Summer Turns 3

On Summer's birthday, May 5th, I took the girls to the Aquarium. We hadn't been since Ellie's 2nd birthday and I was pregnant with Summer. Summer's favorite part was the "fish." I loved the shark tunnel the best, but everything was awesome. 

I picked up this number 3 balloon at the party store the night before. Ellie and I also surprised her in the morning with two pink balloons. Summer woke up saying, "My birthday now?"

Summer's "3" shirt is from one of my favorite Etsy shops. 

Aquarium

Checking out the hippos

 Ellie was surprised she touched a sting ray!

Summer told me she wanted Jules pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert. We picked up the cupcakes from our favorite local bakery, Velvet Sky.

Favorites:

Food: Lime Chobani yogurt, Grandmom's green pasta (pesto pasta)

Phrase: "best!" ("Best Mommy!"), "dupe dupe dupe" ("dupe dupe high")

Toys: Barbies, dolls

Pretend Play: Mom and kid (her and Ellie)

Activities: coloring, swings, running, playing tag

Summer is so silly and loves making us laugh. She has started talking more recently but still comes up with her own phrases. "Dupe dupe high" for pushing her super duper high on the swing. To express her love for us she will say, "best Mommy!" If I give her a kiss on the lips that also ends up on her chin or above her lip she will grab my face and give me a gentle kiss again to make sure we only kiss on the lips. She loves to wear dresses and twirl just like her big sister. Speaking of her big sis, she loves to do everything Ellie does. Especially when we are taking pictures. If Ellie crosses her feet so does Summer. Recently Summer has started posing herself for pictures with her hands on her hips. It's too cute. Summer will not let me put her hair up. Sometimes she will keep in a bow or a headband for a short period of time. When I show her pictures how she used to wear her hair a year ago she will tell me no. She is still in her crib and since we moved the dresser to the other side of the room she hasn't tried to climb out again. She is still nursing about once a day. 

We love you, Summer!

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

Ellie has been asking for weeks when she will be 5. Yesterday she asked, "Mommy, tomorrow when I wake up will I be 5?" Today is the day! Happy 5th Birthday to my love!

'5' Shirt / Skirt / Leggings / Shoes

On Sunday we celebrated her birthday with family and friends at our local YMCA. She had a princess party. Ellie wore a new Elsa dress I had gotten from the Disney store last summer and saved for a special occasion (this one is similar). She loved it! Summer also wore an Elsa dress and her girl friends also dressed in costume. Her boy cousins wore super hero outfits.

She told me she was wishing for a "wagon." This has been on her wish list for a year now. I think we should cave and just buy it for her. However, she is getting a new bike for her birthday!

Last Friday I took the girls into the city to see the musical, Freckleface Strawberry, at the Walnut Street Theatre. We have been taking Ellie the past couple years for her birthday and this year I took Summer, too, now that she is almost 3. The girls were so excited and Summer kept calling it the "movies." I wasn't sure how she would react to the hour long show since she is not a fan of television or movies, but they both surprised me and sat in their seats the entire time. They clapped after each segment and were captivated. The show was great. I enjoyed it, too, and even more so than the previous years. There was lots of singing and dancing and the storyline was great. It was about being happy with who you are and not comparing yourself to other people. Everyone is different and that is what makes each of us special.  

Summer's Dress (similar) / Ellie's Dress

It is a rainy day today, but the girls and I are heading out shortly for pink manicures, lunch, then swimming. I gave Ellie a list of things we could do inside today and she chose swimming at our gym. I recently ordered these goggles for her that she will finally get to try out. Tonight we are going to dinner at Jules Pizza (her choice) and cake for dessert!

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My 36th Birthday Recap + A New Breakfast Muffin Recipe

My birthday was last Monday and I had a wonderful day, but it was right in the middle of a job I was working on for my company. I was up till 2am from last Friday (the day I realized I had more work than I initially thought) to Tuesday. Saturday night (the 12th) Nick and I went to one of our favorite sushi restaurants for dinner. I can't stop thinking about the sushi. Those are mashed sweet potatoes, which we were surprised to see on the menu. They were so good along with the fried ice cream we had for dessert.

I wore my new jeans that I can't say enough good things about. I love the gray, the destroyed look (or broken, as Ellie says) and they are so comfortable.

