Friday, June 28, 2013
A New Adventure
When we moved back home to Omaha a year and half ago, we were excited to be close to family and make our home there. We've been proven that our plans mean nothing when it comes to God's ultimate plan for us. It was a very tough decision to make, but we realized we needed to trust God and let Him guide us to where we need to be. We are returning to the east coast in August for a great job and will officially be making our home in North Carolina!
It will be a big change for us and we hope you will continue to follow us as we embark on this great new adventure! Midwest fam living on the east coast, here we go!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
A MINI FIRST BIRTHDAY
Kensi had a great first birthday party! We started our party off right, by setting up games that all our guests could enjoy. We had Corn Hole, Ladder Golf, an open pool and of course some of Kensi's favorites: bubbles and chalk.
For our menu we made everything mini and easy to hold and eat. We served mini burgers and crab cakes as our main dish. Along with sliced watermelon, veggie cups, fruit skewers and a cucumber salad. Everything was gobbled up and we literally had nothing left by the end of the night!
I snagged these adorable metal white sand pails from Sur la Table. I'm always looking for different pieces I can use in multiple ways for parties and serving.
Seriously, this is the easiest way to eat a slice of watermelon. So simple and perfect for kidlits.
These cute veggie cups were a huge hit! They are from Pinterest along with the dip. If you like dill, you will love this! Recipe here.
Our drink station consisted of lemonade, pop, water, Izze sparkling water with juice and beer for the adults.
Our big hit was our ice cream bar! Both adults and kids loved it, as they were able to dress their own ice cream however they wished. Our party guests had the choice of cone or bowl with a hand stamped polka dot wooden spoon.
Now to the cake smashing! I made Kensi's cake with a basic French vanilla cake mix and divided the batter into thirds, coloring each a different color and baking them. I used a 6 inch round cake pan which made for the perfect sized smash cake! I love the cake not looking perfect, it gives it a more down to earth, rustic sort of look.
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KENSINGTON!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
LOVE CRUSH: SIZZLING SUMMER TIME
I started making a design board to share, but to be honest I was exhausted, the sun is finally here and I refuse to spend more time inside than I have to, but I still wanted to share some of our favorites for summer. There are so many many things I love about summer. Since living on the east coast, in blue crab country, we fell head over heels {we seem to do that a lot} in love with the crab cake. And it's not just any crabcake....we've tried quite a few different cakes from several different 'known for their crabcake' restaurants and dives. There's only one that makes our hearts melt into goo and it's the famous crab cake from Faidley's seafood in the Lexington Market in Baltimore. We were so happy when we found a copy cat recipe online, but of course we made a few slight changes.
Our families and friends think these cakes are seriously the best things on earth. We made them for Kensi's first birthday, and you can only imagine how many we had to make just so everyone could try one. There were none left by the end, not one!
Another favorite of mine inparticular is Izze Sparkling Juice. It's a blend of juice and sparkling water, which is perfect for kidlits and those who don't want alcohol. It does have quite a bit of sugar because of the added juice, but it definitely beats pop! We also served these at the party and they were a huge hit with the kids and my dad.
Homemade malts and ice cream. I am a huge sucker for anything with ice cream especially in the summer. I bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker a few years ago and I make ice cream very frequently. They mke it so easy to do now, no hand cranking, although that is fun to do when you have a quite a few people, then you can take turns. Some of our favorites we make are coffee and strawberry.
Rompers for baby. I’ve always loved rompers on kidlits and I’ve found some very cute ones from Janie and Jack this year. To get a photo of Kensi in it is nearly impossible. She’s constantly on the move. I love the one she’s wearing for Independence day this year, red with red and white trim and it’s a halter top, can they make kidlit clothes any cuter?
I feel like this summer is already flying by! Can it please slow down so we can enjoy a little more time with friends and family???
Thursday, June 13, 2013
CELEBRATING 4 YEARS MARRIED
I can hardly believe Mike and I have been married for 4 years! Our anniversary was yesterday and each year we seem to have a new adventure upon us. Our first year we moved to Maryland. During our second year we moved out to Frederick, Md. The third year we conceived our first baby and moved back home to Omaha. Our fourth year we celebrated by welcoming baby Kensi into the world the day before and dined on Panera in our hospital room.
I can't wait to start our next adventure and to see what our fifth year will bring us!
Age: 12 months
Weight: 20lbs 6oz
Height:
Firsts: SWIMMING!
Events: First Birthday!
Travel: None
Foods: She’s still eats anything and everything. She is loving asparagus and green peppers.
