Happy Birthday To My Two Loves

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis

Today is a very special day in the Dease house.  We are celebrating the birth of Jonathan and Clare - two of the most amazing people I've ever met.

Jonathan was the first in our family to call this day his own, but that all changed in 2010.   Two years ago today, Jonathan and I experienced the most life changing event to date, the birth of one Ms. Clare Madison Dease.  From the moment she entered this world, she stole our hearts - and Jonathan's birthday.  She is our joy of all joys.

Last year there was bad weather on the day we had chosen to celebrate these two VIP's and many of my family were unable to get out of their driveways, let alone to our house to wish Clare and Jonathan a happy birthday.  So, when thinking about ways to celebrate this year, we took a calculated risk with the weather and decided that we would skip the big party and head to Disneyland instead.  We've been holding off on introducing Clare to the Happiest Place on Earth to ensure she would get the most possible pleasure out of her first visit.  Seeing as she is currently obsessed with all things "Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto Dog", the timing couldn't have been better.  We invited our parents and siblings to be part of the fun and decided that we would host a "cupcake party" for those who couldn't make it to the Magical Kingdom.

Grammy came down on Friday to start our celebration off.  With her she brought a special gift for Clare and the the first of Clare's birthday surprises - a new electric car.  Clare didn't think life could get much better than that.

Saturday morning came early and we piled in the car and headed out to meet Oma and Grampy at Disneyland.  We hit the park running, our goal was to get in as many rides as possible before the Saturday crowd got too thick.

We decided to leave the park for lunch to give Clare a chance to relax and catch a few zzzz's before continuing on our quest to experience all that Disneyland has to offer.  She took full advantage of her little break, but was up and ready to go as soon as we got back to the park.  We finished off the day with some more character sitings, fun rides, and a couple of souvenirs to remember the day.  We will definitely be back for more (we have passes), but no visit will be as special as this first one was.  It was extra special that Clare was joined by Grammy, Oma and Grampy for her first official Disneyland experience.  After all is said and done, I know that both my birthday loves had a great time and both are looking forward to our next visit.

The fun didn't end there though...our cupcake party was great too.  Jake and Stephanie made the long drive down just to celebrate Jonathan and Clare.  They joined us in Laguna Beach for some lunch overlooking the ocean and then headed back to our house to enjoy some of the sweet treats my mom, Jonathan and I made in an effort to make the day extra special (you'll notice that Minnie Mouse is quite popular in our house these days).  We continued the celebration with some of our neighbors and friends and then proceeded to crash in complete exhaustion.  This birthday was such fun and we are grateful for all those who celebrated with us!