Ad multos annos! (May you live many more years!)

Today is Pope Benedict’s 81st birthday. Earlier this morning Marsy and I were watching the broadcast of his visit to the White House. She sang along as the Marine band played “Happy Birthday” for him.

“Does he get birthday cake now?” she asked me.

“I’m sure he does, but just in case he doesn’t, do you want to make him one?” I responded.

“YEAH!” she exclaimed with a big smile.

So I pulled out one of the handy boxes of cake mix that I stock up on for moments like these. She had three varieties to choose from – dark chocolate fudge, white (booring), and party rainbow chip. I’m sure it’s not too hard to figure out which one she chose!

She’s gotten quite skilled at baking, I should mention. She mixes all the ingredients using measuring cups and a whisk and even breaks the eggs. I usually have to take out a shard or two of shell, but it’s not a big deal. Here she is hard at work:

And the fruit of her labor:

Her little sis happily watched all the proceedings from her throne:

When I suggested that we wait and eat the cake after her nap, Marsy quickly replied:

“No, mommy! It’s for the Poke!” and that’s not a typo.

Check out the Papal Visit Blog for updates on Pope Benedict’s activities this week.