5.Versluys'.us

As I neared the end of last weekend’s spate of fresh posts, I was unable to devote a proper amount of energy to Eric’s birthday party. Having recovered a bit (all the leftover cake is gone, so I’ve emerged from my sugar coma as well), I now present the celebration of Eric’s 26th birthday.

I believe the highlight of Eric’s day wasn’t the surprise gift I planned (both sets of parents chipped in so that we could get him a new car stereo system), but the gorgeous cake his daughter created with just a little help from myself and Aunt Jojo.

Since Eric leaves for work around 5:30 most mornings, his first “Happy Birthday” (other than my chipper greeting at 2:30 a.m. when I got up to go to the bathroom) was Roma sending him a singing voice mail. But he knew that when he arrived home, there would be a party waiting for him.

Jojo was spending the night, so she and I divided the cake-making supervision tasks. Believe me, making a cake with a 3 year old is no mean feat of effective management.

Jo guided Roma as they mixed the batter:

And Roma even helped clean up.

It was rather difficult to keep Roma occupied as the cake baked and cooled, since she was anxious to open the package of sprinkles that came with the frosting.

But first things first. We exhausted the colored frosting stash with splotches of color between cake layers and all over the outside. Jo was a bit perturbed at the destruction of a pristine coat of chocolate frosting with plain old buttercream, but she took it in stride.

Finally, the moment arrived, and Roma cracked open the sprinkles. They were applied generously to the cake exterior, until Roma decided it was time to again clean up.

I moved her to the sink to catch any escapees, but not one sprinkle successfully evaded Roma’s attack. She was on a mission.

Finally, 26 candles were lined around the edge, because you can’t ever have too much fire on a cake.

Although the cake was a highlight of Roma’s day, we kept the anticipation mounting by wrapping presents and preparing for Papa’s arrival.

Since I knew Eric had a definite list of stereo must-haves, I didn’t even try to buy one myself. However, money really isn’t much fun to open as a gift on your birthday unless you’re twelve. So, in the interests of giving Roma something to wrap and Eric something to open, we gathered three “clue” presents from around the house.

It was so satisfying to watch Eric unwrap a toy car, a women’s music CD, and Monopoly money.

That smile appeared only after he figured out what the items represented.

Quincy really didn’t get the game.

But she did eat more cake than me.

I think Roma’s Papa will attest that the best present of the day was his first birthday cake from one of his kids.

Eric’s finally “the same age” as me for another 9 months. He really should have married someone a lot younger, since he’s going to live until 100 with his Dutch genes.