Emma Marie.
My neighbor has been expecting a sweet baby girl, and I've been excited for them to have their first baby. They are a darling young couple, and her husband is in Security Forces as well. From the moment they knew they were having a girl, they had the name settled, and the nursery was completed weeks ago. It's been so fun to welcome a sweet bundle into her spunky, lime-and-pink new life!
Tanya had a baby shower about a month ago, and I was so excited to be able to pick out a "fun" gift. You see, she'd already had two showers down in Georgia (where she's from), so she had the basics and necessities covered. As such, I had this necklace custom-designed for her to match her nursery, and she loved it. The details were perfect, and everything was in a perfect green-and-pink theme. I'd offered to help in any way possible, and she took me up on it: she asked me to make the cake or cupcakes.
Well. That was too easy, and I can't leave "well enough" alone, of course. So I began a separate project, too. Philip actually was a big piece of this surprise, as he called me one day (this was while he was in West Virginia visiting his father and family) to tell me that he'd gone to a craft store and picked up some baby cookie-cutters, knowing I didn't have any...
And then I made these:
Ducky Cookies.
The thought of trying to make the little duckies in either pink or green was just too bizarre. I went out on a limb in giving them purple candy eyes, and that was far enough. I did stick to her theme with the remaining baby carriage and bottle cookie-cutters. :-)
Lastly, I did also make two dozen of the originally requested cupcakes, tinting the frosting to match her colors:
Vanilla cake with buttercream frosting.
I spent a lot of extra time cooking last week, and I made them enough meals for their freezer to last them about ten days or so. I also mixed up a bunch of oatmeal "lactation" cookies and froze the dough in bites for Tanya to bake up whenever she needed. I think their freezer is fairly well-stocked for now!
Now, little Miss Emma was born late Tuesday night. She is just a doll, but she had an infection and originally wouldn't be allowed to go home until Friday. As of today, however, the situation has changed, and she is now not set to be discharged until Monday. Her mama, though, was "kicked out" of the hospital today. She had a terrible, horrible labor, and now her heart is just broken into pieces, having to leave her sweet girl behind at the hospital. If you would offer up any good thoughts or prayers for this precious family, it would be appreciated. :-)
Tanya had a baby shower about a month ago, and I was so excited to be able to pick out a "fun" gift. You see, she'd already had two showers down in Georgia (where she's from), so she had the basics and necessities covered. As such, I had this necklace custom-designed for her to match her nursery, and she loved it. The details were perfect, and everything was in a perfect green-and-pink theme. I'd offered to help in any way possible, and she took me up on it: she asked me to make the cake or cupcakes.
Well. That was too easy, and I can't leave "well enough" alone, of course. So I began a separate project, too. Philip actually was a big piece of this surprise, as he called me one day (this was while he was in West Virginia visiting his father and family) to tell me that he'd gone to a craft store and picked up some baby cookie-cutters, knowing I didn't have any...
And then I made these:
Ducky Cookies.
The thought of trying to make the little duckies in either pink or green was just too bizarre. I went out on a limb in giving them purple candy eyes, and that was far enough. I did stick to her theme with the remaining baby carriage and bottle cookie-cutters. :-)
Lastly, I did also make two dozen of the originally requested cupcakes, tinting the frosting to match her colors:
Vanilla cake with buttercream frosting.
I spent a lot of extra time cooking last week, and I made them enough meals for their freezer to last them about ten days or so. I also mixed up a bunch of oatmeal "lactation" cookies and froze the dough in bites for Tanya to bake up whenever she needed. I think their freezer is fairly well-stocked for now!
Now, little Miss Emma was born late Tuesday night. She is just a doll, but she had an infection and originally wouldn't be allowed to go home until Friday. As of today, however, the situation has changed, and she is now not set to be discharged until Monday. Her mama, though, was "kicked out" of the hospital today. She had a terrible, horrible labor, and now her heart is just broken into pieces, having to leave her sweet girl behind at the hospital. If you would offer up any good thoughts or prayers for this precious family, it would be appreciated. :-)