7 Quick Takes, Vol. 42: First Birthday Edition

Thanks for hosting, Jen!

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Emily and Erin turned one this week! That's definitely the headline - our girls are officially a year old. They are such a blessing in our life, each and every day. We had lots of fun celebrating their birthday with our families last night.

Erin (L) and Emily, waiting for cake.

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I made their cake myself. I think it turned out pretty cute! I found the circus cake idea in a vintage kids' cookbook years ago, and I finally got to try it out. We had vanilla ice cream with it (thanks Grandma!).

We had cupcakes too, mainly because Emily and Erin aren't quite old enough for a whole piece of cake yet. We wanted each girl to have their own little cake with a candle, so cupcakes seemed like the perfect solution! I made them from the same confetti cake mix as the big cake, but I used smaller, more baby-friendly sprinkles on the frosting. 

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Erin (top) and Emily, enjoying their cupcakes. 

The girls didn't quite dive into the cake like I expected. Actually, I'm not sure what I expected. They each gave it a good taste - Erin had a few more bites than Emily - but they seemed much more enthusiastic about the graham crackers Grandma offered afterwards. I guess I can't really complain about kiddos who prefer healthy food! Emily definitely enjoyed smearing the frosting around and making a mess with it. It was a very fun evening overall, and we all slept well last night.

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I came up with a great idea for Dan's homemade Father's Day present (even better than the $5 barbecue grill!), and I even had time to write a DIY blog post on how to make your own Jar of Awesome. If you're looking for a good, budget-friendly anniversary or birthday present, I definitely recommend this!

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Speaking of budget-friendly, we're really working on the grocery budget. It's hard - food costs money! There really isn't a way around that, either. I mean, there are ways to save money, such as coupons and buying in bulk, but at a certain point, you just can't save much more. I was really relieved to see a document that talked about food costs for families - while I'd love to go to the store and get a lot for a little, maybe there are better things to stress over. We're doing fine according to this!

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I was over at Fine Linen and Purple this past week, writing about building a postpartum wardrobe (link just in case you missed it!) and sharing my favorite postpartum clothes and outfits. And more love for all the new mamas out there: Katie wrote a fantastic post today about loving her postpartum body for what it does, not how it looks. She's got it right, and it's definitely worth a read!

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Today is the first official day of summer. It's been cooler and rainy this week - definitely not hot summer weather - but school got out this week and the neighborhood kids have been playing in the park during day, so it really feels like summer. The weather will catch up soon enough.

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