Eight of our eight-year-olds favorites…..
Number Eight…Walking to school! Who would’ve guessed? Yes, I know it’s only Day Four, and the excitement might wear us out soon, but so far, it’s wonderful. Catie loves the laid back time with me or M. She loves walking right into her classroom. She loves seeing all of her neighborhood friends making the trek alongside us.
Number Seven…running shorts, tshirts, and flip flops. I’ve just sorted through the bags of hand-me-downs are generous friends pass down to our kids. Justice! Gymboree! Children’s Place! Stacks and stacks of adorable dresses, sparkly tops, and tulle skirts. Every time I pull out another snazzy outfit I can feel the tension building…
Me: Catie! What do you think of this dress?
Catie: Great. For church.
Me: What about for school?
Catie: I wear running shorts to school.
Number Six…having her own money. She’s at that age where she loves to carry her purse, with a little spending cash in it. Which leads to Number Five…
Number Five… Buying crazy crap for her siblings. Mostly Elisabeth. It’s such a strange phenomenon. The two walk into Claire’s and ooh and ahh over all the (a-hem) beautiful super sparkly trinkets that are really more age-appropriate for a twelve-year-old (or a very flamboyant Vegas show girl). Glittery hair gel! Purple rhinestone purses…with added sparkles! Glitzy foil nail polish! And then, in the end, Catie buys Elisabeth a little something. Elisabeth doesn’t even really ask for it, just adds the bling to her growing stash. And Catie walks out, grinning, and empty-handed.
Number Four…Getting a place of her own. I think this new fascination with buying her own house is just another step up the ladder of maturity. Some kids start doing their homework unprompted…Catie is asking for her own apartment. Not her very own, actually, but one with her younger siblings. Don’t get me wrong. At five-thirty every night, when everyone is howling for dinner and crying and yelling, I’ve often wished for such a plan–all of our lovely children battling it out at a nearby apartment while M and I tuck into a quiet steak dinner. But I’m thinking she should be allowed to run the stove by herself before she moves out.
Number Three….As I’ve mentioned, a dog. The way to this girl’s heart is paved with four-legged friends in need of a home.
Number Two…the beach, where we’re headed this weekend.
Number One….this Barbie cake that she has literally wanted since she sat in my Target cart and pointed up at it seven years ago. After tracking down a Target that actually had the complicated apparatus to make such a concoction, sneaking around to surprise her with it, and spending more money than all of my birthday cakes combined, we pulled it off and finally got her the cake of her dreams.
Also, as you can see by Nate’s eagerness in the background, the cake of his dreams, too. Which would be Catie’s other very favorite thing ever, her little brother.
And, of course, her little brother eating Barbie Cake with her on her big day.
Happy Birthday, Catie!
