A birthday card that brought much joy

This is a card that Sawyer got from Uncle Steve and Aunt Jennifer...it's been getting a lot of play.

Sawyer is two!

Thursday was Sawyer's 2nd birthday; we had a small bash at the house with his best toddler friends and their grown-up parents, our friends. At first Sawyer was a little overwhelmed by all the people and excitement, and hid behind Dad's leg.


























But then he plucked up his courage and started to interact with our neighbor Anna, Of course, they talked about the weather. What else is there to say at your own party?






















I love this picture; it's what I imagine a toddler modern dance performance would look like: each spinning in his/her own space to demonstrate the alienation of the technological age.




















Sawyer's two lady-friends, Makena and Chelsea.
























Grandma Judy brings out the cake!

























And it's time to sing the birthday song!














































Blow out the candles!























You did it!



























Mmm...digging in.























Sawyer opened a couple of presents that night, but most were saved for the morning.





















Fer cool, Dad, a race car movie!! Blu-ray no less!





















Mom helps him disentangle pretty much the coolest truck ever from its impossible packaging.




















Thanks, Jack and Cael, it rules!!





















No surprise that he slept with it that night...

























It's hard to imagine that he could like it any more than he does, but he probably will, once he learns what Superman is...





















In the morning Sawyer dug into a few other gifts--totally awesome dino puppets from Makena!!






















Cool! French flashcards and a video from Grandma Bates, and a sweet jacket and hat!

Making the cake

I spent Wednesday evening getting Sawyer's birthday cake ready. Lemon-butter cake with lemon curd filling...









































...and lavender buttercream frosting. Mmm...











I had this vision of doing a blue and white swirl fondant, but try as I might I just couldn't get it to work, so we ended up with plain blue. Hopefully my mind will be working out a trick while I sleep so that I can eventually realize my swirly dream.














Tinted bits of fondant many colors and used animal cookie cutters










Oh the poor, hairy zebra. I've decided to get some lessons on old-school cake decoration: pastry bag, tips, piping, etc.
















I think the lion is my favorite.

Monkey Bizness!

Jack and Cael celebrated their 5th and 3rd birthdays respectively at Monkey Bizness, one of those lawless emporiums filled with dangerous inflatable playgrounds. Much fun was had by all, and no serious injuries were incurred (except for the removal of several layers of skin from Chris and Sarah's elbows).

Sawyer really enjoyed the enclosed trampoline:

































Floating in mid-air!


























Then he took some time-out for the toddler zone. Nothing is quite as much fun as placing a duck-shaped cushion on the slide, and then crashing into it as you come down. A great idea, Grandpa Gray.












































Now it's time for the serious slide, AKA, the Skinner!








































This is about the moment where I left some flesh behind. Note to self: wear long sleeves next time.





























Sawyer loved it!



























Too fast? There's no such thing. Whiplash? Never heard of it.

























After the party we went back to Doughtery's to open presents and play some more; Sawyer had a great time exploring Jack and Cael's new toys.
























Father proudly looks on.

The great November cake bake

November is the great cake-baking month; there are so many birthdays. Last night I finished the two cakes for Jack and Cael's birthday party today. Sawyer's is coming up next week and I haven't decided what kind of cake to make him. Am taking suggestions.

We decided to do two cakes--one chocolate, one vanilla. Here is the chocolate cake in the initial stages of frosting.





















All frosted, ready to receive its blessed veil of fondant.





















This is the white fondant that I put on the vanilla cake after frosting it with vanilla buttercream. My last fondant attempt was 'nul' as the Fronch say, but this time I got a good recipe and used about 8 lbs of cornstarch.





















Gently smoothing, smoothing...cut the edges off and dust furiously with a pastry brush.




















Both cakes are covered with fondant now and ready to proudly bear a superhero emblem.
























Superman waits patiently while Iron Man gets his kit on.





















I hope these suckers survive the drive to south Denver.

One holiday tradition down...

I've been trying to establish it as a tradition at least, but haven't always found the time. Window snowflakes; a good activity while watching movies at night.

I've dreamt so long...

For the longest time I've had the dream of stuffing dried apricots with marzipan and dipping them in dark chocolate. By the longest time I mean like 10 years. With tonight's cooking club as an excuse, I finally made it happen. Naturally my trusty helper was with me. His official job is to put the stuffed apricots into the bowl of chocolate.























Mmm, lookin' good! Into the fridge until the chocolate has set.





















It is no surprise, of course, that my assistant got himself all chocolate covered. This was the first of three outfits today. It's like we're back to him being a newborn, except that usually the messes aren't excrement. Usually.
























The finished product. Yes!