Family Photos - Part 2

So I posted about my family photos the other day but that was my siblings and parents, we also had photos of just my family taken as well.

Love these two sisters

And, saving the best for last

What the Girls Wore #98

This girl is growing up so fast!  She's at a really fun age and preschool starts in just a couple weeks, I can't wait.  She's going to have such a great time!

The girl's cousin Emma came to visit.  She's 5 weeks older than Eden so it's always fun to see them together.

My fabulous one year old.

This girl loves to walk.  She struts her stuff across the room and then triumphantly falls into my arms and is so proud of herself.

These next pictures are something else.  Catie's cousins came over and I curled both Gwen and Bryn's hair and it looked super cute.  Catie looked at them and asked me to curl her hair too, which we know is completely unnecessary.  I suggested instead that we straighten her hair and she was okay with that.  Now I wanted to be extra sure that I didn't burn her so I didn't go very close to the roots and the end result is kind of terrifying.  I couldn't stand it for too long and later put it in a ponytail, but here for the first time is Catie with straight hair.

We went to the park the other day and the most amazing thing happened, Eden didn't try to put every rock into her mouth.  There were definitely a couple that needed to be removed but most of the time was just spent playing.  She put rocks into my hands and then took them out, and then onto a curb and then off a curb.  It was magical!

New pajamas, so cute!

Just another day at Calaway Park

Free flying at the park

Eden - 1 Year Old

Here she is, a year old already.  

This post is late but it took me some time to figure out just what I wanted to say.
But our little girl had a birthday so we ate cake

Despite what these photos suggest she really didn't care about it at all, she took a bite or two but had very little interest in it.

She even got a gift (that's right, we only got her one crummy gift.  Year one is always low key in our family.)

This little girl has been such an adventure for us.  She could not be more different that Catie, she's opinionated, hot tempered and dramatic yet so much fun.  Yesterday she did something that made Brad and I laugh and laugh because it was so perfectly Eden.  She walked over to the couch, did a face plant against it, threw her arms at her side and cried a little.  Our little drama queen.  We love her fiercely.

I've often talked about how much I don't love babies but as mine starts to grow up there have been a few things I've realized I am going to miss.

• Raspberries - those slobbery raspberries make me so happy every time
• That first bottle in the morning.  I've recently phased out bottles and we've been bottle free for almost two weeks but I definitely miss that first bottle in the morning. She'd be wearing her pajamas and is cuddly and sweet and content to sit on my lap.
• She started walking and is awesome at it.  I love that she walks across the living room on those shaky legs, arms above her head and then collapses into me.  I'm thrilled that she's walking and I look forward to her getting even better but I'm loving that catch.
• She has always been a delight to get up from her nap.  She's so thrilled to see me every time I go in there.  One day she'll move to a big girl bed and I'll miss lifting her out of her crib.

Milestones

• Walks like a champ
• has 14 teeth and more on the way
• Loves corn on the cob, I'd call it her favourite food
• She's finally sleeping through the night and has actually become pretty awesome at it
• I'm declaring she's said her first word, and it's "hi".  She picks up almost anything to pretend it's a phone, she holds it up to her ear and says, "eye, eye" which I've translated to mean "Hi".

So happy birthday Eden.  I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us, although I can admit there's a little bit of fear there :)

Favourite Things Party

I put off posting about this because I didn't take any pictures meaning this will be wordy but it was so much fun that you're getting it anyway.

For at least a year I wanted to throw a favourite things party and when we moved into my in-laws amazing house the time was right... and then 8 months went by.

I really wanted this to be a special party and a Facebook invite just wouldn't cut it so I printed these invites and mailed them.  When was the last time you got an invite in the mail?  I loved that it was a little different.

Let's talk about the design of this invitation though... I've already mentioned that I'm great at re-creating someone else's work and surprise surprise... that's what happened here too.  I found this great invite on Pinterest and recreated it.

And that is the last picture I have.  Sad isn't it.

Well June 6th was coming closer and like 3 people were coming.  3 people who didn't really know each other... so I moved the date forward a week with far more success.  In the end about 10 people came... a perfect party number.

