Our wonderful twins 5th birthday... and cake hints

Thursday, April 28, 2011

And I had no idea how hard this would be on Mummy... 5 is a big number - no longer can I pretend they are in the toddler years (OK they really haven't been toddling for well quite a time now).  Now they are full blown boys & 5 is the age where we get serious about school work. ( I'm not beginning them officially in Kindergarten until next year, however I have intensified their preschool program with phonics as well as number & letter formation activities).   So although I dreaded my 'babies' turning 5, there was no stopping the clock & it finally came around.

Sporting the ears from Aunty EJ

Both boys were very serious as they pored over the birthday cake book the week before the big day. In fact I needed their final decisions for town day 5 days before the big event.  This caused no problem for Jud who quickly decided on a tiger cake & didn't change his mind, but the ship that Eli chose was changed last minute to a house (I think it had more to do with the decorations on top as he kept referring to it as his "lolly cake").  Thankfully I had adequate decorations on hand to  achieve the desired result. 

Zai made this boat for the boys himself -Ellie helped to paint it

We were blessed to have the house full of visitors for their birthday.  Dave's parents & Grandmother were so excited to be able to combine their visit with our double birthday celebrations.  The day began rather early for us as Zai woke the boys us at the brink of dawn (we had told him he must wait until there was light in the sky).  We made them wait until 7am before waking the grandparents, so they did well to contain their excitement until then (although there was rather boisterous wrestling going on from the four males of the family). The "official" part of the day began with our traditional birthday hunt - much to the amusement of Dave's grandmother who hadn't seen this done before.  The boys were blessed with excessive amounts of presents- as our children always are. They have enjoyed playing with the new toys - while I've been so thankful for the new clothes they received.



 Jud's tiger cake

In the afternoon we took dinner down to our friends house (as their children & grandchildren were visiting there & my boys love to play with their grandson).  We enjoyed lasange (which was the boys combined request for tea).  We then celebrated with birthday cake & ice cream.  I always think that with a normal birthday you have too much cake, so it was wonderful having 18 people there to help consume the excessive amounts of cake due to the double birthday blessing.
Eli's house/lolly cake

I know some people give their twins the same cake and I can completely understand why, however I've always tried to celebrate them as individuals especially at special times like birthdays - while encouraging them with just how special it is that they get to share a birthday & how wonderful it is to have a best friend provided by God.  Last year the boys wanted the same type of cake so I made two  cars - just using different colours.  This year they wanted very different cakes.  I think as identical twins they are often grouped together - they look the same & have the same abilities,friends & general interests.  I guess that's why I try to keep some things special for just themselves.  I do however love dressing them similarly - although that is happening less & less the older they get.  



HINTS:  *  I have found that with making two cakes I need to be more organised - two days before the birthday I make the cakes & then freeze them.  
* I've found frozen cake is much easier to ice as there are less crumb problems.  
* I always use the icing recipes found in the books although I use my own cake recipes - this is because I've had too many flops with making my own icing recipe up.  
* It's always wonderful to have the cakes done the day before so you can enjoy the birthday that much more. * They keep well in the fridge!  :)

A wonderful day, a happy double birthday

Happy Birthday our precious Eli & Jud


17 comments:

Ann at eightacresofeden said...

Happy birthday to your boys. 5 is such a delightful age. We also have kept to alphabet, phonics and number activities this year. Boys especially cannot sit still for long periods. I can remember having my boys doing jumping jacks at this age whilst calling out maths facts! My girls though are loving their simple colourful workbooks and I have to get them to save some activities for the next day!
Such colourful cakes. My 11 year old still loves tigers. I once made a butterfly cake with each girl having a different side of the wing - they loved that. I might try that freezing tip too - I'm always sweeping up crumbs!

Mum-me said...

Happy 5th Birthday to your handsome boys. I'm glad they had a lovey day. Zai's boat is rather impressive and it's wonderful that he made something himself. I agree with your cake making tips as I always have the cake done the day before and do the icing when the cake is still frozen. (However, I always follow he recipe for the cake mix but just make up the icing as I go along - just add more butter or margarine for a thicker icing.)

A Bite of Country Cupcakes said...

How Great! I love the induviduality too!....Great Cakes Mummma!

Homeschool on the Croft said...

Happy Birthday to your precious boys. I know what you mean about wishing you could 'pause' the clock. It just rushes by so quickly (my 'baby' just turned 8...EIGHT!)

The cakes are wonderful - and yes, it is lovely to have loads of people to share it with on the day.
Love the tips - especially making them 2 days before and freezing them. Good thinking!

Amanda said...

Very handsome little boys:)

Love those cakes. And, they will always be "your babies:)"

Linda Stubbs said...

Hi.........it is morning here and we are on our way to work. Our daughter and I were talking about how we miss the morning sunrise and being able to just stay home and go to our garden and chores. We have only 2 more weeks of work and then we are done for the summer. Wish we could stay home this summer......asking the Lord what He wants us to do. Please pray with us.

Your boys are adorable.....twins.....how fun. All your children are adorable.......I get to relive through my grandbabies. That is fun, but not the same as when mine were all young........miss that.

thank you for joining in on the party.......love having you!!!!!!
Hugs from my farm to your farm!
Linda

Marsel said...

Birthdays are always a little bittersweet to this mama -- wonderful to see them growing but sad to see how fast it flies by!

Glad you had a good celebration!

Jen's Busy Days said...

We always end up with way too much cake too. My boys love doing theme cakes. I am a mean mama though, I make them put on the decorations after I do the icing. I will have to try freezing the cake for the next one. I hate trying to work around crumbs.

Glad your boys had a fun day.

Best wishes
Jen in NSW

Ana Degenaar said...

Happy belated birthday to your beautiful boys! - I loved the cakes. So lovely!

Ruby Jean said...

Hi Renata,

I always enjoy your visits... : ) wouldn't it be great if I could just pop myself in the car and drive down the street to see you.. : ) Praise the Lord for Eternity..Okay those cakes are amazing...I fortunate if I can get my cake to remain a circle even after baking it in a CIRCLE cake pan... : ) It sounds like you had quite the party planning to do....

It is also a Bitter Sweet thing to see your children grow up..

Have a blessed day Renata..

Anonymous said...

The boys look so handsome and grown up! Their cakes turned out great. Happy Birthday Eli and Jud, from all of us here in the States!

Smilie girl said...

Happy 5th birthday to the boys!
Fantastic job on the cakes.
Great idea at letting them choose their own. And I really appreciate the cake making tips too. I'll just get the hang of it and then they won't want fancy cakes :)
Happy Easter to you too Renata.

Rachel~At the Butterfly Ball said...

What sweet happy pictures of your two little blessings! It looks like they had a wonderful celebration! Doesn't "5" happen so quickly? My goodness, my littlest boy is turning 8 in two weeks! Aaak! I don't remember it being that long since I gave birth to that sweet chubby baby!

Cassandra said...

Happy birthday to the big guys !
I love your cakes Renata, great job :-)
Looks like they had a great day

Cassandra xx

aunty sel said...

Thanks Narn for sharing the pictures of the twins on their birthday!! They are so gorgous, especially with puppy dog ears.
I am back from the gold coast now, it was beautiful, the beach was soooo fantastic, although the surf was pretty massive.
Call me some time!!
luv
sel

Gayle said...

Well done on the cakes!! I love that you celebrate them individually; I bet they really appreciate that.
What great fun!

Nita said...

awwwww you are soo grown up, how did that happen?! haha miss you all so much, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE <3 xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

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