Seven is Sweet

Oh Seven.

You are fun.

When you turn 7 here

we set out the treasured Special Special Day Plate.

And you get to eat your meal upon that plate.

And you get to choose the meal.

No matter what you want.

We will all eat it.

Even if you pick macaroni & meat with a side of mashed potatoes and an additional side of peas.

You also get to watch Dad decorate your cake.

And you get away with being a bit rowdy and having icing squirted inside your mouth.

And maybe you even get a little help cleaning that icing from your face.

You also get to decide what your cake will look like.

(Which seemed to be a difficult decision this year for our little Seven.)

So sometimes we let you break the rule and pick two cakes.

It figures that you would choose cakes that are already food, but look like other food items.

Say . . . a taco and mashed potatoes.

We let you invite some friends over to share the cake.

And we let you also choose what type of dinner you would like to serve to your friends.

Oh – Choices!  The power and the burden.

You pick what you like best (after macaroni and meat and mashed potatoes and peas, of course).

And you picked

cereal!

Loads of cereal.

(We just walked down that crazy cereal aisle and you asked “Can we have this?” and you heard me answer what you rarely hear in that aisle – “Yes!”)

We also fulfilled another birthday request.  The only gift you actually requested.

Something that years of watching America’s Funniest Home Videos should have made us avoid altogether.

A pinata!

You loved your party.

Cereal.  Cake shaped like a taco.  Cake that looked like a bowl of mashed potatoes.  Many, many friends.  Beautiful, thoughtful gifts – art supplies, chapter books, stuffed animals, a red dress, trickster Simon, mobiles that you crafted and decorated your bedroom’s ceiling with almost immediately, pencils and more.   You couldn’t believe it!

In the middle of the chaos and the good times we watched you grab your ginormous dog from Lanier and your new chapter book from Laura and make a spot for yourself on the sofa amidst the walking/talking/laughing/eating/drinking and snuggle down with Rufus to read Alice in Wonderland.

Happy Birthday London Elizabeth Scout.

You are beautiful.

You are happy.

You are wise.

May it always be so.