Party time: Splash Pad

We had Asher's actual birthday party the day after his birthday. We went to the splash pad in Highland and just invited family and a few close friends. It actually turned out to be kind of a cold, and VERY windy day, so not the best day to be at the splash pad. But the plus side was that there was hardly anyone there. Despite the clouds and winds, we had a very nice time, and again, Asher was super happy, and that's all that matters.

As many of you know, one of Asher's favorite things in the whole wide world is baby birdie...

(He took this picture himself, by the way)

So, being the awesome mom that I am, I spent hours in the kitchen making him the most awesome baby birdie cake ever!! (If I do say so myself). Seriously though, so proud of this cake.

See the resemblance?

My sister Jillian came over one night to help me make all of the tiny baby birdies, which we both were so proud of. We thought they turned out so precious. When Asher saw it, he actually said: "Oh mom, he's supposed to have a black beak. But it's ok. A yellow beak will be nice too." Ha! What a crack up. But he of course, LOVED the cake and was so happy when he saw it. He wasn't jumping up and down for joy though, like I thought he would be, he was very tender. He said in a very sweet voice, "Oh, it's a baby birdie cake!!" This kid is always surprising me.

I got the idea from these Martha Stewart cupcakes. I also used the buttercream recipe that was used on those cupcakes. Yum! I made the fondant myself, using the recipe from Carrie's Cakes. It was actually really fun to make fondant. I will be doing that again in the near future. I made the yellow cake from scratch, of course, and really liked the recipe that I used. It was really moist. I got it from Epicurious, and it was actually a very long and involved process. It was worth it though. Aside from this recipe, my second favorite one, that also happens to be way easier, is the one from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Just FYI. In between the cake layers, I made chocolate ganache, and it was wonderful as all things chocolate always are.

Anyway, enough about the cake. The party was a success. The kids had so much fun playing, and the adults had a great time just sitting and chatting.

Sisters Jill and Lexi playing with Barty. It was so great to be able to have them both in town for it. In the background is Nate, his brother MacKay and his wife Rebecca, and our good friend Andrea is on the chair.

Mister cool!

Chowin' the cupcakes. Don't worry that those birds are made out of fondant which is basically straight up sugar. The kids were poppin' them in their mouths like pieces of popcorn. So sick.

Luke and Jace. Great friends!

Zoe and Sayer, eating their sugar birds. Yum-my.