Candles and Gifts Galore

Chloe's birthday celebration continues! We ate noodles for her birthday lunch, since that is traditional in this culture. The length of the noodles is to express wishes for a long life. In the summer we eat fresh noodles cold, with sesame paste and soy sauce, water and vinegar mixed as a dressing, minced salted vegetables added for flavor, and topped with shoestring-cut cucumbers. The creamy dressing with salty veggies and crunchy cucumbers make a perfectly delicious combination, wonderfully refreshing in the summertime!

Here's the birthday girl! We saved the special birthday cake for the day of the party, so she just got some candles stuck in a brownie for her birthday lunch. She didn't seem to mind--after the breakfast practice, she blew out these candles in record time, so we let her do it again! Why not? It's fun, after all!

Then it was time to open gifts, thanks a bunch to Grandpa and Grandma! (all of these things had been stashed away in my closet after my trip to America!) Fun times!

A magnetic dress-up doll! Hours of fun ahead!

I read Chloe the card from Grandpa and Grandma while Chloe opened another dress-up doll, one for her and one for Clara Anne.

Lou gave a gift too and some birthday love...

And a new game from Mommy and Daddy! Everyone was interested in Bop-It!

All of the girls were thrilled to get new dresses from Grandpa and Grandma! Christin looked so sweet toddling around in her full skirt!

The three princesses took a few practice twirls to try out their pretty dresses!

Just lovely!

Chloe didn't waste any time playing with her new doll--she chose the boy doll and gave the girl doll to Clara Anne.

The whole family--Happy 3rd birthday Chloe!

Next: Party pictures!