you found us
It’s hard to believe that these 3 girls are now at the age where they’re all playing together and hanging out – just as all of us hoped they would before they were born! This is Ruby, with Berlin + Violet, who are the daughters of some of our very dearest friends. With only 11 months between Berlin (the oldest) and Ruby (the youngest), we hope they’ll grow up to be BFF’s. Our trip to LACMA today was a great start!
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!
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!
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!
First, the girls got wet outside with lots of “spraying” water …
Then, they got more wet splashing in the pools of the Watersheds Exhibit …
They checked out Shark Lagoon …
And even the other sea life.
I caught this cool pic of Ruby in front of the jellyfish (The jellyfish are my favorite to look at).
A bird even landed on my shoulder!
Kim got to feed one, too …
And, Ruby even got to see a dog!
Super fun day – thanks for hanging out, Cahn Family! :)
Oh, Christmas – sometimes its just so hard to recap after such epic events! And epic they were this year … we hosted our 1st annual Christmas Eve Open House (which was super fun by the way), and then we spent an awesome time with all of the Faceys on Christmas Day.
Here are a few highlights!
Because I am a perfectionist, I had to manually apply my fancy holly leaf sprinkles with tweezers to impress my guests at the Open House.
The effort was totally worth it, I think they turned out darling!
Christmas Eve wouldn’t be the same without my mother-in-law’s fabulous salad. I’ve tried to replicate it many times, but it’s just not the same. Spinach, red onions, craisins, blackberries, toasted almond slices, pomegranate arils and a very special vinaigrette are all part of the magic. I must’ve had atleast 3 plates of it!
Great friends showed up to share the evening with us!
Ed’s dad and new Stepmother arrived to celebrate
And even Ruby’s future boyfriend Ollie was there!
Ruby got a new baby doll from Halmoni and lots of other very special gifts from her and Grand-Uncle Wonil
And Uncle Lewis & Aunt Mary got some serious quality time in with Miss Ruby
Finally, it was time for Santa’s newest Elf to get started on gift assembly after the party was over …
Nice work, Daddy!
And here she is … awake on Christmas morning!
I love my chair!
Obsessed with her new toy puppy from Santa Alice at AutoPacific!
Grandma + Papaw even came over in the morning to watch Ruby open her presents. Here she is helping Papaw with one of his
After all of the excitement, Ruby took a morning nap … and Mommy + Daddy got to enjoy a Christmas Morning Mimosa.
That afternoon, we headed over to Grandma + Papaw’s for more food and fun. At my baby shower, my parents gave me a few of my baby dresses that they had been saving over the years for my own daughter to wear one day. One of the dresses was a red velvet one that I had worn on my very 1st Christmas when I was 10 months old. (I need to scan a picture!). Here is Ruby wearing that very same dress 35 years later:
We scored an awesome red Cuisinart dutch oven! Can’t wait to use it!
Ruby with Grandma + Papaw
Eric’s family arrived and we all shared a scrumptious dinner. Mom cooked TWO geese and a ham this year … not to mention all the other traditional family sides!
It was a fantastic year – I love Christmas!
