Nope, You're Not Seeing Things!

Can you believe your eyes?!  I know it's shocking, but it is a REAL blog post folks!  After 8 months, I'm sure most of my readers have given up on me.  But for those who have been holding out with a small glimmer of hope that I'll post SOMEthing SOMEday, thanks for being so loyal and interested in the happenings of our family!  And while this isn't probably the most exciting thing to report, it was easy and quick.  Baby steps, right?!  At least it's SOMEthing!
Several birthdays have come and gone since posting last.  And for me, birthdays equal cakes (among other things).  Because I'm that mom.  The one that enjoys making cakes for my children's birthdays.  I love that it allows me to put a little stamp of my creativity on each of my kids' special days.
So here they are, complete with all their imperfections!

Allison requested a Hello Kitty themed party for her 3rd birthday...

This next one isn't a birthday cake, but I decided to add it anyway.  I was asked to make this cake for a church activity as a mock wedding cake.  We had a "Newlywed Game Show" date night, and the cake was given to the winning couple.  (And I can't find my pictures of it right now, so a cell phone picture will have to do.)

Next came Ryan's Cat in the Hat themed 1st birthday party...

As most of you already know, I typically make cakes for Keilana and Kayden also (small trade-off for the amazing photography I get from Vanessa!).  This year, Keilana requested a Strawberry Shortcake party.  I was so excited to make her cake.  I could just picture the cuteness it would be!  Too bad I came down with a wicked fever the night before.  I could barely stand up.  Thank goodness for Tylenol, or else poor Keilana might not have even had a cake.  Only thing is, I had to cut some corners and leave out some of the detail I would have liked to have had. Oh well, I think she was happy with it anyway. 

Then came Tyler's 6th birthday.  He requested a How to Train Your Dragon/Night Fury themed party.  I can always count on Tyler's requests to test my creativity.  Man, I was so disappointed with how this cake came out.  I didn't even take a picture of it I thought it was so bad.  The only reason I have some is because Vanessa took them.  Looking back, it isn't THAT bad.  But it still doesn't even come close to making the top 10 list.  Ha!

Then just this past week, we had Allison's rainbow themed 4th birthday party.  (Wow!  A year's worth of cakes in one post!)  The outside of the cake was designed by the birthday girl herself!  Allison was beside herself to get to draw on her own birthday cake, and I think it turned out absolutely adorable!  Please forgive my meager attempts at using fondant.  It just really isn't my thing.  However, I think I redeemed any fondant flaws when the inside of the cake was revealed.  A total show stopper!  I was so pleased with how vibrant the colors came out!

Allison was kind enough to share a bit of her canvas with Tyler, so he drew the little cat picture on the right as a "birthday surprise" for her.  :)

Next up will be Ryan's Construction themed 2nd birthday party in October!

Yet Another Cake

My nephew, Kayden, is obsessed with Spiderman. Therefore, it was no surprise that he wanted a Spiderman cake for his birthday party. Vanessa wanted the reduced sugar chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting again, and requested a smaller cake so there would be minimal leftovers.
This is what I came up with. I was very pleased with how it turned out, especially since I was trying a new technique with the design on this cake. Kayden LOVED it!

I was going to put a link to the other cakes I've made (assuming those who haven't already seen them would be interested in the first place), but then I happened to think that if you want to see them you can just click "cakes" on the list of labels below. The only cake I haven't posted a picture of is the one I made for my brother-in-law's 30th birthday party. It was my first attempt using fondant, and didn't turn out just as I had envisioned. And this is totally random, but speaking of fondant, did you know that the Cadbury Creme Eggs are filled with a creamy fondant?

Tyler's Birthday Celebrations

We have 2 celebrations for each child's birthday every year. The first celebration takes place on the actual birthday. The birthday boy or girl gets to choose what's for dinner and then we have a dessert and sing Happy Birthday.

