Kate's 9th birthday

Last week was a very exciting week at our house because Kate turned 9 years old! She has been anticipating her birthday for a long time and it finally came!

First off ... her actual birthday. We have a tradition that on your birthday you get to climb into mom and dad's bed, have Happy Birthday sang to you, open presents and have breakfast in bed. So, that's exactly what happened. And even though it was a school day, we threw in a little cartoon watching as well. What the heck!

Then I checked her out of school long enough to take her to Wendy's for lunch. It was that or join her for school lunch. Not a difficult choice. That night she had the choice of either going out to dinner or having me cook her favorite meal. I didn't take it personally when she chose to go to the Pasta Factory. Who can blame her?

Friday was the big day for her friend party! She decided about 2 months ago that she wanted to have a Nancy Drew Detective party. I don't know who was more excited ... me or her! I LOVE planning birthday parties, especially ones built around a theme. We made invitations that had to be "decoded" by holding them up to a mirror (they were written backwards), played some detective games, had birthday cake in the shape of a magnifying glass, went on a scavenger hunt to recover the "stolen" birthday presents and ended by watching the Nancy Drew movie! It was a hit and SO much fun, even for Greg and I. Such a great group of girls and they kept telling me that "this party rocked!" So, I must have done something right.

Now the birthday celebrations are over and done and Kate and Josh are already planning what their parties will be next year. Ahhhhh ....

I love you Katie bug! Thanks for being my sweetheart!