The first (third) big birthday

I'm not a huge birthday person- I do like presents, love cake, and enjoy having a day to claim as special for me, but I'm not committed to a big celebration.  I have not, as of yet, seen fit to do a big birthday for Stephanie.  Let's review the last two.  Her first, as it would happen, fell when Alaina was in town, so we actually did throw a party- food, cupcakes, presents, even streamers- but it went that way because we had a guest, and it was as good of a reason to throw a party as any.  Her second birthday involved me standing in front of the freezer and asking, "Do you want a cherry pie or a pumpkin pie for your birthday?"  She picked pumpkin, we made a dinner she enjoys, had a nice family meal, and sang happy birthday over pumpkin pie.  I feel pretty good about it, because it was a nice evening together.  This year marks her third year, and we are now less than two months away.  She now thinks birthdays are fun (she will declare it someone's birthday, bring them "cake" and sing "Happy Birthday") and I am actually really looking forward to doing something special for her.  It will be Dora themed, of course.  I'd like to make the cake, and we've been looking online for ideas-  she really gets a kick out of this.  As you might imagine, there are some crazy cakes out there- some good, some bad.  Notably, there was one that Kevin said, "Are you sure that is Dora on the cake and not Roseanne Barr?"  Additionally, Stephanie has a guest list that she announced at dinner a few nights ago (Don't feel bad if you didn't make the cut, it would seem she only invited people that she is familiar with having over)-  she will be inviting Owen (neighbor her age), Mary, and Naan (the cat from next door).  The cake that I would like to make is a little large, so assuming that Naan does not eat more cake than the average cat, I need to rethink or plan for leftovers,  I may have Kevin do a little woodworking to build a cake platform so I can do less cake but still have it be impressively Dora themed.  Just FYI, I am posting this  now, because, as of this moment, Stephanie seems to have caught a plague that involves non-stop coughing (it seemed so bad that I actually googled "whooping cough" earlier today, but her cough does not even come close, happily) and has finally passed out in my arms, trapping me on the sofa, so I was thinking of and planning for brighter days, and decided to post how much, for the first time, I am looking forward to a birthday for her.  I can't wait to make a cake and post pictures-  I am going to try to aim squarely for the "Dora" theme and miss the "Roseanne" theme altogether, but it will be my first go at this, so only time will tell.