Happy Father's Day: Father & Son Silhouette Cookies

Father's Day is almost here and I wanted to do something special for one of the best fathers I know, my husband Kevin.  Kevin is an incredible father to James and I am so blessed to have a partner who shares the load and helps so much.  James goes crazy every weekday when he hears the garage go up because he knows that "Dada" is home.

One of James's favorite places in the world is sitting on his Dada's shoulders.  I still remember the first time I saw him up there (the picture on the right).  I was inside "cleaning" (at least that's what I told Kevin I was doing) and I hear a knock at the front door.  I go to answer and I see this adorable, chubby face smiling down at me.

Since then, we have captured several photos of James in that same spot.  One of my favorite pictures of Kevin and James is one taken at his 1st birthday by my friend Krista of Event Identity.  It is the picture on the left above and on the right below.  He just looks so content up there.

I also can't believe it's been a year already since Kevin's first Father's Day, picture on the top right.  James was smitten with his Daddy from the get-go.  I even joked that now was the time that James was supposed to be obsessed with Mommy and that Kevin would get his time later when James got into sports and what-not.  

These beautiful photos were captured by my friend Lynnsay Macey of Lynnsay Macey Photography.  It just melts my heart when I look at these and see the joy in James's eyes. 

Kevin, since James is not yet able to express it to you, I want you to know that he already adores you and can't get enough of spending time with you.  Every day when you get home from work and y'all play outside together is one of his favorite times of the day.  He loves bonding with you and I already see him wanting to be just like you.  You are his hero, his supporter, his mentor, his provider, his biggest fan, his teacher, but most importantly, You are his Dad.  

 
We love you!

 

Happy Birthday, Jack: Pikachu Cookies

Today is my nephew Jack's birthday!
 
I cannot believe that he is 7.  It seems just yesterday I was in my dorm room at A&M jumping up and down in joy as my sister told me she was pregnant.  And I'll never forget getting home late after my trip from Germany and Katie asking me if I wanted to meet him.  Of course! There he was- this perfect little baby.  It was really my first experience with a newborn and I remember being struck by his "frog legs" and it amused me how I could pull one down and it would bounce right back like a spring. I was so awestruck with him and thought it was so unique and special. I now know it is a hallmark of a newborn.
 
Jack is my first nephew and the sweet boy that promoted me to one of my favorite jobs: being Aunt Malu.  I love how sensitive and loving he is.  I love his big brown eyes and his cowlick. I love that he told me I am "a really good artist" after seeing the Pikachu cookies.  I even love that my standard greeting from him nowadays is, "Hi, Aunt Malu, where's Uncle Kevin?" But probably most of all, I love his hugs.  When he asked if I could make cookies for his party and described the exact expression he wanted Pikachu to have, how could I say no?! Once again, I was forced to face my fears of the dreaded character cookies!
 

 

The one of the left is the face Jack described in detail.  He explained the positioning of his ears and said he should have a smile "like this" while demonstrating for me.

 

I hope you have an amazing birthday, Jack! I love you so much!

Happy Birthday, Hudson: Sports Cookies

Today is Hudson's 1st birthday!

Hudson can't 100% understand this yet, but he is one very blessed little man because he has one AMAZING momma, Lynnsay! Lynnsay is an incredibly talented photographer that has taken our family photos several times.  Head over to her blog and check out her work. (His dad, HB, is pretty awesome too... but I only have so much time).

I have known Lynnsay for almost all of my life.  Our relationship is more than just friends, we are really more like sisters.  From attending her family reunions in New Mexico to cheer competitions in Florida to a girls' cruise in the Bahamas and most importantly having our sons within 2 months of each others, we have shared many special memories.

She contacted me about making the cookies for Hudson's big day and said they were doing a sports theme.  We collectively came up with the idea of doing the sports balls on the number one and I am pretty happy with the results!

I hope you have the happiest of birthdays, Hudson.  I can't wait to see the wonderful pictures I know your mommy will post of the big day.  I love you so much and look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays!

Happy Bachelorette, Mandy!

One of my closest friends from college, Mandy, is getting married!
 
Without Mandy, I wouldn't have the group of friends that I was blessed enough to graduate from the best university in the world with, Texas A&M.  I was the shy one and she was the bubbly, outgoing one that helped me come out of my shell and become a part of the coolest group of girls to ever grace the 3rd floor halls of Legett!  I'll never forget when I realized we were in the same Logic class together (yes, I took Logic because it meant avoiding Calculus), and I drummed up the courage to mention it to her when I saw her in the hallway of our dorm.  She was so sweet and said to find her next class and go sit with her.  I was so pumped!  Then, I walked into the classroom and saw her sitting at the very front of the class, and I immediately became a little less excited.  I am not a "front-of-the-classroom" kind of girl.  I'm more of the "find-a-spot-in-the-middle-and-try-to-blend-in," because God forbid I should get called on in class! But from there, a friendship was born and I can honestly say my friendship with Mandy and later the other ladies helped mold who I am who I am today.
 
Her bachelorette party is this weekend and I am so unbelievably excited to not only be reunited with my girls for the first time in awhile, but also to make the cookies for the event!  I chose to make some corsets and then some X-rated cookies that are a little too "PG-13" to be on the blog!

Mandy, I am so happy to help you celebrate one of your last nights of freedom, but I am even happier that you and Chris found each other! I wish you nothing but a lifetime of falling deeper and deeper in love with each other!

I LUFF you!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

My older sister Katie turned the big 3-0 this year. Katie is more than a sister to me; she is my best friend. The older we've gotten, the closer we've grown. We talk daily as she is my shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, and a wealth of great advice from her experiences as a mom of three.

We were best buds from early on.. 

Even back then we knew the importance of getting in our phone conversations. 

Yes, our swimsuits match & yes, I brought a Cabbage Patch Doll to the beach.
In my defense, she did "tan" in the sun. 

Katie was a little anxious about hitting this milestone, so what better to get her excited about it than some sweet treats?

Happiest of birthdays to my wonderful, inspiring, beautiful sister. I look forward to celebrating many, many more with you! I love you!

                                                                        

Beginning of my cookie journey

On February 24, 2012, my son, James, had his 1st birthday.  I immediately turned to Pinterest to set out to give him the best birthday ever.  He is attached to his giraffe “wubbanub” that we affectionately call Travis, so we chose a giraffe theme for the big day.

 

 

 

I previously didn't consider myself an artsy or creative person, but Pinterest has opened up a whole other side of myself. Things that in the past seemed impossible were now within my reach.  I made him a wreath for the front door, time-line garland, cupcakes, smash cake, and even his birthday hat (the shirt was courtesy of Etsy- I know my limits).  :)

Fast-forward to me spending over four hours icing giraffe print onto cookies and I found myself cursing Pinterest and thinking there are some things that should be left to the professionals!  But in those four hours, I found a passion.  Yes- my hand was cramping and my back hurt from bending over, but I loved every minute of it. It was also a huge learning experience that showed me the right icing consistency can make or break your cookies.  At the end of those four hours, I had 40 giraffe print cookies that I was pretty darn proud of!  However, in my haste, I didn't get the best quality pictures.  Another “cookie rookie” learning experience!

Below you can see my first bout at making iced sugar cookies and the start of my big adventure and some other pictures from the big day!

 

 

Home-made party decorations

 

 

For my "good eater", he was not as crazy about the cake as I thought he would be.

                                                                  The Smash Cake

"All right, cupcake, let's do this!"

 

 

                                              Our very blessed and very happy family!