Eleven Candles! Where did the time go?

My daughter, Anita, turned eleven last Friday.  Eleven!!  I can hardly believe it.  She is at the age where she's still a child, yet almost a teenager.  Yikes!  I wish there was a pause button I could press, so I could hold on to her for just a while longer.  I want her to be a child for as long as she can.  I want to protect her and keep her safe at all times.  But, of course, I am slowly letting her go, allowing her to grow, and mature into the wonderful young woman I imagine she'll be. 

Until then, I am going to cherish and savour these last few childhood years.  I won't take for granted tucking her in bed every night, kissing her goodnight, and hearing her tell me she loves me (at least three times) before she falls asleep. 

Anita asked if I could bake her a lemon layer cake with lemon curd

filling, so of course, I did.  Really, is there anything better than a

home-made birthday cake?  To me, a store bought cake, no matter how

beautiful it may look, cannot compare to a home-baked cake, as it is made

with so much love and care for that special person in mind.

I can tell she's getting older when she says no to chocolate and

 asks for lemon, instead!

I baked these rainbow chip cupcakes for her girlfriends party the next day!

Can you see the rainbow chips?  I frosted the cupcakes with vanilla

butter cream and decorated them with tiny synthetic roses

The birthday room at Creative Cafe where all the girls got to pick their own

pottery to paint 

Anita picked a donut shaped piggy bank

Annabel chose a bird to paint

And my niece, Emily, chose to paint a flower shaped jewelery box

After the girls painted, we had pizza, sang happy birthday, and

had cupcakes!

The pieces the girls (and Nuno and I) painted, had to stay at the cafe to

be glazed and fired.  I will be picking them up as soon as they're ready and

delivering them to their creative artists.  I can't wait to see what they look like!