Eliza’s 2nd Birthday!
For Eliza’s 2nd Birthday I decided I wanted to keep things simple but the crafty side of me kicked in. I really do enjoy creating and crafting things for my kids birthdays. So this year, I decided to make things from what I had in the house, either left over supplies from teaching or scrap booking supplies I never got around to using. Fortunately for me, I have a lot of crafting supplies in the house. So here are a few pictures from her Owl Themed Party.
I got the idea for these owl invitations from Across the Branch.
Here is the Owl pinata that took 3 weeks to make. It came out better than we expected and by the time of the party we didn’t want to break it. My boys helped with adding the many layers of newspaper to the balloon using a paper mache paste we made. I filled the pinata with raisins, Fruitabu and lollipops. We thought it was going to be super easy to break but we were so wrong. This pinata was very strong and we were getting impatient waiting for one of the kids to finally break it.
Here is the cake. It certainly is not the best owl but it sure did taste good. It is a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. This is our favorite carrot cake recipe that I have perfected over the years. From the original recipe I have reduced sugar, added pineapple, reduced oil and added applesauce. I also increased the amount of spices. The end result is a delicious moist carrot cake. I sometimes bake it in 2 9-inch round pans or in a 9X13 inch baking pan. The recipe is listed below.
It sure is hard to believe that my youngest is already two. As always time flies by and again I am reminded how lucky I am to be home raising my three kids. Eliza adds a lot of character, energy and light to our lives. My heart melts when she looks at me and calls me, “Mommy”. I still can’t believe I have a little girl! Happy 2nd Birthday Eliza:)
Best Carrot Cake
Ingredients
4 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups grated carrots, extra liquid squeezed out
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained and liquid squeezed out to almost dry
Frosting- Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups cpnfectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan or 2 9-inch pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugars, applesauce and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in carrots and crushed pineapple. Pour into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cook completely.
4. To make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.
