Guy is 2!

Thankfully on Monday I had more energy than "the usual" these days. We had a fun filled celebratory day. I've definitely been in survival mode these days, so some things weren't top notch (like the only present I wrapped was in Christmas paper upside down), but he won't remember.

We started the morning off at the aquarium. Guy loves Mr. Ray, Nemo, and Dori--can you guess what his favorite movie is?

Then we met Dad at McDonald's by his office--where they have a play place.

Mostly Guy just wanted to shoot hoops with Dad.

A little out of focus, but that tongue--wow!

The beaters he liked more than the 2 bites of cake. We always have to talk him into desserts. Sadly, that isn't a trait he inherited from me.

He has lots of balls, but this is his first football. He loves it, but spends a little too much time shooting into his basketball hoop already. Next ball he gets will be a soccer ball. In November, I bought a TON of Fisher Price Little People off ksl ($80 worth). It took over 2 hours to disinfect them all--it really was a massive amount. That was his main Christmas present (about 1/2 of them), and we gave him a couple more of the sets for his birthday, too.

We had pizza for dinner, then this cake. Guy's favorite friend Chloe came over for a little while for cake and a little play time.

Under the influence of Dad, Guy is already learning to LOVE Spiderman. Not a perfect cake, but he was happy with it.

In some ways, I already feel like he's growing up too fast!

He's One! . . . happy birthday Guy!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone! What a joy it's been to be a mom. Maybe because it's our first, or maybe because I have a super new camera, or maybe it's because I just love documenting all of it, but here are many photos of Guy's first birthday.

Starting with the top of his own little cake.Of course, sometimes we wonder--why bother getting gifts? . . . wouldn't the paper and wrapping suffice? He loved playing with just the ribbons early this morning (starting too early at 6 am).His first experience with helium balloons - loves them.
Except when he got stuck in the ribbons a few times (or more).

This morning he got to "talk" to Rob's folks on Skype (and his aunt and uncle on Rob's side on the phone)- and even open his present from them while they watched. Isn't technology great? More of his little cake - I was pleased with how it turned out. I bought a star candle, but you can't even tell . . . oh well.A little timid at first.


Starting in. Getting dirty, and overwhelmed by the 14 people watching, I think.

Getting into it more You took it away? . . . but why? I like throwing it on the floor. The "before" on the cake everyone else ate.

And the "after"--it was SOOO good! I did ganache for the first time. Then whipped the rest and piped it on. He always loves playing with his cousins.And Eden.Playing with new toys.Opening presents - he got way more into it this time (as opposed to Christmas).
And playing on one of his new toys.
What a year! But more on that later, maybe.

Gingerbread House

I'm kind of an artistic nerd--I revel in it, and sometimes I look for excuses to create things with it.


For our ward Christmas party they did a silent auction for gingerbread houses. All the proceeds were donated to The Christmas Box House - a non-profit that helps kids in Utah. It seems a worthy cause, so I volunteered to decorate one. I've only ever done one gingerbread house before - in December of 2005 (and I had lots of help on that one). I used what I learned that time and did a little internet research to "borrow" more ideas.


Here's the finished productEverything is edible with the exception of the hot glue holding the windows in place (which are crushed and then melted life savers).




Hershey bar benches with burnt pretzels in a fire pit (the burnt pretzels were one of Rob's ideas/contributions)So fun to do! If we're ever in Utah around Christmas again, I'll probably think about doing one for The Festival of Trees.

Cake Weekend

This weekend my niece Iris turned 4. My brother and sister-in-law had family over for a birthday dinner, so I offered to make her birthday cake. She wanted a princess cake and Jen found this idea on Betty Crocker's website. It looked pretty easy, so I gave it a shot. The cake was 4 layers (3 8-inch rounds and the last layer baked in a bowl). Luckily my mom had the 8-inch rounds. I doubled my favorite chocolate cake recipe and I used 3 cans of frosting. It all turned out well--I loved making it, Iris loved looking at it, and everybody loved eating it! I LOVE making things that look pretty and taste good--it's my favorite thing to do in the kitchen.

And one of the kiddos - Iris and Jimmy are so fun and nice when they play with Guy. He loves them.