Let Her Eat Cake

What's a first birthday without birthday cake?

Clare almost didn't get birthday cake. Since she's not doing so well with solids beyond pureed foods, Shawn and I debated the whole birthday cake issue. We knew she wouldn't be able to eat any of it. We discussed it, and I even posted a question on the WS listserve I belong to asking for suggestions. We received a whole slew of ideas - pudding, custard, yogurt. Then I received one e-mail that put it all in perspective for me - simply said, "Let her eat cake." How could we be so stupid??? Of course, just let her eat cake. Who cares if she can't actually eat it! Why would we let those first birthday memories (not to mention photo ops) go just because Clare may not technically be able to eat the cake? After all, not too many first birthday babies actually eat their cake. Most just play around in it and make a mess.

As you can see from the photo, that's exactly what Clare did. I made her a simple yellow heart-shaped cake with plain vanilla frosting. And then we let her go to town. And boy did she ever! The first thing Clare did was to scrape off some frosting, then flip the cake over. She had a great time and even put some cake and frosting in her mouth. She loved it!

Again and again, I am hit with a wake-up call that I need to let the WS side of Clare's life go sometimes and just let her be a baby without second guessing everything. Maybe I will finally learn that lesson by the time Clare turns two!