tweeny birthday :::::
[An old photo above, a duplicate of this year’s celebratory cake. This year’s version was decorated and eaten without much interlude between, there was no chance for a photo!]
Her birthday slipped past me this year. Peach was so busy with her state cross-country meet all day (the girls came in 2nd!), Grub with his soccer, Sky-Girl almost to a swimming lesson (that was thankfully cancelled — poop in the pool?), and the grown ups and scraps of kids attending the local neighborhood Porchfest (to see my old friend Mike! I found him when we came back to Atlanta in 2014!), we barely had time to say happy birthday and goodnight!
Peach’s party followed the next week, her cadre of friends polite when I was within earshot, then more rambunctious when they thought I was busying myself with parenty things. Did I do this at age 12?
Since it was raining all day and the girls had planned to sleep in the backyard in the large tent, Eat set it up in the garage instead. Even with the drizzling rain, cool mugginess, and inability to walk as a horde of Girl through the neighborhood as much as they’d planned, they seemed to have a great time. Well, that seemed punctuated by the lack of noise keeping us up that night save for one episode of all five girls stomping around upstairs for a bathroom break.
It’s harder to write this birthday love letter this year, as the tween stretching-away is happening with Peach. Her life is not as intertwined to her parents and family as it used to be, and I expect this to keep stretching like a piece long chewed gum. It’s still sticky even its thin, stringy bits. Can’t get rid of us that easily. Peach is very focused on friends, as expected at this age. Their socializing often involves looking at their iPhones and comparing likes on various social media apps. I definitely did not do this at age 12.
Our favorite pandan chiffon cake was requested (not like last year’s Oreo ice cream cake) for her party. This year, Grub and Sky-Girl helped decorate it. The recipe for the cake we make over and over for celebrations is here. I hope that is one tradition we can expect as these strings of gum grow thinner, the cake still sticky. I love you, Peach. Happy Birthday.
One year ago: oreo ice cream cake for Peach eleventh birthday (that I did not make — no recipe)
Two years ago: pandan chiffon cake (for Peach’s tenth birthday)
Three years ago: kitty sugar cookies (for Peach’s ninth birthday — I need to make these again)
Four years ago: painter’s palette cookies (for Peach’s eighth birthday — fun to make)
Five years ago: coconut cream puff birthday (for Peach’s seventh birthday — delicious!)
Six years ago: black cocoa cookie-coffee-almond ice cream sandwiches, salted pumpkin and pepita caramels, strawberry cream cheese frosting (for Peach’s sixth birthday)
Seven years ago: rainbow brown sugar cupcakes (for Peach’s fifth birthday), apricot oatcakes
Eight years ago: revelatory caramel cake (for Peach’s fourth birthday), lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting (also for Peach’s fourth birthday), sgroppino al limone.
