We combined a lot of ideas that we found on the Internet to decorate the cake. (Thanks for the original idea, Elizabeth G.!) It ended up being super easy! (We used a large pound cake with a part of a small pound cake on top for the engine and small pound cakes for the cars.)
We decorated with Twizzlers, big and mini Oreos, an ice cream cone with marshmallows, and some Starburst.
We had each train car carrying something different -- chocolate chips (coal), pretzels (logs), jelly beans, and gummy bears. We ended with a caboose.
Here's the front view of the completed train cake ...
...and the back view.
Our masterpiece!! (though not the best picture of the three of us. ha ha)
We got up early on Ian's birthday (Saturday, May 7th) to finish things up. We even put the birthday boy to work! :)
Kim did some decorating,
Matt did some table and chair assembly,
Grammy took care of the food,
and Amy did everything else! Good teamwork, Aunt Amy and Ian!
Amy and Ian laid some train track leading up to the front door.
Choo, choo! All aboard!
We made a LONG railroad track out of sidewalk chalk on our driveway, too.
Grammy and Ian tested it out to be sure it would work.
And, of course, we hung up the awesome birthday sign from Aunt Sarah! Ian loved to point at the "I" and say, "I for Ian!!"
Finally, it was time for the guests to arrive! Ian stood at the front window expectantly!
We divided the "engineers" into two groups and had them go to three different stations.
At one station, the kids decorated train magnets with markers and then attached a picture of themselves as the engineer.
At another station, the kids played outside on the railroad track,
and all tried to fit in the shapes drawn on the sidewalk.
At the last station, the kids played with trains and train tracks we borrowed from our friend, Caleb. (Thanks, Caleb!)
After the stations, the kids listened to a few train stories read by Matt ...
...and Amy.
Then it was time for blowing out birthday candles and eating lunch!
Before opening presents, we got a few pictures of the engineers,
Christopher, Caleb, Zane, Brooke, Caleb, Maddy, Nate, Ian, Micah, and Eli.
After the party was over, we enjoyed time together as a family!
Thanks for the great Mother's Day, bouquet, Matt and Papa!
Ian remembered Grammy and Aunt Amy right away and had a great time playing with them:
reading books,
playing with the tool bench,
giving kisses on the banister,
giving lots of hugs and smiles,
and even doing some cooking together!
Ian loved trying out his new gifts, including some snazzy new clothes and a play shaving set!
Ian enjoyed hearing bedtime stories from Aunt Amy!Amy and I were happy to spend Mother's Day with our mom! We went to get manicures and pedicures together on Sunday afternoon! How relaxing!
Thanks for the great visit, Grammy and Aunt Amy!! We loved every minute with you and can't wait to see you soon! :)
1 comment:
Looks like a fun party! Awesome job on the cake too! I loved looking at the pictures and thinking "Ooo...have to remember that for October!" :)Happy Birthday, Ian!
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