Happy Birthday Clara

no, we didn't forget to celebrate Clara's 10th (tenth!!!!) birthday. In fact, she's been celebrating for over a week. In classic Zanklin style, we started celebrating before her birthday, and the parties went on and on and on. It is just my tuchus post that has been delayed.

a moment of calm for the 10 year old Clara

In summary:

1. Friday, October 6 - school celebration (cookies baked at home, shared with class)
2. Saturday, October 7 - surprise celebration at the Full Belly Hoes Down festival (we gathered a few friends and some almost-melted popsicles, and sang a round of Happy Birthday to Clara and our friend's daughter Emma, who shares a birthdate with Clara)
3. Sunday, October 8 - the actual day of! More singing (and now with Clara asking us to stop already!), and her first gift: a card explaining that she will be getting her ears pierced at last! Plus, a stop at RockNJump trampoline park for an hour of jumping, and ten cool trinkets from Molly. 
4. Wednesday, October 11 - Opa's gift arrived in the mail: her first pair of earrings. Now she really can't wait to get those ears pierced!
5. Friday, October 13 - Family celebratory dinner at Paisan. Nana, Pa, Uncle Seth, Aunt Kristen, and Cousin Robin in attendance (plus me, Zach, and Molly). Special earrings from Nana - earrings passed down from her father to her, and now to Clara. Clara immediately wants to share with Molly, and Nana explains that she's got special earrings for Molly, too.
6. Saturday, October 14 to Sunday, October 15 - Friend celebration: a Hamilton-themed sleepover party. Three girls come to spend the night and celebrate Clara's tenth, and all things Hamilton. (Zach is officially tired of Hamilton at this point).

Next, I'll post pictures from some of these events (unfortunately, the pictures I took at events 2 and 3 have mysteriously disappeared (I think I accidentally deleted them!). : (