Mommy Mondays: Blakely Hope's Half Birthday

Yesterday, our sweet BB turned three and a half!  It is a tradition in our house to always celebrate half birthdays!  I mean any reason to celebrate, right?!?!  Her half birthday also happens to fall on Our Wedding Anniversary!  So John and I went on a day date and then came home and sang "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and had cake with everyone!

Now they are both "half" ages!
Three and a Half
and
Four and a Half!


Three and a half is the age we have been telling Blakely she can get rid of the crib and have a big girl bed like Lacie (which really just means taking the front bars off the crib and replacing them with a guard rail.  We shall see how that transition goes...I'm one of those #cribforlife Mamas!


Three and a Half candles for the Half Birthday Girl!


Enjoying her sister's cake!

Paisley waiting patiently for her own piece of cake!


I made a collage of Blakely Hope on each of her half birthdays so far!  It's amazing how much change happens from year to year!



Come back later this week to get the recipe for this amazing Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake!
 

Mommy Mondays: Lacie's Half Birthday

In the Hilosky House, we celebrate HALF BIRTHDAYS!!!

And my oldest baby, Lacie Jane, turned four and a half on Friday! 

4 1/2

Crazy.

We always celebrate by singing "Happy Half Birthday" and having a special dessert!  Nothing big.  Just fun and simple.  I hope they will always remember that we had this fun tradition while they were growing up!

Friday was actually a SUPER CRAZY day for us.  Lacie had preschool, lunch bunch, and dance class.  So we didn't get to really celebrate but she did get 4 1/2 cookies with whipped cream!

On Saturday we really celebrated with Double Chocolate Neiman Marcus Bars (recipe coming tomorrow) and candles! 

And now I must take the mandatory trip down memory lane to remember all of Lacie's half birthdays! 

4 1/2

3 1/2

2 1/2

1 1/2

The first 1/2 birthday!

6 months! 

Happy Third Birthday Lacie Jane

Yesterday, my sweet little LacieBug turned three years old!  I still have a hard time believing that I have a 3 year old!  We planned a very special but still simple birthday celebration for her that began as soon as she woke up!

We woke Lacie up right before 8am and got this happy birthday girl face!!!  And yes at 3 years old she is still in her crib!  Lacie loves her crib and I plan to keep her in there forever and ever as long as I can! 

Then there was some gift opening by the birthday girl with an assist from Blakely! 

 Breakfast was the birthday girl's choice...homemade Belgian Waffles!  These are the same waffles that I make on Christmas Morning every year!

YUM!!!!

After breakfast it was off to Sesame Place super early in order to beat the crowds!  We rode tons of rides!  This was my favorite moment!  Sisters deciding to hold hands on the carousel!  We stayed for about 2 hours before heading home to eat a healthy lunch and take a nice 2 hour nap! 

After nap, we got dressed in our party clothes!  I can't believe how big and grown up my little Lacie is and how fast three years have gone by! 

Then I tried to get a nice picture of the girls sitting together.  If you have ever tried to photograph a 3 and almost 2 year old you know how it went.  This was the best picture I got!  

But then I captured this sweet moment!  These girls are just the best sisters and friends!  I am one blessed Mama! 

After pictures, all 4 Grandparents along with Uncle Matt and Aunt Laura came over to celebrate.  Lacie requested Eggplant Pizza for dinner and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for dessert.  Of course she wanted Little Mermaid plates! 

She also wanted to wear her Little Mermaid crown! 

So happy! The red velvet whoopie pie recipe along with the blue cookie recipe will be coming soon! 

After dinner and singing and dessert, we got down to the business of opening more birthday gifts!  Lacie was a very lucky girl and got everything she had been asking for!  She super spoiled by everyone who loves her on this special day!  

Blakely's Half Birthday

Last Thursday, our sweet Blakely Hope turned 1 1/2!  And of course, we always make it a point celebrate half birthdays in the Hilosky House!  Blakely's half birthday also happens to be the same day as John and my wedding anniversary!  We got to celebrate 5 years of amazing wedded bliss!  It was a pretty special day all around!

We always celebrate half birthdays with a half cake!  I simply make this by baking a box cake mix in two 9-inch round pans!  I cut each circle in half and pile three of the halves on top of one another to make a half cake.  If I used all 4 halves, it would be too tall.  For this particular cake, I used Funfetti Cake Mix and my Homemade Buttercream Icing!  Click HERE for the recipe!

Opening her half birthday gift with a little assist from Lacie!  We always get the girls a small gift on their half birthdays!  Nothing big, just something to make the day extra fun.  Blakely got a book! 

