Dear Soledad,

Smiles you are to me.
Grinning cheesy toothless smiles, that make my heart glow.
You are swings, swinging high with the wind whooshing by.

Your rhythm is contagious.
It’s the rhythm of your life, and you never miss a beat.
As you sway and move your hips, and gently purse your lips.

Your voice blazons like a drum.
Commanding all to hear, as our hearts follow its quake.
We can tell we are alive, in the presence of your vibe.

Rebellious and mischievous.
Foxily moving your way through the world.
Searching, wondering, questioning, knowing.

Funny, smart, and full of love.
Never has a person met you, and not fallen in love.
You are generous beyond all measure, and as gentle as a feather.

But most of all, you are brave.
Standing tall for us all to see, in spite of any fear that may lie in your heart.
You press on, because already you understand, that with God you can.

I love you, my dear sweet little girl. You light up my life every single day. You are the sun on my back, the peach juice that drips down my chin, soft fur against my face. You are the what makes life fun, and right, and good. Shine for me always. Golden Child of mine.

Happy 5th Birthday.

Love,

Mommy

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If you haven’t guessed it yet. It’s Soledad’s Birthday, and that kid is a hum dinger.  She has enough personality for 1000 people.

Sometimes I really want to cool her off.
But, my mom says to let her be. She’ll be okay.
Or does she say she acts like a bee? Buzzing around annoyingly. I can never remember.

Give her honey?
Giver her love?
Swat her with a fly swatter?
Oh, what to do.

Give her a cake. Sweet like honey. Cold like snow. It could tame any beast.

But be warned, if you make this cake, you’ll only have seconds to rest up and catch your bearings, because it’ll be gobbled up before you know it!

Homemade Brownie Butter Pecan Ice Cream Cake
Have a favorite homemade brownie recipe? You can use that instead!
*I used a 12 inch spring form pan and only 1 box of brownie mix, which yielded a 1 inch thick final brownie sheet. If you want a thicker cake, use another box. Whatever you do, you can’t mess this cake up!

Ingredients:

1 Box Brownie Mix (made for 13X9 inch pan), cooked according to instructions
1/2 Gallon  – 1.5 Quarts of Butter Pecan Ice Cream
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip
1/2 cup hazelnut pieces
Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Bake brownies according to package directions. I wanted a round cake, so I baked ours in a round spring-form pan lined with wax paper, for easy release. The recipe will work equally as well in a rectangular or square pan. Let cool completely on a rack.

2. Once the brownies are cool, use a knife or spatula to separate the edges of the brownie from the pan. Remove brownie sheet. Cut in half horizontally, so that you have two large halves of the original whole. Don’t worry if pieces break off. It will be easy to piece back together.

3.  Place the bottom half of the brownie back into the pan, lined with a new piece of wax paper. (If you’re not using a spring-form pan, make sure that your wax paper comes up and over the edges of the pan. This will allow you to lift your cake out easily once it’s frozen, so that you can place it onto a pretty serving plate.)
4.Remove the ice cream from the freezer, and let it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes, until soft.Stir ice cream, and then spoon evenly over the bottom layer of the brownie.

Place the top half of the brownie over the ice cream. If the pieces are broken, just evenly distribute, the best you can.
5. “Frost” the cake by spooning the Cool Whip evenly over the top. Finish by adding hazelnuts and sprinkles.

6. Place in the freezer until ice cream hardens (about 2-3 hours). Run a spatula that has been dipped in hot water around the edges to loosen.

7.Remove cake from pan. Place on a serving plate. Serve.