Our girl is officially one year old! I know everyone says time flies, and it definitely does. But when I look back over the past year and think of everything she’s learned and how much she’s grown, it feels like it has to have been a year.
It’s amazing to watch a human grow.
We celebrated with a big pizza party with Matt’s and my families. It was really special–and also completely overwhelming. So many people. So many presents. So much food. We ended up delaying Ellie’s final tractor picture to the day after her birthday because it felt like we were trying to do too much. But I managed to finish a tractor cake for the big day–after Matt did an emergency run back to the grocery store for more icing sugar.
Our other excitement this month came courtesy of Baxter. He met up with someone or something in the woods and came home with a few gashes. One on his neck ended up needing stitches. He was not happy with his vet visit–nor the haircuts that were needed for his IV and to assess his various wounds. But we are happy that his injuries were relatively minor, that we have an amazing, kind, caring, gentle, skilled, generous team at our vet, and most of all that he’s home safe. He’s now on leash any time he’s outside, especially since he is completely fixated on the woods, apparently looking for a rematch.
And now on to some of the inspiration I’ve come across over the last month:
- Jen at Rambling Renovators has amazing style, and she is going behind the scenes, sharing her process of how to decorate a room. She shared how to start and how to layout the furniture. Bonus, she’s updating her daughter’s room, which is a super fun project… not that I’m planning Ellie’s tween bedroom yet… much.
- A reminder to not get stuck in our to-do lists and make time for family and fun
- I’ve never made macaroni from scratch. But I’m trying to find an alternative to Matt’s favourite Kraft Dinner. I had high hopes for this vegan version (Chloe’s recipes have great flavours), but it was not a hit. Deb’s endorsement of Martha’s (non-vegan) version is making me think it’s the way to go. Any suggestions of how to get the flavour of KD with more real ingredients?
- “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Inspiration from Arthur Ashe via Thelma Golden in In The Company of Women by Grace Bonney.
Home on 129 Acres 
Happy Birthday Ellie!! What a big girl you are!
Oh you, Baxter. Please don’t give Julia and Matt another scare like that. I am so glad he is on the mend.
Thanks for your good wishes, Sarah.
Poor Baxter! I’m glad his injuries were not too serious. And happy birthday to Ellie!! I’ve heard that a person grows and learns more in their first year than in any other year of life. From being completely helpless, they are well on the way to walking and talking by the end of that year. Everything else is just fine tuning after that. 😉
It’s so incredible to see her grow (literally) and learn. She had her one-year check up at the doctor yesterday, and she’s off the chart for her height! Matt joked that she’ll be taller than me in a few months.
Maybe she takes after Matt that way. Often they do stay at the same percentile throughout the years.
I forgot to say, the tractor cake is cute and clever!
She’s very much her daddy in most of her traits.
Happy Birthday Ellie!
That Martha Mac and Cheese is the only recipe I ever use now. It’s pretty quick to prepare, and the sauce is perfectly cheesy. However, I do not think it tastes like Kraft (especially because it uses nutmeg… which I love), so a quick warning there. I do think you should still try it though because it is delicious. It also makes a huge serving, so if you’re not sure you’ll like it, I’d probably halve it.
I made it tonight! You’re right, it was not super difficult and came together quicker than I expected. It was so, so cheesy. Good flavour. I liked that I knew I was eating real food (I can’t stomach powdered cheese). I did cut the recipe in half, and we have more than enough for a few meals!
Happy birthday, Ellie! That cake looks amazing! And Baxter, yikes, I’m so glad he’s OK. What kind of animal do you think that was?
You’ll be getting a post about Bax’s adventure soon. We think it was most likely a coyote–could have been so, so much worse.
Celebrating the publication of my newest book, Piece by Piece.
http://www.carolynwilker.ca
Congrats, Carolyn!