Leo Turns Two

On Wednesday 26th June 2013 I tucked my one year old into bed for the last time.

I stood by his cot and told him that when he woke up the next morning he would be one whole year older.

He would be two years old.

I stood there watching him, and I knowingly stood there a little longer than I usually would. I was thinking about how quickly the last two years have come and gone, how amazing they have been and how I would not change a thing.

I was taking in the beauty of my little boy as he settled down to go to sleep and smiling at him through the darkened room.

It was then I bid him one final goodnight, wished him sweet dreams and a Happy Birthday. I told him I loved him to the moon and back again, and I would see him in the morning when he would be a Birthday Boy.

Walking out of his room and closing the door behind me, I knew it was now that the real birthday work would begin. I had a Timmy Sheep cake to make (you can see how to make your own here), cupcakes, birthday presents to wrap and not a whole lot of time to get it all done. 

I finally retired to bed just after 2:00am, really tired but excited. Excited to see my little boy's face when he woke up to his second birthday.

Leo awoke bright and early, he was a little full of cold but didn't let that stop him demanding to watch 'woof, woof' otherwise known As 'Lady and the Tramp'. After a few rounds of 'I am Siamese if you please' my new found 2 year old came downstairs to open his cards. 

Leo was presented with his birthday card, a very large Timmy Sheep birthday card with his age and name emblazoned on the front. He was so pleased that Baa was making an appearance. Little did he know that Timmy Sheep was going to be making quite a few appearances today!

I had planned Leo's whole day to a Timmy Sheep theme, balloons, cake cases, cake embellishment, an actual feature cake! 

We took Leo to our family photographer to get some birthday shots of our now very grown up boy, it is hard to believe that the first time we took him there he was a tiny baby in arms! Leo however didn't want to play ball, and as soon as we walked into the studio he stopped chatting to me and buried his head in my shoulder. Sufficed to say that we didn't get the snaps that we were hoping for, but with that all out of the way we took our birthday boy to Granny's house for his real birthday treat!

At Granny's house nestled away in the back garden was Leo's main birthday present. A present fit for any little boy with an imagination.

His very own hideaway den in the form of a wooden playhouse. Inside Leo's new house was a beautiful red kitchen that I just knew he was going to love. I ran out of the house ahead of him so that I could capture that one moment when he laid eyes on his birthday gift. 

Leo's eyes widened and his face pursed into a Cheshire smile, it was apparent that he had seen his present and he was marching intently over to inspect further. He did not stop once and that smile was not wiped off his face as he made his way over to the play house. Upon reaching his intended destination, he climbed up the stairs, opened up the front door and found his beautiful kitchen, the smile he was beaming just continued to beam brighter and then the laughter started.

The house had been decorated like a scene from Disney's Up, and I did half wonder whether he would be flying away on an adventure of his own. A 'Happy Birthday' hung around the circumference of Leo's new haunt, Timmy Sheep of course.

Leo ran in and out of his house, cooked up cakes that he fed me through the bars of his balcony, before running off to cook up some more!

It was then I knew that the wooden playhouse had been the perfect birthday gift choice for my very imaginative little monster.

It was around this time that his Goddaddy arrived, and his little friend too for a play date. It was also around this time that the sunshine disappeared behind the clouds and rain decided to rain upon our parade. 

But could I get my two year old out of the house and into Granny's house?

NOPE!

Leo and his little friend were completely soaked through, going down the slide and landing on their bottoms in the puddle forming beneath it. But they were having the time of their lives and I watched them from the shelter of the kitchen door, as they ran around not even noticing the rain falling around them.

Somewhere among all of the playing we fit in a few nibbles for lunch and even opened up some presents. I will never forget Leo asking for 'more' presents once he had opened the last one!

With all of the excitement of the day, Leo had missed his nap time. I pulled him inside, dried him off and put him down for a well deserved nap. Upon his sleepy slumber coming to an end it was time to see more family members and whip out the cake for a round of Happy Birthday.

I cannot believe that my little man is ANOTHER year older, I don't know how time is going by so quickly but I know this year and every year after is going to continue to speed by. I am just intent on making every day special for Leo, making every birthday count and keeping that beautiful smile of his firmly on his face where it belongs.

Staying up late and baking Leo a cake that I knew he was going to love was worth every moment. It was worth all of those practice runs and planning. It was worth it because Leo LOVED his special day, and next year I will just have to pull out the stops again and think up another birthday that he will love equally if not more.

For now though, Happy Birthday Baby Boy.

I am so glad that you enjoyed your special day, and welcome to year 3 of your adventure.

Planning a 2nd Birthday

I have been in the midst of deciding what we will be doing on little man's 2nd Birthday.

I have an idea in my mind’s eye of how I want the day to go, I want to spend the day out in the garden with family and friends, amongst his birthday presents, balloons and giant bubbles.

Luke will be tasked with the job of putting together Leo’s main birthday gift the night before while I keep little man with me at home. You see Leo’s birthday present off us this year is something that won’t fit in our garden at home without taking up the majority of the lawn…

He is getting his very own wooden playhouse, that is going to be set up in his Grandparent’s garden ready for those days he is with Granny!

A house that comes kitted with a slide right off the side of the house, and it is a house that we will be putting Leo’s very own mark on over the next few months. Luke is being tasked with wall papering the interior, I can only imagine that Baa and Macca Pacca will feature! He is in charge of finding some carpet that will fit snuggly inside to make it a perfect little space for Leo to enjoy.

