{Flashback Friday - Hannah's Ninth}

**In an attempt to blog the unblogged I'm going to do some flashback Friday posts.
When I post the next flashback the current one will be moved to it's chronological
date within the blog. I thought since Hannah's 10th birthday will be coming up in a
couple of months, I better get around to posting details from the 9th : )




Hannah and I decided to go with a cooking theme for her 9th birthday. She's done a little sewing and has wanted to do more so we decided we would make aprons for all her guests. We had fun going to JoAnn's together to choose the fabric and ribbon. One side was the turquoise with a striped section along the bottom, the other side was brown with polka dots. We used ribbon for the neck strap and ties. With guidance, Hannah did most of the cutting and sewing and ironing. I was really proud of all the time and effort she put into the project.

In the process of making chocolate chip cookies, we did a little staging for an invitation photo. Her chocolate cake was designed to match the aprons. We started things off by making dessert. The girls each frosted their cupcakes, sliced marshmallows for the petals, arranged them on the cupcake with a yellow mini marshmallow for the center, and added colored sugar as a finishing touch.

Next up, we let the girls make individual pizza's. They rolled the dough, spread the sauce and added the toppings. We had a little lesson on getting things in and out of the oven and then let the girls try it out with there pizza's. Some had done this before, but for others it was a first.

While the pizza baked, we started on smoothies. We had a few fruits for the girls to choose like strawberries, bananas, blueberries and pineapple. They followed a recipe to add the various ingredients and used the blender to mix the smoothies.

When everything was prepared, they had all sat down to enjoy what they had made. They laughed and talked and laughed. There was lots of 9 year old girl craziness and silliness and fun. After dessert and opening a few gifts, I sent them all out to jump on the trampoline while they waited for their parents. Each girl went home with their decorated cupcakes, an apron and a mini dessert cook book by Betty Crocker we had found in the dollar bins at Target.

After all of Hannah's friends had gone, we continued the celebration with a few family gifts. There were doll clothes for her American Girl doll, speakers for her MP3 player, nail polish, a brush and comb, and a NEW BIKE! What a fun birthday celebration for our wonderful girl.