On the morning of Tyler's birthday, I reminded him that he got to choose what was for dinner. Anything he wanted. I told him we could go out to dinner, order food, or Mommy would cook something for him. He chose Mommy's cooking over any old restuarant! How sweet is that?! So my next question was, "What would you like me to cook for you?" He said he had to think about it for a while. A little while later I asked if he had thought of what he wanted. He said that he was still thinking and then said, "I know! I want fish! ......and shrimp!" Yes, my 5-year-old LOVES seafood. Always has really (ever since he was old enough to eat it anyway). So fish and shrimp it was. He ate almost every bit! And he's since told me that he wants the same exact thing for his birthday dinner next year. :)

After dinner, it was time for the Happy Birthday song, birthday cupcakes, and a couple small presents. I have to point out that Tyler didn't want me to use the green star candle on the brownies. Yep, it is still his favorite color. You'll see why later in this post.

Funny story about this flashlight from Mommy and Daddy: Billy loves MagLites. Tyler loves using Daddy's MagLites. Daddy thought Tyler would love having a MagLite of his own. You also have to know that ever since Christmas, Billy has been trying to get Tyler to tell his Grandmas and Grandpas that he needs his own laptop instead of more toys. But, 5-year-olds love toys and Tyler isn't convinced on the whole laptop thing. He can just use Mommy's or Daddy's after all. When we brought in the wrapped gift Tyler exclaimed, "I hope it's a toy and not a laptop!" So he opens it, and has a look of dissapointment on his face and says, "I wanted a toy..." Poor Daddy. It really was so thoughtful of him. And Tyler really does love and use it. This picture was taken after the initial disappointed feeling.

One other cute comment Tyler made that day:
A little before Grandma and Pawpaw got to our house for dinner, Tyler received a call from his Great Aunt Kandee to wish him a happy birthday. They got to chat for quite a while, but once Grandma and Pawpaw came through the front door Tyler told her, "I love you Kandee. I gotta go. Some of my party guests are here!"

The 2nd birthday celebration is the actual party where the birthday boy or girl gets to pick the theme and what kind of cake he/she wants. Tyler chose to have a rocket themed party this year and we decided to have the party be pretty low-key and only invite family.
These space balloons were the party favors for each child. They got to decorate them with stickers. This is the infamous balloon that got sucked out the window and (did not) fly to space. On the left is cousin Lilly and on the right are cousins Keilana and Kayden.

Here are highlights of the gifts given by Tyler's grandparents.

And some from Aunties, Uncles, and cousins.

And here's the rocket cake Tyler requested (and the green star candle that HAD to be on this cake). And yes those are real sparkles coming out the back of it...

And YES we really DID light them!

Can you sense Tyler's reservations about the situation. "Okay Mommy, if you really want sparklers lit in the house that's your prerogative. Just so you know though, I'm feeling a little too close for comfort here..."

Build-a-Bear Party

Allison got invited to her very first birthday party.  She has tagged along to parties with Tyler in the past, but this was the very first one that was just for her!  It took place at Build-a-Bear Workshop.  She was so excited about the gift we bought (Princess Yahtzee Jr. and a Princess Sticker Book).  She helped me put it in the bag and add tissue paper, and was very proud to carry it.  When we first got there, she was a little shy and hesitant to leave me to sit with the group.  I assured her that I wasn't going to leave, and so she decided to join in on the fun. 

The first thing she got to do was choose her bear and name her. 

Allison and a very flat 'Fluffy'

Then the whole process of building the bear took place.

Giving Fluffy a heart.

Making Fluffy...well, fluffy!

Giving Fluffy a bath.

Showing Fluffy off to Ryan.

Lastly, she got to choose an outfit and get her dressed.  Allison loves hearts (notice that she had to wear her favorite pink heart shirt, belt, and pants to the party), so she chose a very girly pink satin heart party dress.  Fluffy (and Allison) looked adorable!

Allison was a little distracted watching people go by while I tried to take a picture of the finished product.  She really was happy and had a super great time!

The Birthday Celebrations

Since Allison's birthday is two days before the 4th of July, it's difficult to plan a party for that particular weekend. So her actual party didn't take place until a couple weeks later. But we still wanted to celebrate her special day, especially since she had been talking about her party for several weeks. She kept telling everyone, "My party is coming SOON!"
Just before heading up to our cabin for a fun 4th weekend, we had a little mini birthday celebration with pizza and cupcakes.

Allison helped make her cupcakes and then she got to add the sprinkles!

She decided her little princess dolls needed to join the party as well.

