Sunday Sweets: James' Sweet Safari
April 26, 2009 You Wrecks history buffs know that my friend Abby was the one who first e-mailed me the "cake that started it all", thereby indirectly inspiring this entire blog. Abby is also the mother of Sweet Baby James, who spent 482 days spreading joy on this globe before leaving us last August. Since today would have been James' 2nd birthday, Abby asked me if she might share his first and only birthday cake here on Sunday Sweets. Knowing how awesome you guys are, I figured you'd be willing to indulge us. So, without further ado, here's Abby.
Here's the spread:
As you can see we chose an African safari theme, to match James' nursery. Our friend started working on the design over a month in advance, sending us photos of her progress along the way. The animals were painstakingly crafted out of chocolate and were very fragile, but completely yummy. Each one had a perfect smile!
]The cakes were covered with buttercream frosting - no fondant - and each was a different flavor and filling. The baker's husband custom built and painted the matching cake stand, and they even found a matching "first birthday" photo frame to sit inside it. What a dream for our son's big day!
Then there were chocolate cupcakes with more animal designs to cover us if we had more people than we estimated. These were a big hit with the children when we took the leftover cake to the Ronald McDonald House the next day!
Everyone agreed that James couldn't have had a more perfect birthday cake. As it turns out, he would never need another one, so we are very thankful for this labor of love. And in case any of you were thinking of contacting my friend to order your own professional masterpiece, I have to disappoint you. A month after James' party, she moved on from cake decorating and launched a humor blog for a somewhat larger audience—but it couldn't be a more grateful one than us.
UPDATE: Abby and her hubby John are indeed reading all of your comments! She asked that I post this word of thanks on their behalf:
Reader Comments (303)
wow! thats a really cute and great cake, with a touching story to go with it. it makes me sad that some people have to leave the world so early, or some have to live through it with all kinds of health issues........
The best "Sunday Sweets", yet. A lovely tribute.
I found your blog this weekend. What an incredible post. Thank you so much for sharing your friend and the family's story. Just amazing. Alice Xxx
That was such a bitter-sweet story. What a beautiful little boy, it makes me so sad to know he wasn't with us for long. But I'm sure his sweetness and joy lives on with you, and now us.
A beautiful cake for a beautiful boy.
Marianne
x
Oh, I love the pictures of that little boy. The cake is wonderful - and he and his parents deserved every bit of wonderfulness in his precious life. Thanks for sharing it.
P.S. I love this blog!
I rememeber reading about sweet baby James and seeing this post brought tears to my eyes. That cake was simple, but beautiful. Thanks for posting this Jen. :)
Oh, this is so sad I almost cried!! I appreciate you honoring this request, and I'm glad that this special little boy had such a perfect first, (And only,) birthday!
WAITaminnit - JEN made those??? You've been holding out on us!!
Seriously, this is a lovely post, and those are some amazing cakes. Thanks for sharing this with us.
What a wonderful way to celebrate with your son! He was a beautiful little boy.
Jen, you are a very talented cake decorator!!! I'm impressed.
Beautiful cake, beautiful post... thank you for sharing!
Jen, your cakes were exquisite. And Abby, your story made me cry.
-Amy H.
WOW!!!! an amazing cake for an amazing boy!!!! Thanks for sharing it!! And for sharing your journey - you will never know some of the lives your story has touched!
I pray that as you celebrate the day of his birth, your heart will be comforted by peace that passes understanding!!!!
Blessings from Colorado!!!!
Abby,
I am so sorry for your loss.
Oh my goodness. I'm crying happy/sad tears for that sweet boy and his family this morning. I'm so glad he had such a special birthday. I know it's a treasured memory. Thank you for sharing that.
Gah, ok, now I'm in tears.
What a beautiful little boy. His eyes were captivating! Beautiful cake too.
Love it!
Happy birthday James :)
Those are truly beautiful cakes for a truly beautiful little boy. Thank you and Abby for sharing such a special moment! Happy Birthday Sweet Baby James!
This cake is simply beautiful! You can tell how much care, effort (and love!) the baker put into it. James was a very lucky baby to have such incredibly parents and such wonderful friends that cared about him.
And Jen -- did you make that cake? Cause if you did -- massive kudos to you.
