Birthdays are so fun!

Do you celebrate your kids birthdays each year? Birthdays are so fun, unless you are the mother that has to plan, prepare, entertain and deal with everyones frustrations and disappointments. I therefor try to keep these great milestones simple. I'll make a small dessert and name it in honor of the birthday child. It offers the feel good and recognition you want your child to experience without all the fuss and disappointment coming from unreasonable expectations when spoiled.

My little one turned 2 this week. Oh how these 2 years flew by. But so did the summer and I didn't yet have the chance to take a break. So I was more than pleased when my young teen decided to dabble in a little baking and cake decorating. I was pleased that I won't have to prepare something myself but more than that I was excited that she was finally willing to try something new that is not just fun and may even be challenging for a beginner. Many teens today are a bit lazy. They are only stimulated by things that are fun and that often translates to silliness, and of course when crafting they'll be drawn to things that are simple and don't require much skill. These things give people immediate satisfaction but doesn’t bring on any growth or true feeling of accomplishment. While it takes self love and inner work to build on self esteem, learning a craft and becoming good at it gives teens the confidence they so need. 

We decided to do a favorite summer treat - sandwich ice creams in the shape of a 2.

My daughter flattened soft bite cookie dough and baked them as flat sheets. She then spread store bought ice cream for the center. Once frozen she cut it into 2's using a number shaped cookie cutter.  They were covered in melted chocolate with some added nut crunch for texture. Pretty cute if I may say.

But that wasn't enough for everyones favorite 2 year old. We then baked a sweet little birthday cake, for what is a birthday celebration without cake? We decorated the cake with buttercream and my daughter piped some flowers. Pretty impressive for a first try. 

What can I say - I'm proud of her, but more importantly I think she’s proud of herself too.

Now that is something.

Blima