cooking party :: take home treats

One of my favorite parts of party planning is putting together the little take home treats for the guests.  

For the adults we did apples with caramel dip.  

Caramel Apple Dip:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all together until smooth.  Serve with apple wedges (or other fruit also tastes good).  

 Personalized aprons for the little ones...

"Make Your Own Pizza" activity for the little ones...

cooking party :: decorating cookies

For dessert (instead of birthday cake) we had birthday sugar cookies.  I set up a simple "decorate your own cookie bar" with some fun toppings.  

Ready to go!  

 Hudson did great blowing out the candles after the Happy Birthday song.  

Taking his first bites.  

Everyone joining in on the fun.  Yummy!  

cooking party :: food

I couldn't neglect sharing a few pictures of the food.  We kept things simple, yet tasty!  

taste the rainbow...

eat your veggies...

 I was pretty excited about these mini "2 tags" on the beverage bottles.  :)  

Thomas and Hudson enjoying appetizers/waiting patiently for their pizza.  

yummy yummy Pizza Ranch...

Mr. Thomas...

Hungry Hudson...

Silly Evie...

Big Sis Izzy...

cooking party :: gifts

I realize that lots of pictures of Hudson opening gifts is probably not the most interesting thing to look at, but it still felt appropriate to share a few in my sequence of birthday party posts.  An exciting part of every birthday party is the gifts...right?!  Hudson was so blessed by the generosity of so many.  Lots of fun new toys to use, enjoy, grow into and encourage him as he learns and develops.  Thanks everyone!  We are blessed by you!  

Hudson totally had this opening gifts thing DOWN!  

A picnic table will be perfect for when we have friends over this summer.  

Evie and Izzy were excited to help with the gift opening.  

Thomas knows I love puzzles.  

Hugs after every gift to say thank you.  

So cool!  

"Now I just need to fill up my grocery cart with lots of fruits and veggies so I can get busy cooking."

And one more gift (which Mommy and Daddy saved until Sunday, his actual birthday)...

So fun!  Perfect for our little chef!  :)  

cooking party :: pop quiz

For Hudson's 1st birthday party I made a "Pop Quiz" for guests to take, seeing how well they knew the birthday boy (grandparents obviously have an advantage here).  It was so much fun that I decided to do it again this year, calling it the "Master Chef" Pop Quiz.  How well do you know "Chef Hudson?"  

1.  What are "Master Chefs" favorite foods?

*eggs, mashed potatoes & lettuce

*bananas, squash & spaghetti

*green beans, bread & yogurt

2.  What are Hudson's favorite things to play?

*trucks, blocks, wrestling & dancing

*cooking, reading, farming & puzzles

*finger painting, trains, puppets & Mr. Potato Head

3.  What are Hudson's favorite times of the day?

*story time, play time & washing hands

*tubby time, bedtime & diaper changes

*breakfast, lunch, snack & dinner

4.  What was Hudson's first word?

*hi

*ball

*milk

5.  Who is Hudson's favorite stuffed animal?

*Curious George

*Sponge Bob

*Elmo

6.  What exciting "firsts" happened during Chef Hudson's 2nd year?  

*becoming a cousin to Clara

*day at the Iowa State Fair

*attending Kindermusik class

7.  What one word would you use to describe "Master Chef," Hudson John?

8.  Hudson is done with the paci.  True or False

9.  Hudson thinks Daddy is the BEST (better than Mommy)!  True or False

10.  Hudson has been to the dentist.  True or False

11.  Hudson was prescribed medicine _____ times for being sick during his 2nd year.  

Answers:

1.  bananas, squash & spaghetti

2.  cooking, reading, farming & puzzles

3.  breakfast, lunch, snack & dinner

4.  ball

5.  Elmo

6.  all of them

7.  :)  

8.  False (still at bedtime)

9.  True

10.  True

11.  0

cooking party :: kids time

Since Hudson turned two he invited his two best friends to the party, Thomas and Evie (plus Evie's big sis Izzy of course).  I wanted to plan a little something special for the kids to enjoy and participate in.  After the little ones were given the gift of a personalized apron we headed downstairs for some cooking fun.  I had pots and mixing spoons ready, along with some songs about cooking vegetable soup.  We pretended and did lots of cooking and tasting together.  After that everyone "made-a-meal."  With the help of place mats and lots of food stickers, the kids (and a few adults) had a blast preparing their own plate of food.  So yummy and so fun!  

cooking party :: guests

On the next post I wanted to feature all of the special guests who were able to attend.  We missed a few family members and friends (Uncle Ryan, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jenna, Cousin Clara, Farah, Afifa and the Wurpts family) but we were grateful for everyone else who was able to join the celebration.  

Honestly, I'm still a bit shocked that everyone was such a good sport about wearing aprons for the cooking party.  It made for some great pictures though.  :)  

Grateful for these amazing friends and family members that God has richly blessed us with.  Love you all!   

Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman and Mr. and Mrs. Swinger

Hudson welcomed Papa Ed with a hug.  

Chef Evie

 

Papa Ed's outfit was certainly my favorite.  

GG Ells, Auntie Lynn and Mr. Jacy

Shannon and Nate

Allison, Chef Thomas and Nic

Aunt Angela came all the way from Colorado for the birthday weekend.  

3 beautiful Brott girls

Bapa Rog and Mimi B.

Papa Ed and Nana Sue

1000 times grateful for these two beautiful women in my life, Emily and Allison

Our only family picture from the party.  :(