My son, who just turned five, only learned how to properly pronounce my daughter’s name last week. It’s a unique name, so the combination of vowels, consonants and related accents can be tricky. I should be happy that he can finally say his big sister’s name correctly, but instead, I feel a little melancholic about the whole thing. Embarrassingly, I begged him for a few short minutes to go back to saying it the old way, but he shook his head and told me he wasn’t a baby anymore. And he isn’t. Not anymore. And I realized at that moment, that in the depths of newborn haziness and sleepless desperation, when you smell of sour milk and you haven’t washed your hair in days-that babies do in fact grow up. They eventually have opinions on things like haircuts and the color of their rain boots. Sometimes they prefer to color with abnormally fat crayons (even when they are nowhere to be found.) There are times they refuse to get into a grocery cart unless it’s in the shape of a car and other times, the only thing they will eat is peanut butter on a spoon. They get sick. And then they get better. And in between you’ll check and recheck their temperature a million times. You’ll scour over baby books and online forums wondering what to do about teething. You’ll even call your dentist friend on the other side of the country and ask her what she thinks about that very thing. You’ll watch them on their first day of school and fight back the urge to chase after them so they can stay home with you. Just for one more day. And it seems astonishing, unfathomable even, that this teeny, tiny little baby- isn't a baby anymore.
So yes, my little Nikolas is five now. Not a baby. A big boy in fact. Someone who loves dinosaurs and whales and is fascinated by the solar system. A kind, spirited soul who has started a small collection of science encyclopedias and has a million questions about the earth and the stars. Someone who lets you kiss him hard on the cheek and who loves vanilla buttercream cupcakes. A little sports aficionado who fancies hockey and soccer and watching football with his dad. A darling little boy whose very presence makes your face light up with sheer joy.
I don't know where this recipe for buttercream icing originated as I have had it scribbled down in my recipe book for many years. It's Nikolas's favorite so his birthday was laden with loads of cupcakes with buttery vanilla icing. It's so quick and easy and utterly scrumptious. I used this recipe for vanilla cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC. When my husband and I were there a few years ago, I fell in love with them and found the recipe online. It is my 'go to' cupcake recipe.
