A Belated Birthday Blog

Even though Claire's birthday was last week Sunday, the celebration began a few weeks prior to that as we got together with my side of the family to have a joint birthday party for Gracie (5), Claire (3), and Sylvia (7).  It was all about the girls!

We made some of their favorite foods for lunch.

And then they all sat by Grandpa for devotions.

Coming off the Christmas season, Claire was no stranger to those brightly colored packages.  She loved opening gifts from her cousins and grandparents.

Grandpa made her these beautiful blocks.

Henry just sat back and enjoyed the party.

** Notice those chompers!

And of course, what's a party without cake!

Happy Birthday girls!  We love each of you!

The next phase of our Birthday Celebration was our annual trip to SnipIts, a local salon exclusively for kids.  It's special for Claire to get a "real" haircut.

This is before...

During...

And After...  

While the experience was fun, I think Claire was a bit confused by it all.  It seems when anyone commented on her haircut, she would point to the new flower clip they gave her at the salon.  And the next morning, after sleeping with the clip in her hair, it had fallen out in her bed and she was terribly concerned that she had lost her "new haircut".    

The Saturday before Claire's birthday was a fun-filled day as we celebrated with Joe's family.  In the morning we had a birthday brunch with Grandpa and Grandma Rosen.

Grandma knows how much Claire likes princesses.

And of course there was more cake. 

And while I thought 3 candles was appropriate...

Claire thought differently.

Making a wish...

and digging in!

Henry waiting for his share of the cake...

I guess he gave up and took a nap instead.

That afternoon, after the birthday girl also took a nap, we headed over to the pizza shop to have a birthday party with the Puplises. 

Clarie opened some more goodies.

And visited with family.

It worked out that Grandpa and Grandma Sternberg

could come to the party as well.

Do you think Claire will share any of her birthday cookies?

A mother can dream!

I think Henry wants some pizza!

 And if all this wasn't enough, it wasn't even officially her birthday yet.

So Sunday we geared up for a day of family celebration.  Definitely a more laid back day, but a celebration nonetheless. 

We started off the morning with Mickey Mouse pancakes and a juice box. 

It doesn't get much better than that!

The weather was beautiful that day, so after church we decided play outside.

Claire enjoyed her new finger paints.

Henry enjoyed the sights and sounds.

There were just a few small gifts from us as well.  Lately she's become more interested in helping me in the kitchen, so I made her an apron.

...And this is me trying to get her excited about her new apron. 

I'm not sure she was as thrilled with it as I had hoped she would be.

Oh well, it's the thought that counts!

Here's our 3 year old with her birthday gifts from us:

her apron, play food, hair clips, and rain boots. 

Henry gave her the purple ball.  It matches his ball that he uses to do his physical therapy.  Now they can do their exercises together.

Well, that's it!  Our baby is officially 3 years old and truly

 growing into her name: "Bright and Beautiful".

We love you Claire!

Catching Up...

Joe and Henry back home after their "boy's afternoon out".

This was a few weeks ago already that Joe and Henry went to Aunt Linda's basketball game, but I've been slacking in my "blogging responsibilities" lately.  There's just always something!  I will work on catching up, I promise.  Coming soon... Claire's Birthday weekend.  I can't believe my baby is 3 years old!

Today is...

  Omphalocele Awareness Day!  

Because Omphaloceles happen so infrequently, January 31st has been set aside to raise awareness and understanding of our sweet O. Babies and their conditions.  We wear black and white in an effort to educate and share with others.   

Have you hugged an O. Baby today?

We recently received a copy of a book called "A Very Special Me", which was written about and for Omphalocle babies.  It's a beautiful book, and all the proceeds go to Omphalocele causes.  To learn more, Click Here.

Little Man

Wishful Thinking

What does this look like to you?

Last night I was reading a book to Claire, and we came to this picture.  I asked her what this was, and to my surpirse, she said, "A chicken nugget."

Now that's what I call wishful thinking.

World Party

Even though Joe is currently student teaching at Kenowa Hills, he has continued to help his school, Ridge Park, put on their annual World Party, which is our favorite school function.  It's really a week of activities that celebrates the rich diversity within the school, but the highlight of the week is always the World Party family night where each classroom transforms itself into the culture of one of its students. There's food, costumes, food, music, and oh, did I mention the food?
 

This year, Claire enjoyed watching the Brazilian drummers. 

Here she is - blonde hair and blue eyes - in her authentic Mexican dress.

Claire followed her Daddy for much of the evening as

he went from room to room evaluating the classrooms.

There's always a few classes that go all out with their decor.

This year it was the 3rd grade class who celebrated Italy.

 

Santa???

Don't rock the boat, Claire!

World Party is great, but you know what's even better...

cuddling with your kids at the end of a long day.

Now that's a party!

Pokagon 2012

This year, the Sternberg family celebrated our 21st year of visiting the Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park together.  After 21 years, you'd think I'd have an easier time spelling Potawatomi, but I still have to look it up! The family continues to grow, with 3 new arrivals expected this spring, and so we always appreciate these weekends as a chance to retreat from our busy schedules and reconnect with one another.  Well, this year it seems I spent more time chasing after Claire than I did relaxing and reconnecting, but that's all part of the fun!  Oh, how we have fun! 

And to think, it all began because these two people fell in love...

We love you Grandpa and Grandma!

As usual, there was a lot of game-playing. 

Joe was in his glory chasing everyone down with his chess board

 and Scrabble dictionary.  And boy, he was in it to win it!

For others, like Henry and Aunt Katie, it felt better to simply sit and visit. 

Actually, I'm amazed we were able to get Henry home with us.  These two were inseparable.  I thought for sure she was going to sneak him in her travel bag.

Here's Claire opening her Christmas gift from Great Grandpa and Grandma.

And here are Henry and Andrew showing off their new tool kits to their dads.

We also spent some time in the pool.

Henry couldn't get his incision too wet, but he enjoyed splashing around a bit.

As did Claire.

This year, Claire had fun with her cousins painting a craft.

She painted a pretty pink snowman.

Well, that wraps up Pokagon 2012.  Another great year.  We didn't have snow, but we still had a lot of fun playing ping pong, doing family devotions (thanks Dad!), eating too much food at the breakfast buffet, going to the Nature Center, and even throwing a double baby shower.  I'm already looking forward to next year!