Claire's birthday!

Our first little baby turned 8 on April 14.  It's hard to believe!

Birthdays for Claire are sometimes bittersweet for me.  Of course I want to celebrate her life and how she's growing, but it's also another tricky reminder about how years are passing, closer to a somewhat uncertain future, redefining expectations everyday.  

But forgetting about all that...we had an awesome day.

Because one of Claire's favourite treats is cotton candy, I added it to cupcakes and put a bit on top so that she could enjoy.  We brought these to share with her grade 2 class.

We had family and friends come swimming with us in the morning because that's one of Claire's favourite things to do.

We decorated her tray with gel letters that spelled out Happy Birthday.  

They did not last long in her capable clutches!

It was at this point that Claire's mother realized that she seriously needed a haircut.

Grandma and Grandpa Patterson made an awesome playdough cake for Claire to enjoy.

She had a little help from her friends.

Claire had fun opening her presents with dad.

Claire has taught us so much.  There are some very hard days but there are also many rewarding moments.  It's so satisfying to make her giggle or to have her sit gently and quietly in your arms for a few seconds.  Those are the times I cherish in the face of difficulty.  

We had such a fun day celebrating Claire on her birthday!

Bears on safari

We had two big events on one day, so I thought I'd do a separate post.

The girls participated in a dance class called Dance Without Limits and it's sponsored by the Cerebral Palsy Association of Alberta.  For about 10 weeks they dance on Saturdays to prepare for their big recital.  It's fully inclusive and run by awesome volunteers.

Here are our little dancing teddy bears.

They both did a great job.  

It's hard to not get emotional when you see all these kids working so hard and the volunteers that have sacrificed their time to help.  It's a beautiful thing.

We're lucky that they've let Madeline join the class because it's something fun that the girls can do together.

They even got flowers from Grandma and Grandpa Patterson.

Claire loved the crinkly wrapping and the smell of her flowers.

After a quick bite of lunch, we headed over to the museum for a sensory safari put on by the CNIB and  the Safari Club of Edmonton.  They open up the exhibit for kids to explore with their other senses and it's an event we look forward to every year.

Then we wandered through the rest of the museum because it's one of Claire's favourite places, especially the Wild Alberta exhibits.

I believe this part was Madeline's favourite!

Madeline's birthday!

We had a fun animal presentation by Zoo 2 U for Madeline's birthday party.

We started with the pinata, which was a big hit.  

GET IT?!

All the kids were so excited to meet and hold the animals.  

We got so many good pictures of their reactions.

Claire really enjoyed touching the snake.

The snake kept sticking out its tongue and tickling my neck!

This rabbit was so fluffy, the kids could barely tell where her head was, except for a cute little purple bow.

Just as a note here, Claire was SO tired.  

We could barely keep her awake to enjoy the fact that she had a chinchilla on her shoulder.  

This bird absolutely LOVED Ryan.  She was grooming him and everything.  It was so fun to watch.

This cracks me up.  Madeline LOVES Michael Jackson's music.  We've watched so many of his music videos on youtube.  So Grandpa Patterson made her a couple of posters with pictures of him, and filled a memory stick with songs so she could listen to them over and over.

Madeline is such a special little girl.  She's such a good sister to Claire and I don't know what we'd do without her in our family.  She's so patient when things don't seem very fair and has become so independent.  We all love her so much and are excited to watch her learn and grow.