Sunny Side Up: Bubblegum Cupcakes and Birthday Parties

This sweet girl is official 4!!!

This past week was spent celebrating Selah's 4th birthday, and this year we actually had friends to help us celebrate (thanks ya'll!!). Last year we had moved right before her birthday and hadn't met a whole lot of people yet, but this year, we partied, twice!

And, like every good party, there had to be a cake, I just didn't know what kind of cake until about a week before her birthday, when she announced, "Mommy, I want bubblegum cupcakes for my birthday!" At random...the girl must have had bubble gum, and cake, on her mind...the sweetness that goes on inside little girls heads, it's wonderful! Well, how could I deny her BUBBLEGUM CUPCAKES?! So I searched Pinterest (of course!) and found several cupcakes that just had bubblegum flavored frosting and then I stumbled upon a "recipe" (basically it is just a box cake mix and added flavor, can that be considered a recipe??) for bubblegum flavored frosting and cake! Perfect!! Here's the website I got the recipe from, and here's my version...

First, you simply follow the directions on the back of a box of white cake...I love to use Pillsbury!

Then, you add 1/2 tsp LorAnn Bubblegum candy flavoring, which I found at Hobby Lobby (don't forget your 40% off coupons!!!). I also added some pink food coloring. Bake as directed on box.

This was my first attempt at making homemade frosting, I always just buy it...but it was SO easy, I may never "just buy" it again! Nah, who am I kidding, BUT I will be making my own more often, that's for sure! Here's the recipe:

Cream 1 cup butter until light and fluffy. Add 7oz jar marshmallow creme and whip for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Add 1/4 tsp bubblegum candy flavoring and food coloring if you want.

Frost the cupcakes, and add whatever you want on top...sprinkles, gum balls, candy, whatever...we added gum balls!

My helper! She must have asked me at least 50 times (give or take a few) when she would be able to put the gum balls on top...she.could.not.wait!! Oh, and, we found the gum balls at Hobby Lobby as well, or I should say, Selah found them! I would have walked right past them, but they happened to be just at her level, smart move Hobby Lobby, smart move!!

I thought the bubblegum flavor would be a bit much for cupcakes, I kind of imagined biting into them and feeling like I was eating toothpaste in cake form...but that wasn't the case at all! They were delicious with just the right about of subtle bubblegum flavor...MmMmM!

Now, party time! Her actual birthday was on a Wednesday, so we started the day with the traditional streamers hanging from the doorway (which my loving husband helped me do at 11:30pm since I forgot earlier in the evening...) and balloons filling the downstairs and a new addition to our birthday celebrations...a fun sign!

Who knows if I'll do this every year or not, but it was fun
and made Selah feel extra special that morning!

That morning Selah had VBS, which she LOVED! I found out later that her teacher sung to her in her classroom as well as, apparently, they sang to her from the stage... wish I had been there to see that!! How neat!! Selah told me and her grandma during a Skyping session all nonchalant, like it was no big deal, so who knows what really happened, but either way, her special day was acknowledged.

Then, her grandparents picked her up from VBS to go have lunch to the place of her choice (pizza!) and go on a shopping trip for her to pick out her own present, and this is what she picked...

She had been asking for a doll that can get wet...she got it!
And it was so fun watching her give this cute
doll a bath, her sweet smile in this picture says it
all I think, but she was being just so nurturing and motherly...
then, at one point, the baby was face down near the facet so
her feet and back could get scrubbed...oops!

Later that evening we went out to dinner (again, her choice, burritos and quesadillas this time!) with us, her grandparents, and her aunt and uncle. I love living near family!!! I really, really do! Next, we headed back to our place to eat cake (that's where the bubblegum cupcakes come into play!) and open/play with gifts.

Boy, do I love her!

We gathered around the tub to catch a fish...one of her gifts.

So fun!! It actually moves around and acts like a real fish, it
even fights you when you try to reel it in, as close as you
can get to the real deal!

Owen was so funny standing there looking on at the action,
he was so fascinated!

Working on a huge floor puzzle!

That night, Selah and I had a mommy/daughter sleepover! Most nights she hates when I have to leave after story reading, praying, and singing, and begs me to sleep with her, so I told her that on her birthday I would...so I did! We read books (normally we just read one), we chatted, we giggled, we sang, and then she slept soundly...I hardly slept a wink, probably because I didn't bring my own pillow, that would have been smart! But it was worth it! Fun memories with my special little girl, who will quickly outgrow wanting to have sleepovers with her mother... I will cherish and hold on tight to these times while they last!

Excited!!

Getting her new princesses ready to sleep.

She's the sweetest!
(notice the dolls' location on the bed,
notice the amount of space they take up...
ya, all night my friends, all night)

Saturday is when we celebrated with her friends at a splash park. The weather was fabulous! It had rained the day before, so I was a little nervous, but it was perfect! I hardly even saw Selah, or Owen for that matter. I was chatting it up with all the moms, and Selah was just too busy running around having a blast!