It's Great to Be Eight!

She's no longer our sweet baby...

or our silly two year old!

On Saturday, Clara turned eight years old! She seems practically all grown up, but I am glad she still has some time with us. :) Clara is a typical firstborn, independent kind of girl and here she is showing the birthday cupcakes she baked all by herself:

Her birthday outing was to the Memphis Zoo's ice rink! It exists for two months each year (!) and we had a great time trying it out for the first time. Uncle Bonnet, do you recognize the jacket you gave her for Christmas 3 years ago? It's still a favorite!
Shortly after we came home with some pizzas, the guests arrived! Clara invited these girls from her Sunday school class over for a slumber party (our first) and they immediately entered into party mode. As soon as some pizza was eaten, they got busy dressing up...
Then they decorated cupcakes, opened presents, painted nails, decorated headbands and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas:

The night was not as restless as I was expecting, but they did stay up past eleven and woke up early, so my morning coffee was especially helpful! The girls giggled over pancakes and scrambled eggs.
After the guests went home, Andy took Clara and Benjamin to sign up for Upwards basketball! On Saturday evening, we had the birthday dinner that Clara requested: boxed macaroni & cheese with a romaine lettuce salad with tomatoes and shredded cheese, then we all enjoyed the birthday cake that she mixed together and had a little help getting it into Dobbie's round cake pans.
It's great to be eight!