I Can't Bee Stopped.

I couldn't help myself. Even though Bea requested no "Bee" birthday cake this year, I still managed to talk her into letting me make beehive cookies for her class treat.

What's the fun in naming your kid Bea if you can't enjoy it?

Using my favorite Kansas Sugar Cookie recipe (substituting the almond extract for lemon), I baked five different sizes of cookies. Stacking them to make mini beehives, I added a dollop of frosting in between each cookie. For the openings, I attached black candy melts to the fronts of the beehives with more frosting. Then, I secured a tiny sugar bumblebee to each one with another dab of frosting. (I bought a bunch of these candy bees from Williams-Sonoma when Bea was just a baby, knowing I'd want to use them someday.)

Easy-peasy. And Beasy. 

If you'd like a complete tutorial on how to make them, check out my post on SheKnows.com.

High Five!

Bea turned 5 years old this week. (Deep breath.... just realized my kids are now 5 & 10. Five fingers & ten fingers. One hand & two hands. My little five & dime.)

When I asked Bea what kind of cake she wanted, she replied: "I want a yellow bumblebee cake. And I want his hand in the air, doing a high  five. And I want a flower in the other hand."

Well, I got half of it right. I managed to make a high-fiving bumblebee, but I forgot to put a flower in the other hand. And Bea noticed it right away. "MOM! You forgot the flower!"

Geez. Some clients are so hard to please. ; )

Other than that minor detail, Bea kept saying "This is the best birthday, EVER!" She got to go to Build-a-Bear with her daycare friends, Sophia & Miss Francis, where they picked out matching bunnies. She got to spend the day playing with her Grandma Nette. And she opened up present, after present, after present from her many aunts & uncles. So yeah, it was pretty much the best birthday EVER for our sweet Bea.