Tia's son, Devin Jordan, has a favorite blue toy dump truck. For Devin Jordan's 5th birthday -- that they planned to celebrate {in style} at Devin Jordan's elementary school -- Tia put some faith in me (!) and asked me to make a chocolate-chocolate cake designed after his special toy truck. I regretfully declined. JUST KIDDING. That would not be a very good blog post, now would it? WELL OF COURSE, I was going to step up to the challenge for Sweet Tia (aka "Queen Bee" -- more to come on that in the near future) and her boy!
This was my first real custom 3-D sculpted replica cake. I was pretty happy with how it came out, but the true test for me is what the birthday boy thinks about it.
Now, I will confess that I become somewhat emotionally attached to my cakes... and I know that sometimes with little kids and days that involve gifts/parties/more attention than they are used to, they have a very understandable way of becoming "overstimulated". So, in order to protect my cake-lovin' heart, I decided to expect Devin Jordan might be overstimulated when he sees the cake. I accepted that his reaction to the cake could be any number of things...and that no matter what, I would just go with the flow and know that it's a BIG day for a little guy!
To my amazement and absolute joy, Devin Jordan had one of the COOLEST reactions I have ever seen and probably will ever see. After the adorably entertaining bubble show by Rebecca the Bubble Lady, the kids went outside for a quick break so we could get the cake from the Principal's office and bring it into the classroom. Here are some fun shots from the bubble show:
When the kids came back, Devin Jordan first got a glimpse of his cake...
Tia assured him that it was a special birthday cake just for him.
Without saying a word, but saying plenty with his smile, Devin Jordan walked up to his cake that resembled his favorite blue truck. With little hesitation, he reached out and touched the cake.
He began to carefully explore the cake with his fingers, checking out all the details on and around the truck cake. Devin Jordan has autism and Tia actually explained to me that he has a really strong visual memory and knows certain things (like his favorite truck, I'm sure) down to the smallest detail.
So I knew when Devin Jordan pulled up his chair and basically HUGGED the cake stand that we had passed the ultimate test. At that point, I let my "guard" down and couldn't stop smiling.
He really liked those chocolate rocks. Meeee too, they are really tasty.
Well, when it came time to cut the cake...guess what? DUH, adults, he didn't want us to! That was just too cute. I should have thought to make a sheet cake for serving, but never thought it would be such a hit. I love this picture of my attempt to "rip off the bandaid" (aka cut into the cake) and getting blocked by Devin Jordan. (By the way, Cole photographed the party. I think he did a great job!)
Luckily, I made vegan cupcakes for the teachers, so some of the kids had something to dig into in the meantime.
After another short recess to give Devin Jordan a little cake break, we were able to cut some slices up. The front of the truck went home intact though! :)
Thanks, Tia, for having some faith in me! And an extra special thanks to Devin Jordan for the awesome memory!
