Christmas recap

I totally meant to post this adorable picture on Christmas Eve to wish everyone happy holidays in a timely manner, but somehow it slipped my mind. I was my usual ridiculous procrastinating self (who was also very busy with work) and left too many preparations to the last minute, and so, on Christmas Eve, I was shopping, wrapping, and baking into the wee hours. I was decorating cookies when Andrew threw up in his crib at 2:00 a.m. I drove my cousin home at 3:00 a.m. and crawled into bed at 3:30. Whew! Needless to say, I was exhausted the next day.

Fortunately, Andrew was in good spirits despite being sick. The first gift he opened on Christmas morning was a truck, and he was so excited by it that we had a hard time getting him interested in opening the next one. He did eventually really get into the gift-opening spirit, though, to the extent that he thought every wrapped box was his and threw mini tantrums when told he couldn't have one.

After breakfast, the three of us drove two hours down the highway to my hometown to spend a few days with my family. My mom totally spoiled us, as usual. We spent lots of time with my grandparents and the extended family, and we had two very nice visits with my dad and his family. Andrew had his moments — what toddler doesn't, right? — but overall he was fun and funny and adorable. My mom was thrilled that he started calling her "Grandma" during this visit.

The one shadow over this Christmas was that we didn't see DH's family at all. They are not speaking to us right now for reasons too ridiculous to get into here. I hope that this rift can be mended soon, but sadly that's not likely.

Anyway, I hope you and yours had a lovely Christmas, if that's your thing. And whatever you're doing to celebrate the arrival of 2011, I hope you have fun with that too. Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy, and prosperous year!

Here are a few pics.

s

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Real kisses!

I never thought I'd be so delighted to have large quantities of drool smeared across my cheek.

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Holiday spirit

I've been feeling like such a Scrooge. I was so annoyed when my favourite radio station switched to its all-Christmas format on November 22 that I spent the following week scanning through the dial looking for a new station I could tolerate. Seriously, people? Five weeks of "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night"? And I hate that stupid sappy "Christmas Shoes" song! Why is Christmas a season, anyway?

I attempted my first major gift-shopping trip last weekend and came away empty-handed. Between us, my husband and I have 24 people to buy for, and you know what? I have no interest in shopping for anyone but my son. Christmas shopping is so stressful. I want to get nice, thoughtful gifts, but usually, after much indecision and many wasted hours at the mall, I end up buying just something at the last minute that I'm not really happy with. Multiply that by 24. No wonder I'm a Scrooge.

But yesterday, for the first time in several years, we put up our small, dilapidated Christmas tree, and even as I was lamenting its lameness and wishing a new one was in the budget (how about a 6.5-ft pre-lit, self-shaping pine?), Andrew ran up to it and said, "Oh, wow!" He doesn't know that it's lame. He just loves the flashing coloured lights and the shiny ornaments. I've never been much into decorating for the holidays — we're never home on the big day anyway — but I decided right then that we need more decorations.

It got me thinking about how much fun we're going to have with Andrew this year, now that he's old enough to be excited by everything that's going on. And now I'm a little bit excited too. With (only?) 19 days left till Christmas, I'm starting to find my holiday spirit.

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18 months!

Okay, so I'm a little late with this. It's been a busy week since he turned 18 months. I still can't get over that — 18 months. My baby is a year and a half. Amazing.

This month: The three of us have been sick on and off all month, so we've been lying low. Mostly just for the sake of making the purchase of his costume worthwhile, for Halloween we took Andrew to a trick-or-treating event put on by the businesses on the picturesque strip of Main Street in a neighbouring town. Unfortunately we had to carry him and he sucked his thumb the whole time. I'm sure he'll enjoy it more next year! (See adorable costume pics in post below.)

In other news, he started going to daycare two days a week. Actually, he returned after a two-month hiatus — long story, but we were thrilled that they were able to take him back. He adapts so well. They have nothing but praise for him. He eats and sleeps for them far better than he does for me.

