Preschool Graduation

And just like that my boy is all grown up.

I won't lie, when they played the graduation march and Austin and Izaac came out holding hands leading their classmates into the room I teared up.I thought I was capturing the whole thing on video... turns out I didn't. So I have the imagine om my mind and I can't share it with you. Trust me, it was adorable!  It's hard to believe he is ready to go to Kindergarten (or Primary as they call it here on the mainland )

Austin has been attending the preschool program through HRM Recreation and I cannot say enough good things about his teachers and how special they make each and every day for these kids. Pat, Sandra and Lana have been teaching Austin for two years. They have helped him learn to write, read, do math and have directed his enthusiasm into creative projects. They have helped him adjust to life as a big brother and taught him so many wonderful things about life and how much fun learning can be. I don't know who will miss the ladies more Austin or me!!

Proudly accepting his diploma

Thanks Pat, Sandra and Lana! You've made a huge impact on our little family.

A Milk & Cookies Party

I had thought of hosting a milk and cookies party for Amelia's first birthday but then decided on a "Look Whoooo's One" theme...that didn't go as planned. The baker forgot to make her cake and it was the center piece of the whole event. The party went well, Amelia and our family and friends had a great time, but I was devastated that the cake wasn't right.

This year I started planing well in advance to ensure that I avoided all the last minute rushing and forgotten details of the previous year. I decided to keep it simple and a Milk and Cookies party was the way to go! Because clearly this girl loves her malk (milk)!

I spent the week and a bit before the party baking cookies. Cookies freeze so well and thaw quickly so it allows you to get the most time consuming part over in advance. Austin and Amelia "helped" me and I have to admit the extra flour on the floor and the smiles on their faces made the mess worth it!

The decor was pretty simple. I had planned to decorate the backyard but since it was raining and we had to change our plans, I had more than enough decor. It looked like a pink bubble exploded in our home (Miss A LOVES her "pik".

I visited my favorite sites and baked up the following:

1. Kraft Peanut Butter cookies
2. Oatmeal Raisin cookies
3. Homemade Oreos (heart shaped of course!)
4. Chocolate Chip cookies
5. Sugar Cookies
6. Chocolate Sugar Cookies
7. Turtle cookies
8. Cookie Popcorn
9. Monster Cookie Dip

Amelia's cake was a simple chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. Four layers of cake, pink frosting and sugar cookie details. Simple, easy and delicious!

I have been decorating cakes and cookies for awhile but I really wanted to make the sugar cookies the star of the sweet table. I recently found a great website where I was able to find cookie cutters at unbelievable prices! Shipping was fast (and free! coming from the States that is virtually unheard of these days). Cheap Cookie Cutters even responded to my tweets. I'm pretty impressed and have another order going in soon. (and no they did not pay me to say any of that...I wish I got paid to blog.)

Once I had the cutters, I searched for the perfect recipes. I found them on Sweetopia. This very talented Canadian momma not only had great tutorials and recipes but she also answered my questions when I tweeted her. I am amazed at what Marian can do with royal icing! (Check out her Kitchen Aid cookies...I feel like I might want to tackle them next.)

I had seen some really cute paper decor on Pinterest and I tracked it down through Etsy. It was inexpensive and with a few Photoshop edits everything was ready for the party.

Vintage milk jugs were a find at Winners

The rain didn't damped our fun! Amelia had a great time playing with her friends and was so captivated by the Cinderella lego that my sister gave her that we had the bring the birthday cake to her! So much about that day was perfect, from Amelia running around in her diaper stealing "cookcook"s from the table to her squeals of delight when I put the cake on the table. My kids were happy and my sister was here to share in the celebration. It was an awesome day.