Happy birthday, Superhero Drummer Boy!

Guess who turned 3 a few weeks ago?

And for the past 6 weeks or so he has insisted on being called "Michael Alexander Crane, Superhero Drummer Boy."  He is quick to correct me when I occasionally slip up and refer to him as "Superhero Drummer Boy, Michael Alexander Crane."  If you ask him if he is _______ (cute, silly, crazy, smart, anything), he will answer "No, I just a superhero drummer boy."

Michael has been excited for his birthday ever since his cousin Abby's birthday back in October.  At that point he was informed that it would be Liam's birthday next, then Daddy's, then Jesus' birthday, and THEN his birthday.  He was a good helper at Liam's birthday party, helping to blow out candles and open presents (although in a slightly more restrained fashion than his mama--there is, unfortunately, video footage of me at my sister's 2nd birthday party where I am being so helpful you can hear my mom from behind the camera asking my dad to get me out of Dene's face).  Then we had a long Advent talking about how we were getting ready for Jesus' birthday, with Michael nearly always adding "And then my birthday!"  And finally, finally it was Michael's birthday.

Three years old.  My goodness.  When did that happen?

This boy loves his puzzles, and he was thrilled to get several new ones for his birthday.  Mostly though I think he was just excited that it was finally his turn to actually have a birthday.  Cake and lots of attention didn't hurt either, naturally.

cousin friends :)

Playing off M's love of puzzles, I decided to do a puzzle-themed party.  And by "themed" I mean I drew a couple puzzle pieces on the cake.  And when I mentioned the theme to my mom she generously donated several small puzzles to be shared as party favors with the cousin friends.  So yeah, a themed party...

Maybe some day we'll dabble in the world of organized games at birthday parties.  Like, when he's 10 and asks for games at his party.  And Mama isn't 7 months pregnant.  Baking the cake and getting the house clean-ish was enough party effort for this year!

not quite Pinterest-worthy, but recognizably puzzle-themed, right? just say yes...

So, the cake... I decided right away to do my Aunt Lisa's chocolate cherry bars from our family cookbook.  That one is always a huge hit at any Rappana family gathering, and I figured it was pretty much a guaranteed success. My baking skills tend much more toward bread and occasionally scones and cookies, but regardless I've improved my baking (and learned a little bit about baking at altitude!) since the last cake I made when M was about 3 months old (never mind that we all got the stomach flu the next day... it really wasn't the cake, but neither Alex nor I ever intend to eat caramel cake ever again).

Well, the recipe is simple and foolproof.  That is, unless one is foolish enough to decide to not bother actually following it.  It calls for a box of devil's food cake mix, but I prefer to make things from scratch (to the point of pride--and not the good kind).  No big deal, right?  A little bit of extra work, but it would be even better if it were completely homemade.  Obviously.

Until the night before M's party, when it suddenly occurred to me that the recipe in the cookbook wasn't just adding a can of cherry pie filling to an intact chocolate cake recipe.  The box provides the dry ingredients, but the wet ingredients are modified to include the cherries.  And this didn't occur to me before because...?

There was still time to get a box, but of course I didn't.  I patched together a couple chocolate cake recipes, tried to modify the liquids they called for to more or less match what was in the cookbook, and added my cherries.  And then prayed and prayed as the cake (which ended up being a whole lot bigger than anything I'd seen from Lisa or Grandma) took almost twice as long to bake as it was supposed to.  At least it didn't fall (my first Mile High cake-baking attempt ended up bearing a closer resemblance to pie crusts than to cake).

All in all I was just glad that no one (other than Alex) had tasted Lisa's cake.  Or Grandma's (especially last summer's version made from a brownie mix instead of cake).  The texture was a little off, the edges were definitely dry, and the cherries were totally lost in the somehow massive cake.  But the frosting turned out just right!  Most importantly, Michael still liked it (in fact, I got way more compliments on the cake than I felt like I deserved).  In fact, my sister-in-law liked it so much that she recruited me to make it again for my niece's birthday party next weekend, in cupcake form.  I will most assuredly be purchasing a cake mix!

Where was I?  Oh right, birthday boy!

I love you, my Michael-Alexander-Crane-Superhero-Drummer-Boy!  You truly are my little superhero, with your sweet, cheerful disposition and your affectionate nature.  You are such an awesome big brother to Liam (even when it's hard to share), and you are a constant joy to Daddy and me (even in the challenges of potty training ubiquitous "why?"s).  Your love for reading and learning--and puzzles and trains and Legos--brings a smile to my face.  I am so excited for the future with you, and I truly enjoy so many things about the present, even when the days are long.  Daddy and I are so proud of you, Michael!  Happy birthday!