One more summer until she is a teen

August 12, 2021

We typically keep birthdays low-key here. I use and re-use the same decorations. Parties are just gathering friends at our house. Simple. Plain. Just lots of people when possible and usually not-so-healthy snacks. BUT Breese…this girl….the planning and decorating of a party are possibly better than the actual party to her.

Her past few birthdays have been spent out of town or under quarantine restrictions. This girls was longing to celebrate her 12th birthday last month with some extra sparkle and fun.

She had Pinterest boards. Checklists. And lots of plans – none of which had anything to do with what to DO at a party. I fought it at first, “No, you can’t have a balloon arch at your birthday party. We use what we have.” And then I remembered one of the best investments I can make in my kids is encouraging and supporting their gifts, so we ordered the $16 dollar balloon garland and we carried out her party plans.

Icing on the cake – I have a pink balloon garland in my kitchen that I have zero plans of taking down.

Since she is a baker, the cake was a big deal. There was only one option in her mind – Laurannae Baking Co. The cake was for sure beautiful. However, the best part was watching my girl cut into a beautiful cake, dissect how it was made and slowly take bites studying the taste and texture. I suppose if you are baker the best way to learn is to fully soak up the creations of those you admire.

Her actual birthday fell on a day her teenage brothers had friends over. Chris made dad jokes while everyone sang. She thinks his jokes are…’interesting’….