Sometimes the planets and stars align and conspire to give you an absolutely perfect day. Corra somehow bribed someone and got four and a half amazing days to celebrate her going around the sun 8 times. I’m going to split this into posts on party, etc. and baptism. I don’t want your eyes to glaze over looking at so many pictures.
The half day was Wednesday night when she got to stay late at her church activity and play with her siblings and friends for 2 whole hours past bedtime. Then we moved on to the full days of epic birthday awesome.

Can we just have a moment to revel in the fact that she didn’t ask for pop-tarts for breakfast? In my profound joy and exuberance at this development I spontaneously added chocolate chips to her Gryffindor Applesauce Pancakes. Next, she had Layna had an impromptu birthday tea party. Then we started in on the cookies that were a party favor for her party. Airbrushing cookies is so much fun…a fact that I never would have discovered had my husband not fixed my misbehaving airbrush set up by swapping out the compressor with an old fish tank air pump. The cookies have the Kingdom Hearts logo (a video game franchise that my kids are loving right now…the cake is also Kingdom Hearts themed).

Well since we are talking about cake…I think the best decision I ever made was to allow inedible elements onto my cakes. The topper? Glitter card-stock and the little heartless guys around it? Black paper. I just let the Silhouette do the hard work. I don’t have pictures of the inside cut, but it’s chocolate with blue cherry buttercream filling. I don’t ask questions, I just make cake.

My Dad accepted the challenge of selecting her first pocket knife and she’s in love. After a safety class with her dad, she is now allowed to say, “I’m heading out to whittle with my knife!” anytime she wants to. Eight is also the birthday where kids in our family get their first, for real, set of scriptures and an awesome bag. She got the bag on her real birthday because she begged and I’m weak. Scriptures come tomorrow. Later in the evening we headed to the park where she does karate on Thursday nights before racing to gymnastics right after. It also happens to house the coolest splash pad and we had never been before. Can I just say, I’m so glad my boy hasn’t out grown splash pads in the slightest? (Speaking of the boy: He happened to have his first Youth Conference this weekend so he is off gallivanting with his friends and absent most of these pictures.)

Friday morning was ear piercing day. Layna wanted hers done too, so we took them together. For Layna it was easy and she didn’t seem nervous at all. Granted she is used to getting pricked with needles, but the process was not really a big deal for her. Corra was very concerned and quite nervous. But she hung in there and was so brave. We took all our girls to tattoo places because the people there do piercings professionally and we have had such good experiences. Even if Corra didn’t care for the pictures all over the walls.

Friday afternoon it was party time. My brilliant idea for a fun balloon game was an abject failure but we have a pool so all was not lost. Presents were lovely (she got enough canvases to last her for at least a week of painting, maybe) and the cake was a hit. Since it was so tall the kids got half of a slice, so we have 3/4 of the monster cake left for dessert tomorrow.

Neil’s dad came down from Ohio to be here for her baptism and we enjoyed dinner out at the chic-est joint in town…Cracker Barrel. It’s been so nice to catch up with him. We are hoping to spend part of Spring Break next year up there with our Ohio family. Anyways, the day after (Today) was baptism day. I’ll share all about that next Saturday.

I love this baby. She makes sense to me and I have a better, instinctual feel of when to push her and when to back off, when to use my mom voice and when to negotiate. She is easy. Ever since that ultrasound that said she was a girl and I raced home to find her name…I’ve known deep in my guts that Heavenly Father knew I needed this little girl. I know all of my kids are mine and meant to be mine, whether those lessons are for me or for them…and with Corra this hits me especially hard.