Eight.

It’s hard to believe that eight years ago Ron and I were in the delivery ward swaddling a tiny 6 pound baby girl, who didn’t cry, but purred like a kitten. We sat in the hospital, staring for hours at her perfect little pink face that would forever change our lives.

Krysta, my firstborn, the one that made me mommy, turned eight years old. And so today we celebrated. We celebrated her day. Her birthday. Her birth day. And it was perfect.

Patterned paper butterflies scattered the walls, colorful tissue flowers adorned the ceiling, and a candy buffet with an array of clustered sugared goodness sat nestled on the table in crystal bowls. Our house was full of sweets and chocolate and two dozen children squealing with laughter --enough to give you a sugar high or perhaps just make you high on life.

Children excitedly flooded throughout the house --some danced on the Wii, some played up stairs-- but when it came time for presents, they all came together and watched in anticipation as the birthday girl ripped through wrapping paper and tissue to reveal her birthday surprises.

the aftermath

As everyone congregated to the dining area to sing “Happy Birthday”, my girl’s eyes lit up as we carried in her cake with eight illuminated candles that danced on the top of her pink butterfly cake. Her happiness factor was extremely high! Seeing Krysta so completely overjoyed and loving every moment of her day made me deliriously happy.

These are the moments I live for.

And speaking of cake, Superstar Pastry Design did our cakes for us this year. Don’t they look awesome? And yes, they taste as good as they look! We had some last minute RSVP’s, so Superstar quickly worked with us to make TWO extra coordinating cakes within a less than 24 hour notice! They seriously saved the day.

cake #1

cake #2 and #3

After the party, Krysta said, “mom, I totally feel like a princess!”

That alone was soul-satisfying!