Eden: 2 Years

Eden, please forgive me for posting your birthday post almost 2 months late. Better late than never....right?!

You, my dear child, are quite the amazing daughter. We love your personality. One moment you are quietly observing everyone and everything and the next you are dancing and singing loudly and saying a million sentences at once. You can look like the most stoic child ever and yet you rock the facial expressions. You have so many manners for a 2 year old and we are so proud of you for that. You are great at expressing your emotions and have started to let us know when you are sad, scared, mad, happy, etc. You are also the girliest tomboy we know. You will hold a purse on one arm while simultaneously jumping in every mud puddle you can find. You dislike dirty fingers, but will happily dig in rock piles at any given time. And so much for girls not getting hurt as much. You get hurt on a daily basis. Not for lack of us trying to keep you safe...you just really like to climb and explore.

You keep us guessing, that's for sure. 

On the day of your birthday we wanted to do something special for you. You had a family party coming up that weekend, but we couldn't miss out on celebrating our firstborn on her actual birthday. We took you down to Riverfront Park and let you ride the carousel until both mommy and daddy were sick. You got to run around in the grass and then we took a walk to a fun alleyway to take some photos of your sweet face. Then, daddy surprised you with a trip to Dutch Bros. for your very own "coffee." We spent the rest of the day just doing whatever you wanted. I think that's how we will always spend birthdays...it was so fun and so relaxing. 

Eden Rae, these last two years with you have been fun, challenging, and the greatest years of our lives. We cannot wait to see what your third year holds as you get ready to become a big sister. We know you'll rock that role for sure. Love you big girl!

Eden's 2nd Birthday Partayyy

Last year after Eden's big 1st birthday bash, I made a vow that we would do something much smaller for her 2nd birthday. I stuck to that promise and I am so thankful that I did. With everything going on in our lives we needed some fun, but we needed it to be as relaxing as possible. Our solution was a family party at my parents house (also our current residence...oh I have SO MUCH to fill you all in on). My goal was to not spend much except to buy food. I can say that the only thing I spent a couple bucks on that wasn't food was Eden's scrap tutu...and even then most of the fabric was scraps I already had. All decorations were things I had on hand. Wow, did that ever feel nice. 

Another goal I had for this party was to abide to the "real food" rules. Meaning, no artificial, highly processed foods with ingredients you can't pronounce. Yes, this even included dessert. I have had so many people say that it's too hard to please the guests and too much work so they end up just buying the hot dogs, pizza, sugar loaded cake, etc. just because they didn't think it was possible to have a great birthday party without the junk. I can say it was a success and I am so happy that I stuck to the promise I made to keep the party "healthy" while still satisfying everyone (no food left = big success to me). The nicest thing was, we all felt good after the party. Usually, eating a bunch of junk leaves me feeling sick and tired. Not this time! I'll fill you in on what we did for food in a bit. Let's get to some photos shall we? 

The drinks we provided were flavored waters and iced tea. I found the "recipes" for the flavored water here. I made the Pineapple Mint (slightly sweet and refreshing) and the Citrus (without the oranges since my mom is severely allergic...it was just as citrus water should be, tangy and wonderful). We had to refill it quite a lot, but the flavor maintained its strength the whole time. In fact, we continually refilled it over the next couple days after the party and while the citrus one became way too bitter, the Pineapple Mint still had its sweet flavor. Great addition to your fridge! 

  

The food. So easy. I did one of our favorite meals, taco salad. I love the versatility of it and how it can satisfy everyone, no matter what they like. I cooked up some grass feed beef (for those of you that want to know, we love Painted Hills meat at Roth's). During the week of the party I made refried beans and black beans using the crockpot. If you haven't made your own beans you are missing out. You save money, they are free of any additives, and they taste great! Other toppings: tomatoes, corn (we BBQed it a few days prior and cut it off the cob), olives, homemade guacamole (I love making guac..its my favorite thing), local cheese, Trader Joe's organic corn tortilla chips, Nancy's sour cream (local to those of us in Oregon...great stuff!), Trader Joe's salsa (its the cheapest one and we absolutely adore it), and I think that's it! We tried to buy local and/or organic when we could. 

We also had a giant fruit salad with watermelon, grapes, pineapple, and strawberries. There were also carrots and hummus. I even had some warmed up corn tortillas for those who preferred that over a salad. 

