Birthday Party!

My family has a tradition. It started when I had my first birthday. My mother, at the time, was right in the middle of a stage in her life where she had become a cake decorator. For my birthday party she made me the cutest panda bear cake, and thus a tradition began. When I was pregnant with Lil, I went on an Ebay hunt for that same cake pan, and found it! So with each of my kids, I have made this same cake. Here are some pictures from Matthew's party.

The Birthday Boy in all his glory!

The cake in all IT'S glory- this was my fastest one yet... only 3 hours to decorate it! (That includes the 20 minutes to get Matthew down for his nap, and while trying to keep the kids entertained so they wouldn't make a mess of the house I cleaned up...)

When he got this hat as a gift, he got super excited. He thought it was a stuffed animal.

Then he found out the truth- what a bummer! Just a hat... (Mom loves it, though!)

Matthew loved the elephant rider he got from his grandparents.

He was totally mellow while being sung to.

See the chunk he took out of the toe? It's the most damage of all my kids. Lil and Lace just picked at the frosting...

After he had his fun with the cake, I handed him a cupcake. Notice the clean tray? He won't put the cupcake down.

"Oops! Dropped some cake- better get that. Wouldn't wanna waste it!"

Oh the joy of good ice cream (he won't let go of the chunk of cake in his left hand... pretty funny!)

Matthew poses with Uncle James. What good lookin' men! (Still holding that cake!)

Time to get cleaned up!

Happy Birthday Matthew! We love you!