Getting ready for the Happy Birthday song!

This was her most favorite part...her face lit up with delight during the whole song.

Time to enjoy the sweet goodness!

Grandma and Pawpaw didn't want her to have to wait for her entire birthday present, so she brought part of it for her to open that day.

This is something she had been wanting and talking about for a long time. In fact, when we first started talking about her birthday coming up and the kind of party she wanted, she told us over and over that she wanted an umbrella party.

She had a great time and was one happy little girl!

On the day of her Princess Party, Allison dressed up as Cinderella and took her place in the spotlight!

The Food: We had pizza and subs, Sun Chips, fruit salad, and a spinach dip bread bowl with crackers. (The things in bold represent some of Allison's favorites.)

The Presents: This princess made out like a bandit in the present department. She is certainly well stocked with everything princess!

These are the presents from all Allison's aunties, uncles, and cousins. These pictures just show a sampling of what she got from each person.

Gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Hadley...

Gifts from Grandma and Pawpaw Hamby...

Grandma and Grandpa Tholkes' gifts to her were her bed and accessories for her new Princess room. I will post pictures once it's 100% complete (it's almost there!).

Great Grandma and Grandpa Farish brought Allison's gifts on the cruise since they knew they wouldn't get to see her on her special day.

The Cake: Here is my latest and greatest in cake creations. I decided to take the idea I did for Keilana's Cinderella cake and shrink it down to make a trio of princess cakes. This cake was a bit frustrating at first. Mainly because I didn't have those little princess cake toppers with the pick on them. Those would have made it so much more simple! Instead, I used Allison's little princess dolls and had a difficult time getting the large bases of them into each cake without it tearing apart. I almost gave up at one point, but persistence paid off. Here is the end result. Allison loved it!

Allison was VERY tired by this point, so that's why she doesn't look very enthusiastic in this picture...

But that all changed as Daddy started to light the candles in preparation for the Happy Birthday song...again...

Her eyes scanned the room as we all sang. I think she wanted to make sure each and every person was singing directly to HER! She was on Cloud 9!

Time to blow out the candles!

And eat some cake!

It was a special day for a VERY special little girl!

We Love You Allison!!!

A Chuck E. Cheese Party!

Tyler has been wanting to experience Chuck E. Cheese for months now (thanks Nick Jr.). Everytime he would see the commercial (you all know the one... "25 cent FUUUUN!!!") he would say, "Mommy, we need to go there!" Well, he finally got his wish when he was invited to a birthday party there! He and Allison had a blast! I could barely even pull them away from the rides and games to get some pizza and cake and meet Chuck E.

Once I did get them headed in the right direction, Tyler was thrilled to see the lifesize Chuck E. and join him in a parade! Allison had the same sentiments about him as she did the Easter Bunny...she was going nowhere near the giant mouse!

Can anyone locate Tyler Man???

After the fun with Chuck E. and the consumption of some pizza and cake, it was time to head back to the games to finish using up our tokens!

Allison climbed up here herself to take a ride! Such a big girl!

After the tokens were all used up, I was ready to head home. But then Tyler discovered the FREE entertainment...

I'm pretty sure they spent almost an extra hour playing inside all the tunnels suspended from the ceiling and going down the slide over and over again! It was actually pretty relaxing and fun for me to be able to just sit back and watch them play. The best part was watching Tyler be a great big brother to Allison, who wasn't tall enough to get up the big platform steps on her own in order to make it to the top. He got a great system down and probably boosted her up more than 20 times! He was very careful the whole time not to leave her behind. The little guy got a workout from it all, that's for sure! I tried getting a picture to capture the moment, but it didn't turn out well due to the netting around that part.

Once we finally decided it was time to go, we made one last stop by the Chuck E. Cheese sketch booth for a quick group picture. I thought it turned out so cute to only cost 25 cents, so we actually ended up taking 3! But since this is already another long post, I'll only make you look at one! :)

I couldn't get Allison to look at the actual camera. She was much more intrigued seeing herself on the giant screen up above! Billy was out of town that week, so he wasn't able to join us. Maybe next time!
Now everytime Tyler sees the commercial he says, "Hey Mommy, that's where we went!!!"