eleanor is nine!

today we celebrated eleanor's ninth birthday! last year's theme was toy story and this year it was trolls ... 1990 style. it was a really sweet day. 

showing rufus her new gremlin doll. they are obsessed with that movie right now.

 
her cousins and friend from school brought their american girl dolls to the party, so of course eleanor placed little plates, forks, cups and pitchers of lemonade on the table for them. they also made teeny t-shirts for their dolls.

gramma is teaching him how to blow bubbles.

today she got new roller skates, tomorrow we are going ice skating. 

this may be my new favorite photo of her.

i always find the messy table after the party so lovely. a beautiful sign of a happy time. xo.

the most random blog post ever

some new things around here and a recipe for a lavender tea honey cake that i made this afternoon:

1. eleanor is now a third grader. a very hungry third grader.
2. i made a cake today and it was so good ... recipe below.
3. rufus is just so joyful all the time.
4. wolfgang is typically bare bummed these days because we are potty training. it's going okay. he is also very hungry.
5. we got a kitten two months ago. her name is pam. princess pam.
6. my dad made a clothesline just like the one we had when i was little and i love it.
7. have i mentioned how fabulous a mobile rufus is?
8. we got some new rugs this summer. one is from ecarpetgallery ... and i am so happy with it.
9. my boys have been taking naps together lately and it's just so friggin precious.

lavender tea cake with honey drizzle

1. preheat oven to 350. grease and flour a bundt pan. 
2. in a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon loose tea and 2 tablespoons lavender to a simmer. (do not boil) ... and then let cool. use a strainer to remove leaves. set lavender milk aside.
3. cream together 1 cup sugar with 6 tablespoons softened butter. add 2 eggs and blend again. 
4. in a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour , 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and pinch of salt. 
5. slowly add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture. alternate .. ending with milk. 
6. pour into the pan and bake until a toothpick comes clean. about 35-40 mins, i think. 
7. serve warm. drizzle some honey on top. so, so good with a cup of coffee. it's the perfect breakfast cake.  

happy first birthday, rufus otto!

i seriously haven't blogged in months, so it feels a little unfamiliar to be here right now! ... but i am also glad to be here and think i might stick around for a while. 

anyway, rufus turned one years old on august tenth .. like, how? it just seems like yesterday that he was a fresh smelling babe in my arms. all the cliche mom feelings are happening to me ... all of them. 

as some of you may know, i freaking love birthday parties. i love the planning and prepping and making lists and the trip to the party supply store .. i just love it all. usually everyone in the family comes, even arick's sister drives in from missouri. it always feels amazing being together for a few hours and celebrating my babies. 

for ru's first birthday i decided to go with a chicken and pie theme ... but ironically there weren't any chicken pot pies. we had hotdogs. .. and pasta salad. and coleslaw. and chips. and watermelon. and lemonade. all things summer, basically. it was perfect. 

we love you, rufus. rusie. ru tang. rufio. happy birthday, baby boy. 

arick's mom bought him the big chicken. it cracks us up. 

my mom's friend made the chicken cookies ... so cute.

my dad. his papaw.

cousins.