Birthdays!

Changing seasons around here brings birthday season!  Both boys have birthdays in the autumn.  They are separated by five weeks, so we really don't have the temptation to lump them both into one party.  However, they are definitely close enough that Jacob remembers exactly what happened for Nathan's birthday.... Which could prove tricky when they are a bit older.

Nathan turned 5 on September 14.  We had a little party for him; I was just planning on a small family-only party (which is still 15 people), but about a week before Nathan gives me this line (not trying to manipulative, truly sincere): "Mom, I like Charlie.  He's my best friend.  He really is my best friend."  Then later repeated a similar declaration, followed by, "Can Charlie come to my birthday?"  How can you say no to that?  So we invited Charlie's family.

We don't do much in the way of parties (themes, decorations, etc).  All birthdays have the same theme:  food.  But I do try to make them whatever type of cake they ask for.  (I figure even if it's lame, the made-by-Mommy touch is worth something.)  

He had been saying for months that he wanted a Tonka Truck cake.  I figured I'd find an easy idea online, but.... No such luck.  When I Google'd "Tonka Truck Cake," mostly all I could find was cakes with a toy stuck on top.  I wanted to do something a bit more original than that.  (Not that I didn't do just that for his first birthday.  And his second.  We just don't need any more toys!)

My sister Lurenda told me about something called a "sugar sheet," which you can print designs on and then just lay on top of the cake.  AWESOME!  After I bought it, I read the instructions.  You are supposed to use edible ink.  Uh oh.  But then I thought, if my kid ate a piece of paper that had ink on it, I wouldn't take him to the emergency room - what's the difference?  They printed off great, but didn't dissolve into the top as well as I thought it would.  We called the printed out things "stickers" and told everyone they could peel them off if they wanted to.  (FYI, the sugar sheets taste like paper that dissolves in your mouth.)  He requested a chocolate cake, and I forgot to buy a mix, so I made a from-scratch chocolate cake.  Triple layer.  It was massive, and had to weigh at least 10 pounds.  I don't think we even finished half of it.  (It's in the freezer for another day.)

I decorated it the night before, so it had bled.  

I had leftover batter, so I made cupcakes.

The Munchkin convention.
Nathan and Jacob, my nieces Lena and Mackenzie, and Charlie is on the right, along with his older brothers, Clayton and Willie (who are also pals to our boys and nieces).

I had to have Paul re-light them like 3 times to get this picture

Jacob turned 3 on October 21.  His birthday came at kind of a bad time.  The boys had been sick all week.  Like can't-get-off-the-couch sick and fevers all week, and by Sunday, Zadie and I were also getting sick.  We also were having a worship night at church the night of his birthday, which I was leading.  It was a busy weekend, and Sunday after church was the best time to squeeze in a party.  We again did a family-only thing.  And he was still sick enough that that was about all he could handle.

We made four of these for his party, and cooked them on the grill.  We made them Saturday, and rewarmed them at the church on Sunday.  Absolutely a-freakin'-mazing.  Best yet.

Jake had been saying he wanted a elephant cake.  He really likes elephants, and had 3 in his stuffed animal rotation.  I was planning on doing it... somehow....  And then he asked for a mouse cake.  And a worm cake.  I made him stick to his original request.
I was not sure how to do it, and finally went for free-handing it.  I wasn't positive how we'd do the fill inside the outline.  We were going to "star fill" it (I have no idea what the official cake-decorating terms are), but then decided to paint it in using food coloring and water.  Much easier.  Plus, I was super-tired, getting sick, and stressed out about the upcoming worship night.  So I was happy with anything, just as long as it was done.

It was not supposed to be this purple.  It was supposed to be more of a gray-blue-purple.  But I was still pretty happy with how it looked.

First shot!  (Him and me!)

......And as I tried to remember what we'd done for Jacob's cake previous years, I went back and looked at old blogs.  No pictures.  Of first OR second birthdays.  Not even any mention of his birthday, both years.  HORRIBLE. MOTHER.  Oh my gosh!

His first birthday we were in Colorado.  We got him an ice cream cake.  I'm sure we have pictures, but they're not on my laptop.

I think I was planning on a grand post featuring his cake last year, because it's probably one of my best.  But I was pregnant.  (That's my excuse, anyways.)  Last year, Google really paid off in the idea department. He'd asked for an owl cake, and it turned out awesome!  (Cupcake cake.)  (Now that I think about it, I think we did do a first-birthday party for Jacob after we got back from vacation, and we had cupcakes for it, too.)

So, a year late, there's Jacob's 2nd birthday pictures.  And his 3rd.  And Nathan's 5th.  That's just how I roll.  Better late than never, I guess. :)