On Teddy’s last preschool field trip, the big old yellow bus rumbled along the highway all the way out to Aldergrove, BC to the Greater Vancouver Zoo, a place I had no idea existed. Lions, giraffes, zebras, gorillas??? white timbre wolves… all of these disparate animals from all over the world converging on a piece of land outside of Vancouver Canada – where the temperatures aren’t very hot and snow is a very real possibility every winter – every single day for them must be a giant WTF. I missed the parent sign-up sheet to ride on the bus with the kids so I ended up driving behind the schoolbus like a special police escort. Once in the zoo, the lions confronted their 4-year-old viewers with maybe a disturbing lip-licking intensity, coming right up to the glass with glazed, stalker-ish looks in their eyes. Giraffes hunkered around, chewing things. One singular red panda hid behind a tree in his leafy compound. The whole thing reminded me of this panda Kit Kat commercial from when I was a kid.
Red panda finally made the most fleeting appearance, showing itself ever so briefly before scrambling back into hiding. Although, it was enough of a glimpse that Teddy and I googled “red panda” later on and giggled at their adorableness. Hence, the red panda cake idea was planted.
Turning five is a bigger deal than my heart was prepared for. Turning five means starting Kindergarten, which means full school days away, and little lunchbox eating, and recess-snack-eating, and playing on playgrounds and monkey bars and falling off swings and getting scrapes, bruises or worse, to being subjected to bullies or getting feelings hurt, or any other tiny micro aggression that may shape my son’s character, to making all these sweet little independent decisions and making new friends and learning and laughing and using the toilet to take a dump, all without me there to help or guide or hug to feel better. Turning five came really really fast.
Five is still little but five is big. I love this little man so much and I am proud of all that he has become. Happy 5th Birthday Teddy! Love, Mama.
michelle @ hummingbird high
THIS IS THE CUTEST. both teddy and the panda
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
wahhhh thanks michelle XOXO
movita beaucoup
The cake. The kid. No words.
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
XO
Elizabeth
Oh man, I understand these feelings 100 percent. My baby is apparently in the first grade this year. These sweet, sweet pictures of Teddy are heartwarming and that cake is AMAZING. I’d ask for a slice with those adorable eyebrows.
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Oh my… first grade already!!! I hope the new school year is going well.
Vicky
This is adorable! Hope kindergarten isn’t too traumatic, for you or for Teddy!
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Hi Vicky – thank you – he said “I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!” so he’s doing ok… me on the other hand….!?
Tamsin @ A Certain Adventure
This is the cutest cake ever – but your Teddy is even more adorable! What a heartbreaker! xx
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Thank you Tamsin!
My Cupcake World
This is insanely well done. Thank you for sharing.
Jean Bibbo
I love your red panda cake and bought your coco cake book, but it’s not in there. How can I get the tutorial for it?
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Hi Jean! Thank you so much – I don’t have a video yet for this particular cake, but it’s on my list!! However, if you check out my YouTube channel, I have a lot of videos showing how to decorate similar cakes. You’ll need a multi-opening grass tip – I use Wilton #234 or similar – and fondant for the eyes and ears. I use pre-colored fondant to make it easier :) A tip I have is to draw a large circle, then draw the red panda’s face similar to the cake. Then, you can use this as guide for when you decorate. Hope that helps! Thanks for your support! Lyndsay :)