Hip Hip Hiporay Birthday to Paisley!!!

Paisley celebrated the 3 on January 30!!! Can’t believe how fast my life seems to be passing me by. I say that every year and will probably keep saying it every year because it’s so true.

Some times it’s hard to shop for Paisley's birthday because her birthday is only a month after Christmas and we have such and awesome and gigantic family she gets everything she needs and wants and then some! But my family always finds ways to surprise us and gets her things she loves and clothes are always appreciated since (shh don’t tell) I hate laundry and sometimes go a week or two avoiding it.

One tradition I am so blessed and thankful my parents did for me was a SPECIAL birthday cake. To be honest I have a few specific memories about what I got or did at my party, but the memories I have engrained in my brain are those of how special I felt when my mom would spend time and make an effort to make a cake especially for me and my liking. She could have gone to the store to buy me a pretty cake with all the special colors and sprinkles, but she chose to spend a little more time, probably a little more money and make me a cake...a cake just for me!

I am trying to carry on that tradition. Over the last year Paisley has developed a Hippopotamus fetish. She LOVES them. When we go to the zoo that is the only animal she wants to see. And she could stare at them all day long even though all they do is sit in the water. When we get stuffed toys she picks out Hippos, at Christmas we found a Hippo toy that sang the song "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" and it was a HUGE hit, so much that I went back after Christmas to buy two more so the fighting would end. Back to the point, as Paisley has this fascination with Hippos I thought what better cake to make her than a Hippo cake. I browsed the web to see if I could get any ideas and I was kind of surprised by how little was out there. But I finally decided on a design based on a couple different cakes I had seen.

The day before her birthday I spent time making things for her cake, wrapping presents and when the kids went to bed, decorating with balloons and streamers. I think I may just as excited about my kids’ birthday as they are if not more. There are few greater feelings then watching your kids be happy.

The next morning she walked out in her little sleepy way, slightly staggering with her dead down rubbing her eyes trying to avoid some of the light. When she looked up she saw the balloons and realized what day it was. Immediately she opened her eyes wide and caught glance of her cake and smiled from ear to ear and began jumping up and down. "My Hippo cake, my hippo cake!" music to my ears!

We ate breakfast and got Bianca to school then went grocery shopping for a few things and headed home. We watched cartoons and put groceries away while we waited to pick Bianca up from school. It was an amazingly gorgeous day, 60+ degrees so we had made plans to meet some friends at the zoo. Beth and her three boys met us there and we spent 4 beautiful hours walking and talking. All the kids were so good despite how tired they had to have been. We love the zoo but love it even more when we have good company to share while there.

Then we headed home to open presents, eat dinner and cake. I opted to make most of Paisley gifts this year. I made her a lady bug quilt, a chalk board, and a pillow mattress for watching movies on the floor. She also got some zoo talker animals, clothes, books, stickers, a camera, money, hair ties, and I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but needless to say she got lots of neat gifts.

Still can’t believe she is 3...she has already mastered how to say three using her fingers and verbalizing it when she is asked. She is such a beautiful, confidant, intelligent, spunky little angel who keeps me laughing at her cute mannerisms, and on my toes with her curiosity! Paisley my life is so much better now that you are in it! I love you so much and look forward to so many more birthday s with you!!!