Category: Baby
WIAW: Birthday Party Edition
| October 10, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 9-12 Months, Baby, Emmalyne, GIveaway |
WHEW … This week is all about my favorite person in the world: Emmalyne. I have shared her party recap and her 12 month update. Today is all about the food that we enjoyed at her party! It’s perfect timing since today is Wednesday so it’s time for another “What I Ate Wednesday” with the lovely Jenn of Peas and Crayons fame 
THE FOOD
THE MENU
BBQ Shredded Pork Sandwiches
Fresh Fruit
Chips
Sweet Potato Fries
THE DESSERTS
I made all the desserts myself. The cake pops are red velvet cake pops with cream cheese frosting and candy coating. I made the sugar cookies with my sister’s awesome recipe and I used Chobani in them. Cup cakes were red velvet with homemade butter cream frosting and then I also made cherry pie pops. Emmalyne’s cake was strawberry with butter cream frosting. Everything was SO good.
In honor of Emmalyne’s birthday the awesome folks at Chobani are letting me do a GIVEAWAY! One lucky reader will win an assorted case of Cho. I love Chobani as a snack and also love using it in my cooking like I did for Emmie’s sugar cookies.
How To Enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post with your favorite kind of cake. (Mandatory)
2. Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment that you did. Click to tweet:
3. Follow me Instgram and leave a comment that you did.
RULES: Giveaway is open to US residents only (sorry Canada). Giveaway ends Sunday, October 14 at 5PM EST. Winner will be selected using Random.org and will be announced on the blog on Monday, October 15.
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Emmalyne: Month Twelve
| October 9, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 9-12 Months, Baby, Emmalyne, Family, Month Updates |
I’ve had a few days now for the reality that I have a toddler now to sink in. Regardless, I still am in slight denial that I am writing Emmalyne’s 12 month update. Wow. This last year has been the most amazing year of my entire life. I have learned so much about myself, and more importantly, about Emmalyne. I can’t believe I have known this sweet little person for a year but at the same time I feel as if I have known her forever. If you’re brand new to Emmalyne’s updates you can catch up via the following links:
HOW IS EMMALYNE MEASURING?
HEIGHT: 31 inches (95%)
WEIGHT: 22 lbs 9 ounces (50%)
CLOTHES: 12-18 months, 18 months, and some 18-24 months
DIAPERS: Size 3
SHOES: 4.5 wide
TEETH: 5
Emmalyne is taking after both Chris and I … long and lean. Her thighs are still chunky but she is pretty lanky too. I get comments a lot about “how tall” she is. I can tell because many of her 12-18 month pants are too short but too big in the waist. Sigh.
PERSONALITY
Every month Emmalyne’s personality becomes more and more pronounced. Overall she is SO incredibly happy. Emmie loves to laugh and totally gets jokes and humor. She is a little imp and arches her eye brows at me as she goes in to do something naughty. She doesn’t cry for no reason and as soon as the cause is determined and fixed she is all smiles. She is such a loving little girl and gives kisses, hugs, and rubs my back. One con is that she has fully figured out how to throw legitimate tantrums. She spreads her legs into a middle splits, throws her body forward, and cries into the carpet. Don’t try to soothe her … She will just throw whatever you’re giving her. It’s hilarious and annoying at the same time.
BREASTFEEDING
I wrote recently that we have started the weaning process. So far things are still going incredibly smoothly and it has honestly been a really easy experience for both of us. She is still nursing two times a day … in the morning and late afternoon. The other two times she is getting cow’s milk. I am unsure at this point when I will drop the morning feeding. I am not in a rush for that one and may just let her decide when enough is enough.
EATING
Meal times are Emmie’s favorite time of the day. She is all about her food and I try to mix it up daily for her. Right now she is eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with about two snacks a day thrown into the mix. I let her try peanut butter yesterday and success! No allergies (yet). It amazes me how she will pretty much eat anything and everything. She loves fish and broccoli … such a heart healthy girl 
My biggest downfall is figuring out good snacks for her. Moms feel free to chime in on the comments!
PLAY
One of my favorite parts of Emmalyne getting older is that she is playing with us more and more. Chris and I bought her a shape sorter box for her birthday and it is her favorite thing to do with us. She puts shapes in, takes them out, hands them to us, takes them back, and starts over. She will walk across the room carrying her box, sit in my lap, and start playing. My heart melts. She still loves playing with balls and bath time is the highlight of her evening. Half of her toys aren’t really toys but she is starting to interact with her actual toys more and more.
SLEEP
Sleep is an area I am thankful has never been a problem. Emmalyne goes down to sleep like a dream. She may cry for a second but then she stuffs her blanket into her mouth and goes right to sleep. She sleeps from 7PM – 7:30AM now with 2 naps a day. I am not sure when she will drop a nap but right now it is pretty clear that she needs and wants 2. I am not going to complain
WALKING
It’s official. Emmalyne is completely walking. It was an overnight transformation and as soon as she figured out she was capable of walking her confidence soared and crawling became so last month. She barely crawls now and walks everywhere. When she falls she stands right back up and keeps going. She is almost running now. Save me.
