Henry had strong opinions about his birthday cake this year, and those plans changed repeatedly. Sample plan: “A two-layer round lemon cake with green vanilla icing in between the layers, and blue lemon icing on top with ‘You are 6!’ in green vanilla icing and dots of purple lemon icing around the edges!” I’m pretty willing to mess around with stuff like this. I won’t/can’t do much decoration artwork, but I’m willing to spoon a batch of frosting into four bowls and stir in different flavors/colors we already have on hand.
Every time we discussed it, it was a different cake he had in mind. When I told him it was time to make his final decision, he said he wanted a vanilla rectangle cake (yay, rectangle! the easiest!) with chocolate frosting, and then a big green vanilla 6, and then dots of purple lemon frosting surrounding the 6. Easy enough.
When the cake was cooling, though, Henry expressed surprise that it was vanilla, not lemon. I reminded him that he’d made his final decision, and now it was too late for changes. He was okay with it. (If he’d been very upset, I probably would have baked another cake since I’d bought both cake mixes before I knew what he’d decide, but he seemed more like a kindergartner who’d lost track of his most recent decision.)
I noticed at his birthday party that he didn’t eat much cake, but we were having cake before the presents and he was VERY EAGER to get to the presents. Also, I don’t think he particularly likes cake: he’ll eat it, but he doesn’t go nuts for it.
Then, yesterday, and this will seem unconnected at first, I offered him a hard candy from a box of See’s Little Pops, and he chose vanilla, saying it was his favorite flavor. Then as he was eating it, he kept complaining mildly that it didn’t really TASTE like anything. I said that was how vanilla WAS, and please stop complaining about a nice treat.
(Are you starting to form a theory? I was still completely sans-theory at this point.)
Then, today, he was telling me about a cake they’d made at kindergarten. He said it was a lemon cake. Then he whapped his forehead in frustration and said, “I mean VANILLA. URG. I always get those words mixed up!”
Me: *FINALLY GETTING IT.*
Those two words DO have a lot of sounds in common. And OMG, “vanilla” cake is YELLOW, just like lemon cake. And he kept switching his cake choice from lemon to vanilla and back again, sometimes during the same description. And he was surprised when I made him a vanilla cake when he thought he’d been clear about wanting lemon.
Me: “Henry! Were you disappointed in the taste of your birthday cake?” Henry: “Yes”—but in a matter-of-fact way, not whiny or self-pityingly or resentfully or “FINALLY YOU GET IT” or anything. Just like, “I am not startled by that complete non sequitur of a question, and the answer is affirmative. Now ask me my favorite color.”
Anyway, I have a lemon cake in the oven.
Aw – poor kid! And we must have gone to the same school of cake decorating…
This is one of those things that I like about kids. Stuff that seems so obvious to adults hasn’t quite gotten all the way there in them.
Ah! I did not have a theory, I didn’t get it until the end with the Big Reveal. But yeah, lemon and vanilla do have a lot of sounds in common, plus the yellow color. Good think you had that lemon cake mix on hand as well! Also a bonus: more cake!
That’s so cute and easy to see how a little could get that all mixed up. I would have made him a new cake too and probably kissed him 1,0000 times for being cute.
DB
#bestmomaward
OMG i meant for making him a lemon cake! i see how that could sound bitchy.
Oh! Ha ha! I had to go back and re-read it to figure out how it could be bitchy! I’d automatically understood it the way you meant it!
That’s charming and adorable.
Ha! What a cute story, sweet old Henry.
This is very sweet. Er, no pun intended.
I like that you made him a new cake (lemon). I also like that he didn’t whine or complain about the cake he did get the first time! Score for both of you!
That is about the sweetest thing ever. Yay Swistle!
But, so…did he really want a lemon cake with chocolate frosting? Because THAT is irregular. (I’d totally eat it, but, y’know…I LOVE CAKE.)
YES. It was surprisingly good. Odd, but good. I’d warned him ahead of time that chocolate and lemon might not MESH, but his main issue was that the chocolate covered up too much lemon flavor. I’ve suggested that next year he might want lemon cake with LEMON frosting, or with VANILLA frosting.
Love this story! Hope the lemon cake comes out great and tastes like he’s been hoping. :-) Great of you to figure it out and make it for him, and impressive attitude from a new 6-year-old.
Heeee, this made me giggle. Poor Henry. I kind of love when kids get things like that mixed up, though, it’s so cute (although, must be frustrating for them. What the hell – this is not lemon!)
I love little people. And I love it when mom figures out what happened and makes another cake! It’s easy to see how he could get the two confused seeing as they are both yellow and all.
Oh god, now I want lemon cake.
This is a great story. BUT the lemon cake with the chocolate frosting is the premise of the book The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. So, that is kind of interesting. Note: If you are going to read the book, everything comes together in the last 20 pages, so giving up early will just frustrate you more if you find it a frustrating read.
/librarian segue
If you want lemon and get vanilla, jeez what a disappointment. Very cool you made him another one. I’m a little sad you don’t put “by Swistle” on the cake, itself.
I just feel the need to chime in and say that while I don’t know about lemon cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate cake with lemon icing (the dripping-down-the-sides kind) is unbelievably delicious.
And yes, you and Henry both deserve awards for stellar behavior in the whole situation. Yay for Henry not complaining the first go-around and Yay for Swistle’s making more delicious cake!
Awww….sweet little baby! What a good attitude.