Green Belt

Tyler had another karate graduation the yesterday. He got his green-striped belt, which he was very proud of! It's been so much fun to see his progress in his coordination and confidence over the past year! He is getting better at his focus level (a little) and we can really see him coming out of his shell a little more every month. His friend Jake, who is in his pre-school class (& also my friend Gina's son), also does karate in the same class and I think that has helped a little too. Our little guy is growin' up!!

Hay yah!!

Breaking his board

GREEN belt!

Tyler and Jake

This spring should be fun- stay tuned for some T-Ball pics soon... :)

Check it out!

So if any of you are wondering, "Hasn't Aly done any cakes lately?", you need to know a little new info- I started a new blog just for all of my cakes! I have been doing so many of them I just decided to put them all in one spot. It's been a lot easier that way, and I can actually tell people one place to see all of my work.
I am having a blast with these cakes, and so far I have averaged about one cake a week (usually on the weekend). I haven't really blogged much about our family lately because, quite frankly, we haven't been doing much! It's been nice to slow down for a change.
So from now on, you'll have to visit my cake blog at www.bsweetcakes.blogspot.com to see my newest creations. And, let me tell you, I've got some good ones coming up! (You can also click on the 'B Sweet Cakes' link on the right side of this blog.) Thanks everyone!!!

Meet Mr. Mustang

So apparently, I forgot to blog about the newest member of our family- Mr. Mustang (I got the 10th degree). In December, Matt and his dad drove to Sacramento to look at, and purchase, this little beauty:
After selling his Harley, we agreed that eventually he would buy a classic car- something that could take the family in. Of course "eventually" to Matt means now, so he was online looking soon after that. He found this one, and after some twisting of my arms (and legs) he convinced me! It is a 1966 Fastback Mustang (not FLATback), and as some of you might recognize it's the same car he had in college.
We are having a lot of fun with it. It's very nostalgic to have Kyle come over and have them tinkering on the car together in the garage. Fun times, fun memories.

This past weekend we had my hospital's 50th anniversary festival, including a car show. Matt entered his car along with many other good lookin' cars. It was fun, having the kids there and reminiscing about when we used to do the same thing back when we were dating.

Our friends Gina & Larry came out with their kids (Gina's dad headed the show). The kids had fun climbing all over the car.

It's a Boy!

On Friday my good friend Gina had her fourth baby. She had three boys at home already and they were surprised (sort of :) to find out this one was another BOY! Gina is such a great mom, always so mellow, so if anyone could have 4 boys it's her. They are all so good too..
Anyways, I got to be there for the delivery, which was so fun! I was so excited, and honored when she called me to come. I'm so glad I was there! Gina is one of my closest and best friends, and I am so glad I could be there for her like she is for me!! Here's the handsome boy...

Grady James
January 9, 2009 6:04 pm
8 lbs. 20 1/2 in.

I decided I would make them a cake (surprising) for their 'welcome home' gift. (Can you tell I had some fondant left over from Blake's cake??)
I really wanted to try the bear, so this was the perfect occasion!
Hope they like it!

Our Little Monkey is 1!!

On Saturday we had a little party for Blake's 1st birthday at our house. I decided to do a monkey theme, which turned out SOOO cute! I found a Martha Stewart Crafts monkey birthday party kit online (on sale, no less!) and it made my life so easy. I loved the color scheme and it was just the right cuteness for his 1st B-Day! It came with the invites, favor bags & tags, cups, plates & napkins, little cupcake picks, and even some extra stickers. The best deal I've found in a long time! It all turned out so cute...

I made the cake, smash cake and cupcakes to match the motif...

Here's a close up of the cake. And yes, I made the monkey, too!

I decided to do caramel apples for the favors (with Gena's suggestion) and they turned out to be a big hit! Even the adults wanted one :)

The birthday boy in his monkey shirt :)

He was a little reluctant to dig in at first, but liked the little monkey on top!

Blakey with his favorite gift of the day- a little LeapFrog Guitar from the Simmons'.
I think we have a little musician on our hands...

Time flies....

One year ago today...

Blake Matthew
came into the world
at 3:35 pm

8 lbs. 10 oz. ~ 20 inches

And still continues to steal our hearts!!!

6 months

1 year old!

Blake enjoying his 1st cupcake!
(It took him a total of 30 seconds to demolish it... anyone surprised? :)

Happy 1st Birthday Blakey!
We love you!!

Pretty in Pink

This past Saturday we went out to Menifee for our niece Brooklynn's 6th birthday party. Camryn was REALLY looking forward to this one because the party was at a place called 'Libby Lu'. If some of you aren't familiar with this place, it is the mecca of everything pink and girly!! The girls (they had a group of 9 girls total) each got to dress in a little pink sequened top, get their hair style of choice and some cute "make up" applied. Then they each got a little pink satin bag that they got to fill with 5 little toys and pick out an accessory. Of course Camryn picked the Britney Spears-style microphone headset...

