Pictured above: Me at age 4 or 5, along with the neighborhood gang. Identities have been concealed to protect the innocent.
I will officially turn twenty-five at 2:53pm today. The combination of high temperatures and my birthday means no cooking for me, save for possibly throwing together a salad for dinner. In the meantime, I leave you to ponder the ultimate birthday question: cake, pie, or other dessert?
I have always been a fan of cake. The cakes for most of my childhood birthdays were made by the same woman in her home on the South Side of Binghamton, decorated to match the themes of my birthday parties. The flavor and texture of the buttercream frosting was the best part, with its cavity-inducing sugar levels and a light crust.
My father scanned a few photos for me so I could share a few past cakes and a few theme parties. Take a walk down narcissism lane and enjoy a few classic Mo birthday photos after the jump.
For my second birthday, everything was decked out with crayons. I insisted on drawing rainbows with the correct color order (ROYGBIV) and this continued throughout my preschool and elementary school years. I’m not sure how this started, but it drove my fellow students nuts when I would correct them during art time.
I don’t know what age I’m turning in this photo, but I am clearly not pleased. The seashells and random couch suggest my birthday was taking place during the family’s yearly trip to Long Beach Island. Translation: no delicious cake made by the woman from the South Side.
This was taken as I opened gifts at my neighbor’s house for an unknown birthday. As you can tell, I am completely psyched. This horse stable was on my shelf until after I graduated from college.
For my fourth or fifth birthday, my parents went all out with a carnival theme. They set up a tent in the backyard, built carnival games, had face painting, and possibly a cotton candy machine. The cake involved balloons and various other carnival items. I’m in the middle here, wearing a fashionable lace collar and daintily wiping my hands on a napkin:
I was adorable until about the age of seven, at which time my outgoing, let-me-introduce-myself-to-strangers, and cute-button-nosed self started losing baby teeth and getting awkward. The end times begin below as I prepare to go trail riding for another birthday.
And now we come to my current birthday. I don’t have a photo yet, but Ramsey and I will be heading into Manhattan for cupcakes and a little bit of shopping. While I won’t be having my favorite childhood cake, I think eating red velvet cupcakes in Chelsea with my wonderful boyfriend will be just as good.
Happy 25th Birthday, Mo! It’s great to see these old pics!
happy birthday lady!
You were one adorable kid! This posting makes me realize that I don’t think my parents took very many photos of me growing up. I need to go back into the vault, and I mean large sealed boxes in my parents basement and try to pry out some childhood memories…looks like you had a lot of great ones.
Hope you had a lovely birthday..
Love the pics Mo! I hope you had a great birthday. Trying to figure out the face painting from the carnival bday haha