Happy 2nd Birthday Clare!

In honor of Clare's second birthday, here is a very brief tour of her life.




Clare Elizabeth Mangum was born on January 8, 2009, in Neenah, Wisconsin. She was born with natural, chocolate highlights in her hair (no kidding). You can read all about the day she was born here.




As a 1-year-old, Clare was a total riot. She loved her birthday, and you can see her with the frosting from her cake. She has a fun first birthday.

And this was not too long ago on Christmas Eve. Clare rules!


What does she like to eat?
She's pretty picky. She loves eating pizza, muffins, cupcakes (which she calls cakecups), yogurt (only certain kinds), Cheetos, cereal, crackers, cookies, and of course her favorite, Tootsie Rolls.


What does she like to do?
Her favorite activity is playing with Lena. Since the dollhouse arrived on Christmas, she's also been very fond of that. She likes to leave the house, and will, if she's been in the house too long, ask to go in the car. You don't have to go anywhere special, and you can even stay in the car. But she likes to keep moving. She also loves to sing, dance, read books, and watch her favorite shows (which include Maggie and the Ferocious Beast and Word World).

Is she obsessed with anything?
I'm glad you asked. She is absolutely obsessed with Toy Story. Even when she's not playing with Toy Story toys, she will mix in a little Buzz and Woody (as well as Superman). Her way of telling you she is excited is to yell, "Buzz and Woody!"


If I sit near her in church, what should I expect?
Another excellent question. Clare is one of the loudest people on the planet. She can scream at a decibel level that is way to loud for church and likely too loud to be safely heard by humans. Sometimes she screams just to scream. She's been better in church recently, but if you sit near us, it's likely you'll hear one good scream.


When she talks, what does she say?
Clare's language skills are pretty amazing. She has been speaking in complete sentences for a while (and reading Tolstoy), with phrases like:

• "I wanna watch movie"


• "Tootsie Roll, please"


• "Lena sad? Oh, poor Lena"


• "I wuv you"


• "I want out time out"


• "Sing 'Jingle Bells' please"


• "I read books"


• "Go in car, please"


• "Yes sir"


• "Yes sirree!"


• "Maggie and Beast!"


• "Daddy is Superman"

As you've noticed, she's very polite. She says please a lot, and always says thank you.

Does she have any nicknames?
Luckily for her, Clare was born before Lena started handing out nicknames (like Cuckoo Clock for Jane). Clare's nickname is predictable: Clare Bear. We're pretty sure she thinks her actual name is Clare Bear Mangum.

We love our Clare Bear!
Happy Birthday our sweet little Clare!