The Birthday Letters and Rice Crispy Cake

My Lil' O recently turned 3. It's crazy, I know!

A little before his first birthday, I had a friend who I noticed wrote letters for her children on their birthdays each year. I loved the idea, so I made it a tradition in our house.

Each year, on or just after their birthday, I write a special letter to each of my children. I include their achievements from the year, their current favorite things, the special characteristics we love about them, and any extra thoughts I want to include.

Someday, around the time they prepare to leave the nest, I'll give them all the birthday letters as a gift. I hope it will provide them with a special memory of their childhood and a reminder of how far they've come and how strong they are.

Here's O's birthday letter this year:

Dear Oliver,

Happy Birthday my Little Man, you're three years old! This year was pretty big for you, you made lots of changes and started lots of new things!

The biggest change was becoming a big brother, and what a great big brother you are! You've loved Elliott Dan from the moment we found out he was coming. You would hug and kiss my belly and say, "I love Elliott Dan." It was so sweet. Then he came and you were so excited! You've never been jealous or gotten upset about him taking some of my time. You tell me important things you're going to teach him when he gets bigger all the time. I think you're going to be such a great teacher and protector and companion for Elliott!

This year you also learned how to ride a big boy bike with training wheels and go to the bathroom by yourself without diapers. What a big boy you're getting to be. Your Dad and I can hardly believe it! You are learning so much so quickly! You've also memorized the first three Articles of Faith, the ABC's, and you can count to 14. You love the time we spend together learning about all sorts of new things, like the Hubble Telescope. You're like a sponge, you love to soak in all the information you can. You have so many questions about the world that I have a hard time keeping up sometimes!

There are lots of things you love to do. Your favorite right now is building space ships and other things out of Legos. You're a great builder, I love watching you fit the pieces together! You also love riding your bike and reading. Sometimes we sit on the coach and read together for over an hour. You love critters and want to make friends with anything we meet. You still love anything that has to do with trains, your Dad loves it!

We love watching you grow and sharing your love for everything new. We want you to know how much we love you and how much your Savior and Father in Heaven love you. This year you started to bear your testimony on fast Sundays. We encourage you to continue to share your testimony and help it grow. You've helped me strengthen my testimony of the family and the love Christ has for us. I'm so grateful for you in our lives. I love your sweet smile, funny sense of humor, and little freckles. I can't wait to spend another year watching you grow. I love you!

Love,

Your Mom

This year for his birthday, O got to celebrate twice. Once in Idaho with all our family there, and again on his actual birthday after we got back. Both times he really wanted a Thomas the Tank Engine cake. Lil' O is allergic to eggs and doesn't really like cake, but he loves rice crispy treats. So, I decided I could make a fun rice crispy treat cake for his birthday. I, of course, turned to pinterest, where I was a little disappointed in the lack of tips and tutorials on making a rice crispy cake. After getting some great tips from my husband's step-mom, who made a gorgeous rice crispy cake for my brother-in-law's wedding, I dove elbow deep into marshmallows, butter, and rice crispies. 

Here's how each turned out:

Here's how I did it:

First, I came up with a plan for the shape of my cake. The awesome thing about rice crispies is there's no baking, so you can use whatever pan/dish/tupperware is the shape you want. For the first cake, I used a deep fry pan and a springform cake pan.

They were the exact sizes I needed and I liked that they would have different edges when I pressed the treats in. The bottom layer's edge would be rounded while the top layer's would be squared.

For the second cake, I had to get a little more creative so I could have a rounded top on the hill. I used a deep frying pan, a small pot, and a bowl that fit perfectly on the pot when turned upside-down.

To prep the forms I simply lined them with tin foil and coated them with a little butter so the rice crispy treat wouldn't stick.

Next, I gathered my supplies. It took a surprising amount of rice crispies to fill my forms. The first time I had to send my husband running to the store for more of everything, since it took twice the amount of rice crispy treats I was anticipating. For example, the first cake took 5 1/2 batches of rice crispy treats. The second took 3 batches.

Third, I made the rice crispy treats and pressed them into the forms. This was a bit of a process. After the first batch, I got into a rhythm. I would make a batch of rice crispies, pour it into a form, start the next batch of rice crispies, and then go back and press the previous batch down. This would give the first batch a little time to cool before I buttered my hands up and started pressing it in. I was told that pressing the rice crispy treats into the forms tightly is crucial, especially if you're making a layered cake. This makes the layers strong enough to stack.

Here's the recipe I used:

Rice Crispy Treats

1/2 c. Butter, cut into a couple pads

1 10oz. pkg. Mini Marshmallows or 40 Large Marshmallows

6 c. Rice Krispy Cereal

1/4 tsp. Vanilla

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is almost melted, add the marshmallows and continue to stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cereal. Press into pan.

Fourth, I left the treats to set up and cool while I went to find a cake plate. I left my treats for several hours so they were well set-up before I started removing them from the pans. In the meantime I went searching for a cake plate big enough to fit my bottom layer. Thankfully, I was able to find one stashed away in the basement! I cut a piece of wax paper to put between the cake plate and the cake for easier clean-up later.

Fifth, I removed the treats from the pans and assembled the cake. This was a little trickier than I had anticipated. I was grateful for the tip to use tin foil. This allowed me to remove the treats from the forms and set them where I wanted them without getting sticky. I simply removed the tin foil after they were set in place. After I got the first layer on the cake plate, I used a knife to cut around the edge of the wax paper I had set down so it wouldn't show later.

