When I was pregnant, I didn’t want to know the baby’s gender. My husband did, arguing that if we painted the baby’s room a gender-neutral color, as soon as the baby was born I’d want to repaint. (He knows me well, and also doesn’t like painting.) Anyway, the nurse practitioner settled the argument by telling me the baby was a girl (she forgot I didn’t want to know), and so Mia’s room was painted two shades of purple.

For her first birthday, I designed her cake to match her room, all without any input from her, and I loved it.  This would mark the last time I alone designed her cake.

I’ve always loved purple, especially as a kid, so I assumed that my kids would love purple too. But by age two, Mia had begun, to my dismay, to show a strong preference for pink. For her second birthday cake, however, she requested The Very Hungry Caterpillar. She didn’t have a particular design in mind, just a theme, but she knew just what she wanted.

By age three there was no denying it: Mia had firmly rejected my beloved purple in favor of pink. For her third birthday, she requested a Hello Kitty cake with lots and lots of pink. (The little Hello Kitty was my idea, as were the chevron, but Mia gave final design approval.)

Mia is still deeply entrenched in the pink phase, but has also added a love of all things rainbow. For her fourth birthday cake, she provided a lot of direction, a sketch, a design concept revision, and a revised sketch. Mia wanted a rainbow, popcorn, flying pigs, and flying cows.

I love you, my Mia, more than anything. Keep on being your spunky, pink-loving self for ever and ever. You will always be my sweet precious girl, and I will always make your cakes just how you want them.