Food: My boy is officially a terrible eater. He likes something one day and won't touch it the next. Sometimes he won't even eat his favourites (e.g., grilled cheese, pasta, berries). Often he eats very little. There was one weekend when he ate only a bit of cereal and a small yogurt cup. All weekend. I was beside myself with worry. My parenting books all reassure me that this is normal toddler stuff, that even though he might sometimes seem to be subsisting on air, he will not starve himself. It is my job to continue to offer a variety of foods and not to attempt to force-feed him, thereby giving him food-related issues that might haunt him for the rest of his life. Oy.

Sleep schedule: I thought Andrew was settled into a terrific pattern, but this month has been erratic. He often woke up at 5:00-5:30 a.m. and as a result needed two naps during the day. On the rare occasion when he slept in until a much more reasonable 7:00 a.m., he was able to have one nap, but that nap was never longer than an hour. He's also been waking and needing to be held at least once in the night, but like I said, he's sick and teething, and at his 18-month checkup the doctor found the beginnings of ear infections on both sides. Poor monkey. Things have been getting better this past week.

Loves: Any Youtube videos that involves animal sounds or trucks. My boy loves his trucks. He also loves playing in his crib: we're supposed to throw balls in to him and he tosses them back out. This will go on for quite some time.

Vocabulary: We have definitely experienced the vocabulary explosion people keep talking about (see list in post below). He has new words every day. Sometimes he'll say something, and we'll wonder where the heck he picked that up. He's very entertaining. He likes to say "knock knock" but doesn't yet know how to finish the joke. We'll say "Who's there?" and he'll either just say "knock knock" again or he'll say "Wherzeee?" (Where is it/he/she?) Funny boy.

New Tricks: I know he has no idea what he's saying, but after a great deal of encouragement from me he now says "I love you!" He follows it up with a "muah" kiss that is entirely his own idea, so maybe he does understand a little. He also gives hugs by leaning his head on us and saying "awww." Mommy is soaking up the affection.

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New plan

Oh boy, this has been on my mind constantly lately. I'm putting off any decisions about pursuing fertility treatments until the spring. I just ordered 100 OPKs. I'm going to POAS every day for however long it takes to get a positive. Today I am on CD86, so it seems completely fruitless at this point, but at least I'll be doing something sort of proactive. Maybe my doctor will be kind enough to write me a prescription for Provera on Monday when we see her for Andrew's checkup so that I can start fresh.

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Andrew says

The boy's vocabulary at 18 months. Because I want to remember...

Animals: dog, cat/kitty, bird, monkey, duck, sheep, frog, elephant
Toys: ball, book, TV ("teeee?"), slide
Sounds: moo, baa, neigh, woof, maiow, duckduck, roar, croak, awooo (wolf howl), bfphhhhh (elephant sound), vrooom
Body parts: nose, eyes, ears
Vehicles: truck, car, choo-choo, bus
Food: water, milk, bottle, cheese, cracker, apple, banana, cereal, grapes
Clothes: shoes, socks, hat
Commands: again, more, up, down, out, go!
Greetings: hi, bye, night-night
People: ma, da, baby, Riley, Michelle ("Shell")
From TV: backpack (from Dora), Elmo, Cat in the Hat ("Hat!")
Phrases (sort of): all done, where is it? ("wherzee?"), there it is! ("deyitizz!"), knock knock
Exclamations: uh-oh, oh no, oh man, no, wow, yay, whoa, all right, score
Miscellaneous: uh-huh, bath, bubbles, hot, brrr, rain, dark, light, fan, nice

And the list grows by the day. I love it!

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My little monkey

Considering his love for monkeys, we really had no choice...

He came.

He played.

He shoved stuff into the storm sewer.

And then he went home for lunch.

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Want

A little while ago we had a major financial setback. Something out of our control cost us most of our savings. We're doing okay, but we don't have any extra at the end of the month. We're not in a position to rebuild our savings.

