NINE.

 It's my beautiful "baby" girl's birthday today!!!

So we spent the weekend doing a few of her favorite things, and today- we're ready to party ourselves silly.

        

 {cooking... & a big favorite... eating :)}

 {mickey mouse pancakes!}

 {time in the "pool"... time with her brother (a HUGE favorite), & of course, time laughing at silly kona (who's finally feeling better btw!)}

 {summer strawberry cake*}

{her 'birthday dinner' of choice... spaghetti n' meatballs}

And, today we're off to do even more eating at the quintessential birthday destination.

...Sleeping Beauty just woke up (& just to clarify, I'm not referring to Kona- who is still in fact sleeping :)).


*not a recipe i'm trying for the first time, i'm still using it as this week's 'tried & true', because it is so incredibly good (and easy- & perfect for summer), and i wanted it to be officially represented on THE LIST. 

a quick *cook's note... if you want the strawberries to stay on top, as opposed to sinking into the cake (making them invisible until sliced & consumed), then the barley flour that she recommends using along with the white flour is key.  last summer, i made this cake a few times- the first with white only, then the second with white only, but higher-stacked strawberries (thinking this might've been the issue)... sunken strawberries on both occasions.  i finally purchased barley flour and low & behold- those babies stayed *afloat*.
   
...which for me, was in fact key, since it just makes the cake so darn pretty :).
  
{i'm assuming another dense flour would also work, but i've yet to try}