CUPCAKE!

R's first birthday was fun. She even got to have two parties. But she didn't really understand what was going on, and Jeff and I didn't make a big deal out of it. We figured there were plenty of years in the future in which we could have all sorts of crazy princess parties.

Her second birthday was even tamer as she only had one birthday "party" and it just involved the immediate family and one set of grandparents. But the biggest difference between her first and second birthdays is she now understands the concept of birthdays (at least sorta) and she was very excited for all the birthday hoopla this time around.

As we were preparing for her birthday, we learned that to R, birthdays mean cupcakes. We are not quite sure why this is. R has never had a cupcake, in fact, she's barely tasted cake, but cupcakes were the theme of all our birthday planning.

The weekend before her birthday the whole family was at the grocery store. As we headed down the baking aisle, Jeff and I were debating what kind of cake to make. I had planned on being boring, healthy mommy and making a whole grain carrot cake. Jeff was fighting for cheap, processed cake mix Devil's Food. Given that I'm pregnant...with twins (I'm so gonna milk this for awhile), it wasn't that hard to persuade me to buy a nice chocolately box of Betty Crocker mix.

Once that was decided, we had to determine how the cake should appear. I figured a plain rectangle just wouldn't do (I'm an auditor, I live by the rules all week long - I need some imagination in my baking!), so I was trying to come up with an interesting shaped cake. As we discussed bunny vs. caterpillar vs. butterfly, Ree heard the word cake. She then began bouncing up and down in the cart chanting, "Cupcake! Cupcake! Cupcake!" So that was decided.

Several days later, it occurred to me that perhaps I should purchase some kind of decorations for her party. (I would've made decorations, but I'm pregnant...with twins! :) So R and I trotted off to Dollar Tree to get inspired. Elmo is still one of her favoritest things in the whole wide world, and we miraculously stumbled upon Sesame Street plates and napkins. I handed each to her and told them we would use them at her birthday. She seemed confused. So then I said, "On your birthday, Grandma and Grandpa Gene will be here and we'll eat dinner and then sing happy birthday and have cupcakes." She kissed the plates, then the napkins, hugged them both to her chest, and began the "Cupcake!" chant again. The chant continued all the way to the register, while she swung the bag all the way to the car, and all the way home. That night she said a teary goodbye to the cupcake accessories as I put them away til her birthday.

When it was time for her actual birthday, R was still obsessed with cupcakes. But she also discovered presents. Presents are fun! And they were all for her! She was very excited. She loved tearing through them. If we had let her, she would've taken hours to open presents since she wanted to try each and every item as it was opened. Toys had to be played with! Books had to be read! Clothes had to be tried on!

Once we finally moved on from the present opening, it was time for cupcakes. R was very excited. She happily sat in my life while we sang happy birthday and blew out the candles. She loved huffing and puffing and trying to blow out the candles, and I'm happy to report she never did spit on the cupcakes.

But there was no greater joy than watching her savor the first beloved cupcake of her life. You could tell she thought it was heaven. She first ate the decorative frosting, one delicious bite at a time. Then she moved on to the regular frosting. Next she ate the top layer of cake. Then she slowly moved down to the rest of the cupcake. She was so busy enjoying each and every morsel that she barely made her usual editorial comments. She was a true cupcake connoisseur!

In the days since her birthday, she has still been delighting in all her new toys. She also went to the doctor for her two-year check-up, and all is well. She remains a petite princess. She is 32" tall, which at least put her on the charts although just barely. However, she still only weighs 20 pounds, which puts her substantially below the chart since most one-year-olds weigh 20 pounds. But she is a happy girl, and clearly growing, and that's all that matters to us and her doctor. Thankfully, they are out of her reach reach, or I think she would make up for her low weight entirely in cupcakes.