Wilton Cake Decorating Course--Course 1

I am excited to announce that I'm taking cake decorating courses! I was at my local Hobby Lobby and I saw a sign that cake decorating courses for the month of August were 50% off. I found out they are $17.50 (normally $35) and decided to sign up for them. My courses are on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 PM in the classroom portion of Hobby Lobby. I live 5 miles away from the store so it's super easy to get to. John comes home from work at 5:20, we eat dinner together, and then I head off!

This week we learned about the essentials of cake decorating, such as the "perfect" recipe for buttercream frosting (there are 3 consistencies--stiff, medium, and thin) and all of the tools needed to decorate the cake. We received a FREE course booklet. I had to purchase a Course 1 student kit (about $25 but they gave me a 40% coupon so it costed $15) that has decorating tips, decorating bags, a flower nail (for making the Wilton rose) decorating brushes, and a practice board. I also purchased an 18" featherweight decorating bag with a large tip for frosting a cake easily. No more cake crumbs in the frosting once I use this!

All I really need now are some more gel-based food coloring (traditional food coloring does not work as well) and a turn-table.

Next week for class I have to bring in an 8" round frosted cake to class, as we are making a rainbow cake with star flowers.

I'll post photos too!

FINALLY. A tooth.

Lauren finally cut her first tooth last week. Seriously...the girl (I mean infant) is 9.75 months old and up to last week, hasn't had any activity happening. One day she kinda had some diaper issues (TMI so I won't spare you the details) and was cranky. I have been prying her mouth open on every opportunity to see her gums and I was pleasantly suprised to see a tooth!

Overall, she's adapting to her new white tooth just fine. She no longer needs a bib since her drool is under control. Plus I can usually keep her in the same dress/outfit all day since she's not spitting up at all anymore. (Our laundry has gone down dramatically.)

Keep on teething Little One! Excited to start brushing your teeth soon!

Great holiday weekend!

Our family had a wonderful holiday weekend. It was full of sunshine and many walks around our neighborhood. Lauren loves to look at the dogs and has so much fun eating her popsicle. (aka frozen strawberries in a mesh feeder)

Lauren is doing very well. We installed a ceiling fan in her room last night to circulate more air since her crib is right over her vent. She loves to look at the movement and can stare at it for hours!

Lauren is crawling around sooo much and she's really booking it! She'll go room to room in a matter of seconds. She loves her cats Coon and Koko and always is crawling after them.

This week we have lots of playdates scheduled and even a mom's night out too!

We are truly enjoying our summer together, swimming in the pool and are looking forward to swimming at Grandma and Grandpa Little's pool too this week! Lauren just loves the water and swimming in her lady bug raft.

9 months

Our little Lauren is 9 months! I can't believe how fast time flies. She is really enjoying the heat by swimming in her new pool. We bought her a fuschia pink swimsuit from Gymboree adorned with ruffles and a built-in diaper cover. (We still use a diaper on her though!!) Lauren loves splashing in the water and kicking her toes.



As for me, life is really really good. I never thought I'd thoroughly enjoy staying at home. I really do. It was a blessing in disguise. Every evening dinner is ready for John when he gets home. The bathrooms are always clean and the living room and bedrooms are clutterless. I think that by having me stay at home it has helped our lives as we are relaxed and comfortable. None of this "racing around trying to get everything done". When John is at work and LL is napping, I am usually cleaning the kitchen counters, dusting, folding and putting away laundry. Then when my daily chore(s) is/are complete, I have time to get on the computer and surf the internet. (Always with a hot vanilla latte in hand!)

Life really is great to me and our family. I am a member of two great mom's groups and we have so much fun going on outings with the little ones. Lauren has made some great friends and so have I.

Lots of baby stuff.

Wow. We have sooo much stuff that Lauren has outgrown already. Swing? Check. Pink bath tub? Check. Pink Boppy chair? Check. I am in a quandry as to what to do with it since I would hate to store it and never use it again but I'd hate to sell it. So off into storage tupperware containers it goes. (And those HUGE storage containers are not cheap!)

As for development, Lauren is learning to pull up and stand. She loves to stand with her hands on the couch. She's soo proud! And she loves to read and eat paper. I caught her with my old Glamour magazine yesterday in the office. Such a cutie.

8 Months Already

I honestly can't believe how fast Lauren is growing. The time is whizzing by. She loves crawling from room to room and exploring. Her favorite toys right now are the remote control and Mom's cell phone. Go figure. (Note to self--continue to buy toys at rummage sales for pennies on the dollar since she only plays with them for about 3 minutes and then it's time for the remote...)

She is looking like a little lady each and every day.

We love our play group that we go to every week. It's a bunch of moms in the Brook Farms subdivision. We go to parks and it's so much fun!

The Little Gym

Yesterday Lauren and I visited The Little Gym in Appleton. It was super fun. The classes are for 4-10 month olds. She was a "bug" and had so much fun with the parachute, the bubbles, and the balance beam. We are working on improving her arm strength as she's crawling but sometimes stops because her arms aren't strong enough yet.

It was so cute on the way home; she was super tired! Her head hung from her shoulders in pure exhaustion. I wish I would have had a photo of it!