birthday party magic

growing up i remember my birthdays being as magical as christmas. i remember anticipating my birthdays for weeks and always looked forward to my birthday parties. my mom always seemed to make them special and in turn...i felt special. these wonderful moments in my life helped define my childhood and a few special birthday moments are forever etched in my mind.

one of my earliest childhood memories is of my 4th birthday party. it was a strawberry shortcake and it was on the back patio of my house. i remember a few of the friends i had over but my most vivid memory is of the cake. it had a strawberry shortcake on it that was made of gel icing and it was the most delicious cake i have ever tasted! i don't even remember what made it so special but to this day few cakes have lived up to that one in my mind. we moved from that house when i was about 5 and this remains one of my favorite memories.

for my 6th birthday we were living in our new house and my mom had turned the garage into a birthday paradise complete with balloons and streamers!! looking back i'm sure she just cleaned out the garage and hung up some balloons and streamers but i remember it being the most beautiful and amazing birthday party i had ever seen! in my head i can still see my 6 year old self opening up my brand new cabbage patch doll! i had been wanting one for so long and i finally got it. what happened next effects me to this day. sarah waters wanted to hold my brand new cabbage patch!! i was horrified and even more horrified when my mom made me hand it over! even now i have a hard time making my kids share their brand new birthday toys.

another favorite party of mine was my 10th (i think). it was a surprise party. my friends came over in their pj's and crept into my bedroom to wake me up. i've never been a morning person so my mom didn't have to worry about me getting up early to ruin the surprise. we then ate breakfast and went swimming. it was a great surprise!!

now i am the mother and i want my kids to have the same magical birthdays that i did so when megan said, out of nowhere, that she wanted a hello kitty party i went to work.

we had lunch complete with flower sandwiches and fruit and cheese kabobs

we painted kitty faces on her and her friends

her first look at herself in the mirror with her kitty face

we played pin the bow on the kitty

we opened presents

we had a hello kitty cake

we changed her outfit a few times (she immediately wanted to put on her new fairy outfit)

and she made a birthday wish.

i hope she felt special and i hope she remembers the feeling forever!