The passing of birthdays are slightly bittersweet in the mummy universe that I inhabit as I realize that yet another year of my little one’s childhood has slipped me by all too quickly.
I’m well aware how precious these fleeting years are to be cherished and more so, with each passing year as the little ones graduate into lankier frames and grow a head or two taller.
It has always been my wish to make birthdays memorable, but not in a fancy, over-the top sort of way. Big parties are just not our thing in our family of mostly introverts.; they are fun but tiring logistically and too much hassle. We warm up to quiet, cozy gatherings and it’s really alright if it’s just us in the end.
This is a birthday memoir of the time that E turned five while we were mid-way through a few months of settling in Australia. We wanted her to know that while we were going through all these changes in our lives, that we deeply cherished spending this day celebrating her- and giving her the only constant in our life- our hearts as a family. We wanted something quiet and meaningful.

Pretty banner for E
Of course we got her a little girl gift. The thing is, apart from the $10 mini pink purple washing machine that we got her, [because it was just TOO cute and she won’t ever find a pink and purple washing machine that makes washing noises ]…I wanted to gift her with something (to me) that would truly matter.
It had to be more than just a toy or a something that would be worn or tossed away and forgotten. So I decided, funny as it sounds, that she would have me and my time–my undivided attention on her special day. I would give her the “gift” of baking her own birthday cake, that included conceptualizing the cake she wanted, choosing the cake mix and decoration tools and basically making it so achievable for her that she would enjoy the whole cake project from start to finish and be involved as much as possible in it. In the process, we would spend time together, she would learn how to plan, pick up some new skills and craft some pretty awesome memories.

Adorable Cupcake case and flag set

Little pretty things

Strawberry Milkshake Cupcake Mix

The little baking star

Spooning her own batter

Decorating

Happy Cupcakes

Cupcakes on my budget DIY cupcake stand

Close up

Happy Birthday Sweetheart