Happy New Year!

It's the beginning of a new year, and I'm 2 months behind on my blog update...sigh. We had a rough few weeks around the holidays when Oliver and I both had a cold, and followed by a stomach bug. It was so sad to see little Oliver not feeling well. He couldn't eat for 2 days or have any milk. I felt bad that he might have been confused with all the changes. He did great though, he was sad, but we made it up by holding him close most of the day. We even took a few naps together!

For Thanksgiving, we had a traditional dinner at Grandad's. I made a cake that was decorated with melted chocolate butterflies. It was a test for another cake I was making for a friend. It was interesting using the chocolate, you have to work fast before it hardens. You can blend the colors which makes a really neat marbling effect, and It tasted really good too!



We were able to have Oliver take his nap in the car while driving to grandad's. We packed everything he needed for his sleep routine, including his best friend "ba" the stuffed animal dog. After Oliver enjoyed his first solid Thanksgiving dinner, I gave him a bath, and put him in his pajamas, and he dozed off on the way home. Must have been the turkey!




Chris's company also had a potluck. I didn't have much time to bake, but last minute made some cupcake when I realized I didn't have any icing. So I had to improvise, which I'm always up for the challenge. I ended up using fondant (like edible playdough) and made miniature foods to be placed on top of the cupcakes. My favorites are the corn and the mini turkey.



So my first paid cake was a birthday cake for a friend's boyfriend. He has a favorite hockey team, so the idea was to make a puck with the team logo in the middle. I had some major disasters, it was definitely a learning experience. I felt like I was on the Food Network cake Challenge, but I pushed through and worked it out. My friend loved the cake. It was funny, she said the black fondant turned everyone's lips black!

To help move some of my old t-shirt inventory, I decided to host an all-member playdate/trunk show at our house. It had rained hard for a few days before that, so I didn't think it'd be a big turn out. Then the day came and it was one of the nicest days in the low 70s. I had set up a table with the t-shirts nicely displayed, some snacks and drinks on the side, and toys all over the living and dinning room. Including a slide/climber meant for the outside, but perfect for indoors on a cold day. The playdate was a big success. Unfortunately the sale wasn't so great. I made $38.

So before committing to the playdate, I had agreed to make cupcakes for my mother-in-law's "Puppy Party". She works at a hospital and organizes to have a blessing for the pet therapy dogs. It worked out that we were leaving for San Diego the day after the playgroup, which meant that after 15+ babies leave the house and Oliver goes to bed, I still had to decorate 2 dozen cupcakes! I was so tired, but was also excited to make little puppy cupcakes. They turned out super cute and was a big hit at the party!

For Christmas, we had the whole family over for brunch. We got Oliver a little Christmas outfit with a bow tie. He looked adorable! This year, we got a tree for the living room, and Oliver helped with decorating the tree, which he called the ornaments "Tree Ball". He loved seeing the tree lit up, and he also loved a Winnie the Pooh ornament that also had Piglet, both fallen asleep on a chair waiting for Santa with milk and cookies. Oliver also recognized it was milk, and was excited about that.

We had a great brunch with a HoneyBaked Ham, lobster quiche, salad, and some appetizers. This year I was so out of it, I totally thought I had an extra day. Then the night before the brunch I rushed out to buy ingredients for the food, and was wrapping gifts all night. It all worked out and everyone had a great time. The weather was so nice, we even moved the unwrapping of the gifts out to the patio.



Then on New Year's Day, we drove to Dad's in Pasadena and he dropped us off with Joan to watch the Rose Parade. We got to walk across a tall bridge. Oliver sat on Chris's shoulder most of the time and was able to get a good view of the parade. It was quite overwhelming. I don't think he has ever seen that many people, heard that much noise, and seen that many flowers. He didn't really know what to make of it, but he did enjoy running around after the parade and played in a rose garden, which we got some great pix of.