When I told Madeline that her birthday was coming up and asked her if she was excited to get presents, she said, "Is Santa coming to bring me presents?" I just chuckled because last Christmas she was finally old enough to understand that Santa equals presents.  I had to tell her that presents this time would only be from mom and dad.  Either way, it was pretty darn cute.  

I decided to not do a full fondant cake this year and to simplify things a bit and just do cupcakes. I found the cutest examples of unicorn cupcakes and went in that direction for Madeline's 3rd birthday.  Since the week was kind of busy we somehow managed to pull of a little party for Madeline with very little preparation.  With some simple decorations and a few fun balloons and gifts, we had a very fun and exciting party for Madeline the day after her real birthday.  This year she wasn't quite as scared of the candles but still wanted Peter to sit with her while we lit her candles on the cupcakes.  She even piped in and sang Happy Birthday to herself while we were singing it to her.  The cupcakes turned out really cute and they were actually really yummy.  I tried a different fondant than I normally use and everyone gave it a thumbs up.  Even Madeline loved eating the cupcakes.  She also loved her chocolate dipped strawberries and lemonade.  

Madeline loved her balloons and all the gifts she received.  This year the kids gave her two new Little Blue Truck books.  She was so happy to see her new books.  Grandma and Grandpa Kelsch gave her the cutest castle card that lights up to go along with her fun gift.  They gave her a pretend wooden makeup kit with a mirror, comb, two shades of lipstick, two shades of nail polish, eyeshadow, an eyeliner pencil, and a perfume bottle.  She spent a good 10-20 minutes just playing with it on the couch before we gave her the last present to open.  We gave her a pretend cash register and she just loved that too.  We loved pushing the buttons, swiping her pretend credit card and playing with the pretend money in the cash drawer.  It was definitely a perfect little party for our sweet little 3 year old Madeline!
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​Abby’s 11th birthday fell on a Sunday and since it was a family birthday this year it was the perfect day to celebrate with her. We had a nice pancake breakfast with her before we headed off to church. After church we let her open all her presents. She loved all the things she got. From Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz she got some kinetic sand in a variety of colors and a panda pajama suit.  She just loved that panda suit.  From us she got a fun journal and Paper Mate flair pens that she had been asking for.  Then we took her outside so that she could see her big present. This year we decided to get Abby her very own red moped mini scooter. She was so surprised and extremely excited. We bought her a fun black helmet with a rainbow on it to match her scooter. She immediately took the scooter out to go for a ride. She didn’t even care that she was still wearing her church dress. The girls had fun riding their mopeds together all afternoon. After dinner we all helped Abby devour her chocolate mint ice-cream cake. It was the perfect day for our sweet 11 year old.

This year Emma decided that she wanted me to make her a fancy cake like I did for Madeline's birthday.  She looked at a couple of ideas and came up with a Paris themed cake.  I went to work trying to figure out what I would need and spent 2 days prepping and decorating the cake.  It definitely was a team effort to make this cake.  I did all the prep work and when it was time to finally decorate the cake, Mike helped with the actual drawing on the fondant pieces.  We all think it turned out so cute.  It was not just a cute cake but it was also extremely delicious.  Everyone just loves the marshmallow fondant. The kids finished the cake by the next day. Wow!

For gifts Emma wanted some more clothes as well as a yoga mat and weights.  I found some adorable new outfits for her Emma at Athleta this year.  She got a new pair of black warm up pants, two fun shirts, and a cozy sweatshirt.  I also found an adorable necklace with a little runner girl.  She LOVED that. From her grandparents she got a reversable yoga mat and weights.  She was beyond thrilled with all of her fun gifts.  Even though it was only a family birthday this year Emma got some fun things from some of her best friends.  Natalie gave her a pink fuzzy pillow and Ava gave her a cute little dog stuffed animal.  Emma is so lucky to have such nice friends.