Turning 5!

Kayla has always seemed older than she is to me. We have video of her at 18 months singing the full alphabet along with numerous other songs. She has always followed so closely in Neeley's footsteps that it is hard to remember there are really 2 years between them. So this year, as she is turning five and still has another year before kindergarten it seems unreal.

Following in Neeley's footsteps, she thought it would be really cool to have a witch party like Neeley did last year. I thought is sounded great so we began planning. It was quite easy to plan because it was a carbon copy of last year. Invitations were just a matter of switching out names and dates and the games just needed to be put together. And of course there was the matter of contacting the witch to see if she could fly by for a visit.

Grandma always makes the best witch around and often fools the kids into thinking she really is real. In fact this year as she was leaving one little girl tried to follow her out to the parking lot to see her take off on her broom.

I have to say the hardest part of the party this year was the cake. In fact, I had a bit of a

cake-tastrophe. It was supposed to be a perfect sphere that formed the head of the witch. After I got it put together, it all started to slide and I ended up with crumbles. Kayla was so cute, she just looked at it and said, "It will be alright Mom. The kids don't care what it looks like as long as it tastes good!" But I do think she was happy I started over when she saw the finished cake.

Before the witch arrived we made some candy necklaces and let the kids feel some spooky things like teeth, bones, brains and worms. Then when the witch arrived she mesmerized them all with her stories, a treasure hunt and a magic witches brew that went from clear to a different color in every glass.

Kayla, we are glad to see you add another year to your wisdom and enjoyed creating the magic for you while you still believe in it all! We love you birthday girl!