My little Miss turned five recently.
FIVE! She could barely contain her excitement. In the week leading up to her birthday, she told everyone that her birthday was coming and on 2 March itself, she woke up bright and early, ready to receive all the birthday wishes which we were all happy to bestow on her.
If you’ve been around this space for a while, you’ll know that I love organising parties for my kids. I’d started discussing some ideas with Mei for her 5th birthday but due to a variety of factors, I realised that it would be too difficult to have a party this year. So I asked her if we could do things a little differently this year and just have her school celebration plus a gathering with family thereafter. “With a birthday cake?” she asked. I promised there would be as many as she wanted!
So when she later asked for some chocolate cupcakes that we had baked recently to be made for her birthday, I had to say yes. Yet if there’s one thing I don’t do, it’s bake. Not particularly well, anyway. I baked a birthday cake only once before, for Noey’s 4th birthday when I ambitiously made a Dinosaur Cake. That looked cute but I think it didn’t taste that fantastic. I was nervous. But cupcakes seemed easy enough and the recipe we had was easy enough and pretty yummy. All I had to do was to find a recipe for frosting to top them off.
I definitely got a bit antsy about it all, even though her class party is a really small thing! The kindy doesn’t allow elaborate celebrations so it was it was really just going to be cake and goody bags but I really didn’t want to disappoint. I was frosting till late at night so the little miss didn’t see the final result till the next morning when she snuck a peek in the fridge. Whereupon she came over to me and gave me her nod of approval and told me that the cupcakes looked “very nice, Mummy“.
Close up of my rather amateur piping skills. This was my first time! Thankfully the children were a very forgiving recipients of my efforts.
Some homemade cupcake toppers, a tiered serving tray and some tall candles and we had a very happy little girl all ready to celebrate with her friends. Certainly helped that many of her classmates oohed and ahhed over the setup proclaiming how nice it was and staking their claim on the cupcakes that they wanted!
A very happy birthday girl with her 3-tiered birthday cake!
I was very glad that both DD and I were able to be there to share the moment with her.
When it came time to eat, I quietly held my breath. Thankfully, the cupcakes were mostly well received. So kids didn’t really eat them, but I expected that. Mei enjoyed hers and finished the whole thing, as did some of the others, with a few of them asking for more. Those who didn’t finish their cakes mostly ate all the frosting (oops!). A couple of little girls told me they loved the sprinkles on their cakes, one while she was in the process of licking everything up!
Yay, target achieved and mission completed!
We didn’t stay for the goody bag distribution but a number of parents spoke/texted me to tell me they loved them and I was really glad. This year I put aside my OCD everything-must-conform-to-theme tendencies and packed goody bags with really lovely hardcovers of Mei’s favourite Dr Seuss books and a pack of Hello Kitty biscuits. (I got the books at a great price too— only US$4 per book, would you believe it?) I struggled with it for a while but I knew that these books were much nicer than any Hello Kitty-themed ones. I consoled myself with the thought that Dr Seuss was born on 2 March as well so he has that special connection with my daughter! (I know, I know, no one cares and it was only me who was getting in a twist over this!)
The goody bags with some of the titles there were 10 different ones altogether.
After I picked her up from school, I took her out to Din Tai Fung for her favourite 小笼包. We later had a small celebration for her at her music class too, this time with cupcakes from Plain Vanilla because there were mothers present and I was embarrassed to subject them to my baking! That was cake #2.
We had cake #3 a couple of days later at dinner with the grandparents. I have to admit I dropped the ball with this one since my original grand plan was to pick up the Hello Kitty cake from Bread Talk, only to realise I had to order it at least 3 days in advance and I, err, forgot. This necessitated a mad rush to Island Creamery for one of their popular ice-cream cakes, and I re-styled it to include some really cute icing princesses which I happened to pick up from Phoon Huat previously and was thankful that I had at hand!
Five princesses for the 5-year old princess!
She had the best time turning five, leaving only me feeling, as always, a little wistful at the years slipping by. Then again, this girl has felt like she’s been five for a while now. Last year, I kept getting remarks from people asking if she was starting P1 this year. (Erm, no, not for a few years, thank goodness!) And when I told anyone that she was four, they would inevitably react in surprise and remark that she is very tall for her age. But actually, she isn’t. While not short, she wasn’t much taller than the average 4-year old. I’ve come to realise it’s her natural air of maturity.
Like her brother, this little girl learns very quickly, but she also has good focus that can keep her going at a task for a long while. Mei at five is independent and sensible, often able to complete her own homework from school, music or Berries all on her own without much prompting. She loves to draw, and can be found drawing cards for everyone around her ALL THE TIME. From this practice, she has learnt to spell and reads rather fluently. She has plenty of her 小姐 moments but she warm and loving with a spontaneous sense of humour. Everyone loves her. There are plenty of trying moments but mostly, I feel so lucky to be her Mama.
My dear, precious Mei. I pray that you will continue to grow as beautifully on the inside as you are on the outside. Keep on shining for Jesus! We love you dearly. Happy FIVE, little one.
Happy birthday, Mei!
Party Resources:
- Chocolate Cupcake Recipe: bestrecipes.com.au
- Icing Recipe: Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Cupcake cups, Candles and Icing Princesses: Phoon Huat
- Tiered Cake Plate: Spotlight
- Dr Seuss Books: Amazon: (1) Dr Seuss’ Beginner Book Collection (2) Dr Seuss’ Second Beginner Book Collection
- Hello Kitty Biscuits: Cold Storage Great World City
- Ice-Cream Cake: Island Creamery
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