Things That Make Me Happy #13

Strolling around the Internet one day, I came across a blog post entitled "100 Things That Make Me Happy".  What a great idea, I thought as I scanned the list, so Fridays are now dedicated to things that make me happy!

Things That Make Me Happy!
# 13  Birthdays

Well, it was a bitter sweet week with my baby celebrating her first birthday. The time has gone so fast and she has learned so much in a year. It really is a short period of time when you think about the grand scheme of things, although a couple of sleepless nights in a row seems to feel like forever.  I remember wondering if sleepless nights were going to last forever! She is still not sleeping through the night -- either that or she is a really early riser -- but we've adapted and now we're into our second year!

Birthdays at our house are pretty simple, but I love them! We don't get fancy about decorations or crazy over presents -- sometimes to the disappointment of the boys -- but we try to make the day really special for the birthday person. They get to choose all the meals for the day, wear a crown (a new tradition that we started last year which has been very popular), and they get to decide on the cake. Not just chocolate or vanilla (although they get to choose that too), but the theme and design. This has become my present to the birthday person. There have been many challenges over the years, some not so subtle suggestions, and many trucks! I have discovered that I really enjoy baking and the challenge of decorating a cake to someone's exact specifications.  Many times someone will ask if they can help, but the answer is always "no thank you" as this is my gift.  I have often wondered if it is worth it, after all, it just gets eaten, right? But the boys remember each cake that I have made for them.  If you were to ask them what they received for their birthday, I don't think that they would be able to tell you, but they remember the cake. High praise, I would say.

Laurel is not yet able to make requests, so for this first year, it's Mama's choice. The dilemma was that Dada had to work on THE day, so we opted for cupcakes. I googled "flower cupcakes" and got all kinds of posts about using marshmallows -- it seems that I am the only one who had not heard of this before. They were super easy to make and were very popular -- but anything with cake, icing and marshmallows is popular in our house! This is how they turned out. 

Then on the weekend, we had a family party and had a real cake.  I must admit that it was kind of a last minute effort -- usually there is at least a week of planning because some of the requests have been quite detailed!  Anyway, it turned out pretty good for the time and tools that I had.

Wow, so much cake for one little girl!  More birthdays this month, so I must starting working on the next one -- it's promising to be the most challenging one yet!  I'll keep you posted.