Birthday Flowers

When Big Sis turned 3, I made a doll cake for her birthday.  It was stunning; I spent lots of time making sure every detail was perfect.  I put the cake on the counter and continued getting ready for the party.  My aunt came early to help me out and that's when the accident happened.  She opened a cupboard to get something out and a box of Pop-Tarts fell out and landed on the cake.  My overly dramatic aunt screamed.  "I hope you got a picture of that first!" my mom said.  Nope.  There was a huge gash in the side of the cake.  Never fear, I did not flip out.  I got creative.  I looked outside my dining room window and noticed the deep red flowers that had recently bloomed.  I improvised and cut a few flowers.  I placed one on the cake boo-boo and used a few others to decorate, trying to make it look like it was on purpose.  It ended up working out great.

Every year, those same deep red flowers have bloomed right before my daughter's birthday.  We now call them her Birthday Flowers.  Just this week, I noticed that the Birthday Flowers have once again bloomed.  That means that her special day is right around the corner. 

Yesterday, my brother and his wife had a brand new baby boy. - my first nephew!  Big Sis is so excited to have a birthday buddy.  Her sister has a birthday buddy, my niece who was born two days later.  I share my birthday with my cousin.  I told Big Sis that the new baby will be her birthday buddy.  So when we went to visit him last night, she cut off a long, beautiful Birthday Flower and took it to him.  He is the only one who can share the Birthday Flowers with her.

I love this special tradition.