This one comes from Ethan:
"Mom, we need a girl baby. So we can chase her."
Yeah, great reason to have another baby.
Disclaimer: This is not in any way intended to be an announcement of any type. :)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Race Track Birthday Cake
This year Ethan requested a NASCAR birthday cake. I searched for ideas on the internet and came across this idea for a race track. So, it worked with the NASCAR request without me actually having to draw out the NASCAR logo! I started with two round cakes and cut one so it would fit next to the other. I showed it to Ethan and he kindly pointed out that he was six, not eight. Got it.
Like a good little cake decorator, I put on my crumb coating so I wouldn't have crumbs in the frosting. A boring but helpful detail.
Nest I used a toothpick to draw the outline of a six. For some reason this was incredibly difficult for me. I did OK drawing the bottom of the six but couldn't get the top quite right. I had to have Jason come and draw it for me, which he of course did in next to no time.
Next step: make black frosting. I only had a few black fingers! I used the black for the race track. Isn't the race track a clever shape? At this point I brought the cake to Ethan and told him I accidentally made a "9" instead of a "6". He's patient--he didn't even roll his eyes at me when he told me to turn the cake around!
On to the grass around the track! I loved adding this step because it made the cake "pop" out so much more. Plus, the tip actually looked (kind of) like grass. Well, it looked like how I imagine grass would look if it were actually made out of frosting. Note to self: next time, do not show children the cake at this stage because 2-year-olds can use little fingers to swipe frosting off faster than a cake can be moved.
I added a yellow outline for a little more definition of the race track. Um, pretty much just because I could.
The grass was looking a little empty, so I added some birthday wishes for my boy. I thought about adding the NASCAR logo here, but I chickened out. I, uh, didn't have all the right colors for the frosting. I thought that was a good reason to not do it!
Ethan told me I had to add cars to the track, so I did my best. Here's where I wish I was more of an artist! He loved them when he saw them, so that makes them a success!
Every track needs a few lines to show the starting point, so I added that and a few dotted lines to make it look more like a road.
This is not really a step in making the cake, I just thought it was a cute picture!
Traditional "blowing out the candles" picture.
A sign of a successful cake: people ate it! Remember how I said I had black fingers? Well, we also added black lips and teeth. Maybe next time I won't decorate with so much black. Thankfully we all own toothbrushes! :) Overall, a successful cake!
Like a good little cake decorator, I put on my crumb coating so I wouldn't have crumbs in the frosting. A boring but helpful detail.
Nest I used a toothpick to draw the outline of a six. For some reason this was incredibly difficult for me. I did OK drawing the bottom of the six but couldn't get the top quite right. I had to have Jason come and draw it for me, which he of course did in next to no time.
Next step: make black frosting. I only had a few black fingers! I used the black for the race track. Isn't the race track a clever shape? At this point I brought the cake to Ethan and told him I accidentally made a "9" instead of a "6". He's patient--he didn't even roll his eyes at me when he told me to turn the cake around!
On to the grass around the track! I loved adding this step because it made the cake "pop" out so much more. Plus, the tip actually looked (kind of) like grass. Well, it looked like how I imagine grass would look if it were actually made out of frosting. Note to self: next time, do not show children the cake at this stage because 2-year-olds can use little fingers to swipe frosting off faster than a cake can be moved.
I added a yellow outline for a little more definition of the race track. Um, pretty much just because I could.
The grass was looking a little empty, so I added some birthday wishes for my boy. I thought about adding the NASCAR logo here, but I chickened out. I, uh, didn't have all the right colors for the frosting. I thought that was a good reason to not do it!
Ethan told me I had to add cars to the track, so I did my best. Here's where I wish I was more of an artist! He loved them when he saw them, so that makes them a success!
Every track needs a few lines to show the starting point, so I added that and a few dotted lines to make it look more like a road.
It's all ready for the birthday boy!
This is not really a step in making the cake, I just thought it was a cute picture!
Traditional "blowing out the candles" picture.
A sign of a successful cake: people ate it! Remember how I said I had black fingers? Well, we also added black lips and teeth. Maybe next time I won't decorate with so much black. Thankfully we all own toothbrushes! :) Overall, a successful cake!
More birthday
I thought maybe it was time to post some pictures from Ethan's birthday. We celebrated quietly at home on his actual birthday. I was thankfully able to get out of work early so we could all have supper and dessert together. We had a nice evening just hanging out! The "crown" is from school. I think he had fun wearing it in class all day so he thought he should wear it while he opened presents!
Jason and I gave Ethan a bat. It's his very first metal bat and he is incredibly excited (though he didn't go as crazy as we thought he would when we gave it to him). The bat goes nicely with his new batting helmet from Grandpa and Grandma and his batting gloves from Uncle James and Aunt Merridith. We need some warm weather to get this boy on the baseball diamond! The bat is currently residing in the closet so it doesn't break any lamps or windows or brothers.
Once again, Ethan wanted pumpkin pie for his birthday dessert. I seriously think this is a conspiracy by all the boys in the family. All of them love pumpkin pie...and I, the lone girl, hate it. But, I make it and watch them all enjoy dessert. Insert audible sigh. Oh, and I let the boys put in the candles. There are actually six; one of them is just kind of hiding in the middle.
These next pictures are mostly unrelated to Ethan's birthday. However, they crack me up so I'm putting them in here. The boys were helping clean up before the grandparents came over for dessert. Jason had them wash and dry the kitchen table. This is how they decided they should dry:
In the next picture, you don't really see the whole story. Micah isn't really doing all the work. You see, right as Jason snapped the picture, Ethan fell off the table (thankfully only on to the chair and he didn't get hurt). Kind of a funny shot when you know the story behind it!
I'll post pictures soon of the birthday cake I made. I took step-by-step shots because it sounded like fun, so check back later!
Jason and I gave Ethan a bat. It's his very first metal bat and he is incredibly excited (though he didn't go as crazy as we thought he would when we gave it to him). The bat goes nicely with his new batting helmet from Grandpa and Grandma and his batting gloves from Uncle James and Aunt Merridith. We need some warm weather to get this boy on the baseball diamond! The bat is currently residing in the closet so it doesn't break any lamps or windows or brothers.
Once again, Ethan wanted pumpkin pie for his birthday dessert. I seriously think this is a conspiracy by all the boys in the family. All of them love pumpkin pie...and I, the lone girl, hate it. But, I make it and watch them all enjoy dessert. Insert audible sigh. Oh, and I let the boys put in the candles. There are actually six; one of them is just kind of hiding in the middle.
These next pictures are mostly unrelated to Ethan's birthday. However, they crack me up so I'm putting them in here. The boys were helping clean up before the grandparents came over for dessert. Jason had them wash and dry the kitchen table. This is how they decided they should dry:
In the next picture, you don't really see the whole story. Micah isn't really doing all the work. You see, right as Jason snapped the picture, Ethan fell off the table (thankfully only on to the chair and he didn't get hurt). Kind of a funny shot when you know the story behind it!
I'll post pictures soon of the birthday cake I made. I took step-by-step shots because it sounded like fun, so check back later!
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