So, here's an interesting question: Are we willing to go into debt to do fertility treatments for baby #2? Clomid didn't work for me, and Gonal-f is expensive: I used about $2,000 worth of the stuff during one IUI cycle. We certainly can't afford that right now.

The funny thing is that I've been having doubts about whether we should even have another baby. But last night, as I thought about the fact that I'm currently on CD58 with no "o" in sight, which raises serious doubts in my mind about whether we will be able to conceive without intervention... well, suddenly I was very sure that I want another baby.

I guess we always want what we can't (easily) have.

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17 months

I'm loving this age... for the most part. The tough part is the whining and tantrums. Already. I wasn't expecting it to be this bad so soon! Oh my gawd.

This month: Fall is by far my favourite season, and this year I've discovered a new reason to love it: harvest festivals at the many local family farms. Andrew and I have been to three so far and just might check out one more before the end of the month... and I have yet to get that perfect pumpkin patch picture! The kid just won't stay still for two seconds. He runs around saying "hi" to the cows and sheep, etc., and making his animal sounds. He loves the sandlot toys and the wagon rides and the straw mountains. So fun!

Food: I've been dragging my feet at the transition from bottles to sippy cups. A while ago, we switched to sippy cups for his afternoon milk, but he still had bottles in the morning and before bed. This month I switched his morning bottle to a sippy, and boy was he mad! Some mornings he still smacks the sippy out of my hand and won't touch it until he's in his booster seat eating his cereal.

Sleep schedule: We've pretty much completed the transition from two naps to one. He's been sleeping in until 8:00 most mornings and goes down for his nap around 12:30. It lasts anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours. Yay!

Vocabulary: Last month's "weee?" has evolved into "whezeee?" ("where is it?"). He throws his hands up in the air in the universal "I don't know" gesture and looks around for... well, most of the time we don't know what he's looking for. But eventually he'll "find" whatever it is and hold it aloft, pronouncing "day-dehr!" ("there it is!"). He fell in love with my mom's dog, Riley, when we visited last weekend, and at least five times a day ever since, he says, "Whyeee! Whezeee?" So cute! Last month's ubiquitous "ah-den?" has pretty much disappeared, replaced by "up" and "more" and "uh-huh" while pointing at something he wants.

New "tricks": I was so impressed when he brought me his alphabet book, turned to the "M" page, and said, "mama!" ("monkey"). Then he said, "aww" and hugged it. The boy loves his monkeys! Since then he has also started pointing out the train ("choo-choo!") and the bus ("buhh").

And he's started blowing kisses! I tried to teach him to blow kisses a few months ago but hadn't mentioned it in a while. Then the other day I asked him for a kiss and he put his hand over his mouth and made a smooching noise. Where did that come from?? And he says "night-night" on a semi-nightly basis. LOVE IT!

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I will

• continue to make a meal plan each week and cook dinner each night for my family.
• keep on top of the dishes and cleaning.
• strictly stick to our monthly budget.
  
• be more disciplined in my work habits.
  
• come up with fun indoor activities to do with Andrew to get us through the winter.
• work on losing weight ... being deliberately vague here ... but I will.
• try to be happier and healthier in general.
  

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I am thankful

My Thanksgiving dinner was a success! I have a new appreciation for my mother and my grandmother before her for their hard work in preparing all those lovely holiday dinners over the years. I mean, I knew it was a lot of work, but I didn't understand exactly how much went into those meals until I was responsible for creating one myself. I loved it, though, and would gladly do it again.

My future sister-in-law suggested a trip out to the cemetery to visit my father-in-law's grave. I stayed behind to slave over the hot stove some more, but everyone else went. I thought it was very sweet of FSIL to think to include my father-in-law in this first holiday since his passing. Can't believe nobody else suggested it! Overall, it was a very pleasant day. I think everyone had a nice time. I know Andrew had a blast playing with his cousin and his uncles.

