Let the Celebration Begin! - Emma's Birthday Continued

We celebrated Emma's birthday with an apple themed dessert buffet which included:

Caramel Apple Cheesecake, Apple Struesel Pie, Caramel Apple Bars, Homemade Apple Pie, Social Apple Betty w/ice cream or whipped cream, and last but not least a #1 shaped birthday cake adorned with apples.

In addition to all those treats, all our friends that came to celebrate with us got to take home bags of homemade caramel corn with a recipe card attached.

Emma's day began with a few presents, an activity table from Grandma and Grandpa Baker and the cutest pair of brown shoes from Uncle Aaron, Auntie Martha & Cousins Blake and Seth.

Emma LOVED opening all her presents and especially eating all the envelopes and tissue paper. She had lots of friends close by to help her out when she got a bit tired and a couple crazy aunties (who will remain nameless) who were dressing her up in all the new clothes she received.

Thank-you to all those who celebrated with us. It was a memorable evening and we were so blessed to have you be a part of it.

Let the Celebration Begin! - Part 3

Would the cute girl celebrating her FIRST birthday please raise her hand!!!!!

~ Happy 1st Birthday to Our Littlest Emma ~

Let the Celebration Begin! - Part 2

Our weekend of celebrations continued Saturday morning as Madelyne had been invited to attend Caleb's third birthday. The theme was dress as your favorite superhero, when we asked Madelyne who her favorite superhero was she said she wanted to be Tinkerbell.

(I think she just ignored the "superhero" part and saw this as her chance to get a fairy costume!)

Except for the masks the other kids were wearing she had a fantastic time - even a little pizza in her wings didn't stop her from buzzing around at 100 miles per hour.

Funny thing is...she happens to respond better when I call her "Tink" than when I call her "Madelyne" - so, if you happen to be within earshot and hear my call my daughter Tink, don't think I'm crazy.....understand that my motives are to get a three year old to listen to her mama.

Let the Celebration Begin! - Part 1

This past weekend was a marathon of celebration after celebration...

• Friday night, Rhonda and friends hosted a birthday party for a friend of ours - Tony. It was a great night full of good friends, fun times and some interesting conversation (for those who stayed till the end, you'll know what I mean!!!) Madelyne got to hang out for the first half of the party - then she had to say goodnight. Here's a few pics of the party girl!

Madelyne with her Transformers party hat for Tony's party!




Madelyne as the DJ working the iTunes on Auntie Roo's computer!

" Thousands Elsewhere "

Okay, so Madelyne LOVES music. She loves to sing, dance and get her groove on & every once in a while there will be a song she hears that sticks with her. She remembers a few lines and its in her head for a long time. Such is the case with with a worship song by Matt Redman......

Better is one day in your courts

Better is one day in your house

Better is one day in your courts, than thousands elsewhere

Somehow this chorus got locked in her brain. The other weekend we're speeding through Wal-Mart trying to pick-up a few things. Madelyne's in the cart because she was not cooperating and with no inhibitions she's loudly singing this chorus - over and over and over again.

Earlier this week we were in the van and a great song came on a radio so I turned it up a bit. Madelyne promptly instructs me from the back seat, "No mommy, thousands elsewhere!!!"

~ Thousands Elsewhere it is ~

Thank-you Lord that your word touches even a three year old, in its most basic form your Word takes root and can not be shaken from an innocent heart. Help me be a mum who encourages Madelyne to learn your word. May it always land on good soil.

Mother of Many!

Okay, so if you have more than five kids you can join a mom's group called, "Mothers of Many." Personally, I don't know if I could ever handle more than five kids - but this week I am - at least part time anyways.

Our great friends, Grant and Jenn, are expecting the arrival of their third babe anytime now. In fact, Jenn has had some major contractions for the last few days. All of this adds up to two false alarms, one Sunday and one today.

So right now I'm a part-time "mother of many" - here's the list:
Madelyne (mine biologically!) - age three
Emma (mine biologically!) - days away from being "1"
Lavonne - our ESLI Trinity student
Lauren - age 6 (belongs to Grant and Jenn)
Luke - age 3 (belongs to Grant and Jenn)

So I've been coordinating university, school, preschool, gymnastics, ballet and transport to and fro all these things for all of the people above.

Oye vey.......

I applaude those true "mothers of many" - you are amazing!

When You Stop By, Please Say Hi!

Greetings from Blogger-Land!

I'm thoroughly enjoying my new project (this blog) and I hope you are too! If you check out my blog please let me know you were here.

Regardless of whether you are a blogger or not you can add a comment to anything I have already posted. At the end of the post you will find a "comments" link, click on it and add your two bits, or bites, which ever you prefer. You can sign your name or be anonymous - and voila - your comment will be added to my blog.

Look forward to hearing from you soon!

xoxox

Lisa

Adventures In Applesauce

Today I embarked on making applesauce on my own for the very first time. I'm sure there are some expert canners out there, but not I. I don't recall my mom doing much canning when I was growing up, so, I am not well versed in the art of canning. And let's make it clear - it is an art! A couple years ago Matt and I tried making jam, so I knew I had all the tools I needed for today's adventure so why not give it a shot?!?! The process was actually very simple - the most difficult part was cutting, peeling and slicing all the apples.

I guess that just means I have a reason to buy a few more Pampered Chef tools to make my next applesauce adventure that much more efficient :-)

My Favourite Time of the Year

Okay, so anyone who knows me even remotely well can attest to the fact that I love fall! I am a turtleneck girl through and through and the fact that the air is getting crisp, its been a tad foggy in the mornings and the leaves are starting to change all gets me pumped for FALL. I love it when the air is crisp enough for a great sweater, but the sun is still shining enough to warrant sunglasses. Ahhhh, it's delightful!
Last week I hosted a Spa Party at my place so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get out my fall decorations and make the house feel a little more cozy.
I can almost smell the pumpkin pie in the oven.........doesn't it just make you feel good inside?!?!

Apple of Our Eye

Another exciting event this month is the first birthday of our "littlest" girlie - Miss Emma! On September 23rd we will be celebrating her birthday with a delicious dessert buffet. Emma's birthday theme is apples and our buffet will be full of various apple treats.

Slim in September

Well, September is here and rushing by at a rapid rate. I have to admit I love September. It means fall is almost upon us and things go back to regular routine. This September brings the Bakers a new routine: preschool, ballet and gymnastics for Madelyne, more one-on-one time for mommy and Emma and a "new year's resolution" of sorts for me!

Time to burn off the baby weight that has made itself quite at home here on my bod.....so, when September hit I went full steam ahead, with the goal to loose twenty pounds and keep it off. I went back on my SureSlim eating plan I did before having Emma and I have already noticed results.

In my first two weeks I lost 7.5 pounds (I don't know how many inches as I haven't kept track, but I can certainly feel the difference). I am into my third week and hoping with wise choices and few distractions that my success will continue!

I'll keep you posted!

A Big Milestone

What a better way to kick off my blog than with a huge family milestone...

Today, Madelyne attended her first day of preschool. It's hard to believe our fiesty, energetic, always inquisitive, first babe is already off to school. Needless to say she was pumped! No tears, no worries, geeshhh, I could hardly get a good-bye kiss. Back-pack in hand, stocked with snacks, her thermos, and her slippers she was ready to say good-bye "litle girl" hello "big school girl!"

I must admit, I welled. Not full tears, but a few good wells. I had to bite my tongue, realize she doesn't always need me by her side, say good-bye and tell her I would be back in a short while to pick her up.

Life will never be the same.

Congratulations BIG GIRL MADELYNE on your first day of school.