Yemi turned SIX.
It's hard to believe, considering she was just 3 years old when we got her referral.
We celebrated her day with a Sweet Six Rainbow party.
I love all the cheerful, bright colors.
So fun.
I have seen this rainbow cake floating around the web several times and really wanted to make it. I figured no way could I do it. Baking & cooking are definitely not my strengths. My mom-in-law was in town so I figured with her help it couldn't be that bad. We decided to give it a try.
I was pleasantly surprised with how much easier it was than I expected. I am SO happy with the way it turned out. It was totally worth the look on my kids' faces when Keith cut a slice out of it. Surprise! Let's just say the guests were pretty impressed as well. I heard lots of, "Did you really make that?"


We had lots of sugar. Gumballs, lollipops, cake, and cream soda. The kids were in heaven.
Each of the kids left with a lollipop and a mini gumball machine as a party favor.


We created a rainbow balloon wall. Thank you Pinterest. It made the perfect backdrop. How can this not make you smile? I think the kids (and the adults) were secretly wishing we had some darts. Now that would've been fun! Nanna started blowing up the balloons as I taped them to the wall. After she was about to pass out, hubs got the bright idea to inflate them with the air compressor. Much, much faster. Keith is such a great sport when it comes to all my party ideas. He's always willing to do whatever I ask. Thanks babe. I really, really like throwing my kids birthday parties.

Happy Birthday my sweet six year old.

Make a wish baby girl.

This one just makes me laugh. Keith cutting the cake saying, "Mom, you're supposed to be helping me out!" Uh, not so much.

Cheers to another amazing year.

The gang. 13 kids total.


Yemi and Jake drinkin' it up.




So excited to get her very own Password Journal.



GoGo the Walkin' pup, from mommy & daddy. Finally, a dog she can walk.

Hmm, someone got a hold of my camera. Some surprise pictures for me when I downloaded my memory card. So hilarious. I love my mom-in-law. Never a dull moment.


I love my girl.
We are so proud of you Yemi and how amazingly you've transitioned into your forever family. You're a strong, sweet, sensitive, giving, independent, loving, humorous, crazy little girl.


Here's my little diva, make-up and all.

She can seriously make the craziest faces.

One of my favorites. Let that personality shine.

Life with you is so fun.

Yemi, I love you bigger than a rainbow and all the gumballs in the world. Now that's a lot.
Happy birthday to my favorite Ethiopian princess in the world.
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For inquiring minds...
How we made the cake:
Prepare 2 boxes of white cake mix.
Divide evenly into 6 bowls. Approx. 1 1/2 cups each.
Use Wilton food coloring gel. Approx. 1/2 tsp per bowl. The red took a little extra.
Pour individual bowls of batter into round cake pans. Bake two at a time for approx. 15 minutes.
Once all six cakes are baked, let cool.
I sliced a tiny bit off the top of each cake to make it flat for easier stacking. However, I would not do this to the top (red) layer. It made it difficult when icing the cake.
Start with the bottom layer (purple) on your cake stand. Then apply a thin layer of icing between each layer to adhere together and fill in any gaps. I just used the vanilla frosting we had, but next time I would probably use a cream cheese filling between the layers. The cake was pretty sweet. Once all the layers are stacked, now is the fun part. Icing the outside of the cake. Good luck. No, just kidding...it wasn't that bad. Voila, you have a beautiful rainbow cake!
See I told you you could do it.
Now go impress some people.