So. Thanksgiving. I tend to focus on the negative — something I'm working on — but the truth is I have a pretty comfortable life. I have a family who loves me and whom I adore, I have a few good friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, clothes on my back, etc. For now, at least, I have the joy of spending every day home with my amazing little boy. Overall, I'm a pretty lucky girl. And, yes, I am thankful, for these things and for so many little things, including baby snuggles and unexpected phone calls just to say hi, hot tea and pumpkin pie. You get the idea.

Peace and happiness to you all. :)

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I'm hosting Thanksgiving

For the first time ever, I'm going to be cooking a turkey and all the fixings. Usually I just bring a dessert to someone else's house, but this year my husband's immediate family will be gathering at our place. It'll be a sad occasion — the first holiday/family get-together since my father-in-law passed away last month.

I wasn't given much notice, so I'm still working on putting together a menu with days to spare (Canadian Thanksgiving is this Sunday), but I'm kind of excited to test my culinary skills. I'll let you know what I came up with, and maybe even post a few pictures, after the big day.

I have to share: In my search for recipes, I came across foodgawker.com, which links to countless amazing recipes via gorgeous food photos. Oh my, I could waste a lot of hours drooling over that site.

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Sweet moment

Andrew and I had the best moment the other night, when I was rocking him before bed. I was singing his usual lullabyes and looked down to find him staring at me with a huge grin on his face. I smiled back, and he giggled, so I squeezed him and said "I love you, baby" and he laughed, so I gave him a big noisy kiss on the cheek and he laughed harder. We just had a great little gigglefest, even though I knew it would make it harder to get him to sleep. I kept trying to sober up, but every time I looked down at his smiling face we'd both start giggling again. I have no idea what was so funny. It was awesome. :)

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16 months!

I decided that I need to start doing a monthly Andrew update post. On Tuesday he turned 16 months old, and if I want any more proof that he's getting to be more boy than baby, I need only look at this picture:

He looks so big!

This month: The last month has been kind of rough. Andrew had his first ear infection and a bad cold while teething his first two molars. I've never seen him so miserable! It was awful. And then, on September 8, Andrew's grandpa died, and the week following his death was hectic and chaotic to say the least. We were barely home and spent a lot of time driving, and as a result Andrew's schedule was thrown off significantly — and yet he was so good, and so happy, and brought smiles to many sad faces. I was so grateful for my boy, my little ray of sunshine.

Favourite foods: cheese, berries, bananas, pasta, ham, green beans, and carrots. He also goes crazy for wieners and ice cream (who doesn't??), but we try not to give them to him very often.

Sleep schedule: He's a pretty good little sleeper most of the time. He usually gets up around 7:00 a.m. (although sometimes as early as 6:00 a.m.) and goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. Sleeps through the night unless he's sick or teething. He still naps twice a day, 1-1.5 hours each time, although I think the transition to one nap is right around the corner. I hope that goes smoothly. Until recently he would go down without a peep, but ever since he was sick a few weeks ago, he cries briefly (often only about 10 seconds, occasionally a couple of minutes).

Established words:

• uh oh, oh wow, yay, and wheee! - I guess these are exclamations and not really words, but I had to include them. So cute!
• no - Typical toddler sass.
• hi & bye - Now said whenever he enters or leaves a room, sometimes accompanied by a wave. Also said over and over when he finds a door to open and shut.
  
• again ("ah-den?") - This is his general demand, meaning "gimme" or "up" or "I want." And sometimes he really does mean "again."
  
• mama - He uses this to refer to his beloved stuffed monkey, not me (see post below)!
• where ("weee?") - He'll hide something (not very well, of course) and then ask "weee?" with the classic palms-up gesture. Clever boy.

Newest words:

• cheese ("chee") - I'm not sure about this one, but I think that's what he's saying. He really loves cheese.
• bubbles ("buh-bo") - This definitely started while I was blowing bubbles for him the other day, but he seems to be using it to mean other things too (e.g. "toothbrush"??).
• ball - I've only heard this one a few times.
• more - New today! This will be a good addition to "again."
  