We will be kitting it out with a sofa and other items favoured by Leo that will keep him entertained as he plays house in his little wooden home.

I am wishing for sunshine and warding away any Grey clouds and rain for Leo’s big day. I want to invite some of his little friends around for a play and to help celebrate Leo’s Second birthday in style!

I have spent many a evening dreaming up Leo's birthday cake and deciding whether I have the ability to cook something amazing up. Regardless of capability I will be giving it a shot! I have spent hours in the kitchen on test runs...Some have worked and others...Just haven't.  

Now I know exactly what I will be doing. 

Leo is having a Timmy Sheep cake that I know he is going to love, and I have just worked out how to make the cake work. By molding Rice Krispie treats I have managed to create Timmy's face, arms and legs out of nothing more than Rice Krispies, Marshmallows and Butter. So now all I need to do is apply this to the final cake and fill in Timmy's middle with the birthday cake!

The full 'How to make a Timmy Sheep Cake' will be coming soon...

And to in-keep with the theme of the Timmy cake, I have decided that Timmy will feature throughout the entire day! Expect Timmy balloons and Happy Birthday Banners! 

We have booked in a family photo shoot on Leo's actual birthday, The last one we had done was just after Leo turned 1 and started walking. I think that it would be amazing to have some professional photos taken once a year around this time as Leo is growing up.

Now I have an idea of how the day is going to go (Sunshine permitting) I am getting rather excited about Leo turning the big 2!

But I still find it hard to comprehend just how quickly the last 2 years have gone. How is it that next year he will be turning 3? 

Time is quite simply running away with me.

Pigs in Mud Cake Recipe

These last few weeks I have been pondering Leo's birthday, and birthdays mean one thing...

Cake.

The cake thoughts have made me wonder what I could possibly bake for my little man's second birthday. All sorts of weird and wonderful creations have entered my mind, and I have pondered whether I have the baking skills to cook anything of remembrance.. The good kind of course... 

With just less than a month to the big day I decided to try and cook up a storm in the kitchen, along with the cooking I made a BIG mess of both the kitchen...and myself.

The mess was all for a very worthy cause though... I was trying my hand at cooking the Pigs In Mud Cake!

Now I have to say I was skeptical as to how this may turn out...But as you can see from the below photograph it could have been much worse...

What do you need to bake a Piggy Mud Cake?

This recipe will make 3 Mississippi Mud Cakes or one big one...

- 250g unsalted butter – softened
- 600g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 470g plain flour 
- 140g cocoa powder
- 2tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 table spoons of double cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- A little bit of water

You will also need:

- Around 20 Kit Kats

- 400g Chocolate

I made one big cake which took a little longer to cook, in the end it took just over an hour on 180°C.

Now before you get started prepare yourself to make a mess, because if you are using a mixer like I did...you are more than likely going to follow in my footsteps!

Now what do you do?

- Pick out a nice large mixing bowl and add the butter and sugar and then cream together until light and fluffy.

- Add the eggs into the creamed mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

- Add the Vanilla extract into the mixture.

- In a an additional bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together.

- Begin to add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar and mix well until it is all combined.

- Add in the double cream,

- You may need to add in some water here to free the mixture up a little.

-Put the batter into the prepared cake tin.

-Bake for approximately 1 hour or until cooked.

Making your piggies!

Now this part is purely down to your creativity. You can make as many piggies that will fit in your mud bath. You can make them out of Marzipan or Moulding Chocolate or anything else that you can model with and of course... eat!

I opted to use Marzipan that I then coloured with Pink Food Colouring Gel, and I have to admit that it was easier than I thought it would be. You will need a sharp object such as a cocktail stick to add in the details that you want.

Making your Chocolate Ganache (Or Mud!)

For your mud bath and sides of your cake you will need:

- 250ml of Double Cream

- 400g of Chocolate (I opted for Cadburys!)

 Put the cream in a saucepan and heat it up to almost boiling. Then take it off the heat and begin adding in your chocolate, keep stirring it until it is all melted into the mixture. Then take a seat, put on the kettle and catch up on the soaps, as this is now a waiting game! 

You have to wait for the Ganache to cool so that it becomes a thick consistency that is less likely to run when you add it onto your cake. 

I actually prepared the Ganache while the cake was cooking so it was ready to use by the time the cake cooled.

Adding your Kit Kats...

Take your Kit Kats and break them into strips of 2.

Once your cake has cooled slather the Ganache onto the sides of your cake, and add the Kit Kats around the circumference. If you still have a small gap that needs filling break the Kit Kat in two again and fit it in. I advise to have some ribbon or something similar to hand in order to tie it all together as the Kit Kats can be a bit fiddly and don't always want to stay in place.

One your Kit Kats are in position you can pour the rest of the Ganache into the centre of the cake, and then simply pop your piggies into their bath.

Then it just needs popping in the fridge to set.

A few little tips I picked up while making this cake...

- When the cake is cooked, if there is a slight rise in the centre you can cut this straight before adding the Ganache, or you will end up with an uneven surface like in my cake. Or you can simply make more Ganache to fill it up, I feel we could have done with some more!

- Put the piggies further into the centre as they do 'drift' a little when you put it to set.

Now after making this cake and being pleasantly surprised by how it turned out... I have decided that this is not the cake for Leo's birthday!  Instead I have opted for a Timmy Time theme and have drawn up a stencil for the cake...That I will be attempting over the next week or so!

Now this could be potentially more tricky than the pigs in mud!