First, the cake.
Oh readers, we all know I have had issues in the past with making cakes. For quite a while it seemed as though I could either a) make a delicious cake or b) make a cake that looked good. But I could never do both. However, I was getting much better at making cakes that both looked and tasted good. (For example, Gigi's cake. It was pretty dang tasty, if I do say so myself, and it didn't look too bad, either!)
So for Tess's birthday I had grand designs. This one, in fact.
Okay, not three layers, of course. But I figured I could make my own rock candy and then put it on a white frosted cake. So I made the rock candy, and it turned out great - it was a lovely shade of pink... until it cooled and hardened. And then it was orangy. I'm not quite sure how or why, but that's what it was. And by the time I realized it was orangy I had already made the frosting for the cake, only it wasn't white, it was a pale, pale pink because I decided that would look really great, too. (I had made buttercream, which is never a perfect white, so that's another reason why I made it pink.)
So anyways, the orangy candy on the pink frosting? No. No no no. It just did not look good. So I decided to frost the cake and then do something else I had seen on Pinterest. So I started frosting the cake, only to realize that I didn't have enough frosting. Dang it! Usually I make 1.5x the amount of frosting, but this time I only made a single batch. So I made another batch of frosting, only this time I accidentally added too much food coloring because I only had gel food coloring and that's tough to only add in little doses. (At least for me.) So instead of having a lovely light shade of pink it was a rather electric, Pepto Bismol pink.
But by this time I really did not care. I was (and still am) getting over this dang ear infection and cold and had craft group coming to my house that evening and still had a bunch of cleaning and such to do. So I used the frosting and got out the sprinkles and this is how it turned out.
Which is really not so bad, but I really wanted the sprinkles to cover the entire top of the cake but the frosting kept drying and it was just a pain in the neck.
However.
All the kids loved it. Tessie kept yelling "Two! Two!" when she saw it. And that's what matters most, right?
So, there's the cake saga. Now back to the real star of this post, Miss Tess.
My awesome friend Kanien came over with a bag full of dress-up clothes for Tess on Friday night. While Tess was not friendly at all while Kanien and Claire were giving her the gift, she sure was excited later on! Why yes, she is wearing a tutu, fairy wings, straw hat, and her crown. All at the same time. Because when you're two you can totally get away with that.
Since Tess is too little to choose where we went out to eat that night (read: mom and dad did NOT want to go to McDonald's), we chose for her. Actually, Lance chose for her. There's this Mexican place down by the mall called La Bamba that has a big neon sign that says "Burritos as big as your head!" Lance decided that's where he really wanted to go. I wanted to go to El Mason, but figured we'd try the new place out.
We drove by and there was a cop with lights flashing in the parking lot. We walked in and the first thing I thought was "Oh my... dive." I mean, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't that nice, either. So we ordered all the food and sat the kids down. Tess loves getting everyone to slap their hands on the table, as you can see.
A very happy birthday girl!
So we got our food and the first thing Tess did was pour a cup of salsa all down her pants, shoes, and and floor. And she did it so surreptitiously that we didn't even notice it until she said "Uh-oh". As you can imagine it was oh-so-fun to deal with.
The meal was spent in typical Madsen fashion - calming children, stopping fights, and trying to get everyone to at least eat something. Lance liked his burrito, but me? Not so much. I won't be returning to La Bamba again.
Josh was kind of a pill during the whole meal. You know what they say, Josh: "Every party needs a pooper, that's why we invited you."
We got home and it was time for cake and presents! See that #2 candle? I bought that for Cole while I was pregnant with Tess and justified it by telling myself that we'd use it on Tess's second birthday. And we did!
Tess was pretty excited about the cake and the candle!
"It's a two! Two! Two!"
Then it was time to open presents. Tess got a tutu and magic wand, a bubble machine, some books, and some toy pots and pans and utensils. She was pretty excited about all of it!
I have to say, though, that the biggest hit were the books from Grandpa ElRay and Grandma Susie. This girl LOVES to read! By the end of the evening I had already read all four books three times each to that girl.
At two years old Tessie loves to:
- Sing - especially "Once There Was A Snowman" and "Popcorn Popping".
- Read - any book, any time. Especially when she says it's time.
- Help cook - hence the toy dishes.
- Get her way - hey, she's two.
- Take baths
- Have her hair done
- Go on walks
- Swing in the swing
- Talk non-stop at home but clam up in front of strangers
- Run through the aisles of the grocery store
- Fight with her nemesis: Cole
- Play with her favorite friend: Cole
- Lay on Mommy and Daddy's bed with her blankie on her and a sippy cup of milk and veg after Spencer and Josh have gone to school
- Watch Sesame Street
- Run around like a crazy lunatic
- Be very, very naughty in church - to the point that Mommy just about loses it
- Give kisses and hugs
- Pull out all of the books in her bookshelf and drop them randomly throughout the house
- Pout. Big time.
- Tantrum at the drop of a hat.
- Go "bye-bye"
- Play with Spencer and Josh
- Rough house with Daddy on the bed
- Sleep with approximately 237 blankets in her bed (she makes a little nest out of them)
- When she's angry she'll pretend to want something, only to angrily and maliciously throw it back at you - hard.
- Be a punk
- Be an angel
- Throw food when she's done eating
- Stick her hands in other people's drinks
- Take her shoes and socks off as soon as we get back home
- See herself on the computer when we do Google Hangout
- "Play" the piano
- Watch digital timers count down
- Say "mine!" Lots.
- Wear hats
- Wear dresses
- Dance in the kitchen with Momma
"Though she be but little, she is fierce!"
I wouldn't have her any other way. I love you, my little, fierce Tessie girl!
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