me, and every other mother in provo.
it was not a pleasant experience.
however, i emerged with our donuts in hand. in the other hand was a tired and cranky baby.
she perked up when she tasted the reason for our wait.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
national donut day
since it was national donut day, i went to krispy kreme to get our free donuts.
me, and every other mother in provo.
it was not a pleasant experience.
however, i emerged with our donuts in hand. in the other hand was a tired and cranky baby.
she perked up when she tasted the reason for our wait.
i love that she doesn't yet realize a small square of a donut isn't the whole thing.
me, and every other mother in provo.
it was not a pleasant experience.
however, i emerged with our donuts in hand. in the other hand was a tired and cranky baby.
she perked up when she tasted the reason for our wait.
Monday, June 3, 2013
party time
it was a perfect spring day!
we hung the letters, 'happy birthday vivien' with clothespins on twine strung between two trees, with an assortment of pictures of her first year. super cute. but, the wind picked up and you couldn't see anything. not so cute.
oh well.
fun presents.
new toys.
the cake, half eaten. leaning even worse. but, still cool looking!
first bite of cake.
loved the sprinkles.
what party would be complete without a hanging horse head? we had a pinata and amazingly, that's where it busted open. i wanted to keep the head and recreate the head in the bed scene from the godfather to scare aaron, but my nephew wanted to take it home.
hangin' with grandpa.
all in all, a good time!
happy birthday, girl!
all in all, a good time!
happy birthday, girl!
THE cake
(note, this is part confession, part tutorial)
i had a cake in mind.
i saw a rainbow cake online years ago and have always wanted to make one. however, 6 tiers calls for an event of magnitude and i didn't have one of those.
her birthday seemed like the perfect time. especially since i wasn't going crazy on the party with invitations, party favors, decorations, etc... i'm not that kind of person.
i had the perfect white cake picked out. or so i thought. a week before her party i baked a birthday cake for my mom. simple 3 tier. disaster. each layer fell and were tough. yuck. i pondered my failure and realized i have to use high altitude recipes now. duh. i've never lived at high altitude before. i re-baked my mom's cake and began to panic...
a week away and the white cake recipe didn't have a high altitude conversion. i determined to bake a layer each day, gently tweaking the recipe until it was right. yes, i am as crazy as i sound. luckily, after one try, i tasted the cake and realized it wasn't going to work. delicious, but it contained almond extract and gave a cherry flavor. i was using a lemon buttercream frosting and those two do not go together. back to square one.
after more internet research, i found a substitute. baked that the next day. a winner! whew. i doubled that recipe and had my 6 tiers. i used red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple wilton food coloring gels. i would highly recommend the gels versus liquid coloring. i wanted vibrant colors and used a lot.
here are the pans ready to go in the oven. i used 8 inch pans.
i baked my cakes the day before the party. cooled on racks and once completely cool i wrapped in parchment paper, then plastic wrap and left on the counter until ready to frost the next day. forgive the bad pictures. we don't have natural lighting in our kitchen...
the next morning i whipped up a large batch of lemon buttercream and went to work. in hindsight, i can clearly see the layers are leaning. oh, what i wish i would have seen then. i was in a color haze. but, how lovely are those colors? i was so excited. and nervous. not only did i want a monster rainbow cake, but i wanted to cover it in sprinkles. i'm such a nut.
meet my abominable snowman. who is slightly leaning. oy.
i had researched various ways of attaching the sprinkles. some mentioned frosting the cake (leave the top unfrosted) then freezing it for 5 minutes to firm up. after that you roll it in a pan of sprinkles and, snap, you've got a decorated cake. proceed with the top and you're done. seems way too easy. that didn't sit right with me. the buttercream is my go to sugar cookie frosting and i knew how it acted with cold. i didn't think the sprinkles would stick. another online post mentioned simply patting the sprinkles on with ease. liars. better homes and garden, i'm looking at you. i decided to go with that method. i pulled out my two pounds of sprinkles - you read that right - and began.
shortly thereafter, my floor was covered in sprinkles, my hope failing, and my husband staring at me with pity. the small lip on my pan was not going to catch all the sprinkles. we had to think of a better way.
enter the plastic tub. we store bivi's clothes in this. emptied, washed and 5 minutes later we had a container. one problem down, but more arose. i felt like i was playing the game where you slam the gophers with the mallet. you took care of one, but it's brother popped up laughing. how to get the sprinkles to stick?