Teeth: 10! I think teething is harder on him now. He got his top molars at the same time he had his first ear infection, and that was really rough. I'm not sure how much of the screaming to attribute to which ailment, but I do know it went on for a couple of days after the doctor said the ear infection was almost gone.

Favourite toys: He loves anything with wheels, it seems, and they either go "rrrrrrrrrrrrrr" or "choo-chooooo!"

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Introducing... Mama!

"Mama." Could there be any sweeter word from the lips of your child? Like most mothers, I eagerly anticipated hearing it for the first time. Oh, sure, he babbled it when he was first finding his voice months and months ago, but when would he say it with meaning? When would he say it to me?

And then, just over a week ago, he said it, clear as day. He was climbing up some stairs outside, with me close behind, and he said, "Mama, Mama!" As if to say, "Come on, Mom, hurry up, I have places to go." My heart melted.

And he has said it many times since. It soon became clear, though, that he wasn't talking about me. He was talking about Monkey — his best friend and lovey. Monkey was a birthday present from Mommy and Daddy. I guess we sort of forced him on Andrew. We started putting him in the car seat and in the crib, and pretty soon Andrew was carrying him everywhere. It's awfully cute. Monkey is now a constant companion, and he seems to be a special comfort whenever Andrew is sick or upset. Here are a few shots of Monkey in action:







(Sometimes I tell myself that Andrew really is referring to me when he says "Mama," and that he has a slightly differently pronunciation for Monkey. It's more of a "Mo-ma," isn't it? And he just happened to start saying both words right around the same time. That's likely, isn't it?)

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Self-feeding fun

I've been letting Andrew try to feed himself with utensils lately, which is, of course, messy business. Sometimes he isn't really interested and is content to let me feed him. Sometimes he doesn't want me to feed him, but he doesn't want to try to use the utensils either. That's when the real fun ensues!


Yes, I see the fork, but I'd rather just use my hands.
Outta my way, fork!


Hmm, maybe I can lick it clean.


Maybe I can shake some food out?

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Rise and shine!

Okay, enough about me. How about a picture post?

After a two-hour nap this morning, my boy was all smiles! (For a while, anyway.) I know I'm a little bit biased, but is he not adorable?








LOVE!

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A plan

Something very exciting happened this weekend. Almost fourteen months after I gave birth and five months after I stopped pumping, I finally got my first post-partum period! I have no idea if I ovulated, but it's a distinct possibility.

So now I can actually say we are trying to conceive baby #2. I'm going to start temping so that I can figure out what my body's doing. If I seem to be ovulating somewhat regularly (hey, you never know), we will TTC on our own, probably until next May. If we have not been successful by then, we will go back to the RE for some medical assistance. Of course in the meantime I will work on losing weight and getting healthy -- no, really, I will. If months go by with no sign of ovulation, then we will consider going back to the RE sooner.

So, that's the plan.

It's a little bit scary to be doing this again. I don't want to become obsessed with TTC again. I hope it'll be different this time around. Maybe it won't be so hard. Maybe the fact that I have my sweet Andrew will keep me grounded. I hope.

Fingers crossed, people. Think good thoughts.

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Polka dot fun

When Andrew was born into our one-bedroom apartment, I really regretted not having a nursery to decorate. In April we finally moved into a two-bedroom place and I got my chance. After a great deal of consideration, we decided not to paint our rental unit. In searching for alternatives, I came across an intriguing concept: starching fabric to walls. I decided to starch blue and yellow polka dots (to match the mod monkey theme we used for his birthday) all over his room. It was easy and fun, and I think the result is cute and cheerful.

Still missing from the room: a frame for the futon mattress currently lying on the floor, wall art (which will include monkeys over the crib), a clock, and a teal shag rug to replace the ugly and much-abused alphabet mat.

Please share any tips or ideas you might have on how to make his room beautiful!



Other projects:

Fabric covered frames for the bedroom.



