Happy birthday Mini-2!

Our darling little Mini-2 'changes her number' each year the day after Fireworks Day (known to adults as Guy Fawkes Day) and this year and last, has been very very excited about her birthday.  Mr Becca does a little fireworks show for the girls in our back garden, then the next day is all about her.  I really do think that 3 and 4 are the most magical of all birthdays.  The excitement of the build-up, the joy at seeing the cake, and the number candle, and of being able to blow it out by themselves - it's just too cute!

I seem to recall that my mother always made us feel really special on our birthdays, and I fully intend to make my kids feel the same way.  So Mini-2 had a few parties - here's the first one at Toddler group (with a store-bought cake).

We wear name stickers because the group is busy, and it's hard to remember everyone's names.  The rest of this cake was eaten again after school with a friend, then she had her birthday party with the lovingly crafted Octonauts cake - my first time using fondant icing.  Boy, was I nervous.  I had watched many YouTube videos and had advice from friends but it was still scary doing it myself.  I rolled out 1kg of fondant and it never quite rolled into a circle.  I re-did it times before deciding that enough was enough and just going for it.  Don't look too closely - you may see the flaws!  Mini-2 and her friends loved it, so I was happy too.

Here's a lovely photo, courtesy of Aspire2be, of the cake and also the mini cupcakes with Octonauts rice-paper toppers.  I also did her some Charlie & Lola mini cupcakes (you can just see them on the underneath layer).

You can probably tell that I took that last photo - it's the story of The Octonauts and the Giant Squid and she was lucky enough to receive it for her birthday, so we read it that night.