Alice is 6!

Alice turned six this week! She's such a different girl from who she was last year. Kindergarten seems to have accelerated her aging, or maybe it's just having a REAL baby in the house for comparison that makes her seem so old.

 We weren't going to have her family party until Sunday, but then her actual birthday didn't have ANYTHING planned on it, which seemed lame and sad (flashback!), so she and I decided last-minute to make the party happen that day. It worked well because she had selected burritos for her birthday dinner, which left just enough time that afternoon to make and decorate a cake. She couldn't have been more thrilled with the whole process. Alice selected a vanilla layer cake with rich, chocolate icing (we loooooove our Betty Crocker cookbook!). She wanted to use the icing bag herself, but it was taking WAY too long (for all of us) and Bobby took over the squeezing while Alice directed.

How do you like my action shot? I'm quite proud of it:

Bobby and I received a silver-plated bridal cake cutting set for our wedding 11 years ago. In my spring cleaning phase this year, I was about to put it into the Goodwill box, but Alice begged to rescue it. Bobby and I looked at her incredulously and asked, "How and when on EARTH are we ever going to use this?" Alice didn't miss a beat, "For birthday cakes!" Well, she had a point. Maybe it could become something special and fun that we use regularly, but not too regularly. Five times a year? That's my kind of "useful heirloom." Here's Bobby cutting and serving the first birthday cake in silver-plated style. Again, Alice was thrilled:

After one taste, Robert decided then and there that his birthday cake would have chocolate icing on it just like this one.

Happy Birthday, Alice! We don't spend as much time together as we used to. Sometimes I see you working or playing and I wonder, "Who is this little lady these days?" You've worked hard this year trying to get along with Robert. You've stepped up to help with James, too. I see you struggle with balancing wants and needs, but you never struggle finding friends or being yourself. I admire that about you. You can talk to any adult for any amount of time on any subject...as long as the subject is you ;) You continue to be conscientious and attentive to subtle social cues. You are aware of so much more than I give you credit for. It's not easy growing up the eldest child. You and I are going through a whole bunch of "firsts" together. We'll figure this out eventually. 

Thanks for changing my entire life, Girlie.