Happy Birthday Mason!

Mason just turned 4! Mason's mom and I have been friends since our boys were really little, and his birthday is always kind of bittersweet for me. He's growing up, and he's only two months older than A-Train, so that means that my little guy is growing up, too.

(You might remember Mason's little sister Makenna from her first birthday party. She's one month older than Big D.)

For his fourth Mason had a bug-themed party at the local museum where they brought the creepy crawlies in for the kids to touch! I'm not talking cute bugs like butterflies and lady bugs. I mean the ugly ones, tarantulas, flying cockroaches, and some totally disgusting wormy thing that I didn't catch the name of.

Such a yucky party theme created a bit of a dilemma for me. I spend a lot of time trying to make pretty sweet things, not creepy sweet things. But after much research (i.e. Googling) I settled on a few designs from the the book Hello Cupcake!

First up, the cupcakes in spider, centipede, ant, and beetle:


These are Yellow Buttermilk Cake with Almond Buttercream frosting. The bugs are made of chocolate and various types of M&Ms and chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

Then the tick cake pops. Seriously, ticks!



And here's the birthday boy digging in to (or maybe around?) his cupcake.



You might have noticed that Mason and Makenna look an awful lot alike. If you're wondering who they look like, it's this guy!


And, as a shameless plug, John and his wife, along with their partners Chris and Lisa, own two restaurants here in Durham- Pop's and Rue Cler. Both are fantastic, so check them out!