This is a heartwarming story--it is proof that we should live as though every day is precious. Cake for breakfast from now on!
What a wonderful and touching entry. THANK YOU for sharing. I would say that your birthday safari bagged a grand trophy of love and joy.
-WM
Thank you for sharing that with us...what a sweet, inspirational post. And what a wonderful cake for such a sweet beautiful boy!
God Bless.
Fun cake, beautiful boy! Sweet baby James touches my heart.
What a beautiful and touching story! Rest in peace, sweet James...
I am in awe of your amazing baking skills, Jen! :) That cake stand your husband made is really sweet too.
Truly why this is called Sunday Sweets. Thanks for sharing.
Abby, your son was beautiful and a joy to behold. I am so sorry you lost him. I am so glad your friend started her wonderful blog ;-) but wow, she is a fantastic cake decorator too....It's always good to have a back-up career plan. :)
That's so moving.
What a wonderful cake, and a beautiful smile on James' face.
I always come here to laugh. Right now I'm sitting here with tears running down my face. I've read this blog almost since the beginning, but this is my first post.
My own James just ran up to me, smiling, wondering why Mommy is crying. He, too, is a special needs kid who's been through hospitals and surgery and therapy. I gave him a huge hug. He squirmed until I put him down. He doesn't understand what I'm thinking right now. That's OK.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like your James will live on in a lot of memories ... including mine.
And that's a beautiful cake. :-)
Gorgeous cake--and boy. Thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you for such an uplifting story. What a great way to remember James on his birthday.
Fantastic job on the cake. :)
Oh my....I have tears in my eyes. Happy Second Birthday to your darling baby boy.
What a wondeful, but tragic story. James certainly was a beautiful child. And the cake was a masterpiece.
I think we watched a video about Baby James in my church in North Carolina. I cried then as I'm crying now. What a precious boy.
I think I may have cried into my oatmeal a little. Seeing the joy in his beautiful face just made me lose it.
Thank you for sharing this story!
I had read about sweet baby James.
This post brought tears to my eyes. Such a beautiful labor of love.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
This is a lovely story. Thank you for sharing. The cake is adorable, the little boy is beautiful.
Beautiful story to go with a beautiful little boy. God bless!
I read their blog.. what a special family! I am so happy you shared that with us.
Oh dear, what a sweet story with such a bitter ending. James will be in my prayers tonight. I hope you guys are coping well.
An angel is only allowed to visit us for a short time. But his life will continue to touch many.
Those cakes are so beautiful and made of nothing but the most genuine love.
I have often been in tears after reading this site, but never quite like this. Thank you for sharing this story.
I'll never forget when I first found this blog and through it stumbled upon Sweet Baby James' story. I spent that ENTIRE day reading his story and it has touched my heart deeply. I teared up again reading this post, it is so wonderful that he had such a special first birthday and a great cake (Wow Jen!). Happy Birthday Sweet Baby James.
Best Sunday Sweets Ever. This is an amazing tribute to a beautiful little boy. Sweet Baby James indeed.
My fiance and I both have tears streaming down our faces now. And we, indeed, are having cake for breakfast.
I read this blog while I'm eating breakfast and often I am in danger of choking and crying because I'm laughing so hard but I didn't expect to be tearing up for a different reason. That was lovely. Thank you Jen for sharing your friend's story. I'm glad you could bless her with such an amazing cake. Sweet baby James has the most beautiful eyes and I am sad to know he isn't with us anymore.
Thank you for sharing your story with us. The cakes were beautiful and I'm sure your sweet baby boy was a precious gift to many. I pray today you will find comfort in the love of family and friends.
*****
Btw Jen, any idea why I suddenly can't see some of the pictures? In this post I could see all but the last three and in the post before I couldn't see the middle picture. Same thing with the post before that. Just didn't have that problem before - and it's frustrating the heck out of me!
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing James, and his story, with us. What a precious little life. I'm glad you still celebrate him even now. His life was worth celebrating.
What's that on his head?
Oh, Jen... thank you for sharing this with us! You're a marvelous cake artist in your own right, and an incredibly good friend to James.
You did good, girlfriend. You did really, really good.
PS...Nevermind about the question on the pictures, I think I've figured it out. Thanks.