Becoming an Aunt was probably the most extraordinary experience of my life - all three times.  Seeing a friend get to have that same experience is almost as good as going through it yourself.  When my friend Olga became an Aunt, everyone was thrilled for her.  Now, little Valentina is 5 years old and for her birthday, her Tia (Auntie) wanted a special cake.  And even though Olga had to go out of the country to attend to an ill family member, she still made sure her nice felt very special on her birthday.  Aunts are amazing people...

Since I'm not a parent, I'm not really hip to all the new kid's shows.  When my client first sent me a picture of a cake that she wanted - I had to ask "who's that?".  Phineas and Ferb was the answer, but I still had to ask google for more details.  Much better than a big purple dinosaur!

In addition to the belly cake, Beth also wanted a cake for her daughter's 12th birthday.  Shaughnessy loved the cupcakes I made for her 10th birthday and was excited to be getting a special cake again this year.  Beth said that the girls were having a sleepover, so I sent her some pictures of the sleep over cakes I've make for my niece.  She loved this one and wanted one similar.

My nephew turned eight this year and had originally asked for a hockey cake since he started playing hockey this year (and he's good too!!), but then he changed his mind and asked for a Club Penguin cake.  Yes people over the age of twelve, Club Penguin is a thing.  Its some kind of on-line game for kids.  I've tried to explore it - so that I could share something with my nephew, but I think I'm just too old...

This year my niece Jamie turned the big One-Ohh - 10!  She was having another sleep over party and asked for a variation on last year's cake, but this time with six girls in sleeping bags.   I was lucky enough to be invited to the party again this year, but since it was on a Friday, I was a little late getting up to the house.  I had dropped off the cake earlier in the week since I knew I was going to be late and I didn't want the girls to wait for me.  When I walked in, I guess they had just finished cutting the cake.  The girls all poured to the front door in screams of "Wow!" "That was awesome!" "I ate her nose!" "I pulled her arm off!"  Probably the best reaction EVER!  I don't think I'll ever get a bride to react like that....

One of the nicest surprises in this job is meeting a new client through a referral.  It's always heartwarming to hear that people that I've made cakes for in the past, even though we may not be in contact, are still pointing their friends in my direction.  It's nice to know old friends still think of you.  This cake was made for a new client's grandmother, who liked to quilt and knit (the gumpaste knitting needs were still drying at the time of this picture).  I just love the colours!  I really wish I could have seen Wand's face when she saw her cake.

Early December I was contacted by a customer who wanted a cake for his son's third birthday.  They loved the soccer cake I had made for Abir's second birthday and wanted to have the same filling/flavours, but this time in a Diego themed cake.  I hunted high and low to find some Diego toys to use on the cake (I love using actual toys on a cake, at least that way the little person has something to remember the cake by - after it's all destroyed and eaten) but I couldn't find any!  I guess Diego isn't as popular as he used to be.  Luckily my nine year old nephew came to the rescue.  I raided his old toys and found a Diego!  My nephew asked if the Diego was going to be on the cake for the kid to keep and play with later.  I said yup and asked if that was ok with him.  He replied "Sure Auntie, no problem!".  What a great kid.

It was also Abir's Grandfather's birthday, so my client requested a special cake for him as well.  Instead of chocolate ganash filling for this one, we went with a mango buttercream with vanilla cake - Yum!

It was my niece's third birthday and she decided to have a tea party!  My favourite cakes to make are always the cakes for the kids....from hot tubs to sleep over parties, to swimming pools, the cakes are always fun and I get to let my creativity flow!  Plus, no one could have bigger fans that I have in my family.  It's nice to enjoy the Ooohhhs and the Aaahhhh during the party, not just at the door when I drop the cake off.  The cake and cupcakes are devil's food chocolate with vanilla icing.  All of the little treats are made out of fondant (though in retrospect it would have been easier to just buy the mini cookies) and everything is 100% edible.

We celebrated my Dad's retirement (and 65th birthday, shhh) this year with a fantastic dinner, good company and some cake and ice cream!  My Dad loves his Dove chocolate so when Mom asked for a chocolate cake that looked like a Dove candy, I thought it was a great idea!  The cake, of course, is Devil's food chocolate with a milk chocolate buttercream filling, topped with a chocolate ganash icing.  Oh-My!