Sunday night my parents had us over for dinner (Thai pasta and shrimp) and dessert. I had to get a picture of this cake. My parents have been getting all of their cakes at Whole Foods and they are so delicious. I highly recommend their bakery. However, my Mom has baked the best chocolate cake ever. We were just talking about how she hasn't made one in a while, but she definitely will once she retires!

Monday morning I was woken by Ellie and Summer jumping on my bed and giving me balloons, flowers and my present. This present was my favorite gift because it was so meaningful. I burned my hand baking the girls' birthday cake last April and when Ellie found out I burned myself she came up with the idea that she was going to buy me an oven mitt- in pink, of course! She talked about it for weeks, then said it would be my gift for Mother's Day. That didn't happen and she talked about it periodically and much more recently when I burned my arm cooking dinner a couple weeks ago. My husband finally got the hint that Ellie was serious about buying me an oven mitt so I wouldn't burn myself anymore. I got a bright pink oven mitt that I love! And, it works so well I want to buy another. Ellie is so thoughtful!

We went out to breakfast at the diner that morning, then I took a nap (since I was up so late) and Nick took the girls to the playground. He had off that day for the Jewish holiday. Afterwards, we went to Morris Auboredum- my favorite place. We are members, but haven't been there very often lately. It was a beautiful day- in the 70s, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. I brought the camera and took lots of pictures. It was great to spend the afternoon as a family. I left early to go to my massage appointment. It was also nice to have some quality spa time. I had an amazing 50 minute massage. Next time it will be 80 minutes! The Eagles played their first game that night so I happily put the girls to bed myself. We read more books than usual and I snuggled between them. I am one lucky mommy and wife. It was the best birthday yet!

 // Pictures at Morris Auboredum //

Gorgeous view from the top of the hill

 Ellie insisted on standing up here by herself. We were just a little nervous!

Walking towards the cabin (tucked away in the woods). It reminds me of Goldilocks and The Three Bears.

 So precious!

My best friend, Lauren, was so generous and sent me this beautiful "E" bracelet. It goes well with my Stella and Dot bracelet so I will be wearing it often!

 

Tomorrow is Ellie's official first day of school. Last week her and I went to school for an hour to meet her teacher and half of her class. I'm very happy with her teachers this year and am confident she will be prepared for Kindergarten next year. The girls have been tired of their regular breakfast (waffles, pancakes or yogurt) so I am determined to make something new every Sunday and keep in the fridge or freezer to heat throughout the week. I have pinned a lot of yummy breakfast ideas. Today I made these delicious muffins (I had to try one!). I like that they are flourless and contain pumpkin and oats. They have a lot of flavor. I used less mini chocolate chips than the recipe called for and almond milk (Whole Foods brand). My girls have not liked any bread or muffin I've made with banana so I'm hoping these will be on rotation this year. We will pair these with fruit in the morning. 

Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Princess Elsa Cake: All the Details!

As mentioned in my previous post, the best aspect of the party (in our opinion!) was the cake I made. This was my first time ever making a cake and for some insane reason I decided to have my first cake experience the night before their party. At 2am Saturday night I was wondering why in the world I decided to do this. In the end it turned out better than I expected and it was definitely a hit. My greatest compliment was that it looked professional. The one that meant the most was Ellie's. At bedtime I asked Ellie her favorite part of the day and her response was, "The cake!"

I had gotten the idea from my friend Melanie who made an Ariel cake for her daughter last year. She bakes cakes all the time and told me how easy it was.....needless to say it was difficult for me being a novice. Prior to Saturday night I watched lots of You Tube videos, read about the cake making process online, and purchased all of my supplies. I also had never experimented much with Wilton decorating accessories so this was another thing I had to learn while making the cake. By the second batch of icing I had it down.

My friend had mentioned her cake wasn't tall enough for the Ariel doll she used so I baked an additional 8" cake to place below the princess mold. Wilton sells this Wonder Mold Set. It includes a plastic barbie-like head, which I replaced with an Elsa doll and wrapped her legs with Saran wrap as other reviews had mentioned. My greatest struggle with the cake was removing it from the pans as I feared it would all fall apart. After reading online I wrapped both of the pans with Saran wrap and aluminum foil and put them in the freezer hoping for the best. I woke at 5:30 (yes, only 3.5 hours of sleep). I crossed my fingers that the cakes would come out in one piece and they did! Thank goodness. I was so happy and so relieved.

