Birthday cake

Several months ago, my mom turned 58. Daniel and I practiced singing happy birthday to Gram over, and over, and over again. I used the opportunity to teach him about birthdays, birthday parties, birthday cake, and birthday presents. For weeks after Gram's birthday, I would ask Daniel what he wanted to sing in the car and he would answer, "Happy birfday, Gram!!" While he learned the song, he didn't quite get the concept.

Then the birthday season of our playgroup began and we had 5 birthday parties in about a 6-week span. Ding! Ding! Ding! Daniel got it! He understood that birthday = birthday party = birthday cake. He didn't quite get the presents thing as many of our friends requested "No gifts, please." During the birthday season, I asked Daniel what he wanted for his birthday. Without a breath of hesitation, he shouted, "BIRTHDAY CAKE!" Of all the things in the world he could have chosen, he wanted cake. That's my boy.

As the days ticked by, we talked more and more about his birthday, his party, the upcoming birthday visit from Nana, and many other birthday-related topics. When I asked Daniel what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, I was expecting a very emphatic "CHOCOLATE!" What I heard surprised me. Daniel sat pondering for a moment, sighed a little sigh, smiled, and said, "Strawberry," in a very thoughtful tone of voice. I didn't try to talk him out of it, but I wanted to make sure he knew his options. He said he understood and he wanted strawberry.

My strawberry cake - I hate to brag - is excellent. It's from scratch and this year, Daddy, Nana, and Daniel went to the farmer's market to buy fresh, local, homegrown strawberries. This cake rocked. When I went in to Daniel's room on July 4 to wish him a happy second birthday, the first words out of his mouth were, "Eat birthday cake at Monica's house!" We had just gone to a birthday party at Monica's house the weekend before. I guess he was still a little hazy on the details. I explained to him that it was HIS birthday and we were going to eat strawberry cake at OUR house later that day. All day long, Daniel asked about that cake. He helped me make it after breakfast, watched it in the oven, asked about it when it was cooling on the counter, wanted to know where his candles were - that kid was interested! I kept reminding him that his cake had to cool, I had to ice it, and we were still waiting on our family to come over.

As you can well imagine, getting a 2-year-old to nap on his birthday is no small feat. He finally gave up and dozed off at about 4 that afternoon. I cuddled with him while he slept and snoozed a little myself. When Daniel woke up, his eyes popped wide open, he sat bolt-upright in bed, and said, "My cake's ready!!" I couldn't help but laugh. I hope fulfilling his birthday wishes are always so simple.