Let's Look Back at Blakely's First Half Birthday!!!

Look at this little 6 month old cutie!  I cannot believe how tiny she was and how much she has changed in just one short year! 

Her 1/2 birthday cake!  This cake was strawberry with the same Buttercream Icing on it! 

Daddy and Sweet B!

Me and my girl! 

If you want to read about Lacie Jane's half birthday you can find that post HERE! 

Mommy Mondays - Lacie Jane's Half Birthday

I cannot believe how grown up my little girl is! 

Last Wednesday, my sweet little Lacie Jane - my first baby - turned 2 1/2!  I know that some people may feel this isn't a real "thing," but in the Hilosky house we will always always always celebrate half birthdays!  I mean why not?  Everyone loves birthdays and who doesn't need an excuse to eat more cake!  Plus, I think it's a fun and sweet family tradition that can be passed down!  We don't "go big" or spend a lot of money for half birthdays!  I make a half cake and we sing "Happy Half Birthday."  We also give small presents!  This year (and last year) Lacie received two books!

The Half Cake

So I must admit, I found this idea on Pinterest!  You make a half cake for a half birthday!  I made a Strawberry box mix cake in 2 circle pans.  I cut each cake circle in half.  I piled 3 out of the four halves up to create this half cake!  I filled and topped it with my homemade buttercream icing!  Simple, cute, and delicious! 

Here is a peak of what the inside of the cake looked like!  Now like I mentioned I only used three out of the four halves.  You could use all four, but I feel like that is too tall.  You could also use only one circle pan to bake your cake, which would leave you with two larger layers of cake!  It's totally your preference! 

 Lacie loved listening to everyone sing "Happy Half Birthday" to her!  She felt very special, which of course is the whole idea behind half birthday celebrations! 

Lacie opening her present! 

Celebrating half birthdays for Lacie and Blakely will always be a tradition that we do in our house!  Here's a look back at Lacie's other half birthdays! 

The Very First Half Birthday Celebration!

Lacie and Mommy!  She was 6 months old! 

Daddy and Lacie!  I love this picture because it really shows you how tiny she was! 

Lacie with her tower of red velvet cupcakes!  Of course at the first half birthday celebration, the baby doesn't really get to enjoy the cake!  This was also before I found the idea of making a half cake for a half birthday!  She was so little and didn't understand what was going on, but she really enjoyed everyone singing to her! 

Fast forward one year! 

Lacie Jane on her 1 1/2 year old birthday! 

These pictures were from her 18 month old photo shoot!

Blakely Hope was a teeny tiny three month old at the time!  

Opening her books!

Lacie's half cake for 1 1/2! 

A Special Birthday Breakfast - Funfetti Pancakes

I just love anything that has to do with Funfetti!  Seriously, the baker who decided "Hey let me put sprinkles in the cake batter" was just sheer genius.  One of my favorite things to do with Funfetti cake mix is to make Lacie's Lazy Funfetti Cookie Bars.  I named them after my daughter Lacie because she loves them as much as mommy does!  I also call them "lazy" because they are the easiest thing to make!  If you have not already tried this recipe, you must!

So yesterday, I decided to combine my love of Funfetti cake mix with my Sweet B's first birthday breakfast and make...

FUNFETTI PANCAKES

And they were as good as they sound!  They were also oh-so-easy! 

Two very happy Funfetti Pancake eaters! 

Here's What You Need to Make the Funfetti Pancakes:

• 1 1/2 cups of funfetti cake mix (about half the box)
• 2 tablespoons veggie oil (canola oil or melted butter would work just fine)
• 3/4 cup milk 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• pancake toppings of choice

Now Let's Make the Funfetti Pancaks:

1. Preheat your pancake griddle over medium heat and grease it with butter or nonstick spray
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together all of your ingredients 
3. Spoon batter onto griddle, making small to medium size pancakes (these pancakes have a light cake-like texture and if you make them too big they will be harder to flip so I would definitely make them on the small side)
   
4. Cook for 2-4 minutes (until bubbles appear on the top) and flip the pancakes over and cook for another 2 minutes on the second side 
5. Serve with desired pancake toppings

I decided to serve my pancakes with a bit of butter, a vanilla glaze, and extra sprinkles!  

YUM!

Even the banana's got topped with some vanilla glaze and sprinkles! 

To make the vanilla glaze mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp vanilla extract.  Stir in milk 1 tsp at a time until you get a nice drizzle consistency.  

Now go ahead and make these for the next birthday in your family, and they will quickly become a fun birthday tradition!