Time to Smash

This day went as quickly as it came. And while I don't know what the future may bring, as of right now Peanut is my last baby, and this was the last first cake. It was not the prettiest cake, the buttercream made from scratch, the cake from a box, but it was all his. At first he wasn't sure, but it didn't take long for him to dive in. While our family and friends enjoyed their cupcakes, Peanut went face first into his cake.

Of all the ways to spend our birthday, this small party with the focus on this cake "ceremony" was perfect.

And while technically this is the last of the Rookie Mom Challenges, I might still go back and try a few of the many that I missed.

Making More Than Cookies

As I was going through my life list, I came across a few that I can already cross off. One was making cookies for Santa.

I love baking and was really looking forward to when Munchkin (and eventually Peanut) was old enough to bake cookies for Santa with me. While last year he possibly would have been able to assist, I was too sick to do anything. This year, the two of us made cookies.

We started a new tradition, and headed up to my in-laws' much nicer kitchen. We didn't make everything that I had originally planned, I decided to keep it simple and not push him beyond what he found to be fun. And he did have fun, he loved dumping in the ingredients, mixing with both a spoon and the hand mixer and getting to roll the dough into balls. After they were done cooking, he loved sharing the cookies with the entire family, and we had to hold some back so that there would be some for Santa.

I cannot wait to do this again next year, with another helper.

Moving Past Buckets

A few years ago, I wrote a bucket list. I thought long and hard about my list, struggling to get to 100 items and then rarely looked at it again. Then a few months ago, a friend posted about her experience in creating a life list. I like that much better, a list of life goals which focuses more on living than on the end. Karen from Chookooloonks I believe said it best:

Your life list isn't a "must do before I die" list, it's a list to help remind you as you're going through life, when opportunity comes knocking (and really, it's surprising how often it will come knocking), you should go ahead and give it a go. It's a list to look at when you find yourself somewhat bored, or needing a little jolt, so you can pick something to try to do. It's a list that, when you're old, you'll look at it and think, "Wow. Look at all the cool things I attempted in my life";

So I'm updating my bucket list with a life list, and one that I plan to grow.