Happy "Surprise" Birthday Pappa!

A few weeks ago Lil' Spitfire and I were at the grocery store and he asked if we could bake a cake for Pappa's birthday. He has become quite vigilant over Pappa's birthday ever since we had a conversation about when his own birthday was going to happen. To get him to stop talking about what he wanted for his birthday I told him he had to be patient, we still had Pappa's birthday and Christmas and then it would be his birthday. In response to his cake query I told him "Sure, and we can pick out a cake now if you can keep it a secret." He assured me that he could and I decided if he spilled the beans it wouldn't be the end of the world, so we skipped on to the next aisle where he picked out lemon cake with cream cheese frosting. Now, Spitfire is becoming quite the little chef. If someone's cooking he's right by their side wanting to smell, touch and stir. However he has yet to grasp the details involved in keeping surprises secret and when Pappa came home he promptly asked Pappa "You know why I can't tell you about your cake? Because it's a surprise!"

Since Bill's birthday was on a Wednesday, not a great night for a party when you're an employee of the church, I decided we could celebrate Tuesday night and maybe it would even be a bit of a surprise still. That afternoon Spitfire and I got to work in the kitchen baking that cake. No sooner had we plopped it in the oven then the birthday boy arrived home...in the middle of the day...unheard of! Spitfire gasped "NO!" and we rushed around hiding our mess. When Pappa opened the door the tiny baker was there to greet him with an oh-so sly "You can not go into the kitchen!" The whole time Pappa was gathering his stuff Spitfire watched him closely and when he left and the door shut behind him Spitfire's little shoulders relaxed and he sighed "Whew, that was close!" Needless to say the surprise that evening wasn't really a surprise but it was so much fun because they boys loved it. When we heard Pappa pull up we turned off the lights, rushed into the kitchen to hide, and jumped out when he walked in. I wish I could sustain the excitement the boys have in making even small moments events and remember the details are so unimportant, it's the experience that's the good stuff.