Happy Birthday Abigail!

We had a fun time celebrating Abby's birthday.  We had 16 cousins come over for a fun party the day before her birthday.  On her birthday we celebrated at Kangaroo Zoo. (A fun place with big blow up slides and jumping things.)

I can't believe Abigail is 6!  She is such a sweet girl, very smart and obedient.  She is also very patient and kind to her 3 brothers.

We love you Abby!

Abigail wanted a barbie cake again this year.  This is Rosella from the Island Princess Barbie movie.   This cake was actually pretty easy to make because I just looked at my barbie cake tips that I blogged last year.

First Day of School

Here is Abigail at her first day of school: 

Abigail is really enjoying Kindergarten so far.  She loves being able to ride the bus home and I can tell she feels so big and important.  I have to admit that I did choke up a bit and I shed a tear as she walked into the classroom on Monday.  It makes me feel like I'm getting old and becoming a real "mom" because I have a child in school.  After a few days of school, she said "I'm never bad at school, because I don't like to get in trouble."  Also, on Monday, as Abigail came off the bus, Anthony was so excited to see her, but he was really disappointed that he couldn't ride.  He said "I want to go to kindergarten and ride the bus.  no fair!"

Curacao Trip

We just got back from a fun week in Curacao. It is a small island in the Caribbean just north of Venezuela. It is owned by the Netherlands just like Aruba and Bonaire. These pictures show some of our highlights from the fun week: (We got a new digital video camera and I thought it would be neat to add video to our blog, but when I tried to upload the video the computer kept crashing....I guess it is time to upgrade to a Mac. like Al, Cathy, Emily, and Cheryl.)In Willemsted - Punda district. The kids loved all of the colorful buildings and the floating bridge.

They got their faces painted with a Curacoan Flag at the Kids Club.

Jumping on the floating trampoline with Daddy and Grandpa.

Sailboat snorkel trip.

Andrew and Abby were so brave to snorkel all by themselves.

Kayak rides and searching for crabs.

Playing at the beach! (Anthony's favorite activity)

Abigail's favorite part of the trip: doing "tricks" in the swimming pool.

This is the kids enjoying their last "Miami Vice" drink before we left. (mix of Strawberry daquari and Pina Colada). Andrew said that was his favorite part of the trip - drinking lots of Miami Vices.

Al's got me sewing

Last year, Al posted a blog called "Becca's got me baking," so I thought "Al's got me sewing" was an appropriate title for this post.

This all started when I was shopping for spring clothes for Abigail and frustrated because I did not really like any of the styles at stores like Gap, Old Navy, and Target. They were a little too sassy and seemed to old for Abby. So Al convinced me that we could sew something for her.

We had a crazy day yesterday sewing together. The kids were fending for themselves and Alison's house got a little messy. But we had some cute results.

It took me all day to make the blue twirly skirt and the white biker shorts. The shorts are for Abigail to wear under her dresses and skirts and were made with an old maternity tank top. We drafted a pattern off a similar pair of shorts that Abby had. We used the bottom part of the tank top as the bottom of the shorts so we didn't have to hem or finish them. (That was not my idea - it was Al's)

Alison made the cute yellow dress - she designed it, drafted the pattern herself, and sewed it. She also made the green under-shorts (from an old navy Tshirt) in about 2 minutes. Abby loves this dress because it is long, ruffly, and very comfy. And if you know her personality, you would agree that this bright, sweet, springy dress is perfect for her.

Al had some great projects going on yesterday: making new covers for a baby swing and car seat, and some cute summer shirts for Maryanna. Check out Al's blog for all her great sewing projects. I know there is no way I could have made those 2 items without her help. Thanks.

Abby's 5th birthday and Barbie Cake Tips

Abigail had her 5th birthday celebration at Grandma's pool. She has enjoyed riding her new princess bike for the past couple of weeks. She loved her barbie cake. The morning of the party, she sat and stared at it for quite a while. She was a little worried, however, that Cinderella was going to get all ruined and sticky.

Tips for making a barbie cake:
I used 2 cake mixes: The first one is a double-layer cake (2 9 inch pans) - bake as directed on box and remove from oven and cool on racks. The second mix I baked in a Pampered Chef 2 quart batter bowl. This glass bowl is perfect for the job. Make sure to spray the bowl well. (I used the spray that has flour as well). Also, don't be surprised if it takes forever to cook. I think this one took about an hour.

Let the cake cool in the glass bowl - this is important. If you dump it out while it is still hot, it may crumble and the edges will fall off.

When completely cool, make hole in center using tongs. If you don't hollow it out a little, the cake will crack when the Barbie is inserted.

I placed the two round cakes and the one from the glass bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes to chill them before frosting. This helps them keep their shape.

Place a big blob of frosting on a cake plate and put a leveled 9" circle cake on top.
Lots more frosting then the other leveled 9" circle.
More frosting.
Skirt cake on top of that.
Wrap Barbie tightly in saran wrap from chest down - this will keep her from getting dirty from cake and frosting.
Insert Barbie into the hole until the cake is at waist level. The reason I added the extra cake is because the batter bowl makes a cake that is a little shorter than Barbie's legs.

Now frost the entire cake generously and smooth it out. Put in fridge or let sit until that frosting is set before you begin decorating.

For decorating, I only used 2 colors and a couple of decorating tips. My secret to making this look pretty was to buy the pre-made flowers from the candy factory outlet. These were inexpensive and makes the dress look great without a lot of work.

Butter cream frosting:
1 stick butter (you can use up to one half shortening)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
a couple of Tablespoons of milk - to desired consistency

Whip butter - add vanilla, slowly mix in powdered sugar. Then add milk - one TBSP at a time and whip till creamy and the consistency you like.

If not using any store-bought frosting, you will have to make a couple batches of this for the Barbie cake.

Abby

Abby is such a sweetheart. She is very smart and thoughtful. Although she may seem shy at first, she is a very sweet and her cousins and friends that know her well love to be around her. She has an amazing imagination and can keep herself easily entertained even if she has to play with her fingers and pretend they are a family. Abigail is in preschool and dance. She loves both. She loves her little brothers and is very protective of them.