Elmo's Birthday Surprise

About a year and a half ago I donated a kidney (I had a spare ;) to Mike. Well, Mike's only grandson turned two this past March. Austin's favorite character is....Elmo! Of course. So I was privileged to get to make Austin's birthday cake. I must admit, I really like this cake. But there is one mistake I can't believe I made. Have you spotted it? It's his... eyes! I can't believe I didn't put them together! I guess I just assumed I knew what he looks like. I know, stupid mistake. All I had to do was pull up a picture of one of the most well known characters in the last ten years. Other than that "uh-oh," I was very pleased with how this cake came together. The hand painted "box" is the actual cake. Elmo's body is also made of cake, his head and arms are made from a crispy rice cereal recipe molded into the desired shape. It was time consuming, forced me to be creative with the how twos, and I prayed his arms would stay attached until he reached the party. This one was definitely a learning experience. All things considered, I was thrilled with the way this cake turned out. According to his mom, Austin liked it too. And that is the most important thing.