Birthday Fun

This weekend we had 2 birthdays to celebrate. Madeleine turned 4 on June 4th and Christopher turned 1 on the 6th. I thought it would be great to be able to celebrate both at the same time (since our families are spread out all over the US) but I didn't take into account the fact that I would need 2 cakes.

Growing up my mom always made our birthday cakes. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, the infamous Panda disaster of 1979, etc. I wanted to do the same for the kids. Worked out well the last couple of years with one child. This year, not so much. Trying to decorate 2 cakes with the humidity was daunting.

Madeleine picked out this castle cake:

I decided to make a circus big top for Christopher.  Not one of my better choices, especially with the humidity (frosting was melting pretty fast, even with the air conditioner on).  I also learned that I can't really decorate cakes free form; I do much better using the character pans where all I have to do is fill in the spaces.

I don't think Christopher minded much.  He really got into his own little cake and even wanted to share it with me:

All in all, I think we had a pretty successful party.  David smoked some ribs (which went fast) and he also grilled up some burgers, hot dogs and chicken legs.  We had enough left over that I didn't have to cook on Sunday and I am estimating I can get us through Wednesday without me having to cook.

While Madeleine is all about princesses and castles, she got a new dress-up outfit in honor of Toy Story 3 coming out.  I think she makes a pretty cute cowgirl.

Happy Birthday Madeleine!!  Happy Birthday Christopher!!