The Minnie Cake

When Aria was about to turn 1 she was sensitive to cow's milk.  We experienced projectile vomit whenever she drank it or ate things with milk in them.  So, I was very cautious about finding a cake with no milk in it.  I already knew I wanted to make the cake myself, but that sealed the deal even more.  I think I ended up finding a mix that didn't have milk and use that for her basketball cake.  Little did I know, I set myself a standard on that first birthday.  For each birthday since, I really want to make a special cake for Aria.  I'm sure this won't last her entire life through, but I do have a lot of fun deciding on a design with her and baking it with her.  I know it is a tradition we will carry on for awhile.

This year I decided to go all from scratch.  Aria finally decided she wanted just a Minnie cake.  And she wanted chocolate cake and chocolate frosting.  I really didn't want to do black frosting, so I'm glad she requested chocolate.  It is almost black without the mess.

Aria helped me mix all the ingredients together for the chocolate cake and we put it into the oven in 4 different containers.

The face

The ears

The bow (eventually)

Next I cut the bow shape and carved the ears a bit to make this:

Next came the chocolate frosting.  I frosted it and then used my finger dipped in water and baking soda to smooth it out.

Finally, I frosted the bow separately and added white m&ms for the polka dots.

Aria did ask where Minnie's face was, but I just didn't think I could free hand her face.  Overall, I know she really liked it and it tasted pretty good, too!

And here is my mess.

Aria's Birthday BOW-tique

I thought it might be difficult for Aria to figure out what to do for her birthday party, but in early January we just happened to see some Minnie and Daisy decorations at Wal-Mart and she said, "We could have a Minnie and Daisy party!"  I was thrilled that it was not princesses so we went with it!  Aria has a Minnie and Daisy game on her Leap Pad where she gets to design bows for a surprise party for Minnie, so she was all about designing bows at her party.  And having a Minnie Mouse cake.  That was after we had a hard time deciding between cupcakes and regular cake and if she wanted Daisy on it, too.  Big decisions for a 4 year old.

She was very sure of her guest list, though.  Her three friends and their families.  She wanted to make sure the siblings and the mommies were included.  She hesitated at first with the daddies, but once she realized we were having the party on a Saturday and the daddies would not be at work, she wanted them to come.  :)

There was a pin the bow on Minnie game with the party decorations at Wal-Mart that she wanted to play besides doing the bow decorating.  She also determined that maybe Caleb wouldn't want to make a bow, so she wanted him to make a hat.  Such a thoughtful girl.  To my great surprise, her lunch menu changed a few days before the party.  All along she said we were having her favorite, mac and cheese, but all of a sudden she switched to pizza, carrots, and grapes.  It was so fun to watch her plan things out.

The party was a great day of celebrating Aria.  Thankfully she was feeling better than she was on her actual birthday.  She also has some really great friends who loved celebrating with her and gave her very nice presents!  The only issue was my lack of camera battery in both cameras.  Seriously, how did I miss that?  I was still able to get some good pictures and video with charging in between photo opportunities.  We didn't quite catch the happy birthday song on video, but that is okay.  The one other small glitch was with Aria's new bed.  She was very excited to show her friends, but she wasn't quite sure what to think when they wanted to climb into it and go down the slide.  We finally talked through it enough that she let them enjoy the slide.  It is amazing how many people fit into one little girl's bedroom.  :)

Here is what we did capture...

Making the bows and hat took a lot of adult supervision, but I think everybody had fun!  For the bows I bought some black headbands and some bow ties from the Party Store.  I cut off the elastic for the bow tie and glued the bow to the headband.  It worked quite well and was pretty easy!

There is a boy in her bed!!  And he even wrote "I Love You" on the card he gave her.  He also once mentioned he was going to marry her.  Hmmmmmm.  Good thing we know his parents!

Personal space is not something that is understood by preschoolers, especially when birthday presents are involved.

I might have to do a separate post of my Minnie cake creation.

I am very thankful for these cute kids and their awesome families!  It was a special day for Aria because of them!

Aria's 4th Birthday

So I am almost a month late, but here is a barrage of fun from Aria's birthday!

These three pictures are from the day before her birthday when we made cake pops for her to take to preschool.  We had a blast, they tasted great, and they looked decent enough.

We always open presents first thing in the morning.  I didn't feel the need to post a picture of every present opened.  If I had to pick which present was her favorite, it would be a close call between the Minnie Mouse dress and the Frozen book with cd.

They are kind of hard to see, but the clip on earrings were a pretty big hit, too.  You can also see in her eyes here how much she was not feeling well.

After going to preschool, Justin surprised her at lunch (where she chose for us all to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) and said he wasn't going back to work in the afternoon.  We told her we thought we could go to the Children's Museum.  But, she didn't want to go there because "it would take to long to drive there in the car."  I guess 35 minutes isn't worth a fun place to play.  So, she chose to go to the Science Center.  We had a good time and still had time for her to get a much needed afternoon snooze.

Red Robin is still her restaurant of choice, but it wasn't as clear cut this year.  At first I thought we would be going to Pancheros.  Then, during the afternoon of her birthday she said she wanted to go to the Noodle place (Company), but eventually landed back at Red Robin.  I guess their mac and cheese is the best.  Don't you love her chocolate smile?

A fun grandparent present!

We also had numerous discussions about birthday treats.  She originally wanted cake pops for preschool, a cake that evening when her grandparents came over, and cupcakes for her party on Saturday.  I didn't think we needed 3 desserts.  She really does like ice cream (or sprinkles) the best, so it was an easy sell to have ice cream and cake pops for dessert on her birthday and save the Minnie Mouse cake for her party with friends.

Playing her new Dora Carnival game from her aunt!

Poor thing really was not feeling well on her birthday, but she definitely enjoyed it none the less.  We ended up going to the doctor the next day and learned she just had a nasty cough.  She was spoiled and loved and created memories, just like a birthday should be!

Aria's New Bed

There was technically nothing wrong with Aria's bed.  Other than the mattress was dated 1968.  It served her well.  But you know how those grandparents like to spoil their granddaughter.  And the search for a fun bed commenced.  We found the perfect one and Aria got a big birthday surprise a few days before her birthday.  On Sunday, Daddy and Papa put together her new bed because we just wouldn't have time on her actual birthday.

I'm not sure which is her favorite part.  The slide she's been down a zillion times.  The fort we've eaten breakfast in several days.  The fact that she is higher up in the air.  And there is the Minnie sheets and blanket.  She was quite excited and loves it a ton!  She is also just a tad more grown up.  No longer does she need Mommy or Daddy to snuggle with her in bed.  It is her bed and we don't fit in it.

Thanks Grandma and Papa for providing Aria all kinds of fun!