I thank God every single day for the privilege of being Emmalyne Grace’s mother. She is the most incredible, loving, kind, and funny child. I am so lucky that I get to spend each and every day hanging out with her because she’s awesome.
I love you baby girl. You are my sunshine.
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
A County Fair First Birthday
| October 8, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Baby, Emmalyne, Parenthood |
Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes for Miss Emmalyne on Saturday! Her party went off without a hitch and we all had a fantastic time. I am the first one to admit that I am “that mom” that went all out for Em’s first birthday. I pride myself on that fact that I did everything myself (minus design the invite or arrange the flowers) and kept it within reason. I started thinking about Emmalyne’s birthday party this summer and began brainstorming ideas with my sister Heather. Heather came up with “county fair” and I loved it. I went to the internet for inspiration and fell in love with so many aspects of this party. What I didn’t know how to make, I Googled. Everything came together exactly how I envisioned it and the memories we have from Saturday are priceless.
I hand made the rosettes, bunting, and pom poms. Many of the table accents are decorations that are up in my house. I borrowed some serving platters and the glass jars for the chips from my friend Heather. The picture board was my idea and I printed one photo from each month of Emmalyne’s life and labeled them. I made all the food myself and have purposely left out detailed photos because I plan on doing a whole post on the food itself … it was that good.
We kept the party smallish … 8 adults and 4 kiddos and it was perfect for us. At 2:30PM mother nature hit us with a downpour but luckily the weather cleared by 3 so we were still able to hold the party on our back patio as planned. We managed to snag a couple of family photos too
I wasn’t sure how the “cake smash” was going to go with Emmie. I made her a 4-layer strawberry cake and iced it with buttercream. At first she would grab a handful of frosting and put it on the blanket. She didn’t quite know it was food. As soon as Chris let her taste some it was game on. When she was over it, she simply walked away. Classic Emmie.
Emmalyne definitely got spoiled with the presents. Chris and I only bought her three small gifts ourselves. The rest of our family mailed gifts here and of course she got some from her party people. Emmalyne racked up with clothes, toys, and books galore. She is a very blessed baby, and we are too as her parents, that there are so many kind and generous people in her life. She, however, was not into opening the presents so the duty fell on Chris and I.
Overall it was the perfect first birthday for a perfect little girl. Thank you to everyone who came and gifted Emmie so lavishly. We are so lucky to have you as our friends. Tomorrow I will post Emmie’s official 12-month update and my post-baby body update will be on the blog on Thursday. :)
Big or small first birthday party? How did your little one feel about the cake smash?
One Year
| October 6, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 9-12 Months, Baby, Emmalyne |
We are off celebrating our baby girl today. A full Emmalyne update, my final post baby body progress, and a recap of her party will be up on the blog next week. Today is all about Emmalyne Grace and how lucky Chris and I are to have the honor of being her parents.
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
First Birthday Party Prep
| October 4, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Baby, Parenthood |
T-Minus 2 days until Emmalyne turns the big O-N-E. Oh my goodness. Someone hold me. I am in a firm state of denial and busying myself with party prepping in order to not cry and hide in a corner in the fetal position thinking that I am about to have a :gulp: toddler.
I have had so much fun crafting, baking, and planning for Emmie’s party. There will be a full recap after the festivities but I am sharing some of the details with you early. We are going with a county fair themed party with some of our closest friends here in Georgia. Right now it looks like 8 adults and 5 kids which should be barrels of fun Enjoy a sneak peek at Em’s big birthday bash!
I can’t wait to share the completed party with you I know she isn’t going to remember this day but I will. Plus, it’s a celebration for Chris and I that we survived our first year of parenthood and that Em did too
Did you plan a big first birthday party? Thoughts on 1st birthdays?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
T-Minus 2 days until Emmalyne turns the big O-N-E. Oh my goodness. Someone hold me. I am in a firm state of denial and busying myself with party prepping in order to not cry and hide in a corner in the fetal position thinking that I am about to have a :gulp: toddler.
I have had so much fun crafting, baking, and planning for Emmie’s party. There will be a full recap after the festivities but I am sharing some of the details with you early. We are going with a county fair themed party with some of our closest friends here in Georgia. Right now it looks like 8 adults and 5 kids which should be barrels of fun Enjoy a sneak peek at Em’s big birthday bash!
I can’t wait to share the completed party with you I know she isn’t going to remember this day but I will. Plus, it’s a celebration for Chris and I that we survived our first year of parenthood and that Em did too
Did you plan a big first birthday party? Thoughts on 1st birthdays?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
