Sophia is 7!
March 5th, 2023
An evening of birthday wishes and lots of laughter.
A little background on this family: Bethanie and I have been friends since about fifth grade. I was an ornery kid, but she put up with me! We used to be weird, funny kids together. I’m sure our energetic, absolutely hilarious (if I say so myself) hijinks got on some nerves from time to time, but our target audience (us) had been met so it didn’t matter. People grow up, and over the years I have had the pleasure of seeing her grow into a wonderful, hardworking, driven, amazing woman and mother. She met Julian in college, and now they have three children - Aryanna, Sophia, and Josiah. I was invited to Sophia’s 7th birthday party, and me and my camera were happy to go!
First and foremost, Bethanie and Julian’s children are every bit as awesome as their parents. See Sophia’s ninja turtle dress? See Aryanna’s inability to take a normal photo? Complete angels. I would also like to draw attention to the amazing cake that Bethanie decorated herself. Yeah, she decorates cakes now. She showed me some photos, and they are beautiful.
Highlight of the evening? The balloon game. They filled balloons with candy, tied a balloon around each child’s ankle, and the goal was to pop everyone else’s balloon while preserving your own balloon. Sophia was a natural. No balloon was safe with that girl. The game was hilarious. And loud. But, as a mother myself, I have long since been desensitized to excessive amounts of noise.
Pictured below: Julian accidentally stepped on a balloon and it exploded with candy. I have never seen kids run quicker in my life. In that moment, he was a magnet for children. The chosen one. The Man.
The evening was as eventful as you would expect a house full of excited children to be. There were lots of family and friends and laughter. And of course…presents. Sophia cleaned up that day. Good for her. Seven-years-old is a big deal and she deserved it!
The big finale: CAKE! I hope your birthday candle wish, whatever it was, comes true, Sophia!
Happy Birthday, Sophia!
-Vanessa