My biggest tips for planning a real food party? Pick a menu that doesn't require a lot of work (parties are already enough work!). Write out EVERYTHING you will need ahead of time so you have an organized list (I ended up having to go to 4 stores to get everything I wanted, but I would recommend planning better than I did so you can make less trips). Prep everything you can beforehand. Some things are better left to the moment you need them so be sure to only prep what can sit for a day or two. If someone wants to help, let them! I had people going to the store for me, chopping food, setting up stuff on the tables...accept the help!  

I kept the decor simple. Again, it was all stuff I already had on hand (except the flowers). I grabbed a thing of flowers at Trader Joe's while I picked up food and then separated the bunch into vases. Easy. The garland you have seen only a million and one times on here...I use it for everything. It's next time will be in the kids room. I also had a paper garland that my sister-in-law had given me which we draped around the deck rails. A bunting I had graced the deck rails as well. One table had a vintage lace tablecloth and the other (the farm table we are still working on) had a burlap runner with doilies overlapping each other. We threw up some tissue paper pom-poms that we have collected from multiple parties to give some life to a corner of the deck.  It wasn't much, but it was perfect for what we were going for. 

Eden made this face for every gift she opened. Even if she was pulling out tissue paper. It was so fun seeing the joy on her face. Such a far cry from last year's birthday where she cried the entire time. 

That's my girl, using her muscles. Of course you saw a photo of all of the wonderful people who came to celebrate with her and helped us announce our newest addition :) 

Eden had so much fun and I am so thankful I went with my instinct to keep it simple. We have had a lot happen to us over the past few months so it was nice to be able to relax and spend some time with family. We needed that more than they all probably knew. I'm hoping to share some more about our baby...and how this baby is already keeping us on our toes very soon. Right now, I'm just focusing on Eden's birthday because birthday's are a big deal around here. Time to get moving on her 2 year photo shoot so you can all see those photos next! 

Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me while I try to get myself back into blogging again. I have missed it. 

Xo.

Pinkalicious First Birthday: Smashing The Cake

Every baby must have a smash cake at their first birthday party right? Well, I thought so. I pondered giving Eden a healthy version of a cake cause you all know I'm kind of crazy and well, I was struggling with the idea of just introducing an entire sugar filled cake just because my child turned one. So, I looked for recipes and came to the conclusion that to make one that was dairy/wheat/orange veggie free was nearly impossible. Yes, I could have figured something out, but at that point I was overwhelmed with party details and just knew I had to let this one slide. So, I made a cake. Out of a box. The frosting? From a can. Tinted with pink food coloring. Not my proudest moment, but sometimes as parents we just have to do what works and I am proud to rock that mantra for today. 

 

So, here's the thing. I actually thought Eden would dig in face first into her smash cake. I mean, this girl is not afraid of a little dirt. Or so I thought. I think my idea of "dirt" is a little different than most. Maybe I should have considered the fact that as soon as she is done eating she holds her hands up until we take her to the sink and wash them. Either way, this girl did not even think the cake was a good idea. In fact, she downright threw a fit in the middle of her party crying, "mama! mama! mama!" and holding on so tight with her cute little fingers wrapped firmly around my neck. I'll admit, while it was disappointing to not have a baby covered in pink frosting, I wouldn't trade the feeling of having my daughter need me. Made me feel loved. I have no pictures of her sitting in front of her smash cake, bawling her big eyes out, but I did decide to do a "take two" at home with just the two of us. 

This is actually the same cake from her party, I just saved it and brought it home. I added sprinkles to the top (as I had intended to do the first time around) that helped to cover up some of the imperfections that occurred when she hit the cake at her party. 

Also, just a hint. I knew I wanted to get all of these great shots of Eden enjoying her cake at her party. This was super important to me (this was before I found out that she would have nothing to do with the cake). So, I taped up a large white plastic rectangular tablecloth (bought at a local party supply store). I made sure to tape it high enough that it would serve as a background, but also left enough on the ground so that all of the mess would be contained and we could just toss the tablecloth when she was done. This was especially important since we were in a business that was also serving customers at the time. Just a hint for those of you wanting to get some great shots of your little one! 

