Happy Birthday Mikayla!

How on earth did my middle child grow to be 9 years old? Geesh. It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms, yet I can't remember what my life was like without her. :-) She was so sweet today. She came into my room this morning to tell me she couldn't sleep. Apparently she didn't notice what time it was....10:15am...that's why she couldn't sleep. HA! She put on a dress, and her Cinderella dress-up shoes from Disneyworld. Too funny. I let her open her presents as soon as she woke up. We don't normally do that, but since her Dad is gone, it's not a traditional birthday anyway. First, she opened the presents from us...clothes and the High School Musical game for her Nintendo DS.

Becca and I are taking the girls to the new American Girl Bistro store in Atlanta, so she'll also get a couple of outfits for her dolls. The big gift of the day came from my parents. She absolutely LOVES it. She came inside several times today telling me how awesome it is.

She was absolutely awesome about sharing it today. Our rule is, if you get a gift, you don't have to share it for the first 24 hours you have it. They're quick to remind each other of that too. She was great though, and let each of her siblings take a turn or two around the loop. Since Liberty is too little, she let her stand on it with the kick-stand down. HA! She came to me several times today to thank me for everything, and to tell me she loved all of her presents. She had a fashion shoot with all of her new clothes so we can show all of her presents to Daddy. This girl LOVES clothes. When she was little, like 2 or 3, if we went to the mall, she would ask for a new outfit or a new pair of shoes. She didn't want toys, she wanted clothes. Crazy. She's the absolute opposite of her older sister, although Katie is starting to like clothes a little more than she has in the past. :-)

We don't spend a lot of money on cakes in this family. With the exception of a few times, I make all of the cakes. Mikayla wanted a princess cake. I don't know how to make Cinderella, but I can cut one with my Cricut Expressions machine. So, this is what we came up with. She was thrilled. Already has plans for either an Ariel or a Sleeping Beauty next year. The Cinderella and Prince Charming are stuck in the cake with a popsicle stick. She was happy, which is all that matters to me. :-) I have three weeks to plan the next birthday. Yee-gads.

Knitting news....I still need to knit the leg of the second sock. I started a top-down hat last night. So far, it's going great. I modified the pattern just a bit. It's written for double pointed needles, which I hate. So, I'm magic looping it. Devin is anxious for me to finish it. A few more days.