The invitations we made, courtesy of a photo from my kind blogging friend, Angie Zino of Casa Mia
Today my little girl turned eight. At 1:34 p.m. to be exact. So it seemed fitting to time her party to include that precise moment. Turning eight, she had eight guests, after much angst and playing around with guest lists. Initially, she wanted to include every girl she plays with at school and at home, despite the fact that our house would strain at the seams with such a number. The number even grew as we decided we couldn't leave out any little girl in her class, as that would be hurtful. We planned the logistics of how we could fit such a large gathering around the table, and knew we just couldn't. When she reached the point of tears at the thought of hurting anyone's feelings by cutting back the list, I decided to make an executive decision: planning a birthday should not be so emotional, and we would stick to eight girls, and only those she plays with on a regular basis...swallowing our guilt at leaving some favourites out. It is a funny thing to see such little shoulders relieved of their burden when mummy offers to take the blame!
We decided on a "Girl's Day Out" theme: with a little Bingo, candy, and shopping (by way of the shopping game). The girls wore their favourite party dresses, and happily left with their bellies full of homemade ice-cream cake (fill a pan or square dish with ice-cream sandwiches, softened candy cane ice-cream, and your favourite toppings) and their shopping bags full of prizes. Sophie said it was her best birthday ever, which she says every year, but is still nice to hear just the same. 
She loved all of her presents, and with a smaller guest list, I no longer have to wonder where I am going to put a pile of presents in an already overflowing little girl's closet!!
Happy Birthday, Sophie!!