Picture frame arrangement for the hallway. I filled in the empty frames with leftover fabric from the above project. It was going to be temporary, until I print some newer frame-worthy photos, but I kind of like it.



Future projects: I need something to put over the couch and something to decorate the long, empty wall in our bedroom. There is furniture on every wall but this one. I'm not sure how to hang things on it without having them looking completely random and unanchored.

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Defying gravity

I got a bouquet of helium-filled balloons for Andrew's birthday party four weeks ago. (Has it really been four weeks? I should really get started on those thank-you cards.) I paid extra for something called Hi-Float, which promised to make the balloons float for a week! Well, they all made it three weeks, which is amazing, and several made it to this weekend, but now the remaining few are running out of hot air, so to speak. When each one started to droop on its ribbon, I cut it loose and let it float free, so it could drift through the apartment, carried along by whatever faint airflow it got caught up in. It would suddenly appear next to my head or wander off down the hall for no apparent reason. Then, slowly, it would start to hover lower to the ground, until, finally, it could float no more, although when tossed it would glide downward in slow motion, still bending the rules of gravity just a little. Right now, only one is still up, floating against the ceiling in the corner, while two are standing on their knots on the ground, not quite ready to lie flat.

I feel like there's a metaphor in here somewhere.

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Baby, you'll be a toddler soon

Big news: Andrew is taking steps! I haven't yet managed to capture said steps on video, but you can bet I'll be trying again as soon as my camera battery is recharged. It's funny how excited Keith and I get watching him. We're such proud parents!

Oh — if you're wondering about cake attempt #2, well, it was also a failure. Apparently cake is scary. I put it on the tray in front of him (no candle this time) and he just stared at it. I gave him icing on my finger, but he still looked wary. I took his hand and stuck it in the cake, and he started sobbing. I don't get it! Oh well, maybe next year?

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Andrew's First Year video

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"Happy Birthday"

"Happy birthday to you..."

"Happy birthday to you..."

"Happy birthday, dear Andrew..."

"Happy birthday to you!"

Yes, he touched the flame. I'm a bad mommy.

I hesitated a moment before setting the cake in front of him, but I figured I could keep his hands away for the duration of "Happy Birthday." It's a short song, right? I pulled his hand away twice before he got past me and burnt his poor little finger. Actually, his finger was fine. I think he was just shocked. But it ruined the moment and the whole cake experience.

I'm going to recreate the smash cake and try it again on his actual birthday. I NEED to get some good cake-smashing photos!

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Birthday party

We celebrated Andrew's birthday at our apartment with a few friends and relatives on Saturday. It was an awkward affair. Andrew was having a rare miserable day (teething and constipated, poor thing) and clung to me and cried a lot. Our guests — about a dozen people drawn from different aspects of our lives — mostly did not mingle but sat quietly looking bored. I don't really blame them; I know the onus is on me as hostess to keep everyone entertained, although I wish certain individuals had made a little more effort (and I sincerely thank our two outgoing friends who did their best to break some ice). The only trick up my sleeve, besides Andrew, who was little help that day, was the five-minute year-in-review slideshow I made (which I will post here later this week). All I can say is that we will not be having another party like that if I can help it.

Even the pictures are a disappointment. Andrew is not smiling in a single shot. The props are the highlights. I'm so glad I went with a cute theme: it's called "mod monkey." Instead of buying a banner I made the little wall display on the right out of cardstock. It went above the couch. The two monkey heads will probably find a home in Andrew's room after his birthday.



Andrew adored the balloons. He kept pointing at them and wanting to touch them. At one point he batted them all around — most fun he had all day. Several days later, he's still obsessed with them.



But best of all, I am SUPER proud of the cake I made. I had no previous decorating experience and learned several new tricks to accomplish this beauty. It's a three-layer banana cake (monkeys...bananas...get it?) with chocolate-banana filling, buttercream frosting, and fondant decorations. I also made a little matching smash cake.



This is the smiliest pic we got of the birthday boy. I love his monkey shirt!

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