Mama says we’re going to make a birthday cake for Papa today. It’s a good thing Mama has three mixing bowls because I’d prefer to keep this one for my hat.

While the two rounds are baking in the oven we made chocolate frosting too. I didn’t care for the taste of cocoa powder, but Mama said I could lick the beaters. What she doesn’t realize is that when she went to grab the camera I grabbed her beater too…

and she’s not getting it back…

at least not until it’s clean!

Mama frosted the cake while I was napping–I think I know why she did that! I put candles and candy footballs all over the cake and even sprinkled a few pink pigs! What a creation!

We put a special tablecloth on the dining room table and even sprinkled leaves on the table and over the cake. I think we should decorate like this every day!

Mama must have some magic in her fingers…Papa’s candles are glowing!

Make a wish Papa…and do it fast because I’m not so sure about sitting here in the dark!!

Seriously….can I eat some cake yet or what??? I’ve been waiting patiently for HOURS!!!

Mama and I made Papa a really cool Badger photo album, but somehow it didn’t make it into this picture…

and Aunt Robyn & Uncle Pete found a really cool Simon Cowell birthday card (Papa is an American Idol devotee!!)…

and as a grand finale I made everyone get up and march around the family room while Aunt Robyn played my trumpet!! Overall, I think Papa had a really good birthday!!!

Apparently…we are more modern than we realized. See…we’ve invented this new thing. It’s called “making waffles and then freezing them” (see freezer picture below). Since it appears as though quite a few of you have never heard of this process…we’ve created an in depth how-to below…in case you’d like to try it too!

Go to Williams Sonoma (their waffle mix is incredible) or the local grocery store and buy all of your waffle ingredients.

Put all of those ingredients into your refrigerator until you are ready to make your waffles.

Waffle Making Day:

Mash up some bananas–or whatever fruit you prefer until there are little to no chunks remaining.

Mix your fruit into the waffle mix or flour/baking soda/powder combo.

Do a taste test and if you’d like add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and/or allspice—at least that’s my favorite combo.

Pour your waffle batter onto a clean and pre-heated (we prefer the 6 or 7 setting) waffle iron using the 1/2 cup measuring cup–don’t put too much or it will overflow–and close the lid.

Then watch and wait. Note: When using a runny fruit–such as mashed bananas–a small amount of smoke may escape from your waffle iron. This is normal. Within 30 to 45 seconds the machine will beep/chirp and…

VOILA!! You will have a beautiful golden waffle like this one. Doesn’t it make you hungry just looking at it?

In fact, they are so good…you may have to enlist the help of Batman to stand guard.

Once breakfast is over and you’ve polished off the last of your diluted O.J….

Feel free to put them into your freezer so that by the time your 7pm snack time hits…they will be good and frozen…and ready to eat again.

Thank you to Uncle-ish Scott for the extra waffle mix. We will continue to make lots and lots of waffles using your waffle iron. Please keep reading below the newest Nolan Tidbits and come back soon…I’m going to make a post about Papa’s birthday!

NOLAN’S TIDBITS:

Occasional OCD Moments: Our trash pick-up day is every Tuesday. About 2 months ago I decided that if the garbage trucks were sloppy and knocked over the neighbors cans or forgot to close their lids that I’d go around and tidy them up as soon as the trucks are gone.

New Music:Mama and Papa took me to see another performer in the Kids in the Rotunda program at our downtown Overture Center. They were awesome. They are called Yid Vicious and played something called Klezmer music, which is Yiddish folk music. They used a clarinet, a violin, a bass guitar, a coronet, an accordian, a large drum set and something called a theremin, which you’d have to see to believe.

Afterwards Mama and Papa brought me home and we listened to another group that plays similar music. They are called Jewbacca. Apparently they used to have a really good drummer named Scott something. I have this antique trumpet that my Grandma Lily gave Papa and I like to pretend to play the trumpet along with the music.

Cookie Monster: I’ve only seen Grandpa Sam and Uncle Nathan so many times thus far in my life, but Mama swears I am following in their Cookie Monster footsteps. I just can’t help it. Cookies are so yummy and Mama is so slow about eating hers (plus she gets out of her chair a lot)…it makes it easy to just reach over and eat hers too!