the old fashioned way. i tell you, there is no shortcut to this process. maybe if you are doing a 2 or 3 tier cake you can roll it, however, mine was not being picked up. aaron was such a sport and jumped in to help. i lost track of time, but i'm guessing it took about 2 hours. and years off my life.
strangely enough, putting your warm hands all over a cake makes it lumpy and bumpy. how dare! so, i had a bulging cake by the end, but it was covered in sprinkles!
the finished product. man, i don't know how the cake boss does it.
inside pictures are in the party post.
looking back, i would not do a sprinkle cake again. no way. but, i look forward to another rainbow with such fun colors!
i had a cake in mind.
i saw a rainbow cake online years ago and have always wanted to make one. however, 6 tiers calls for an event of magnitude and i didn't have one of those.
her birthday seemed like the perfect time. especially since i wasn't going crazy on the party with invitations, party favors, decorations, etc... i'm not that kind of person.
i had the perfect white cake picked out. or so i thought. a week before her party i baked a birthday cake for my mom. simple 3 tier. disaster. each layer fell and were tough. yuck. i pondered my failure and realized i have to use high altitude recipes now. duh. i've never lived at high altitude before. i re-baked my mom's cake and began to panic...
a week away and the white cake recipe didn't have a high altitude conversion. i determined to bake a layer each day, gently tweaking the recipe until it was right. yes, i am as crazy as i sound. luckily, after one try, i tasted the cake and realized it wasn't going to work. delicious, but it contained almond extract and gave a cherry flavor. i was using a lemon buttercream frosting and those two do not go together. back to square one.
after more internet research, i found a substitute. baked that the next day. a winner! whew. i doubled that recipe and had my 6 tiers. i used red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple wilton food coloring gels. i would highly recommend the gels versus liquid coloring. i wanted vibrant colors and used a lot.
here are the pans ready to go in the oven. i used 8 inch pans.
i had researched various ways of attaching the sprinkles. some mentioned frosting the cake (leave the top unfrosted) then freezing it for 5 minutes to firm up. after that you roll it in a pan of sprinkles and, snap, you've got a decorated cake. proceed with the top and you're done. seems way too easy. that didn't sit right with me. the buttercream is my go to sugar cookie frosting and i knew how it acted with cold. i didn't think the sprinkles would stick. another online post mentioned simply patting the sprinkles on with ease. liars. better homes and garden, i'm looking at you. i decided to go with that method. i pulled out my two pounds of sprinkles - you read that right - and began.
shortly thereafter, my floor was covered in sprinkles, my hope failing, and my husband staring at me with pity. the small lip on my pan was not going to catch all the sprinkles. we had to think of a better way.
enter the plastic tub. we store bivi's clothes in this. emptied, washed and 5 minutes later we had a container. one problem down, but more arose. i felt like i was playing the game where you slam the gophers with the mallet. you took care of one, but it's brother popped up laughing. how to get the sprinkles to stick?
the old fashioned way. i tell you, there is no shortcut to this process. maybe if you are doing a 2 or 3 tier cake you can roll it, however, mine was not being picked up. aaron was such a sport and jumped in to help. i lost track of time, but i'm guessing it took about 2 hours. and years off my life.
the finished product. man, i don't know how the cake boss does it.
looking back, i would not do a sprinkle cake again. no way. but, i look forward to another rainbow with such fun colors!
One Year Old!
oh, vivien, you're the best.
what a little person she has become. walking and talking and so full of life. aaron and i constantly crack up at her antics. she has such a distinct personality. everywhere we go, people comment how happy she is and it's true!
a bit of a drama queen, she has no problem doing an ear piercing shriek to express herself.
she is always on the go. going for walks, anything to do with water, playing with her cousins and dogs are some of her favorite things. still obsessed with baby e.
biv, we love you so much!
what a little person she has become. walking and talking and so full of life. aaron and i constantly crack up at her antics. she has such a distinct personality. everywhere we go, people comment how happy she is and it's true!
we fell off the face of the earth
but, now we're back.
let's see how consistent i can be with writing.
getting back on the saddle as we speak.
let's see how consistent i can be with writing.
getting back on the saddle as we speak.
