January 30, 2013

Alayna Turns Four


I was reading Alayna's birthday post from last year and thought to myself, "Self, you really out did yourself on that post! How in the world are you going to write one better?"

Then I realized I couldn't. So I'm not even going to try.

This blog can only handle so much greatness. 

I wouldn't want to overwhelm it.

But whether I like it or not, little miss sassy-pants Alayna turned four years old last week.

And if you know her well, you'll know that "sassy-pants" is an understatement of enormous proportions.


For breakfast, I thought it would be fun to make her some cute pancakes using cookie cutters!

Then I realized the only ones I had were made out of plastic.

Now, I consider myself a woman of some intelligence (no snarky remarks allowed at that one) and I knew I couldn't very well set plastic cookie cutters down on a hot griddle.

But did I let that little insignificant detail stop me? Pish... of course not!


And I must say, it worked rather well.

Although I don't know if they'll be sharp enough to cut cookies with in the future... eh hem.


When I first asked Alayna what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, her initial response was a "Baaaaatmaaaaan caaaaaaaake."

Go figure.

Then the day before her birthday, I made the mistake of having her look over my "Awesome Cake Ideas" Pinterest board to see if there was anything she liked.

That's when she saw this.


I'm fairly certain I heard a chorus of angels singing as she gazed upon it. In that moment I knew Batman had lost to a swirly pop.

Poor Batman.

So the afternoon of her birthday, we got started on her cake.


Jacob was home from kindergarten by then and boy oh boy, was he ever sucking up to Alayna in order to get one of those chocolate cake covered beaters.

And she fell for it hook, line, and sinker.




Even little Claira enjoyed the spoils from my cake-making efforts.


Aannnnnnnd...... Wa-La!


Hey! Did. You. Just. LAUGH. At. It!?

Okay okay, fine. You can laugh. My cakes never do turn out how I imagine they will.

My one comfort is that Alayna exclaimed, "Oh mom, it's beautiful!"


Haha, hopefully she'll feel the same way in ten years when I'm still making botched birthday cakes.

We had to go through extra efforts to keep Claira away from the swirly pops.


 I didn't get it finished until the other kids were home from school, which worked out perfectly. Because then they could get started on decorating Alayna's birthday "tablecloth"... tablepaper... tablecovering?

Well, obviously it wasn't cloth.

Before:

After:

Claira went above and beyond in her decorating efforts.



We had promised Alayna earlier on in the week that we could go to Orange Leaf for her birthday. It's a self-serve frozen yogurt place here in town that they kids just L.O.V.E.

But by the time daddy got home from work and we had dinner, we knew there wasn't time for both frozen yogurt AND cake before bedtime.

And yes, being the meany mom that I am, I made them go to bed at their usual school-night bedtime.

Anyway, the kids opted for frozen yogurt that night and cake for the next.


 Alayna was beyond happy with that arrangement.


And so were all the other kids.


My little brown-eyed girl.

And so, the next night our cousins come over to join in the great cake-eating ceremony.


Can I just say how much I love the kids version of "Happy Birthday"?

And I'm sure the kids loved the cake and all, but let's face it.


It was all about the swirly pops.

7 super cool people speak:

Neisha said...

love the cake! what a neat idea

Stacy said...

First, you're gorgeous. Second, is Alayna really four? Are you sure? I'm not sure that's ok...

Mary Lou said...

Serene....
Thank-you for commenting on my Blog!! I truly appreciated it!! ;)
I read last year's post. You know, to get caught up. Was Alayna really your only all-natural birth? Ouch!! Both you and my Mom--who had me sans any epidurals--are saints!! ;-D
I knew that Alayna and I were Kindred Spirits!! Because, I was going to tell you that your cake is beautiful!! ;)
I love the "tablecloth" idea!! How sweet!! ;-D
Happy, happy, happy birthday, Alayna!! ;)
--Raelyn

Mama Smith said...

Thank you for posting Alayna's birthday! This way...I am not missing out in the celebration! Like I wrote in her card...I LOVE taking PICTURES of her! She is SO FUN!

balloongal said...

Love the post.

Jess said...

Hey Serene!!! I love how creative you get with 5 kiddos running around! The tablecloth ideas is genious! Where do you get the rolls of paper that wide? You're a very beautiful mom too, and look very pretty- and smart- in those cute tupperware hat pictures!! haha.

Serene is my name, not my life! said...

Hahaha, thanks Jess!

Well, I use to just go to the local craft store and buy butcher paper. They are on big rolls in the back of the store and you buy it by the yard.

But a lady in my ward got these for free from a local print shop and she gave me two rolls of paper! I guess when the print shop gets near the end of a roll they just toss out the extra. So I guess you could call around or visit some print shops and see what they.

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