It’s that time of year around here where the birthdays are popping up as fast as the dandelions in my back yard.
And as crazy and chaotic (!) as that makes our lives right now, I love it.
Because each is a chance to celebrate someone I absolutely, positively adore.
Miss Tallula, now home almost five years, is now officially seven.
And she had lots of plans on exactly how she wanted to celebrate her most-special day.
She carefully chose the party favors, the party menu and the gifts she chose for her wish list, including Num Noms and the sweetest backpack I ever did see.
But we surprised her with a few, including the Magic School Bus Human Body Lab and the Ultimate Interactive Human Body Guide.
And a kid-sized karaoke machine that she has not stopped singing into since the power was flipped on.
Because this girl loves lots of things, but she really, really loves to sing. And the louder, the better.
Another thing she really, really loves is carrots. Which lead to a very unusual birthday-cake request.
Her request? A literal carrot cake. In the shape of a seven, no less.
Sorry, birthday girl. Not gonna happen.
When we broke the news that her request was not possible for us non-professionals, she seemed okay with allowing for some creative liberties.
And we took them.
Victoria made three layers of carrot cake – two for the “cake” part of the cake and one for the “carrot” part. She crumbled the one layer and made half into cake pop balls shaped like tiny carrots, and the other half into one big carrot that was placed right in the middle of Tallula’s cake.
Then she made chocolate sails into carrot leaves that she inserted into the tops of all the carrots.
Evidently chocolate sails are a thing. A thing about which I had absolutely no idea until we were desperate for ideas to make Tallula’s carrot cake a reality.
We kept the cake hidden from Tallula until it was time to blow out the candles. And, although it wasn’t a seven-shaped carrot, I think she approved.
The chocolate sails didn’t hold up to the heat of the candles (next time we make chocolate sails, we’ll make some candle adjustments) but the birthday girl was happy to eat the wreckage.
And when the birthday girl is happy, everyone is happy.
Happy Birthday to my carrot-adoring, top-of-your-lungs singing girl. 
Seven looks absolutely beautiful on you.