My Little Cupcake

Well, we've toted along our little Amelia for so many excursions.  Nathan and I laugh often about how we don't really let an infant slow us down.  We just go about our business as usual.  Usually it goes off without a hitch.  (The best stories come from the times when it probably isn't the best idea to include an infant...)

On our frequent outings I feel that it's my obligation to dress Amelia accordingly.  That's part of the fun of having a girl, she really is like a baby doll!

For example:

A fancy dress at a wedding. 

(Yes, we drove to Nashville with a three week old.)

A swim suit at the pool.

(No, she didn't go in the water.)

And red, white, and blue on the Fourth of July. 

(Yes, we let two year old Margaret hold our baby.  She's VERY grown up! ;-))

I take pride in having enough time on my hands to make sure that Amelia is wearing the perfect outfit for each big event.  (It is only fair to note that Nathan and I haven't purchased ANY of Amelia's clothing thus far.  Thank you for your generous gifts!)

 It should come as no surprise that when it came time to bake 150 cupcakes for AJ's graduation party, that Amelia was thrilled to dress accordingly. :)

We went to Canton this weekend to celebrate AJ's graduation.  It wasn't all that long ago that I remember AJ as Amelia's size.  I was 9 when he was born and therefore served as a great "mother hen".  It wasn't long before AJ came to Aunt Mary and Uncle Scott's house for weekly visits.  And shortly there after I  was babysitting and the two of us were pretty good buddies.  Fast forward 18 years and AJ is a GREAT young adult who now has a new baby cousin of his own to love. It was a mere five days before Amelia's birth that I was sitting through Central Catholic commencement ceremonies the size of a small house and with a face, hands, and feet that resembled Shrek and Fiona. (There's a picture floating around out there of all the cousins with the graduate...it ain't pretty!) Miserable, exhausted, hot, and huge...I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The graduation party was this past Saturday at Aunt Missy's house.  The backyard was DECKED out in all things AJ. It was an awesome party.  A lot of people came together and pitched in to make it pretty darn special for a well deserving kid.

My job was cupcakes! I was thrilled to be asked to make upwards of 100 cupcakes.  Amelia and I started to work on them last Monday.  We made two batches on Monday and four more on Tuesday. Amelia added to the fun. Everything is a bit more challenging when you're working around feeding and nap schedules.  My darling girl took some nice long naps in her crib (as she's doing now) so Mommy could get down to business . And when she was up and in one of her "moods" when she thought she shouldn't be put down, I just wrapped her up in her Baby K'Tan and wore her while I worked.  (Any new moms or mom-to-be, I highly recommend this one!)

I found one of my most FAVORITE cupcake recipes.  Mom had send me a recipe for chocolate cupcakes filled with icing to create the Little Debbies "HoHo" cake effect.  These chocolate beauties came out of the oven as a cupcake should, with the most perfect dome shape I've ever seen.  Usually my cupcakes are flat and I just use the icing to give them their shape.  This simple recipe called for baking soda instead of baking powder and I think that did the trick to make them dome all on their own. This one is definitely a keeper.

Amelia and I went home for the Fourth of July, and the next day Mom (Grandma) took off work to help us with the task of icing (a.k.a. - the fun part!). Mom took control of the mixer and whipped out batch after batch of butter cream icing as I filled and refilled piping bags and went to town topping those yummy treats.  We both took our obligatory Amelia breaks to tend to the sweet baby girl (she's an easy distraction). The kitchen and dining room turned into "Cupcake Central" and it looked somewhat like a Wilton warehouse with all the sprinkles, food coloring, and decorating tips.

A lot of cupcakes and about four hours later, we boxed them all up and took them to The English Garden.  A big thanks to Marilyn Barr who let us use a bit of her cooler space (next to the gorgeous flower arrangements she creates) to store the finished product for a couple of days.  I can only imagine what the 105 degree heat would have done to our precious butter cream.

The day of the party, we were proud to deliver about 150 cupcakes decked out in white and green for the big celebration.  Thanks to Aunt Missy for asking me to do them.  Thanks to Mom for all of her help with this HUGE undertaking.  There is NO WAY I could have gotten them done on my own. Thanks to Dad and Nathan for being my loyal taste testers.  And thanks to Amelia for making the job so much sweeter and looking the part!

Congrats AJ!  I'm so proud of you. I love you so much.  Best wishes for a fantastic academic and athletic career at Walsh University.  You better work your ass off, and have a lot of fun when the work is done.  You know I'll be here for you in whatever you need.  Amelia and I can't wait to come cheer you on as a Cavalier!  Looking forward to watching this next phase of your life.