The next part was the icing. I used this buttercream recipe and highly recommend it. I had ordered these gel icing colors from Amazon and, again, it was my first time making icing and decorating. I had to make so much icing. Thankfully my Kitchen Aid mixer works so well and my arms wouldn't have lasted if I had to use a hand mixer! The one pain was that the butter kept sticking inside the whisk and I had to use a knife each time to get it out after mixing. I wonder if there is a little trick I should know about... The key step in the icing is to make sure you invest in a really good vanilla (my friend suggested this). I bought one from Williams Sonoma and I really think it makes a difference. After making the buttercream each time I transferred it to a bowl and added the gel. I misunderstood the directions when it said the color would be darker on the cake than in the icing (if that makes sense). Then, again I was also a little out of it from lack of sleep and the stress of getting it done. My icing was a light aqua and for some reason I thought it would show up darker as I decorated it. Well, it did not so Elsa had a light aqua dress. As my friend Melanie said, the kids won't even notice and she was right. No one even pointed it out. Seriously, I think they were more fixated on Elsa and her big beautiful dress made of cake!

As mentioned, I wrapped Elsa's legs in Saran wrap and after removing the metal pole in the center of the dome I stuck her in there. She was, in fact, too tall for the cake so I started with the 8" cake. I added a layer of white buttercream icing (no gel), then layered the dome cake on top. I pushed Elsa all the way down into both cakes and it was perfect.

I used this recommended technique (Glorious Treats) of putting the bag into a glass and folding down the sides to scoop in the icing, then bringing the sides of the bag back up. It worked perfectly. It took a few vertical lines on the cake to figure how the best way and I was able to fill in the imperfections afterwards. I also covered the Saran wrap above with the icing to conceal it. I had to do two double batches and was able to match the second batch of icing perfectly. After finishing the cake I had to make an additional double batch of icing to ice the 24 cupcakes I had also made the night before. I kept half the white and half blue. The blue came out the color of Elsa's dress and I topped with silver sprinkles and snowflakes. Perfect for the theme of Frozen.

I had to teach myself how to use the icing tip. I used decorating bags and cut the end off to fit the Wilton icing tip. I also bought couplers, but I didn't have the correct size. The tip I chose was a large tip, open star (Wilton 1M). I also bought decorating bags. At first the icing wasn't sticking to the bottom 8" layer, but I managed to get it on there once I had the technique down.

I'm glad I decided to make two dozen cupcakes because there was only one left after the party. Everyone commented how delicious the cake and cupcakes were and it was definitely the buttercream icing. The cake stayed moist (the freezer actually helps). I used Betty Crocker chocolate for the cakes and cupcakes. Maybe one day soon I will try to make my own cake recipe (now that I know what to expect)! After all the time, effort, stress and anxiety over making the Elsa cake it was still rewarding since it came out so well and I really enjoyed it. I love party planning and I love doing things to see the smiles on my daughters faces. Ellie lit up when she saw her Elsa cake and was so excited. I know I will be making another princess cake in the future!

 I think Ellie is thinking about eating the cake!

// Back view of cake //

 And, here is Summer ready to blow out her candle!

The Inside:

I'm still thinking about this cake and how delicious it was!

I also want to note the pink cake stand I used. I bought it from Design Darling (also mentioned here) and knew that I would get a lot of use out of it having two girls. 

Also, a huge thank you to my friend for all the encouragement along the way and to Glory at Glorious Treats. The buttercream icing was amazing and the step by step instructions were so helpful. Not to mention, her cupcake pictures are gorgeous!

One more look! 

** This is not a sponsored post. I just loved these products and wanted to share! Affiliate links are included in this post.

Ellie Turns 4 + Summer Turns 2: Frozen Birthday Party!

We celebrated the girls birthdays on Sunday. Ellie turned 4 on April 12th and Summer will be 2 on May 5th. We decided to have a joint party while they are still young and can do it! Initially Ellie told me she wanted a Snow White party, but a few weeks ago she changed it to a Frozen party. That worked for me since there are a lot more options and decorations for Frozen right now since it is so popular. 

