SAFARI THEMED BIRTHDAY CAKE

Do you all remember the Baby Carriage Baby Shower Cake I did for a little girl, last year? That little bundle of joy turned One, a week ago and her parents asked me if I could do her First Birthday Cake too! What an honour, right? I mean, they have so many choices to choose from and they chose me! They are our close friends,like family.I agreed to do it but when D, told me their choice of theme, I did have a doubt whether I would be able to pull it off!

First Birthday's are so special. I remember how much I had planned for Ian's and no way would I want anything to go wrong on that day so I was a little worried if I would do justice to the cake they wanted. The cake ate my brains, literally.In a good way, though. I planned out and spanned my work over a few days while Ian was sleeping because he is an animal lover and I knew the minute he saw a Zebra or a Giraffe, he would ask me for it. Which, of course he did...but later though, after I assembled the whole cake.

They also wanted me to bake some themed cupcakes and the decorations were left up to me. I mean, they just left the most attention seeking thing on that party to me.I had a big job to do! I scanned Pinterest for cupcake topper ideas and found some which I really liked and went ahead with it. D, sent me the cake's photograph so I just made it accordingly.

It snowed so hard the night before the party and the next morning,the roads were super slippery.While transporting them,I was holding onto the cake stand so tight that my hands were sweating and I really feared that the heat would pass onto the fondant and melt it all! It was only after we got to the venue did I breathe properly :-) And once the party was over, D, told me that it was her dream cake and that the entire party was based around that cake! That comment from her sealed the deal, for me :-)

HAPPIEST FIRST BIRTHDAY, IAN!

This post has taken me the longest to write.I really don't know where to start or what to say.I want everything to be perfect when it comes to our Ian Vaava.I see myself stretching my limits to the maximum (I always thought I knew where that maximum limit of mine was,oh well!) when it comes to doing things for our baby.I am sure it's the same with almost all parents.

Can you believe that he's been with us for more than a year now? I still very clearly remember telling you about his arrival last July. I still remember the way he looked at me when I first laid my eyes on him.His eyes were wide open and he was looking straight into mine,lying down on my chest ...all bundled up.Our bundle of joy!He was and still is, the most wonderful smelling thakkudu kuttappan!

That little darling of ours just turned the BIG ONE last Monday,22 July.The party was not until Saturday,the 27th when all our close friends came together for a Picnik Birthday Party on an Island by the Mississippi. It was good fun. Ian had a lovely evening with his friends.I don't have any photographs from the party,our photographer will send them to us,shortly. Once we recieve it, I'll share some with you all!

I baked 2 cakes for him.The Mr.Bear cake inspired from Bakeaboo was for the big bash and the other one was for his little party at home.I wanted that cake to reflect what he is. So I jotted down all his current favourite words on top of the cake, so that,we will always remember what he liked and blabbered at that age.I wanted it to look as homemade as possible, so the decor was bare minimum. The dots you see around the edges of the cake was piped when he was on my hips, so the line has gone haywire! :-)

Menu for the First Birthday Party

Carrot - Lemon Cooler

Sesame Crusted Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

Chinese Spring Rolls

Curried Crepes with Curried Veggie Filling

Petite Caramelised Mushroom & Onion Tarts

Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

Veggie Sloppy Joes

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Coleslaw

Birthday Cake