Carrie – Page 24 – thosecoolkims

A Very Toddler Valentine’s Day

This year, Ruby hosted her very own Valentine’s Day Party! Well, maybe I helped a little. I just couldn’t think of anything cuter than a bunch of toddlers at a Valentine’s Day party … and, it was an excuse for me to make some treats. There were 5 girls and 5 boys invited, along with 10 of my very favorite mommas!

I wanted to keep things very old school and homemade looking, so I bought a heart-shaped craft punch and went to town with it. I punched hearts in all the different red/white/pink papers I had and taped them to thin red ribbon for garlands, and punched smaller ones to tape to toothpicks for the cupcake toppers. I even taped hearts to the water bottles – I admit, I’m fully into hearts!

I made goodie bags for all the kids that were filled with Carrot Zucchini Cookies. I tried to be considerate and not get everybody’s kid all hopped up on sugar, and thought any chance at sneaking in some veggies would be welcome. My mom had the great idea to try baking them in a heart shaped pan, and even though they don’t look so appetizing here, I swear – Ruby loved them! Of course, I saved my Heart-shaped Red Wine Lollipops as a party favor for all of the moms!

And finally – the most important part, our little guests!

Kim + Olive

Grace + Charlotte, with Kathy (Shane’s mom)

Shane + Nora

Zack gone wild!, Ruby + I

Zack + Justin

We had so much fun that we may need to make this an annual event. What can I say, I love the day of love!

Sweet (Grown-up) Treats for Valentine’s Day

I’m feeling a little defeated tonight. I’ve had my heart set on making these red wine lollipops as soon as I stumbled across the recipe. I thought they’d be a perfect treat to surprise all my grown-up friends with for Valentine’s Day (treats for the little people are coming soon!). Well, my mom told me that her grandmother used to curse candy making, and now I know why …

Gathering all the ingredients was simple enough. Making the red wine reduction was a piece of cake. But when it gets to getting the candy mixture up to 300 degrees without burning it, that’s hard. I tried over and over, making 4 batches total, and I could only salvage 8 lollipops.

The good news is, the 8 I did successfully make look really cute. I kept the packaging simple and went with plastic lollipop bags, red + white baker’s twine, and a little gold tag. I’m pretty happy with how they look, I just wish I had more!

I am determined to master it … I’ve got one last pot of red wine on the stove top, and I’m hoping for the best!

Playground Love

You’ll probably be seeing many shots I our girl at the park. These days, we visit the playground almost daily. We’ve got a very busy girl on our hands, and she’s not happy unless she can blow off a little steam!

Pretty cute steam, isn’t it?

Getting in touch with our natural side

Ruby + I decided to mix things up and go outdoors to appreciate a little nature in our own backyard – so when the opportunity came up to purchase a parking pass at the El Dorado Park Nature Center at a seriously reduced price, we decided to jump on the opportunity! Even better – our new friends Amber + Nora live nearby and were happy to join us!

Nora is a natural on the rocks and lends a confident hand to Miss Ruby, who is definitely the City Slicker of the two. (Just like her momma)

Amber, besides being an awesome momma + awesome friend, turns out to be an awesome photographer as well! We are looking forward to many more jaunts outdoors with these two!

The Aquarium is always better with friends

We spent a super fun day at the aquarium with The Cahns – Ruby’s friend Olive, and her very cool parents, Kim + Andrew. It was really crowded, but it was still fun to watch these girls have so much fun!