I ordered a few decorations and a game from Amazon, bought pink sparkle silverware and a pinata from Target, and used the balloon wreath on the front door I made last year. The big surprise was the Princess Elsa cake I made. It was such an ordeal and came out great that I am writing its own separate post! This year I wanted to focus less on the theme and more on the food and dessert. I thought about making a tissue tassel garland, but I didn't have the time so I skipped it this year. My husband will help out with errands, but it was really just me doing the party planning, shopping, menu, cooking and baking, and setting up. It is a lot of work, but I love it. And, my husband was very appreciative of all that I did for the girls party. 

Here are some party photos!

Ellie wearing outfit number 1. She loved the cape on this dress and felt like a true princess. She changed into 3 different outfits during the course of the party. She was Ariel for a while, then changed into another Elsa dress for cake.

I included this photo of Ellie and her cousin, Maeve, meeting Elsa and Anna at the Shore last summer on vacation. We also had Honest juices and water on ice outside. Beer, too. I was so busy I forgot to put out the wine I had chilled in the fridge!

 This was such a cute game that the kids loved! It included 8 sticker noses and a blindfold.

Olaf Game

 Snowman Making Station

This was a cute idea I found on Pinterest (most were used as favors). The girls made one after the party, but all the kids were so busy playing that they didn't make one. I liked the idea though!

On the menu:

Sandwiches (ordered)

Pasta Veggie Salad (made by my Mom)

Mexican Quinoa

Garbonzo Bean Salad

Pretzel Bites (a kid favorite)

Avocado, Tomato, Feta Dip

Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Dessert:

Homemade cupcakes

Princess Cake

The Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip was amazing! I had pinned it a while back and finally had a chance to make it. It was such a hit and I highly recommend it. There was minimal prep time and it cooked for about 2 hours. I served it with fresh French bread and tortilla chips.

Pull String Pinata

I chose the pull string so Summer and the little kids could participate this year. I filled it with candy, lollipops, bubbles and fruit snacks.

White Distressed Jeans / Top

The weather was perfect and we had such a fun afternoon with our families celebrating these two little girls!

Here is a photo of the cake I made. Details coming tomorrow!

Take a look back!

Ellie's 1st Birthday Party

Ellie's 2nd Birthday Party

Ellie's 3rd Birthday Party

Summer's 1st Birthday Party

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My Birthday Weekend Recap

My birthday weekend celebration started Saturday morning when I went shopping alone. It was actually my husband's idea, which was so sweet of him. I had planned to buy a dress to wear to dinner that night, but I didn't find one I loved. I still made out well and had fun trying things on by myself. Details coming in another post.

Saturday night we had reservations at Talula's Garden, but after looking at the menu we decided to leave and go to another Steven Starr restaurant, and one of our favorites- Buddakan. So glad we made the switch. We ordered our favorites- chicken and shrimp spring rolls with a dijon wasabi dipping sauce, sea bass, cashew chicken, and lobster fried rice. We had the "dip sum" doughnuts with dipping sauces- blackberry jam (my favorite), gingered cream cheese, and chocolate sauce. It was amazing. I'm still thinking about those doughnuts!

Sunday morning, my birthday, I woke up to "surprises" from the girls. Ellie made me a few paintings and I received cards from my husband and the girls. I also got flowers and a framed picture of the girls. I was impressed my husband downloaded the picture and printed it all by himself. That's normally something I do. My gift from him is a watch, but it's something I want to shop for and try on.

We continued with good food and went to my favorite brunch spot, Cake, in Chestnut Hill. I had the best french toast I've ever had and a warm chocolate croissant.

Afterwards, I enjoyed a pedicure at Diamond Spa and it was the best one I have had in a while. I didn't feel rushed and the woman took her time with massaging and making my feet look very pretty. I chose the color, Wicked by Essie. Perfect for the fall weather we have been having.

My parents had us over for dinner tonight, along with my Nana and my brother and his family. My Mom made fish tacos (one of my favorite foods) with Velvet Sky cupcakes and pumpkin ice cream for dessert. Delicious! It was a wonderful day and the best birthday! 

So thankful for this wonderful family I have. Nick was so great this weekend and really helped out a lot with the girls today and spent over an hour with them at the playground while I was getting my pedicure. He is such a great Dad!