Watermelon Party -1

She just loves watermelon, so we did a “One in a Melon” party. She just loved the balloons and swimming pool.

Watermelon Tie Dye Shirts

I made tie dye shirts for the kids!

Watermelon Shoes

I found a pair of read shoes and added a green stripe with a Sharpie around the base, then I added black seeds!

Watermelon Decorations

Baby girl loves the balloons and points to them everyday for a week after the party!

I made a watermelon banner of monthly photos of Baby!

“One in a Melon”

Watermelon Food

We had lots of watermelon themed foods and candies!

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:

  • 1 Sugar Cookie Dough
  • 1 Marshmallow Cream
  • 1 Cream Cheese
  • strawberries
  • kiwi
  • mini chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. First grease a pizza sheet and place roll out the sugar cookie dough about 1/4 inch thick.
  2. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
  3. Let it completely cool.
  4. Mix together the marshmallow cream and the cream cheese and cover the cookie.
  5. Cut the fruit to small pieces and decorate to look like a watermelon.

Watermelon Cake

I cut off the sides of the watermelon and made stacked the chunks together. Then I added berries with toothpicks.

Watermelon Punch

INGREDIENTS:

  • 14 lb. seedless watermelon
  • 1 and 1/2 cups pineapple juice
  • 1 and 1/2 cups sparkling water

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Cut about one third off the top of your watermelon, then scoop out all the insides from both sides, and save the larger half for your “watermelon bowl”.
  2. Blend the pieces of watermelon in a blender for several minutes to be sure there are no chunks.
  3. Add pineapple juice and sparkling water to the “watermelon bowl” and pour in your strained watermelon juice.
  4. Mix together and chill the punch and bowl in the fridge for about an hour or until ready to serve.

Watermelon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • Red and Green food coloring
  • Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions:

  1. In a bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.
  2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms.
  3. Divide dough into 2 parts and color one part red and one part green with food coloring.
  4. Shape the dough like a watermelon and add mini chocolate chips as the seeds.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  6. Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned and let cool.
  7. Add buttercream icing (see buttercream recipe below) and mini chocolate chips.

Watermelon Cake

I followed the directions on the white cake box, but use the Minute Maid Watermelon juice instead of water and added pink food color. After I mixed up the cake I add the sprinkles to act like the seeds!

Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon milk (if thick)

Directions:

  1. Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
  2. Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
  3. Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.

Watermelon Smash Cake

I made a smaller version of the cake for her smash cake, which she wasn’t too into.

Water Play

I found a watermelon sprinkler blow up pool and added water balloons too. This was a BIG hit with the bigger kids!

Watermelon slip-n-slide fun!

Happy, Happy Birthday to you, Baby Girl!

Baby Book List (9-12 months)

Baby Girl is really starting to enjoy her books. We try to read the same books a few days in a row and leave them out on the table so she can look at them throughout the day too.

Sing Song Rhyming Books

Hokey Pokey Elmo by Abigail Tabby

Mr. Brown can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss

Rainbow Colors Peekaboo! by DK Publishing (Touch and Feel Book)

Five Little Monkeys jumping on the bed by Eileen Christelow

Farm Animal Books

Noisy Farm

My first book of Animals

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Bedtime Books

Why I Love my Mommy by Daniel Howarth

Your Baby’s First Word will be DADA by Jimmy Fallon

Time For Bed by Mem Fox

Good Night Mermaids by Adam Gramble

Adding books to our bedtime routine has helped Baby create a love for books and reading.

11 Month Old Ariel Baby Photos

I chose Disney’s The Little Mermaid  for the July princess because we could take pictures at the beach for future Ariel Photos too. We got a chance to visit the Pacific Ocean this month, so it worked out great.

She wore her baby princess Ariel dress with her pearl earrings. I put her hair a red bow and she went barefooted today.

We went to Seattle and visited the ocean one day so I could take her pictures. I brought a fork and some  sea shells for props that she could play with.

I used my EOS 2000D Canon Rebel Camera to take her princess photos.

Baby Princess Ariel

Psalm 107:29 “He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.”

Baby Toes!


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10 Month Old Moana Baby Photos

I chose Disney’s  Moana  for the June princess because it is such a great summer movie and we could take pictures at the beach in future Moana Photos.

She wore her baby Princess Moana dress with her small gold ball earrings. I put her hair in the Moana princess bow and she went barefooted today.

I made a raft from the side piece of our old chicken coop and then I painted a sail on an old sheet and stapled it to a board. I had some  sea shells and palm leaves for props along with a coconut and flowers.

I used my EOS 2000D Canon Rebel Camera to take her princess photos. I also use my softbox photography lighting and backdrop rod to help.

Baby Princess Ariel

Job 36:33 “His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach.”


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Wings of Fire Nutella Cake -11

My son is crazy about the Wings of Fire book series AND Nutella. He loves dragons so I did my best to make him a dragon on a castle cake!

I made a chocolate cake mix and added a cup of Nutella, I also mixed Nutella into the frosting.

I just used chocolate bars and Nutella Oreo’s to make the castle with chocolate frosting. Then I made the dragon from my marshmallow fondant recipe.

Marshmallow Fondant Recepie

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. Mini Marshmallows
  • 3 TBSP water
  • 2 lbs Powdered Sugar (4 cups)
  • Crisco

Directions:

  1. Grease a large glass bowl with Crisco.
  2. Pour in the marshmallows and water; then microwave at 30- second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted.
  3. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar. Place the red of the powdered sugar in a large bowl of a standing mixer.
  4. Grease the paddle attachment with Crisco and pour in the melted marshmallows on top of the powdered sugar.
  5. Beat until a dough form; there will be a lot of loose bits and sugar in the bottom of the bowl.
  6. Grease a clean work surface with Crisco and dump out the fondant and all the loose bits. Grease your hands liberally with Crisco and knead the mixture together, just like kneading bread, for about 5 minutes until smooth.
  7. Grease hands again as needed. As the fondant becomes smoother, use the reserved powdered sugar to coat the surface to keep it from sticking.
  8. Once smooth, you can divide and color the fondant. While working with one piece, cover the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
  9. When you have your colors finished coat the fondant in a light layer or Crisco; wrap in plastic wrap and place in a large baggie for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
  10. Store at room temperature for several months. To us it, dust the surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll out to 1/8 of an inch.

He is such a sweet, empathetic, brilliant, loving boy!

9 Month Mulan Baby Photos

I chose Disney’s Mulan  for the May princess because I think of Japanese trees with blooming cherry blossoms in May. I think that taking future Mulan pictures with the flowers.

I tried to fashion a Mulan type dress from some clothes that she already had, since I wasn’t able to find a tiny Mulan dress for her! I put her hair in piggy buns and she wore her small gold ball earrings.

I hung a blue curtain as the background and placed a green table cloth on the floor. I found the fans and pink cherry blossom flowers and other props at the local thrift shop.

I used my EOS 2000D Canon Rebel Camera to take her princess photos. I also use my softbox photography lighting and backdrop rod to help.

Baby Princess Mulan

Proverbs 10:25 “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.”


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Or some of her other Baby Photoshoots: