Landry's long-awaited 7th birthday rolled around this year. I have always viewed "7" as the time when a little girl transitions into a big girl. In other words, I was not the one who was "long-awaiting" this milestone.
Just because the date sounded so cool, we had planned Landry's party to be held on her actual birthday this year. We were going to have it at Logan's for a little girls night out. She and her friends were going to sit at their own table and order their own food. I had a friend make up some really cute invitations (check her out at www.paperlicious.com) and it was the talk of all of her friends. They were sooooo excited to get to pretend to be older than they were. The day just couldn't get here fast enough... Then the dreaded and unpredictable January weather had a big birthday surprise in store for Landry. Not only did she have a white Christmas, but she also had a white birthday! Most little kids I know are thrilled to wake-up and see the ground covered with 6 inches of snow. On January 10th, Landry walked down the steps with a crushed look on her face. She could see out of our side-light windows that the weather man finally got it right. The snow was here and there was no sign of stopping. She was fighting back tears and she said, "I prayed this wouldn't happen." As the day wore on and the 6 inches of snow was now covered with and inch of ice, it was clear that we would not be crunching on peanuts the next day. Long story short, we postponed the party until a week later on the 18th. We made the best of a day trapped in the house and celebrated the heck out of Landry's big day. We were VERY low on just about every pantry staple you can think of, but I scrounged up just enough flour to make chocolate chip birthday cookies. Landry got a super-sized one which she was thrilled about just because Nolan and Corinne didn't get one that big. :) Now, time to put the candles in. Oh, no. Candles were another thing we were running low on. Brian was digging around and came up with a 3 and a 4 candle. He also found two regular candles. Two minutes later, the math cake was born. Best cake ever!
Even though Landry woke-up the morning before her party throwing-up, she managed to make a rapid recovery and be the star of the show by party time. It was the funniest thing to see these little girls all dolled up and ordering their own food. They had a great time and it was pretty fun for us parents to watch from a distance (and enjoy a kid-free meal). I was so proud when the girls all bowed their heads and Landry said the blessing. We didn't even have to tell them to. Even better, one little girl went and grabbed their waitress from where she was taking another table's order and asked her to come pray with them. :) The pictures follow.
And since I write this blog to be a sort of scrapbook for my kids, I have one more thing to say. Landry, I love you so much. I know you are in a hurry to grow-up, but your mom is desperately seeking a way to push the slow-motion button. I know it will only be a moment before you are old enough to be on your own, but you will always be my precious first-born and you will always be my LITTLE girl. I adore you and I look forward to wishing you many more happy birthdays.
