The big ONE

Dear Dada,

A pretty important milestone is rapidly approaching and I want you to know that I am already in planning mode.

It's going to be a big ONE. The kind that's been nearly 12 months in the making.

Me!

I'm turning one!

Daniel and Mom have already turned to Pinterest for birthday cake ideas which I sincerely appreciate. Daniel seems quite set on making me a firetruck cake with real flashing lights. He also insists that chocolate is the flavor to choose for such occasions.

While I do appreciate the enthusiasm and love lights in general I did have a few ideas myself for the big day. Really it boils down to four simple requests:

1. Refreshments

After much taste testing and scavenging culinary experimentation I have finally settled on my top two requests for appetizers:

Bark and Sand.

Not only are these quite popular hazardous and filthy choke hazards food items amongst my dear friends in COOP but I personally like the varied texture and taste each bite offers. Plus there's the added fiber benefit.

2. Activities

Personally I pretty much like to do one thing all the time - walk. Perhaps we could work in a walk-a-thon... potentially even to the park where I have found the tastiest free bark and sand options!! This could really help us save on our party budget.

3. Entertainment

This idea really came from the doggie calendar I received at Christmas from Auntie Kristina and Uncle Eric. Everyone knows I love dogs so....What could be better than a dog kissing booth? Perhaps a few friends with friendly pets would be willing to loan them for an hour or so such that we could get our fill of droolly kisses, fur grabbing and tail pulling!

4. Cake

This may seem redundant given my desire for refreshments but I really truly just want one kind of cake: a Mud Marbled Choco-Wood-Chip Cake with Sanded Frosting. Never tried it yourself? It will completely rock your world. Once Martha Stewart discovers this new flavor her resulting online recipe is sure to break the internet.

I think Daniel finally caught on to what I was really wanting today at the park and, bless him, he scurried away to make the cake of my dreams!!

 Replete with birthday fanfare he unveiled a perfectly sanded, wood chip studded confection which I promptly attempted to eat despite Mom's best efforts to foil my plan.

I suppose that we could call that an early birthday celebration and still stick with a firetruck cake for the actual birthday party... any preferences on your end?

Love,
Joshua