8 Years Old

When my kids have a birthday, we have a family gathering with a small cake, ice cream, and presents. Then beginning at age 4, they also get a real birthday party with their friends. A few years ago we learned that it was best to put off Steph's party until January, when everyone's done with their holidays and parties. It's also nice to have a break after all the birthday and Hanukah gifts in December. So she's going to have a swimming party in January, and we'll get her a swimming cake at Party Favors, the most amazing bakery (remember Pete's shark cake?). They can do anything there. These are also the cakes we save for half-birthdays.

Anyhow, for the family party, we just get regular supermarket cakes. So I headed over to the market to order one of their "licensed character" cakes, which are really just generic cakes with plastic figurines stuck in the frosting. The only not babyish or boyish cake was, God help me, the Bratz. I despise the Bratz. We have never watched their TV show (is there even a Bratz TV show?), we do not own any of the actual dolls, and I think they're horrible. But Steph somehow thinks they're awesome, and it was that or Bob the Builder. The cake  was suppose to look like this:

So I go to pick it up today, and the entire thing is bright yellow except for a blue and red starburst in front. Oh, and with a baggie full of Bratz taped to the plastic container. I complained to the woman who did it, who said, "Oh, I always do it in yellow." I said, "Well, I chose this one from the book because it's all pink and my daughter loves pink." "Oh, the frosting in those photos has been airbrushed, and we can't do that here." "I don't want airbrushing, I just want pink frosting." She offered to redo it, but I didn't have time to come back later for it. So she ended up writing "Happy 8th Birthday Stephanie" on a generic white-frosted cake with pink roses, and then I stuck the Bratz in it. (Oh, and she charged me half price!). Sheesh.

But we had a lovely celebration. Steph finally got a charm bracelet, which she's been wishing for. I decided not to get her a real one, because then we'd always be worried she'd lose it. So I got her a nice-enough costumey one, and I chose 4 charms to start her off: a rhinestone S, a green flip-flop, a box of crayons, and a pink and green flower. She was thrilled!

She also got a gift certificate I made up that said I would take her for a manicure (we did this last year; for $5 they put pink polish on her nails and paint a flower on a few of them; she was in heaven!), plus a few odds and ends and some books. As soon as the gifts were unwrapped, she asked me to put on her bracelet, and then she scurried off to start one of the books. That's my girl.

Comments

[nina]

She looks so happy there blowing out her candles. Surely the best part of any birthday bash! Well, besides perhaps actually eating the cake...

[Mquest]

I hope my son grows up to love reading.