FOUR!

It's been a little over four years since I embarked on this journey of motherhood. Sure, the journey started during that uncomfortable, complicated pregnancy, but the baby in my belly went to concerts, work, etc. with me when baby on the outside required much more consideration.

Last year was the first year we did more than a family party for a child, and we took advantage of a room that could be reserved for free. My house didn't have to get cleaned and didn't have the craziness descend upon it. This year, I decided we would have a smaller party at home. Violet loves helping people bake and decorating cookies and cupcakes is a real treat. So we planned a cupcake-decorating birthday party.

This was the first time I baked a cake, and while it wasn't as fancy and polished as store-bought cakes, the recipient was happy with it and it tasted good too! I can't believe how inexpensive it was to bake my own cake instead of buying one, and it wasn't that hard. Putting it together and decorating it was like a fun craft project.

the only picture that shows the layers

The cake featured one layer of chocolate and one layer of strawberry cake, baked from a mix. Ariel figurines purchased on clearance at Target months ago (because someone's been requesting an Ariel cake this year since her birthday last year) made the cake go with the requested theme without requiring great expense or artistry. Wilton does make an Ariel Cake Pan but the plastic figurines worked well and provided the birthday girl with playthings for later. I would have preferred  to write more on the top, but I figured a simple "4" was better than novice writing.

yummy

For cupcake decorating, I had a variety of sprinkles, icing, chocolate chips, nuts, and three kinds of frosting. I decorated some of the leftovers (at left) before packing them up for later. I'm looking forward to playing with the Wilton Make a Face Animal Icing Decorations some more later. We also had Wilton Hello Kitty Icing Decorations and Wilton Toy Story Icing Decorations, ordered from Amazon, and we have a lot of fun decorations to use in future cupcake and cookie decorating projects! I think we'll be doing a lot more "edible crafts" with the children.