If at first you don't succeed, bake another cake!

Some of you may be wondering how my cake decorating skills are progressing - or maybe you just want another chuckle. In any case, today's post is about my second attempt at making Caleb's wagon cake.

After looking at my pictures from the last trial run, my great-aunt Pat decided to come for a visit to give me a few pointers.

This morning she showed up with this "tackle box"
(as I call it) full of just about everything you would
ever need to decorate a cake.

She had every type of tip I could imagine.

Last time I attempted the cake, I decided the dimensions were best if I stacked two cakes on top of each other. Rather than trying to make one cake, cut it in the middle, and stack the two halves, I made two cakes in smaller pans last night to use for practicing. Then, I put the cakes in the freezer because my friend Jody commented that cakes don't crumble as much when you are working with them if they're frozen first. When Aunt Pat arrived, she helped cut off the dome shape from the top of the cakes. Then, we flipped one cake upside down on top of the other so I had the nice even shape of the pan to icing. Here's how it looked before the icing:

At that point, Aunt Pat showed me how to put on the tips and use the icing bag to decorate the cake. It was a lot simpler than I thought it would be, but having the right tools truly makes a difference.

Here she is modeling how to wrap the bag around
your hand while filling it with icing.

While it seemed like I should be squeezing the icing bag and
guiding it with both hands, she modeled how to hold the
bag with just one hand, explaining the design is dependent
on how much you squeeze.

After demonstrating how to go up and down, she also
taught me how to "star tip" around the bottom of the cake.

Aunt Pat also demonstrated how to use one of the tips to icing
cupcakes. This picture shows some of my practice attempts
with the different designs.

In the end though, we simply smoothed out the icing to see how it would look for the wagon cake. She brought me a knife that was great for spreading and smoothing it out. After the two cakes were covered with icing, they made the shape I was looking for this time. I think it turned out pretty good.

Put the wheels, graham cracker sides, and snack cake
handle on this one, and I think we'd have ourselves a wagon cake!

Overall, I learned quite a bit today and really enjoyed the quality time. We'll have to wait 'til next week to see how Caleb's real cake turns out...

On other note, while we were busy cleaning up the kitchen after our experimenting, my grandma Nora Ann stopped by to entertain Caleb. She brought these Easter window clings which were a big hit.

I was glad Caleb got some special quality time too. :)

Wagon cake?

While most people only want to display their best work, I think there is a good story and lots of laughter in the learning process. That being said, this post is about me LEARNING to make a wagon cake. I hope you enjoy!

For Caleb's first birthday, we are planning a wagon theme. I must have watched one too many of those cake decorating shows, because I got the harebrained idea that I could make him a cake that looked just like a wagon. I brainstormed about the supplies I would need and how to make it look just right. Finally, I headed to the store in search of my edible wagon pieces.

I searched the grocery store and Walmart for food coloring to make the red icing but, surprisingly, couldn't find any. However, one of the sales associates as Micheal's recommended a type of "icing coloring" they carry. She explained that unlike food coloring, which will make icing watery, the "icing coloring" was designed to blend better. I decided to buy some and went home to test it.

I assumed that like food coloring I would only need to use a small portion of the coloring, but I had to put in the whole container to really get the icing red. I have no idea if you are supposed to use that much or not but to get even close to the color the bottle said it was, I had to dump the whole container into the bowl. Even after putting the full amount of coloring in, I still didn't feel like the icing was as dark a red as the bottle showed nor was it as dark as I needed for the wagon. So, back to the store today I went. This time I bought container of burgundy to try. My mom suggested I mix a little of the burgundy into the red I already made and it worked!

The bowl on the left has the burgundy added while
the tub on the right has the original red I was trying to fix.

Mom baked the cake for me a couple days ago while she was visiting, so once I got the right color, I was ready to icing and decorate it.

I had a hard time not getting any frosting on the pan.
I never have been great at getting everything to look smooth.
Practice makes perfect though - I hope!

These are the special ingredients to complete the look.

Originally, Mom suggested using licorice for the wagon
handle, but the more I thought about it, I decided the proportions
would be off too much. My great-aunt Pat suggested ho-hos
which seemed like it might work. Instead though, I decided to use
these Weight Watchers chocolate creme cakes because I liked tread and
the square shape. To make the handle, I simply linked three of them
together using toothpicks.

Aunt Pat also suggested I use vanilla wafers for the railings,
but, again, I thought the proportions would be off
so I decided to try graham crackers.

I planned to use oreos as the wheels but forgot to
purchase any, so I popped on some thin mints from
Dave's cookie stash.

The cake in the picture above is not what I envisioned really. Dave agreed that the proportions were off. We spent some time contemplating how to improve the current structure. I was thankful to have an engineer on my team! :) Dave suggested cutting the cake in half and stacking the pieces to help balance everything. We decided to give it a shot.

Dave used a huge butcher knife to cut a straight line down the
middle. Then, we took two spatulas and lifted one half of the cake
together. Carefully, stacking it on top the other.

We shortened the handle and closed in the open space
in the graham crackers. We both felt it was looking better.

Unfortunately, I used almost all the icing on the first trial
so I didn't have enough to work with to make it smooth
and only could icing this one side. The corner began to
crumble making even more of a catastrophe. Plus, now the
wheels were too small.

Another view of this "masterpiece" - LOL!

