DJ turns 2 tomorrow, and I’ll admit…I wasn’t really up to planning a birthday party, or even making a cake this week. My husband and I decided to put off DJ’s party until after my father-in-law’s funeral on Saturday, when everything calms down a bit, and our routine is more normal. But it just didn’t feel right to let DJ’s actual birth day pass by with no acknowledgment (even though he doesn’t know the difference anyway), because I want to celebrate the birth of my son, the little cookie-boy who makes our life so much fun.
His favorite turtle hat - also a garage sale find, for only 50 cents.
When DJ was just a baby, I bought a Wilton Choo Choo Train cake pan at a garage sale for only $2.00. I put it away for him, assuming that at some point, he would become a train fanatic like his Dad…and I was right. DJ loves trains, but especially Thomas the Tank Engine, so today, using one of his little wooden trains as a model, I made him a Thomas cake.
I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to swing this one with my $1.00 salvage-store cake decorating set, because it only has 3 tips, but somehow I always manage to squeak by. I also found the candy letters and numbers at the salvage store for only 35 cents! Usually, when you find this kind of thing there, the letters are all smashed to smithereens, but this set was perfect, and the colors were just right for Thomas!
Bee made the “Happy Birthday” smoke, and we used a scrapbooker’s glue dot to attach it to a blue toothpick, which came from a box of colored toothpicks that I inherited from my husband’s Grandma.
So vintage!
Bee also helped me wrap DJ’s presents – a new Big Wheel (he’s too tall now for The Red, White and Blue Racer), a little Thomas carrying case for his trains, and a Melissa and Doug stacking block train.
I feel better now because at least we can have a quiet celebration for DJ here at home. Once I found the motivation to actually start on the cake, the work was soothing to me. It was good to have something else to think about, and now that the cake is finished, I’m so pleased with how it turned out. Also, when I was frosting it, DJ sat next to me at the table for awhile and watched (and also stuck his fingers in the frosting several times). He said, “Oh, Mommy! Bird-day cake! Thomas train! Choo choo! Awwwww…..Ank-you Mommy.”
Then he stroked my arm….and I melted into a puddle.
He’s a heartbreaker, that one.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The cake looks GREAT!! You did a fabulous job! Happy Birthday to DJ (tomorrow)! I’m also sorry to hear about your father-in-law, he sounds like a wonderful man.
The cake turned out great! 3-D cakes are not easy to decorate. My son was really crazy about Thomas. We did a birthday party for him to the Thomas theme and he even had his room decked out in Thomas stuff! We splurged that year (with all the family’s help) and bought him a big Thomas set which he still has to this day (he’s 13 now). Good times!
Heather, your cake looks wonderful! Happy Birthday to DJ. I hope you manage to enjoy a quiet family celebration.
I think quiet family celebrations are perfect, especially for such little ones. And everyone deserves to be thought of and celebrated on their special day. Happy birthday to DJ! When did our kids get so old? I can’t believe it’s been two years since I had my baby (and sat in the hospital wondering if you’d yet had yours). We are so blessed.
Happy Birthday DJ…..the cake looks great….I made a Choo choo for my son as well when he turned two (two years back) …hope you have quiet and happy celebration at home…
The cake looks great. Happy Birthday to DJ! My son just had his fourth birthday and we made him a Thomas cake as well. He loves trains too and plays with his train sets as least once a day.
Awesome job on the cake! What a sweet boy!
Happy Birthday, DJ! My son turns two at the end of February, and he also requested a Thomas Cake. Thanks for posting the instructions!!
Oh! That is so clever! Super cute!
Happy birthday DJ!