Ronan is 7!

7 going on 12?

Our little guy is growing up!  7 seems like a big change in the boy department...6 was still somehow close to 4 and 5 in a way that 7 really isn't.  Ronan's personality has been so consistent over time (I suppose that's the point of talking about personality) but his capacities are ever changing.  He has been in a really sweet phase in the last month or so, asserting independence but still enjoying snuggles and attention.  He is starting to play with Orion a little more, and we are all continuing to adjust to our less quiet lifestyle.

We celebrated today with a "practice" version of the birthday cake for his party.  He wanted a Minecraft themed cake, and I was going for something like this but simpler (we're saving the blue jello for the kid party in a week).  Good thing there was a practice cake!  It was very nearly a cake wreck, but I sort of saved it with some last minute additions.  Lessons learned: 1) if you cut the firm edges off a cake to make it a new shape, icing makes the sides fall off. 2) freeze cake before icing, or use softer icing.  3) the standard buttercream recipe has WAAY too much powdered sugar in it.  4) according to the local expert, that special grass tip I ordered for making the frosting look like grass apparently makes the cake look less like Minecraft, where everything is flat.  

The brown frosting just WILL NOT STICK, and keeps tearing the cake apart

The green frosting did better, turned brown with the help of some emergency cocoa krispies.
Perhaps not visible, the cake is listing quite seriously.
Candles with different colored flames made up for a lot.

Update: I learned from my mistakes?  This is version two at his party.

Happy 7 kiddo!