Clara is TWO!

I can't believe that Clara is two!  Here she is as a newborn:

And at one:

And here's the first picture I received from her two year old shots on Saturday:

We had a big weekend of celebrating.  On Friday Quincy's dad came for dinner.  On Saturday we had pictures and all went out for an early dinner with Tucker and Claire.  On Sunday Janet came and we had a birthday party with all of her friends and Grandma and Beepa at the pool.  On Monday I brought cupcakes to school for all of her friends.

This time last year we were just beginning to grieve the loss of my cousin John, so a post like this never happened.  But, from now on I'd like to write to the girls to document what's going on with the babies on big days like birthdays and Christmas, whether it's here or in a card.  So, here goes.

Dear Clara,

You are two!  I can hardly believe that two years have zipped past in the blink of an eye.  Right now your favorite things are coloring, going to the pool, animals, colors and Elmo.  You love sitting on our laps and having us read to you as much as you love getting into everything you can.  You have made some sweet friends that you have so much fun playing with.  Your favorite foods are blueberries, strawberries, peaches, chicken (rotisserie, baked, fried, whatever), corn on the cob, spaghetti, yellow cheese (cheddar), pasta, fishes (goldfish) and recently (and inexplicably), edamame.

The past year was a big one.  You learned to run, jump, throw a ball, talk, put your shoes on, make animal sounds, and you learned all of your colors, just to name a few.  You also got hair!  Perhaps the biggest thing, you got a new baby sister, who you love so much!  You love to give Julia, or JuJu as you call her, kisses and hugs.  You're not so sure about sharing your toys, but you're coming around a little bit.

I think 18 months-23 months was the hardest so far for your Daddy and me, but you seem to have turned a corner.  And even when it was hard, the kisses and hugs really made up for the tantrums.

You look adorable in everything and everyone tells us that.  You are already such a pretty girl and I pray that you always know that.  I pray that you retain the self confidence that you have right now.  I also pray that you always have sweet friends in your life like you do right now (and that I like their parents as much as I do right now!).

Happy birthday big girl!  I hope you felt as special on your birthday as you possibly could.  We love you to the moon and back again!

Mommy