For food I made my favourite, chicken taco salad only I put it in cute little tortilla scoops.  I also made red velvet cupcakes in a jar.  People brought some of their favourite foods and we enjoyed them all.

We ate and visited and then we got to the best part, the exchange.  When people arrived I had them write their name down on 5 slips of paper and we put them in a jar.  Each person pulled out 5 slips and gave away their favourite items to those 5.  If the same name was pulled twice we just put it back and pulled a new one.  Now would be a great place to show a picture of all the great things people brought but I have nothing.  Instead I'll just have to tell you.

To make this look more interesting I found some online photos to make up a collage

A. A Starbucks gift card with the girls favourite drink written on it
B. Bath & Body Lip gloss & some lotion (Sorry, I forgot the lotion)
C. Some body spray
D. Dental Picks - A note on this item.  This is one of the 5 that I got and it has changed my oral health!  Since getting these I floss twice daily.
E. A power bar.  Now these are not the right brand and I'm sure the girl who brought them will be sad that I don't have the right brand because she says they are the best.  Sorry Lisa, I can't remember the right brand.
F. Exfoliating facial scrub - Again, another item I won and I'm loving it.
G & H. Gel Eyeliner & Brush - This is what I gave, I love gel liner.  If you haven't tried it don't be intimidated, give it a try.
I. Pretty Wrapping Paper - I thought this was such a great unique item.  This girl said she loves pretty wrapping paper and had tons of them, loved it.

I'm sure there is an item or two that I forgot but it's been quite some time, I was impressed I remembered so many of them :)

I also planned one little fun surprise.  Before I handed over the bowl I added one slip that said SURPRISE!  When the lucky lady pulled it out I retrieved the bag I`d assembled of my favourite things.

A. Smoothie Cup - every day I drink a smoothie and I swear it tastes better in my smoothie cup
B. Bath & Body Works Foaming Soap - I love this stuff, I have it at every sink in my house in all different scents
C. Loreal HIP eye shadow in Wicked - I love love this eyeshadow, it's my absolute favourite
D. Pink pins - they make me happy when I sew
E. I couldn't find a bag of Big Feet so the Swedish Berries had to do, but they're a close second.
F. One of the best things I've ever made is my needle book.  I love how easy it is to find and organize them.  F is an inside view and I is an outside view.
G. Dairy Milk Salty Carmelized Peanuts - So yummy!  Our favourite candy bar
H. NYC Appelicious Glossy Lip Balm - Sorry, I can't remember what colour I gave away

So there you have it, my Favourite Things Party.  It was so much fun that I think I"ll need to host it yearly.  Now there is one thing I would do differently, the bag of my favourite things was so much fun I wish I'd split it up so more people could have been surprised.

You should host your own, awesome!

3rd Annual Deep Fry Weekend

My brother and I have started a delicious tradition that we happily carry on with.

Every year we get together during Magrath celebrations and have a deep fry event.  We experiment and make carnival type foods, trying something new each year.
Our first year we made Twinkies, Twix Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Year two we again made Peanut Butter cups (mini this time), Twinkies and our new favourite Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Before we get to year three I'd like to submit a brief photography disclaimer.  I am not a food photographer nor did I even try to be one.  Also, this event happens at night after the kids go to bed in my parents house that has the most yellow lighting ever, so forgive to really poor photos.

We decided last year that we could skip the Twinkies so they were out and we knew we'd again make the cookie dough but we wanted to expand a little.

We were using bacon this year and didn't want out cookie dough to taste like bacon so we ate dessert first.
Both years we have used and loved this recipe but we use a funnel cake batter to dip in and there are enough of us that we double it.  This is such a favourite that we'll make it again next year but I think we'll make them much smaller so you can eat a couple.

Here's an inside shot.  The chocolate gets all melty but the dough doesn't cook, it stays gooey and delicious (the dough is egg free so no worries there).

Then we started in on our savoury.  Bacon wrapped corn!  So delicious but I've made this on the BBQ before.  While it was easier to fry it there was no flavour addition, just extra fat so next year we'll skip the fry and just serve steamed corn on the side.