What have I learned from this experience to improve for next time? I think the cake does look better stacked, but I need to see if I can find two small cake pans probably and/or cut the cakes so they are more even with each other. I also need to buy extra icing so I can smooth it out better and don't have clumping from the cake underneath. Additionally, I'm going to go with my original plan to use Oreos or a bigger cookie because the thin mints aren't cutting it! Since my Aunt Pat makes cakes professionally, I may have her drop by and giving me a suggestion or two. For my cake-making friends, I appreciate any helpful words of encouragement.

I hope this made you smile and that the next cake looks more like a wagon.

Baby (and Mommy) on the move

Caleb's finally at that stage where everything is interesting to get into. In the past two weeks alone, he tried to consume marbles, a screw, lint, a rubber band, and a golf ball. Those, of course, are the items I caught him trying to eat; hopefully, I didn't miss something. No matter how hard I try, he always finds something else to stick in his mouth. There are a number of people who lovingly refer to my Granddaddy Eddie as "Goat" because he loves to eat all kinds of unusual foods; I'm just wondering if we may also have a baby "billy goat" on our hands. For his sake and ours, I'm truly hoping he out grows this stage soon!

We now have to keep the laptop up high or else
someone tries to gnaw on the cord.

Aside from trying to eat everything in sight, Caleb is also a climber. Here are a few pictures of him "helping" me unload the dishwasher.

If he's not eating it or climbing it, he's still trying to touch anything he can get his hands on. Sitting down to fold a load of laundry is quite a bit more complicated when your baby is picking up what you've folded to examine it more closely, swing it around, or taste it. Trying to wash and dry clothes is even more difficult since Caleb wants to stand in front of the open door, touching and checking out the machine. The pantry is another favorite place to explore. (A container of toothpicks that makes noise when you shake it is among his top finds.) And, of course, I've finally given up on keeping any decorations on the end tables in the family room.

"I found Daddy's stash of cookies, Mom!"

While he keeps me moving, I enjoy watching him as he discovers new things, examining them closely as he tries to figure it all out. It is amazing to see how his motivation to touch and taste new things helps him to become more mobile everyday.

Dodging Daddy

Since we've moved into our new house, there is always a long "to do" list of things to accomplish around here. With an eleven month old around, even the best laid plans turn into changing diapers, rocking him back to sleep, running around making sure nothing inedible is being eaten, and cleaning up trails of toys and crumbs. Today we decided that in order for Dave to get more done, Caleb and I would go visit with my granny.

When we arrived, his big cousin Bailey was there. Caleb was a little shy at first but then he warmed up and these two buddies played for awhile rolling a ball back and forth.

Since it was such a nice day out, I had packed a pair of Bailey's hand-me down shoes for Caleb in case we decided to play outside. When I walked in with the shoes, Bailey couldn't believe that his feet used to fit in these baby Nikes.

Unfortunately, Bailey had to leave shortly after we arrived, but we still got to spend several hours visiting with Granny. After playing with toys and eating lunch, Caleb went down for a nap and woke up to find Aunt Courtney had come to visit too! We played a little longer inside and then agreed it would be best to venture outside for some fun since the weather was so mild.

Caleb liked playing with the dried grass.

"Aunt Courtney, will you give me a push?"

Granny didn't have a baby swing, but Caleb did a great job
of holding on and even leaned back like he knew just
how you were supposed to do it. I was impressed.

"Higher, Aunt Courtney. Higher!"

We even took him up to our old clubhouse so he could
explore. It was amazing how everything was falling apart
since it doesn't seem like that long ago when we all were playing it.

I found this old wheelbarrow and couldn't resist.

When the wind started to blow harder, we headed back for the house. Shortly after, we packed our things and went home to see all the things Daddy accomplished without us underfoot.

Cheerios

A little over a month and a half ago, Granny introduced Caleb to Cheerios. Since keeping him content and out of trouble while Dave and I eat is becoming a challenge, she suggested I put him in the booster seat and give him a few pieces of cereal to munch. It's worked like a charm!

At first Caleb wasn't quite sure what to do with such a small item. He looked it over carefully not even daring to put it in his mouth. When I popped the first little O in his mouth, he made a strange face as his toothless gums tried to chomp it.

Once he figured out he was supposed to eat them, Caleb didn't hold back. The video below shows his excitement one night at dinner as he tries to get Dave to give him more O's. (If you notice him waving at one point, I think this is a baby sign he made up for "more" or "I want" because we've seen it show up on several other occasions.)

Even after Caleb learned Cheerios are to be eaten, he still couldn't quite figure out how to get those little sausage fingers to work together to move the snack into his mouth. I watched as the Cheerios slipped down his palm out of his tongue's reach, often tumbling to his lap or booster seat and sometimes getting stuck to the back of his finger. This may have worked better if I hadn't been too scared to let him have more than one at a time, but I could imagine a handful of cereal being stuffed into those chunky cheeks with no teeth to crunch them all. Dave took pity on the poor boy and practiced with him until Caleb finally had it!

While they say people don't develop a preference for using one
hand over the other until their two years old, I've noticed that
Caleb definitely uses his left hand to eat most of the time. When he
uses his right hand, he seems to have more trouble getting the food in
his mouth and sometimes I see him switch it into the left.

Now instead of chasing Caleb around the floor or trying to hold him on our laps as he grasps for our supper, he can sit in his seat and entertain both himself and us as he steadily works to move the little Cheerio to his mouth with those chunky hands I love so much! With a couple teeth now, he is a master Cheerio chomper.