Birthday #4 for Julia Gulia

Julia is 4!

(and I'm so glad because 3 is such a whiny age!)

Julia's favorite song is "The Smile Song" ...If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay...

She also often asks me to sing "The Sunday Bean song"

which my brothers probably think is "Beans, beans, the magical fruit," but it isn't, it's "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam."

And the "Naughty Flower song"  which is "In my pretty garden the flowers are nodding"  but we have to sing extra verses:

"In my pretty garden the flowers are silly" and "In my pretty garden the flowers are sleeping."

Julia likes to play baby horses, so she and I and Isla spend some time every day crawling around on the floor whinnie-ing and "eating" grass.

She is potty trained FINALLY.  I tried lots of things, but the one that motivated her was that if she went on the potty, she could watch Dora the Explorer.  We watch a lot of Dora, but I don't have to change diapers.  It is worth it.

Julia's favorite things to eat are toast, cheese, bananas, and raman noodles.

She likes to pretend to be Flynn Rider and carries around her "Flynn Rider purse."

Last year for her birthday, she requested Chocolate Rapunzel Cake.

I don't think I've ever had a kid with such a long memory.  This year she requested Vanilla Flynn Rider Cake. And she wanted it to be round instead of square. 

So I had the genius idea that if I couldn't find a little Flynn Rider doll, that I could print out a little picture of the guy and tape him to a toothpick and stick him in the middle of the cake and voila! Flynn Rider Cake.

but then the Man of the House and I got into an intense, but civil, debate over this TV news anchor which maybe I will blog about later, or maybe not, because I'm kind of bored with the whole thing now.

Anyway, I got distracted by the debate and almost forgot to make the frosting until the last minute, hence I did forget to make the little Flynn Rider guy.

Julia didn't care. She had round vanilla Flynn Rider Cake.

Sadly, my new camera no esta aqui.  Here, however, is my delicious recipe.


***Honey Vanilla Cake***

2/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)

1.  Preheat the oven to 325*F.  In an electric mixer, cream the coconut oil with the sugar and honey.  It will whip up fluffy just like butter does.

2.  Add the eggs and vanilla, continue to beat on medium speed until the eggs are well incorporated.

3.  Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add them to the sugar mixture alternately with the milk until everything is blended in.

4.  Pour the batter into 2 round cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Top with your favorite Vanilla buttercream frosting.   I can't tell you my recipe.  I just whipped a stick of butter and added a little milk and powdered sugar until I thought it tasted right.

But I think the cake itself has such a lovely subtle flavor and frosting kind of covers it up (haha) so really just leave the frosting off if your family will let you get away with it.