Gracie is 8

I'm finally getting around to posting Gracie's birthday pictures, even though it was two weeks ago. I had a hard time figuring out what kind of cake to make for her. I'm not the world's greatest cake decorator so some of her suggestions were beyond my skills. So I started searching the internet, which is where I get 98% of my ideas. ;) I saw this cake and decided to go for it. She has enjoyed soccer so much I thought this would be a great cake for her. It's not perfect but she really liked it, and I'm pretty proud of myself.

Mom helped with the decorations. Grace is such a detail type of girl, so I wanted her party to look a bit more festive. She notices those kinds of things, and I think she was happy to have a room made up just for her.

She finally got her piggy bank. For months now she has begged for this bank from Target. I kept telling her no because I knew it would make a cute birthday present. She's happy now.

Ready for cake!

Avery got a little excited and blew the candle out for her big sister.

I had Grace pretend to blow it out. I should have just lit it again, but I don't always think of that stuff till later. ;)

My mom got her a journal with her initial on it. She was writing in it all night and kept worrying that someone was going to read it. She even fell asleep writing in it. What kind of secrets can an 8 year old keep??

She pretended to be excited about getting a box of Cheerios for her birthday.

But was happy to find a new wallet in it from Nana. Silly Nana!!

Mr. Cake Face looking serious with the balloon string.

Grace also got a new ds game from Scottie and I. She tends to ignore the world when she starts playing that thing. That's one reason why we don't buy new games very often. ;)

I think she had a good day. Mom came up and then Dad and Carol came over as well. She felt loved and celebrated, and that's all you need on your birthday. Every year I say I can't believe she is ---years old. But she really is growing up too quickly for me. It's nice to have the crazy toddler years behind us, especially since we have two more to experience, but there are times I miss that little girl singing "Little Tine Tines" (little einsteins) Grace has a passionate personality and she will demand much from life. And while that can make parenting tricky sometimes, I have no doubts that she will lead a full life because she won't settle for less. We love you Miss Grace and all that you bring to our family.