This past Sunday we celebrated Sofia and Emma’s first birthday. It was a lovely day spent with friends and family. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate as we had hoped. It was cloudy, windy and cold, but we managed to spend 80% of the time in our backyard.

yummy homemade snacks

I made homemade diamond cheese crackers as a substitute to Gold Fish Crackers. I prefer them not double baked.

fruit salad

smarties

The Zucchini Bread featured behind the smarties turned out to be moist and uber delicious. You should try it (note: I omitted the nuts)

ZUCCHINI BREAD    350F

Combine
3 eggs
2 1/2cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup oil

Sift together
3 cups flour
1/4tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg

Add dry ingredients to the wet ones.
Add    1/2cup chopped walnuts
2 cups grated zucchini
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans
Cook 1 hour.
Freezes well.

It was no surprise that Emma and Sofia loved their sugary treat. They wanted to eat the carrot cake by the fist full.

I had hoped to have better pictures of the two of them but these are all I managed to take. Enjoy.

Related posts:

1. they’re turning one!
2. today i’m grateful for…
3. a father’s love

I know I keep coming back to this idea but I’m amazed at how quickly time passes when you become a mama. Sofia and Emma turn 1 September 3rd. We decided to celebrate earlier to avoid the long weekend rush. Most of our friends plan to be away for Labour Day weekend. The birthday party will take place in our backyard August 30th.

I spent the afternoon baking with my mother-in-law in preparation for the big day. She has a wonderful array of recipes and we baked two loafs of zucchini bread and some Collins’ famous cheese cookies. Here is the recipe for the cheese cookie. They’re savoury and delicious.

Preheat oven to 350 F

1/2 cup butter

1/2 lb imperial cheese

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

2 cups Rice Krispies

Preparation-

Cream butter and cheese. Add the rest. Mix well. Drop by the teaspoon on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 F.

Serve warm or cold. Freezes well.

This recipe made about six dozen cookies.

We are headed back to the city tomorrow to prepare some more for the festivities. I’m really excited about the cake. It’s going to be big, Emma and Sofia will each have their own part and it will be colourful. Are you intrigued? Well, my in-laws are creating somewhat of a master piece. My mother-in-law has taken cake decorating courses and my father-in-law designed and sketched the cake.  I will reveal the end result by posting lots of birthday party pics later this month.

I need your help. Any wonderfully creative ideas for the loot bags? If your wondering what my theme is I guess it would be “fun in the sun.”

Related posts:

1. birthday party