Zoe’s 6th birthday
My niece Zoe turned 6 recently. This year, we celebrated with a birthday afternoon tea. The party menu consisted of items all specially requested by Zoe:
Could Mah-Mah please make rice porridge with meatballs, Aunty Con and Uncle Mike baked Camembert, Aunty Cyn and Aunty Jac little sausages, Aunty Juj and Uncle Jay maple cinnamon scrolls, and Nanna apricot balls…
Some of Zoe’s birthday cardsThe kids made the flower arrangement for the table. The ‘little sausages’ Jac and I brought were beef and pork chipolatas, which we served with smokey barbecue sauce and Angela’s homemade tomato sauce.
Aunty Con and Uncle Mike were both sick and couldn’t come to afternoon tea, so Ruby, Mah-Mah and Aunty Juji prepared the Camembert for the oven.
Our baked Camembert is based on Jamie Oliver’s ‘Beautiful Baked Camembert’ recipe, but we leave out the nutty cranberry crumbles and double the garlic.
Nanna’s extremely moreish apricot balls
Juji’s pull-apart cinnamon maple scrolls
Big bun bite
Caleb is in love…with his cinnamon bun
Choc chips for the babycino
Hot camembert with rosemary, garlic and olive oil, fresh out of the oven! 
Secret mischievous whispering with Uncle Jay
Uncle Jay and Auntie Juji helped build a retaining wall of crackers. Zoe had first go at the hot cheese and crackers, then we carefully passed it around the table.
Happiness is… being the birthday girl with a birthday baked Camembert! 
Zoe explains to me how to make a Camembert cheese cracker sandwich.When the cheese was all but destroyed, we took a break so Zoe could open her birthday presents (with help from Ruby and Caleb, of course). This year, Jac and I got Zoe LEGO. She’s really into the City Police sets, so we got her the High Speed Police Chase, with a policeman and patrol car, and two crims (one male, one female) on trail bikes.
Zoe’s birthday cake was a pineapple upside-down cake. One of my favourites, lucky for me!
We all sang happy birthday. Ruby pointed out that by lighting the number 6 candle, there were actually 7 candles on the cake. Zoe didn’t mind. Less counting, more singing!
Caleb could hardly bear waiting to get his piece of cake. Oh, the agony!
Happy 6th birthday, Zoe!
I made a birthday tribute for Zoe with a photo from each of her previous birthday parties… she’s so grown up now compared to that very first birthday party. It’s the same for Ruby and Caleb too. I’m glad I can capture some of that. PS. In case you noticed one menu item was missing from the photos – the kids ate Mah-Mah’s rice porridge (congee) with pork meatballs for dinner and had the leftovers for breakfast the next day.