turning nine

And yes with the Justin Bieber cake again.

We picked it up at the bakery and the baker seemed just as amused by his creation as he did last year.

It was a different baker, but he brought it out and asked, "So who is Julia?"

And then he peeped the lid open so she could see the gorgeous face of the Bieber, and she gasped and grinned, and so did he.

Oh, to be nine.

That's m.c. above, foot healing nicely, though these things take an infuriating amount of time.  She informed me that Justin Bieber has been seen smoking pot.

Well, I didn't even know what to say about that, not knowing the man personally.

I waved my hand and said, "Ach, he's Canadian."

For some reason, she found that hilarious, though I don't know why.

This buddy was here too, and his parents even stayed for cake. 



 Okay, this rowdy scene is my grandbabies playing Don't Break the Ice.

Only with these guys it's: Yes Break the Ice Fast. 

They all frantically pound at once until it's done.   This takes three to seven seconds.

Time for gifts.  I told her because she received that gorgeous doll in the mail from one set of grandparents, and her other grandparents and me and Dad all went together to buy her that blessed Nintendo 3DS, there might not be many gifts to open.

Did she understand that? 

Well, there were other gifts too.

This is Tim getting wrassled back into the fireplace by a small, wild nephew.

He laughed.

And at the end of the evening, time for cake.  There were two kinds of ice cream--chocolate chip and cotton candy, and nine candles on the Justin Bieber cake.

And they were blown out in a flash, and we ate.   And after a bit the wild ones put on pajamas and kissed us all good bye.

Julia?  My baby girl?  I have described you as the maraschino cherry on top of a big sundae of family, and that is you:  the grace note at the end, the fancy curlicue that makes everything complete.

I love your chubby lips and your weird, goofy nine year old teeth.  I love your long fingers and toes and your greenish-gold eyes.   I love your energy and scrappiness, your loud laugh, your big heart.

This family is just right because you're here.  We're so lucky and we know it.

Happy Birthday.   love forever, Mom and Dad and everybody