Friday, December 21, 2012
7 months
almost impossible to believe.
let's see...what is bivi up to?
she is loving solid foods! bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, oats, wheat, pears, apples, she loves them all! the girl is an eater. just like her mama! she makes a loud noise with each bite. you can tell she's enjoying it!
she loves babbling and still says dada. she is trying so hard to crawl, but can't seem to figure out that she should move her knees forward. she always ends up planking or in a downward dog. maybe we have a future yogi on our hands.
bivi responds to bivi and vivi, but not vivien! i think we've stunted our child and not sure when she'll learn her real name. she still loves baby e. oh boy. she can't get enough. she loves music and when someone sings to her. she is still such a curious cat and wants to see everything, touch everything and must always be carried facing out. the girl knows what she wants and will let you know!
we just love her so much. each day she is excited to see me when i come in her room and the feeling is mutual! i'm still amazed that we are parents and have been blessed with such a fun and perfect daughter.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
something to say
i'm not sure this is actually part of the english language, but it's bivi's vocabulary.
she's trying so hard to talk and for us to understand.
love it.
i'm choosing to not be offended.
she's trying so hard to talk and for us to understand.
love it.
Friday, November 9, 2012
baby e
baby Einstein is a must around our house.
i don't like her watching much during the day, but when she gets to, she loves it.
i've tried showing her other things. tried is the key word. she refuses them.
she always goes back to her baby e.
i thought i was making up her preference in my mind. then, i noticed a trend.
watch her reaction in the video below. she does this every time the caterpillar scoots across the screen at the beginning of a dvd.
too cute.
i don't like her watching much during the day, but when she gets to, she loves it.
i've tried showing her other things. tried is the key word. she refuses them.
she always goes back to her baby e.
i thought i was making up her preference in my mind. then, i noticed a trend.
watch her reaction in the video below. she does this every time the caterpillar scoots across the screen at the beginning of a dvd.
too cute.
flopper
bivi's latest trick is to flop when she's upset.
just fall backward and cry.
luckily, we've always been there to catch her.
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i'm hoping this is just a teething phase...
just fall backward and cry.
luckily, we've always been there to catch her.
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Friday, November 2, 2012
tomato sauce!
tired of all the yucky, bland or acidic tomato sauces at the grocery store, i decided to take matters into my own hands and make some.
i stumbled upon a recipe by alton brown.
i like him.
he taught me how to make scrambled eggs.
you roast the tomatoes for a long time and they develop a rich flavor. yum!
i ended up putting meat in the sauce and wish i hadn't. the sauce really stands alone. it would be delish on pizza!
after two and a half hours of roasting. onions and herbs are on top.
a quick trip through the food processor and into the sauce pan.
note: the recipe calls for white wine, but i used chicken broth.
tasty!
i stumbled upon a recipe by alton brown.
i like him.
he taught me how to make scrambled eggs.
you roast the tomatoes for a long time and they develop a rich flavor. yum!
i ended up putting meat in the sauce and wish i hadn't. the sauce really stands alone. it would be delish on pizza!
note: the recipe calls for white wine, but i used chicken broth.
tasty!
bundled up
since we got on at least one walk a day, i'm so thankful she doesn't mind wearing a hat and mittens!
gma lee and biv
bivi just loved gma lee from the first time she met her!
always smiled for her and loved to laugh with her.
here is a cute video from thanksgiving at their house.
always smiled for her and loved to laugh with her.
here is a cute video from thanksgiving at their house.
Canadian Thanksgiving
We went to Canada to celebrate Thanksgiving and introduce Bivi to lots of family members she hadn't met yet.
Although living in Utah puts us much closer to Calgary, it's still a 15 hour drive.
Which we did at night, so Biv would sleep.
Crazy talk.
Here are a few snaps of the trip!
gma lee and gpa bill.
gma peg.
she was the star of the show and i guess all the attention knocked her out!
cousin time!
and we took some family pictures while there.
a lot jammed into 5 days!
Although living in Utah puts us much closer to Calgary, it's still a 15 hour drive.
Which we did at night, so Biv would sleep.
Crazy talk.
Here are a few snaps of the trip!
a lot jammed into 5 days!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Happenings
I have a lot of pictures to post, if I ever get around to it.
It's on my mind. With about a million other things.
In the mean time, here is a gluttonous recipe. I made these tonight.
It might help to promise half of these to a friend before you even make them or else you'll shove them all in your mouth before the cool. I hear that's the bet way to eat them. Not that I would know...
German Chocolate Cake Cookies
So tasty! And they freeze well. Be sure to have some milk on standby!
It's on my mind. With about a million other things.
In the mean time, here is a gluttonous recipe. I made these tonight.
It might help to promise half of these to a friend before you even make them or else you'll shove them all in your mouth before the cool. I hear that's the bet way to eat them. Not that I would know...
German Chocolate Cake Cookies
So tasty! And they freeze well. Be sure to have some milk on standby!
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