Happy Birthday, Sandy!

Sandy is 3 years old today! We started out the morning with pink birthday pancakes.

Sandy has been asking for a pink-princess-with-red-hair-cake for a long time now. Wilton makes these barbie doll picks for the cakes, but they don't make one with red hair. I searched for a red-headed Barbie and also struck out. I did find an Ariel doll, but she had a fin and I didn't think that would fit in the cake! Finally, I went to the dollar store and found a Barbie-like doll with red hair.

Last night I baked the cake (strawberry!) and set it on the counter to cool. I carefully covered it with a giant red Tupperware bowl to keep it from drying out. Sandy got out her stool and took off the bowl so she could look at it. I asked her not to do that anymore because we didn't want anything to happen to it. But, Sandy's stool was still there and when I went downstairs to grab something, I came back to this:

Sorry for the blurry picture, but you get the idea!

Here is what the cake looked like.

We ran to the store and grabbed some plain, unfrosted cupcakes (which we then came home and decorated). But after my initial panic, I thought, I can fix that! And, after frosting it, you really couldn't even tell.

I used a star tip to pipe on her bodice, then just frosted the skirt. She was taller than the cake so I had to build the waist up a bit with frosting:

Here is the cake surrounded by cupcakes:

Sandy blowing out her candles:

The cake after being cut:

10 Things About Sandy on her Birthday

10. She likes to count - she can get to 15, now we are working on getting to 20! And, of course, the main reason to learn to count is to play hide and seek - another thing she LOVES! As soon as Bill walks through the door, she says, "You count and I'll hide!" and runs off.

9. This girl has empathy! The first time we went on the wagon ride at Thanksgiving Point, she was very upset that the horses were pulling us and they were tired and their feet hurt! When we were frosting her princess cake for her birthday, she told me the princess was cold without her clothes on. If we hear or see someone crying she gets very concerned. Sometimes I'll ask her why she thinks they are crying and her answers are pretty interesting. I can't think of any right now.....

8. Sandy is an extrovert! If she could have someone over playing every minute, she would. I think she loves having a sister because she always has someone she can do things with.

7. She likes to go, go, go. She loves to run errands and hates it when we come back home. As soon as we turn onto our street, she'll say something like, "But, mom, we need to go to Costco (or Walmart)!" And, if I tell her "Maybe later." she says, "I'll just wait in the car." (And, no, I don't let her sit in the car until "later."

6. She is a big helper. She likes to empty the silverware out of the dishwasher, set the table, and run and get me things.

5. She loves to collect treasures. If she can find a purse or bag or box, she can fill it with her treasures. This is what was in her treasure box yesterday:

4. She likes to pray. Would it be wrong to video tape her praying? It makes me laugh! She is very specific.
*"Thank you for letting Ashley, Madison, and Rylee come to my house to play."
*"Please help my mom lay down with me for a nap so I can lay on her tummy."
*"Please bless me that I can go to grandma's house."
*"Please bless Rosie, my friend, to come to my house." (My sister Rosie is in Canada. We saw her at the beginning of the month and ever since, Sandy talks about her all the time.)
She was starting and ending her prayers "in the name of Jesus Christ." We tried to explain we start by talking to Heavenly Father and then end in the name of Jesus Christ. So now she starts and ends her prayers with "in the name of Heavenly Father."

3. She tries hard to do the right thing. Her latest concept is "obeying." For some reason, the word really makes a difference. If I ask her to do something and she doesn't do it, sometimes saying, "Will you please obey me?" or singing the Primary song "Quickly, I'll Obey" is all it takes. Sometimes I'll hear her repeating rules:
*"No hands in bums!" - She got me with this one the other day when I was trying to tuck in my shirt.
*"Don't push Abby!"

2. She wears a dress every day! She loves dresses, the fancier the better! And she has very specific opinions about what matches!

1. She asks why all the time! It is hard to keep up with her line of questioning sometimes, but I love her curious nature!

Happy Birthday, Sandy!