Here's a amusing story... when I made it on the bbq I secured the bacon with toothpicks but they turned out to be unnecessary and they burned anyway so I didn't toothpick these.  We dropped the first one in the oil and the bacon instantly shriveled up and off the corn so we had a naked ear of corn and bit of shriveled bacon.  We toothpicked the rest :)

I've always wanted to dry bacon wrapped macaroni & cheese and this was the year.  Earlier in the day I made a homemade macaroni and I made the cheese sauce extra thick, then I let it cool to room temperature.  I scooped it into balls and then wrapped bacon around them using tooth picks to secure the bacon.

They came out looking like this, pretty hey?

Though if I'm honest most of them looked like this.  More bacon and more toothpicks, lesson learned.

These were super yummy but we all agreed that they would be just as good if you made macaroni and then added some chopped bacon, so we won't make these again either.

Lastly was my brother's addition, Deep Fried Doritos.

These sounded interesting and we were all excited.  We made up a batter you would use on fish, like a beer batter only we didn't use beer.  We dipped them and fried until golden.

Here's an inside shot, you can see the Doritos in there

We were unanimously disappointed.  We thought the Doritos would stay crispy but it ended up being a little chewy.  The flavour was good but not worth the effort to dip the chips.  Rob thought it would be a good idea to make a Doritos fritter, like a corn fritter, so he took a bunch of broken bits and battered them into a ball and fried but it wasn't any better.  Two thumbs down from us.

So there you have it, our 3rd annual Deep Fry was a success.  We didn't discover anything we'd like to carry on but most of the fun is trying something new anyway.  We already have a plan for next years menu, you can look forward to:

• Tempura Vegetables
• Onion Blossom
• Cookie Dough
• Steamed corn on the cob on the side

Family Photos

Allright, so you know the families that get photos done all the time?  My family is not one of those.

My siblings live far away and we don't see each other very often.  On the rare occasion we do get together there is always someone missing.  So let me show you the last photo my family had taken.

This was 24 years ago.  It's awesome hey?

My brother recently got married and the timing was right and every single one of my siblings made it.  It was a perfect day and a perfect opportunity for updated family photos. I think it's a little better right?

 

We didn't stop there though.

They were 24 years in the making, it was about time.

What the Girls Wore #97

Remember our post that was dedicated to Things Eden Puts in her Mouth?  Well we've entered a new phase, Things Eden Climbs On.  Folks, we have a climber.  I'm trying to prepare myself. (And rest assured, in all of the climbing photos I'm right beside her, ready to catch in case she falls)

I dipped Eden is the pool and apparently it was a little cold.

 Catie found Grandpa's hat in the van, she looked super cool.

Uncle James came to visit and I'm not sure Eden really ever cuddles with me like that, she loved her Uncle James.

This is what happens when you refuse to give Eden your iPhone.

And here's the first of Eden climbing.  She gets up there all by herself and is super proud, if only she could get down.

She loves her books

Allright, so this isn't one of my girls but this picture Catie drew was just too awesome so you get to see it anyway.

I thought it would be a good day to go to the park.  Now normally at the park Eden and I sit on a blanket while Catie plays but I went to a different park this day.  I set Eden on the ground and spent the next 20 minutes keeping rocks out of her mouth.  Eventually we ended up on a bench.

Playing hopscotch

I love when she concentrates on a toy.

She loves climbing on the couch these days.  She learned how to go down the stairs and applies this skill to getting off the couch so she spend lots of her day there.

She thought it would be a good idea to brush her hair.

A rousing game of What Time is it Mister Wolf

And now she's climbing on the chair

Just riding the A&W car

Proud of herself for being up on the picnic table.  She goes there instantly when she's let outside.

We went to the Magrath parade where they throw candy, she loved it

And Grandma gave Eden a sucker, she knew exactly what to do with it.

Brad's a genius.  He had the great idea to add this little stool beside the couch and not only can she get down but she can get up all by herself too.

Mr. Potato Head lips

The Carousel at Calaway

She's getting so big.

And one last Eden climbing to end things.  I think she has special things in mind for me.