Skip to main content

Toby's Third Birthday

We've moved house!  Just in case you were wondering why I hadn't blogged for over a month.  I can assure you that nothing hugely exciting has happened in the intervening period; we have mostly been putting things into boxes and taking them out again, and wandering vaguely round the new house trying to work out where to put it all.  The new place is substantially bigger than the rented house we were squashed into for 9 months, though, so we are appreciating the space.  Now it's at least halfway towards being a home, and a certain small person has a big birthday tomorrow (do you realise how many toys are marked "Unsuitable for children under 36 months"?  It's like the legal drinking age for toddlers!) we had to... make a cake and throw a party!

When we asked Toby what he wanted for his birthday, his one stipulation was "a birthday chocolate cake".  Further enquiry confirmed that it had to have Smarties on it.  When your mum used to be a professional cake decorator, I'm afraid it gets a little more elaborate than that.


I based it on this Hickory Dickory Dock cake from a book called 50 Children's Party Cakes, because Toby is always asking what the time is.


The design is pretty simple, just a round cake and a square cake.  Cut the two bottom corners off of the square (mmm, offcuts!) and a semi-circle from the top so that it fits snugly onto the round cake.  I substituted chocolate buttercream for the brown fondant, because it just tastes better, and surrounded the clock face and pendulum window with plenty of Smarties.  And of course, it had to say 3 o'clock.

With the food before the party
Opening a birthday card (it sings!)

Opening presents (with assistance)

We made the party a combined housewarming and birthday party, and used it as an excuse to get to know our new neighbours a little better, as well as (mostly) Derby friends and some family.  It turned into a surprisingly large number of people considering we haven't even been here a year yet!  We were really overwhelmed by how many friends came, and brought such generous presents.  Toby very quickly learned that the doorbell ringing meant something else to unwrap, and went running to greet each new arrival!  He's old enough now to get excited about the whole thing, and had a great time.  He loved having lots of people around; enthusiastically sang Happy Birthday to himself along with everyone else; blew out the candles very professionally; and was finally rewarded with a piece of birthday chocolate cake.

Incompetent lighting of matches (it took me three goes to get one to strike!)
Blowing out the candles
I did it!
It tastes as good as it looks!
P.S. The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed the complimentary bump photo in the above selection.  For those that don't know, we are expecting a little brother for Toby in February!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Forest Way: The End!

The National Forest Way finishes at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire, with beautiful wide-ranging views in all directions. I'd been hoping for a sunny day, and this one certainly fit the bill. The frosty earth lay under a glorious canopy of shining blue sky. I parked at Swithland Wood, close to where we finished the previous walk. Finding the waymarker on the first gate was bittersweet - this was the last time I would be following these familiar circles.   Swithland Wood had been acquired by the Rotary Club in 1931, and later passed on to Bradgate Park Trust. The lumpy terrain was due to slate quarrying. I skirted a couple of fenced-off pits. As I left the wood, I passed a lake which I assumed was another flooded quarry, but with an odd little tower next to the water. I followed a road up a steady hill towards Woodhouse Eaves. Many of the houses were surrounded by walls of the local slate. Woodhouse Eaves was a prosperous-looking village with some nice old buildings. Crossing the wide ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trent Valley: Nottingham

Five churches, four bridges over the Trent, three stocking fillers, two pubs, one castle, and about ten million fallen leaves. It was a packed walk today. Queens Drive Park & Ride is officially for people getting the bus into town, but there's a little bit at the back marked "Overflow Parking" which had a handful of cars in, so I parked there and snuck out through the tunnel. Bridge number one was Clifton Bridge, again , in all its multicoloured glory. The River Trent was swooshing along after the recent rain, beautifully framed by autumn leaves under a grey but thankfully dry sky. The cycle path took an abrupt left to run alongside the road for a short stretch. Then I approached bridge number two, the Wilford toll bridge, also known as Halfpenny Bridge. Sir Robert Juckes Clifton, who built it, has his statue near the old toll house. He was surrounded by grazing geese. Wilford toll bridge Sir Robert and the toll house Next there was a long sweep of grass with a line o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Theme: Body

I didn't plan this to be a theme week, but Toby's new refrain has become, "I want to do something else " (how does he know it's the school holidays?)  Something else turned into my digging out my body-themed activities and roll of cheap wallpaper.  So here we go! First thing to do is draw a body, and fortunately I had a handy template.  Lie down, Toby! Just ignore the face.  And lack of neck.  I know it's not a great likeness, but he really is that tall.  How on earth did that happen? He knew pretty much all the body labels already, so I can't really claim it as a learning opportunity.  Still, revision is good, right?  And everyone enjoys colouring on a huge sheet of paper. Another sheet of wallpaper became a blank canvas for hand and foot painting.  Fortunately it's been great weather, as outside is always the best place to do this.  Even with a strategically placed tub of water for washing off in. I've gone gree...
1 comment
Read more