Here's a snapshot of a few of the "divas"
l-r: Roxie, Brooklynn, Camryn, Sierra

Camryn getting her hair done... It's amazing how fast those girls work! BTW, all us moms decided that would be the funnest place to work for a teenager!

After getting their hair done, they were ready for the show! The workers took them outside at the mall entrance and taught them dances. It really was SO incredibly cute!

The whole glittery group!
Even cousin Hannah (2yrs old) got in on the fun!
And the best/worst part- all the Libby Lu stores in So Cal are going out of business so everything in the whole store (including the party!) was 50-75% off! Needless to say, we walked out of there with more glitter anyone could handle!

After the Libby Lu event, we headed back to Aaron & Christa's for some pizza and cake.
(Anyone recognize the cake?)

We all had a really great time, especially Camryn!!
Thanks guys! :)

Sweet Streak

I've been slacking with the cake posts, and after many comments I'm ready to debut my most recent creations! I figured I might as well just put them all together in one big, sweet, buttercream-y post, so here goes!!

Made this for Jazz & George- her "Done with School" celebration.
Yellow cake with chocolate frosting, dots are made with fondant.

After seing George's cake, I got an order for a baby shower cake for a girl at George's work that same week. It came out cute... I think :)

For our Christmas celebration at the Bonafede's I decided to tackle
my first fondant covered cake. Wasn't so bad...
(The bow was a little flat, though)

I did this cake for my friend Riva's little girl, Lynnea's 1st birthday. By far, one of my favorite cakes I've ever made! This is totally what I would call my 'style' of cake!!
It was strawberry flavored cake filled with buttercream icing & covered in fondant.
I also made some cupcakes to go with the cake.
Riva, I hope you loved it as much as I did!

This was the little "smash" cake for Lynnea to grab her itty bitty fingers into!

And last, but definitely not least, Brooklynn's purse cake! I had a blast making this cake, and like I told Matt, I could probably be happy just making different purse cakes forever! Another 'Aly' cake for sure!! It was rainbow chip flavor filled with buttercream & covered in fondant.
I even found the edible glitter too! Brooklynn told me she loved it, made my day!

Next is Blake's 1st birthday this weekend. Monkey theme- we'll see what I come up with!!

Feliz Navidad!

So what kids don't want to wake up on Christmas morning!?! Mine, apparently, and this is what our room looked like on C-Day:
Hilarious, I have to say, and with just a tiny bit of coaxing (and a reminder about Santa's arrival) they were up and adam in no time! It's weird to think that this was Blake's first Christmas, with him being almost one year old already! He was definitely a fun addition this year...
We're just going to do "greatest hits" version of ou Christmas morning, and to start us off will be Tyler's:
If you are all laughing as much as we did, don't feel bad. He is the cutest thing in his helmet and "shooter"! The funniest part though, is to see him put the darn thing on over his glasses and try to actually look out of it... hours of comedy I tell you!

Camryn's was her "My Pod" that we gave her. Don't worry all- it's a total fakie! It came in this set with Tinkerbell books, kaleidescope, and this little fairy music player. She told me she wanted an iPod for Christmas (choke.. yah right) and this was the closest she got. It was actually perfect for her- she thought she looked so cool listening to her classical 'fairy' tunes!
Blakey got his wheels that he (mommy) wanted. :) Perfect for walks around the neighborhood and he already loves it!
The family hit- a remote controlled race track! Daddy had fun putting it together, and the kids actually LOVED it! I thought it was kind of a 'whatever' gift, but Matt & the kids couldn't stop playing with the thing! Well worth the money...
And here is my living room post-Christmas:
Note the GINORMOUS Star Wars tent that Santa brought (thanks Santa!). I'm still cleaning up, but all in all we had a great day!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

On Christmas Eve we all (my familia) gathered at our house for our annual "before church" festivities with, of course, tamales! (And a little ham, cheesy potatoes and whatever else we could throw in there...) We ventured over to church to see the kids sing (which i forgot to get pictures of- I'm fired!), then came back to our house for dessert. It always seems so crazy, but we would never have it any other way, right guys??

The best picture I could get of all my kids in their "Christmas outfits"

The 'cool guy' section

The 'cool grandma' section

The CRAZY people section!!!

Gillian & Vanessa snuggling close with their (almost) matching beanies

Nessie with Blakey (so ready for bed!)

Christmas at the Bonafedes

On Christmas Eve Eve, we got together at Matt's parents for our family Christmas celebration. Linda always makes her lasagne (delizioso!) for dinner, and we had a great time opening presents by the fire. Matt's aunt Jill and uncle Jerry were in town from Tennessee, too. It was so great to see them again! Hi guys!! :)

Cami and B looking cute as ever

Jill & Jerry :)

Blakey's new bulldog jammies

Not sure who's more excited, Camryn or Mikayla! :o)

Ty & his new Star Wars (of course) shirt

Cami & B couldn't wait to play with their matching 'Littlest Pet Shop' toys...
under the dining room table!