; that's a party, right? Emma Beutler is Claire's bestest friend up here, so it's always a party when she comes to play. It sure is fun when your kids get older and can really get excited...we can't wait for Christmas to have more present moments.



Claire's birthday began that morning with her favorite breakfast made by Dad: cheesy eggs, toast, and grits. Grandpa Cox would be proud that my kids are growing up on grits; I'll pass on them, thanks.

Grandma and Grandpa Cox sent Claire a present in the mail, a Littlest Pet Shop set. Oh, joy and rapture! And Davis was almost more excited than Claire was.

Claire's first bike! In all shades of pink, it couldn't be more perfect for her. She loved it. She rode it around the kitchen, with lots of help from Davis. But then we got smart the next day and let her ride it around the garage. By summer, she'll be cruising.

I have been hearing about the cake Claire wanted since summer. "I want a pink cake, with pink frosting, with sprinkles on top...on my birthday, when I'm 3." So that's what she got...with a few candy flowers to spice it up a bit.

Claire was more excited about these scriptures than anything...that's good, right? Who knew $2.50 would go so far. Every morning when we read scriptures, she is sad she doesn't have her own. Now she's set. And she's ready for Sunbeams in 2 weeks...crazy!

But the funniest part about Claire's birthay was later that night. About 11:00, just as Dave and I are going to bed, Davis came running into our room, half asleep. We guided him to the toilet, and when he was finished, instead of walking back to his room, he got into bed next to Dave, sat straight up and started giggling. He was still not really awake, so I said, "Davis are you okay? What's so funny?" He says, with glazed eyes, "I'm not in my bed. I'm awake...and Claire is too!" Well, I walked him back to bed, and as he's climbing into the top bunk he starts crying, "But I'm awake. And Claire is too!" I said, "Davis, Claire is not awake, and neither are you. Lay down." Davis says, "She is too!" And then from the bottom bunk I hear, "Uh, uh, Davis, I'm 3 today." I look down at Claire, and she's fast asleep. Well, I'm to blame for this...I talk and walk in my sleep, so my poor kids must have inherited it.