Rayna, the magical birthday girl, and the niece of the magical uncle!
Sweetie has many nieces and nephews, and until recently, Rayna has been the youngest niece. For her third birthday, Sweetie sent Rayna a very cute card. It was the kind that folded accordion style, with 3 different kittens on it, all dressed up in intricate outfits, with cut-out layers and so on. I think we’ve all seen these kinds of very cute cards. Well, according to Rayna’s mom, Rayna thought it was the BEST thing EVER! She kept it at the table while eating breakfast, just so she could look at it some more. They went out in the truck, and she had to bring it with her. Over and over, she talked about the cute dresses they had on, the cute little baskets they were each holding, the pretty purple hat one was wearing, the sparkly glitter that was all over the card, etc., etc., etc.!
Finally, there was a pause in her awestruck monologue…and then she said, in utter, wide-eyed wonder, “Howww did Uncle Matt MAKE this??!!”
And of course when Rayna’s mom told us this story, we all had a riotous laugh about it because Uncle Matt, I mean, Sweetie, is one of the least likely people on this planet to do any such thing as hand-making a card with kittens! 🙂 But it’s always amazing to be let into the mind (and very interesting perceptions!) of a young child, as well as seeing anew, something we adults see as just a cute birthday card. Even though it was her birthday, Rayna was the one giving us all the gifts.
Le Top blog 
This is a great article! Every time I think of this story it brings a smile to my face. Which reminds me, I need to go back to the card shop and find that card!
I think Rayna is also sooo lucky to have a special someone to bake her a beautiful custom butterfly cake! It reminds me of those days “back when,” watching my mom create a doll birthday cake for me… Barbie was carefully wrapped in plastic wrap, and her skirt was a homemade angel food cake, shaped to look like an elegant ball gown and fabulously decorated in fluffy layers of frosting! Nothing like sweet celebrations filled with mom’s love… Happy Birthday, Rayna!
There’s something special when a little girl gets a note or a card from her Daddy (or uncle or grampa). Miranda has kept this yellow sticky note from her Daddy for weeks! It says “Happy Special Day, Miranda! Love, Daddy.” It’s on our napkin holder at the breakfast table, and she reads it EVERY MORNING when she eats breakfast.
My notes don’t receive as much attention.
It’s funny the cards they love and the onces thay barely look at. My daughter recently got one from her grandparents. It also was an accordian and was covered with glitter and pretty colors. She loved it so much she ripped each section apart and started drawing on it. I keep finding the different pieces all over the house.
Emmy! We made one of those very same cakes for my sister, I remember her eyes opening wide and her jaw dropping in amazement at how barbie’s dress was SOOOOOO beautiful!