Aren't you in love with the ombre pink insides of the cake? I was so excited to reveal it at her party and then extra disappointed when she never even made a dent in her cake to reveal all the work I had put into the INSIDE of the cake. So, of course I had to cut into it the next day to show all of you what was hiding on the inside. It turned out even better than I had imagined and I was so happy with it. All I did was put a little pink food coloring (this is crucial, don't use the red dye, it just won't work. I found some pink coloring by Wilton's at WalMart and it was so worth it) into the cake mix until it was the perfect shade of light pink. I then poured the batter into my small 6 in. cake pan (found at WalMart as well in the craft section). Then I would add a bit more into the batter until I had a medium shade of pink that I was happy with, and then baked that in the 6 in. pan. I think you can guess what happens next. Yep, I added some more until it was hot pink and baked that. The frosting was a similar process, just added a little bit of pink coloring until it was a very light shade of pink. Super easy and yet definitely an attention grabber. *Thanks to my handsome hubsters for helping get the frosting absolutely PERFECT!*

Here are some shots of our little pot-bellied girl getting her cake on. As you can see, she still wasn't that into it. 

Right after I snapped that last photo she promptly picked up her foot and stomped on the cake. I think that was her way of staying, "get rid of this darn thing!" I listened...and then Josh and I totally dug into the center (where her baby feet hadn't smashed into) and ate it right up. Quite the load of sugar. 

If you missed the first post where I revealed photos from her party check here. 

Also a quick thank you to all of you who have commented on her party! I have definitely done my share of picking the party apart until I feel like it was a terrible event because that's just what I do, but you all have reminded me that it was fun! I know Eden will enjoy looking back at the photos of her party and won't know about all of the little details that didn't go perfectly. What actually turns out "perfect" anyway? 

Pinkalicious First Birthday Party

When it comes to Eden's first birthday party, all I can say is WOW. It was a lot of planning and even more work, but in the end I was so happy that we decided to go all out for her big day. I know she won't remember it, but it really was a great time with all of her family and friends and a great way to say, "we made it a whole year!" Eden is blessed by so many people that love her and we were so thankful to everyone who made it. We only wished we had a bigger venue so we could have invited the rest of her friends!

 

I'll have a source list for everything in a future post. I am also planning to break down the party into a few more specific posts so we can get into the details. If you have any questions, requests, or anything pertaining to the party feel free to comment on this post or email me at thecrainsnest[at]gmail[dot]com.

A big thank you to everyone who helped make it happen...we couldn't have done it without you. Seriously. The party would have been a flop. Thank you to everyone who came out for Eden's special day! And I can't forget to say thank you to all of your wonderful blog readers for all of the sweet comments and support you gave to me as I planned this shindig. More to come!

Blow Out The Candles

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Today is my birthday. I turn 27. I grew up in a family that LOVES birthdays. We celebrated all month long. This is not a joke. However, for some reason, this year I really didn't want much...in fact I didn't want anything at all. I asked to go see the movie, "Courageous" with Josh and that was about that. I don't need anything. I don't want anything. I am doing my best to set an example for our household. One that doesn't focus on the getting of gifts, but of giving gifts. Trust me, I think Eden deserves the world, but I pray that she will grow up not focusing on the gifts. As the holidays approach I am asking for money for Christmas. I have plans for it. I hope it blesses the people that need it. We may have little in the way of money right now, but I still feel like I am blessed beyond belief. I have a husband that loves me more than I could have ever dreamed, a beautiful and loving daughter, a dog that may cause me grief but sure brings a lot of laughs into our home. I have clothes on my back (although maybe not the most stylish) and food to eat. We may live a very simple life, but that's just fine with me. I am thankful for what I have. There are certainly days where I look at our bare cupboards and wonder just how I am going to feed my family for the day, but thankfully those days are getting more rare. No matter where I am in life, no matter where I live, my home is with my family and that's really all that I need.

Since I am not really in the celebratory mood for my birthday, I thought you all may want a little fun instead. A little later on I am going post Eden's birthday! Yay! And only 2 months late...whoops. First I waited because I had ZERO photos of Eden at her party. That was not okay. Then the lovely Charissa saved the day and provided me with some fabulous photos of my girl having lots of fun at her party. Then I debated sending my photos to another blog (totally out of my comfort zone), but then realized that the photos that I took were very sub-par and I just couldn't get myself to go through with it. Then...I had no excuse. So, here we are. I don't know why, but I am super nervous to post them. There was a whole lot of blood, sweat, and (a few) tears. I loved every minute of planning the party, but then when it comes right down to it I beat myself up over every little detail. It's a horrible trait. One I hope to kick someday. It truly did turn out perfectly and I should probably just stop worrying. I wish the photography was a bit better and I surely will hire someone next time. I was just way too focused on everything else so the photos suffered for it. This makes for an unhappy Mallory. Anyway, be looking for the post this afternoon! I hope you like it...

