The Incredible Lily Pax turns 6!

I can't believe our biggest "baby" is already 6 years old!  

It amazes me how much has happened in 6 years, that I've been able to watch this little person grow from just a heartbeat in my womb to a smart & sassy little girl with her two front teeth missing and an opinion on everything.  I am in awe, that we somehow managed to raise her to be such a loving, kind & thoughtful person.  I think the oldest kid always gets the brunt of the parental mistakes, responsibility and bossiness.  I'm the oldest child, I should know!

[Our baby girl when she turned 2 years old!  She has always had such a unique personality.]

Lily Pax was the child we prayed for.  After getting married in November 2004 we knew we wanted kids right away, not that we KNEW what we we're doing but that's besides the point!  

It took us longer than we had thought to get pregnant with her, which in reality was less than a year.  But at the time, and only 21 years old I thought having babies was just something that happened like magic, people had them on accident after all right?  I was a little bummed it wasn't happening on the timeline I expected so I prayed about it a lot, especially, for some reason to the Virgin Mary.

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him"

1 Samuel 1:27

So, we named Lily after The Virgin Mary.  The Virgin Mary is sometimes referenced to as the white Lily.  Pax, her middle name is Latin for peace.  She is the peacemaker of our family.  Whether trying to stop a fight between her brothers or getting upset if anyone is talking too loudly to one another she will definitely try to make everything better. <3

Lily was always my fast learned.  She crawled at 5 months and set the pace for which her brothers just can't quite keep up!  

And while she is quick when she wants to be I always remember as my 12 days late baby.  I went into the labor the night before I was supposed to be induced feeling huge & ready to meet my baby girl.  She was born July 21st, 2006 in Honolulu, Hawaii and has been our little island girl ever since.

[It amazes me how much Oliver looks like his big sister!  Sure the boys look alike but I swear Oliver is Lily with her hair cut off.]

10 Facts about Lily Pax!

1.  Her favorite subject is math.  Sometimes she'll make up her own math work sheets when she's in bed and then answer them all.

2.  She loves fruit.  Apples, watermelon, strawberries & grapes are her favorite.

3. She likes to make up her own songs & sings a lot of the stuff she says.

4. She can swim like a fish.

5. Her favorite things to do are go to the water park, mini golfing, library & Target.

6. The thing she misses most about California is her dog, Maeby. 

7. She will take an hour long bath if you let her.

8. She likes to watch cooking shows & the greatest tragedy in her life is that she isn't allowed to eat in her bed.

9. Sometimes she wakes up and changes Oliver's diaper & makes her bed before waking me up in the morning.

10.  She is growing up way too fast. 

For her 6th birthday party she wanted a Mermaid Party because she's currently addicted to an Australian TV series on Netflix called H20.  We had a great time with Mermaid cupcakes, slip & slides & Ocean punch only to get rained out.....in July.  In Waipahu. Hmph.  Luckily we have a bunch of laid back friends and family & we played in the rain & celebrated the life of my most favorite little girl.

[Lily wearing her mermaid tale made by Noni, with her best friend/Auntie Gloria!]

Lily's Mermaid Jell-O Cupcakes with Jell-O Frosting!

Cupcakes: 

1 box of White Cake Mix

1 3 oz. box of Jell-O [any flavor/color you want]

These were easy since I had a crazy busy week and just needed something fast & simple.  Plus Lily's favorite color is blue so I aim to please!

[1] Make cake according to box directions.  Divide batter in half.

[2] Mix Jell-O into half the batter.  I actually made 48 cupcakes so I used 2 boxes of cake mix and just dyed one box worth, either way will work.

[3] Alternating, drop spoonfuls of each color batter into cupcake liners.

[4] With a butter knife kind of swirl batters together to get them looking tie-dyed.

[5] Bake as directed!

Frosting:

1 3 oz. box of Jell-O [any flavor/color you want]

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 egg white

[1] Put all ingredients, except for water, into a metal or glass stand mixer.  You HAVE to use a stand mixer for this one otherwise it won't work!

[2] Turn mixer on high and pour in your boiling water.

[3] Beat on high for about 5 minutes until you have stiff peaks!

[4] I added more food coloring to mine because it didn't come out as blue as I wanted but basically whatever color/flavor you choose will be what your frosting tastes like!  It has almost a marshmallow consistency.  

Party Hardy!

We decorated her cupcakes with gummy Octopuses, plastic mermaids, beach umbrellas & sand!

P.S. If you want to make the sand just put Vanilla Wafers & Oreos in a food processor, more Vanilla Wafers than Oreos and just adjust to how dark you want your sand to be!