Before I set the second layer on, I wanted something delicious in between. I grabbed the jar of Nutella and slathered it on.

There wasn't quite enough left in the jar to cover the way I wanted, so I also added some frosting.

Here's the assembled cake before I decorated it:

Finally, I decorated it. We're not really lovers of fondant at my house, and I'm not the best frosting maker, so I simply used a couple cans of store-bought frosting. It was fun coming up with a plan for the train tracks and seeing everything turn out. The best part was seeing O's face each morning. He was so excited about his Thomas cakes!

So, next time you have a birthday in your family, try something new and fun and make a rice crispy cake!
Don't forget a serrated knife to dig in!

The Top 5 Things I Learned About Potty-Training

About a year ago we started to potty-train O. He was 2 years old, showing mild interest, and the other moms in our playgroup were talking about it, so I figured it must be time. I hate to get into anything without knowing what to expect, so I jumped online and read every article and blog post I could find on the big PT. I studied up on the "3-Day Method" that comes up on Pinterest all the time and decided that with my obsessive compulsive nature, having a toddler leave little puddles all over the floor for 3 days wasn't gonna fly. I read some other methods and wasn't entirely convinced they were a good fit for us either. I decided to come up with my own method. Of course, because after years of mothers teaching their children how to use the bathroom I was going to come up with something that worked so much better... or something. Right.

He'd had a potty for awhile and he loved it. We picked it up at his first sign of interest, which was, of course, a little early. I love it's versatility though and would recommend it to anyone. It can be used as a little potty chair, the seat can be removed and used as a potty seat on the big toilet, or the lid can be closed and it can be used as a stool.

I made a little chart for him to put stickers on and we got started. I decided that I would have him stay in his diaper until he actually went in the potty a certain number of times, then we would help him pick out some underwear and go from there. I watched him closely and he did get on the potty a couple times throughout the week, so we progressed to the next step and he picked out some underwear. I don't know that I've ever cleaned up so many accidents as that first day in underwear. I didn't dare take him anywhere in them or let him sleep in them, so we were always changing in and out of diapers and underwear. All the veteran moms are now shaking their heads and saying, "Yeah, that was never going to work." I figured this out pretty quick and decided he just wasn't ready.

I decided to wait a couple months until he was a little older and more ready. Meanwhile, we found out we were expecting, so now the pressure was on. I was determined not to have two kids in diapers, because that would be the end of the world, right? Hah! I put aside my fastidious nature in the interest of conquering this potty training mountain and decided we would try the "3-Day Method." After all, I could put up with a little urine everywhere for 3 days, right? At first things were great and I thought it was working. We had quite a few accidents, but also quite a few successes. I was almost considering calling us potty trained when I realized an important detail of our successes: Me. O wasn't actually deciding when to go to the bathroom, I was reminding him every 30 minutes or so and then dragging him in to the bathroom when it seemed as though it had been long enough. If I left it up to him, I would find him standing in a puddle. I was actually the one who was almost potty trained, not O. So we waited again.

The tricky part about my sweet Little Man was that he didn't care if he was wet or stinky. His diaper could be so full of pee it was hanging between his knees and he would be totally unaware. He could clear a room his stench was so bad and he would still fight you about laying down long enough to change it. He just had better things to do, I guess. A couple months before the baby came we were staying at my mom's house and decided to try again. If anyone could help me potty train this kid, it would surely be her. No cigar, he still was just not ready.

Finally, a couple weeks shy of his 3rd birthday, he started to admit to us when he was stinky and needed to be changed. Hallelujah! We tried potty training one more time before his Dad went back to school and it worked like a dream. Until this point I had decided potty training was the hardest part of parenting, but I changed my mind after he finally started going by himself.

Here he is with his "Potty Prize."

Here are the top 5 lessons I learned through all this:

#5- They need an example. Before we potty trained O, I insisted on my privacy in the bathroom. It was my 5 lone minutes to recollect myself throughout the day and I was not going to give that up! Little ones need an example though, so I had to unlock the door for a couple months while he learned how to use the potty. It really did help him learn and get excited about being like Mom and Dad.

#4- Don't be afraid to use incentives. Do I usually let my toddler chow down on candy regularly or run around covered in temporary tattoos of the Ninja Turtles? No, but if it means he'll be excited to go potty, then by all means have at it. It's only for a week or two and then you can return to the no-candy regimen. Use whatever seems to motivate your toddler. Maybe it's stickers or balloons, awesome, get a bag and they'll get practicing.

#3- Use their want for independence. Toddlers are in that frustrating stage where they want to do things on their own, but just don't seem to be big enough. This is something you want them to be able to do on their own, so play that up! They'll love how "big" they feel when they can go by themselves and get rid of their diapers.

#2- Be excited. No one wants to learn to do something that's boring and mundane, so we have to make it seem exciting. Cheer them on, do a little dance when they finally go, give them a high-five when they remember to use soap. Make it exciting and fun so they'll want to go.

#1- They have to be ready. As my story illustrates, the hardest lesson for me was knowing when he was actually ready. If they're not ready, it's going to be really hard. Sometimes the difference of a couple months is huge. So don't be afraid to wait. So what if they're a little older, everyone learns eventually.

Hopefully, these lessons that took me a year to learn will come in handy for you! Do you have any lessons you learned while potty training your child? Post them in the comments! I'd love to hear them since I'll be going through this again in a few short years!