Favorite Toys: Since it’s warm now, she’s discovered her water toys. She loves filling up the cups and splashing in the water. She is obsessed with her Itty Bitty Minnie Mouse, it goes EVERYWHERE!
Favorite Thing to Do: She’s getting into destroy mode. She loves taking everything out of her diaper box and crawls inside and watches t.v. Her favorite show now is Mickey Mouse Club House.
Sitting Up: Yes
Rolling Over: Yes
Crawling: Yes
Walking: Yes!
Smiling: Yes
Talking: Yes, repetitive words and happy screams. We’ve been working on animal sounds and to her every animal roars, it’s the cutest thing ever!
If talking, what words: Mama, Dada, Lala, Ni-Ni (night night), Gamma (Grandma)
Sleeping Through the Night: Sleeping through and it’s utterly AH-MAZING!
Other: Kensi really likes playing in the water, although bath time is still a little difficult. We’ve shifted to her showering with me and she seems to enjoy it. Although, if she’s not in the shower with me she screams her head off and pounds on the shower door until I’m done. She’s also discovered how to take her diaper off and we’ve had a couple accidents on the floor! Kensi picked up a habit of feeding her food to Stella our dog. She knows Stella will eat anything and thinks it’s hilarious to feed her from her high chair.
Other: Kensi really likes playing in the water, although bath time is still a little difficult. We’ve shifted to her showering with me and she seems to enjoy it. Although, if she’s not in the shower with me she screams her head off and pounds on the shower door until I’m done. She’s also discovered how to take her diaper off and we’ve had a couple accidents on the floor! Kensi picked up a habit of feeding her food to Stella our dog. She knows Stella will eat anything and thinks it’s hilarious to feed her from her high chair.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KENSINGTON
So hard to believe that one year ago I was sitting on my couch tracking my contractions after they sent me home earlier in the morning. It was right around noon when we decided to go back to the hospital and they finally admitted me.
This year has gone by quick, much quicker than I ever imagined, but I'm so happy to be celebrating my baby girl's first birthday. Yes she is growing quickly, but every day she learns something new and I am so excited to see how she grows. I love that God uses Kensi to teach me so many lessons as well.
Happy birthday our beautiful, sweet, very silly, happy baby girl! Each day you surprise us with your crazy silliness that you got from both daddy and I. We have new adventures ahead of us and we can't wait to see what this next year brings for you! We love you more and more every day!
We had a special birthday breakfast, complete with cinnamon rolls, strawberries and bananas. Kensi is a great little eater and wasn't too into her cinnamon roll, she practically tossed it to the side and feasted on her fresh fruit!
Kensi and mama were psyched daddy was able to leave work early and spend the afternoon with us! We had lunch and even took a dip in the pool. The water was a bit cold, so we played with our water toys instead.
We can't wait for Saturday when she has her big party with our family and friends! We'll also post our favorite birthday gift picks with you!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Bruschetta Salad
One of our favorite restaurants here in Omaha is Lo Sole Mio's. It's the best Italian restaurant in our city. One of our favorite features of this restaurant is their complimentary bread, roasted garlic and house bruschetta. Its absolutely divine to eat all three together, because the roasted garlic spreads like butter.
When we were first married and lived in Maryland, we would make the garlic and bruschetta ourselves and we eat only that for dinner, we think it's that good.
About a month ago we were craving bruschetta, but I didn't want the bread, but we needed something a little more hearty....so we used chickpeas/garbanzo beans!
2 cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic clove, grated
1 cup fresh basil, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, drizzled
2 tablespoons basaltic vinegar, drizzled
Toss beans, tomatoes, garlic, & basil in a bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (drizzle to your liking, don't feel like you have to follow the measurements; we usually eye ball it) & season with salt and pepper to taste.
It's best to let the salad sit for about an 30-60 minutes for the flavors to blend.
Friday, June 7, 2013
EVERY GIRL NEEDS A TUTU
Kensi's birthday is next week and we can't have a girly pink party without a fluffy pink tutu that she'll be pairing with her hot pink swimsuit.
I love etsy to death and back, but every mama needs to know how to make a tutu. Tulle cost $1.99-3.99 per yard, so they're very inexpensive to make. You also don't need a sewing machine to make one. If you choose elastic as your waist band then yes you need to see the ends together (measure your little's waist and make it about 1-2 inches smaller depending on how much stretch you want and sew it together), but you can also make the waist band from ribbon and simply tie it around your child's waist. Easy-peasey!
The best part of making a tutu, literally anything goes. Feel free to add ribbon, silk flowers or any other embellishments.
*when trimming your tulle, ribbon, etc make all the ends even more adorable with pointed, v'd or angled points.
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