HAPPIEST THIRD BIRTHDAY,IAN!

We officially have a THREE year old in our house now! When he turned two,people warned us about 'terrible two's'. I must say we were really lucky as this guy was not a handful,instead,a pleasure to be with. He has grown in size and can read alphabets and numbers without our help. Infact, he started to read alphabets and number when he was around 20 months,even before his second birthday. The best part of it all is that he learnt it all by himself! One day,when we were walking in our corridor,he pointed me toward the exit door and read out each letter by himself. I don't have to explain how shocked I must have been! Same was the case with numbers.

Appan and Amma were here for his birthday,for the very first time! It was special. I baked a chocolate cake that he had been requesting for his birthday since January for the big day. I covered it with a decadent milk chocolate frosting. He is crazy about construction vehicles now,so it was a construction site kind of a cake for him. He loved it!

For his party,I made a George pig cake from the cartoon Peppa Pig. For that, I made a vanilla pound cake with vanilla buttercream. We don't do fondant for our personal cakes.It's butter all the way!

This year,he has learnt to run a lot faster,throw and catch ball really well as well as to jump up high and land with perfect balance. His current favourite shows are Mickey Mouse, Peppa Pig, Blaze,Pocoyo,Thomas and Friends,Masha and the Bear and Tayo the Little Bus. The party update took me the longest as I was almost drowning in school assignments and tests. Yes, even we have tests and assignments :-) So without much further talk,here are the details!

Saturday Brunch Menu

Fresh Peach Sangria

Carrot Lemon Cooler

Pastry Onions

Egg Salad Croissanwich

Cucumber Cups

Veggie Pizza

Balsamic Onion Fritata

Mushroom & Spinach Quiche

Mousakka

As much as I would love to be a regular here,things are not moving in its favour. Amma has been cooking all our meals and once in a while,I join her and we have so much fun together in the kitchen!I am being pampered and I am not complaining at all!
 

A HOMEMADE BIRTHDAY PARTY -2

Iam very sure what I want when it comes to Ian. That is only till he starts to demand what he wants though! No matter how crazy the whole party planning turns out to be, I want that to have my touch in every single thing. It could be because Amma made every thing for our birthday parties. We never catered food for it. I remember, as a child, I would wait to go for birthday parties but once I get there and see caterers standing there in uniforms...I would lose my appetite.

I am talking about what I liked and disliked while growing up and all your views could be different. For our birthday parties, every person whom we invited would turn up and the first thing they would mention was the food. Since they knew Amma would be making everything, they thought it would be better to come! Food has always been an important part in my life.

Ian is too little to decide what cakes he wanted for his big day. So,I decided that I would like to make something that reflected what he likes at this age.So,it was a car cake for the birthday and a green lego cake for the party. He loves his building blocks and the first colour he learnt to say was Green. So that's how the green lego cake was born. He loves the Chocolate Cake I make for him almost every week. So that was the flavour choice for the party cake, obviously.

I don't believe in having theme parties for a boy so little plus, this is the only time i would get to do so. Once he grows, I think he would have made uphis mind on what he wants! It might be a superhero of some kind. We did a picnic style birthday party this year,just like last year. Jobin and I have very similar tastes in almost everything,so decisions are made very easily. We love open spaces and especially because he is a Summer baby, a park was the most ideal place for the party. It was at the same location as last year but a different shelter. The birthday party ended with a 20 minute fireworks (10,000 lbs!) as a part of the one-week long celebrations by the City.It was a beautiful one!

Menu for Ian's 2nd Birthday Party

Purple Surprise

Mango Soda

French Onion Pastry Puffs

Thai Curry Chicken Wontons

Red Neck Sushi

Sticky Wings

Spicy Chipotle Chicken

Cuban Style Black Beans

Lime - Cilantro Rice

Fiesta Corn

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Tostadas

Tortillas

Fix -ins : Tomato, Onions, Lime, Sour Cream, Scallions

I would like to extend my thanks to all those who sent in wishes for his big day and a bigger thanks to all who started sent those in advance! I really, really appreciate it!
 

HAPPIEST SECOND BIRTHDAY,IAN!

Our little boy turned TWO today! The past year was a very busy one for him. He learnt a lot of new things, made new friends, traveled across the globe,enjoyed getting drenched at the beach,learnt new tricks and even started to talk! He loves to sing and sings really well. We are planning to send him for singing lessons soon. He also loves to read his story books to me and one thing I've noticed is that, he enjoys reading as much as I do. I am indefinitely going to supply him with more books!The photograph you see above was taken this morning, as soon as he woke up. We hang streamers in our living room as a part of our celebration.Of course, he took it down one by one!

I was sad and happy yesterday because it was his last day as a one year old but at the same time, it's his big day tomorrow! I know that he doesn't even realise all that, but,as a mother I was just remembering all those moments of joy from the time he was born. He has been a very good boy ever since he was born. He never gave me a sleepless night,loves to eat and is totally a fuss free lovable kid! We are really blessed to have him and we thank God for that!Over the past two years, I've realised that I'm much more patient and selfless than I though I was.Being a Mother has changed me for good.

Like how I mentioned earlier, he loves to read. He has a tiny book of numbers and he likes a particular page in it because of a car. Like most boys,he loves his trucks, cars,bikes, jeep etc., He even places it in a particular order, very impressive actually and doesn't approve of that being disturbed.So, to celebrate this Little Man,I decided to bake him a cake today. A cake which resembles the car he loves from his book.I saw a cake on BHG and decided to go ahead with the idea.It's a plain Butter Cake with Buttercream frosting. I usually stay away from fondant decorations for our personal celebrations The birthday party is not until Saturday and I've planned for another cake for that day. The menu and photographs will follow! Just like his First Birthday party, I will be making every single thing! No catering in our household !

Thanks to all my dear readers who've been sending Birthday Wishes for Ian! Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart! You are the best!

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