Invitation Only

First things first. A party needs an invitation. Well, okay technically the inspiration and design were first, but followed closely behind is the invite. I mean, why go through all the work of planning a party if no one knows to come and enjoy it? Exactly. 

When I started designing Eden's invite I really didn't know exactly where I was going to go with it. I knew I wanted a photo incorporated into the invitation somehow, but I also knew that I really didn't actually want the photo ON the actual invite. When I saw this pin I knew immediately what I wanted. Ironically I had already planned on incorporating balloons into Eden's first birthday photo shoot when I saw the inspiration photo. Great minds do think alike if I do say so myself. Not that my mind is great. I won't go into details of how I did it because honestly the tutorial I followed was done very well. I'll go into a few suggestions later on. 

When it came to the invitation I really just started designing and let my imagination run wild. I definitely redesigned it a few times. I would start one and it just wouldn't feel right so I would wait a couple minutes and sometimes days until the perfect idea hopped into my mind. It was a lot of trial and error, but I am so glad I chose to do it. I really wanted to DIY her invitations for her birthday...I think it was a little therapeutic for me and kept me from being too sad at the rate at which she grew up. Okay, I sound sad, but honestly I couldn't be happier to have a toddler, it is a really fun age. Oh, and of course, if I were to decide that I was NUTS (which technically I did realize halfway through working on the invites) then I would of course gone to Megan at Red Pearl Designs since the lovely lady also designed Eden's birth announcement. You all know me though, I like to attempt the impossible and stay up way past my bedtime and make myself absolutely crazy so I make my own invitations. 

I really wanted the fun to start BEFORE the recipients opened their invitations. Yes, of course I could have just written out our return address, but where's the fun in that? 

Even the back of the envelope got a little love. Oh and let me give you a heads up...if you are going to go ahead and make address labels, then by all means PLEASE do not spend the extra money to buy stickers to seal the back of the envelope and just make your own. Not that I would know or anything. So, that's what you see here. Mallory thinking its a good idea to just buy some stickers, when in reality it took 2.5 seconds to make her own stickers and ended up liking the result better. Lesson learned. Oh, and one more tip...I chose to barely wet the sticky part on the envelope for fear that the recipients would just tear open the envelope in a fit of rage hurried excitement to see what was inside and then added the sticker to keep the envelope flap down. Maybe I'm the only one who shreds innocent envelopes whenever they arrive in my mailbox. 

So I wanted to give a few tips on the envelope liner. First things first, turn on a movie, a t.v. show, some music..I don't care what it is..but definitely have something going on in the background to keep you sane. I loved making the liners, but it definitely takes time. And with over 50 invitations let me just say, I may have wondered if I had lost my mind a few times. Honestly though, once you get into your groove it will be done in no time. Also, if you have a paper cutter you will save tons of time. I used the paper cut to cut off the excess paper along the straight lines so that when I went to cut out the actual liner I only had a couple very small cuts to make. If you don't have a paper cutter, well that sucks. Also, I did use double stick tape, but then ran out on the last few that I made. I originally thought about just going with a glue stick since it would cost a whole lot less than the tape, but don't do be a Scrooge. Seriously, it is so worth it to use double stick tape. Glue makes it all wonky (is that even a word?) and you have to sit there and hold it while its drying. Um yeah, no thanks. Plus with tape you can remove the liner which I know made some people happy because they wanted to keep the photo. Other than that, just follow the tutorial to make your liner...and the best part is? It's not limited to photos! Seriously...try scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, newspaper...really, anything because it just makes whatever you are sending that much better. Honestly, send me hate mail with a cute envelope liner and I will be all smiles. Or don't. 

So, that's Eden's first birthday invitation. Anyone surprised by the amount of pink I used in one invitation? If so, you are in for an even bigger surprise when I reveal her party. If anyone attempts the envelope liner send me pictures! I would love to see what you all come up with. And of course, if you have questions...ask away!