The Cat's Meow

Gracie celebrated her milestone eighth birthday with a cat-themed family party at the end of January.

We scrounged the internet for ideas, and after tossing out all of the kitty-litter cakes (sick and wrong) and lolcat photos, we ended up with this cake idea, headband cat ears, and some feather boa cat tails.

  
 

And there was lots of JustDance-ing and Calico Critter playing to celebrate the occasion.

 

Eight years with this girl.

She is smart, determined, and so hard on herself. (I don't know where she gets these things.) She loves to laugh and be with friends. She is a budding fashionista, but doesn't like anything "fancy" done with her hair. She satisfies her burning desire to have a REAL pet by drowning her bed in stuffed animals. But while she still has one foot fimly planted in that little-girl world of stuffed toys and make-believe, we've also had some "real life" conversations over the past few months that have taken my breath away at the realization of just how much she is growing up. This look at the road that lies ahead both scares me to death (teenager!) and cheers me. It's going to be fun, and not a little bit terrifying, to watch her fly!