It started early as she heard Grandma and Grandpa Boyle getting up for the day. She was anxious to open her presents! She knew it was her birthday! (Not really - but she was happy to see those exciting people were still here and that she got to play in her pile of new clothes that Mommy bought yesterday!)
Grandpa made a donut run while Mommy and Daddy prepped the coffee to adjust to an extra early morning. We got to sit around quite a bit because Grandma is much more entertaining than we are. She can raise her eyebrows over and over. It makes Clara laugh each and every time!
After a morning full of opening presents, showing off her index finger in response to "How old are you Clara? Are you 1?", and giving kisses and clapping upon request, she decided to take an unusual morning nap - twice.
We all gathered ourselves together by noon and headed to Shoreline Park in Mountain View. Clara loves to be outside and our goal was to keep her outdoors as much as possible for her birthday with as little sun exposure as possible (it can cause inflammation and Graft vs Host Disease). Mommy and Daddy ate lunch at the cafe and we all walked around to see the water, geese, baby goslings, ducks and their baby ducklings, and a lot of kids hooting and hollaring on the playground.
We then moved onto a county park in the redwood groves where Clara would NOT stop kicking her legs in excitement on the trail. It was like she was saying, THIS IS WHAT I WANTED FOR MY BIRTHDAY! It was quite a scenic drive out there, and she loved being out on the trail.
By the time we got home, she'd been awake for 6+ hours and was a bit overtired. We attempted video streaming the rest of the evening so family and friends could see her live, but she was a bit fussy until we sat at the dinner table. She loves being in the Bumbo on the table during dinner, but I'm afraid it was a bit odd for the spectators.
She did make continued, significant progress today in the world of drinking and eating! She took several gulps from my water bottle when we got back from our adventures. At dinner, I put a spoon to her mouth that had some broth from our white bean chili on it. By the third offering, she turned towards the spoon, leaned in, and opened her mouth! She's going to be eating in no time!
Happy Birthday, Clara! We are so very proud of you!
