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!
 

Father's Day Menu

Tomorrow is Father's Day!!!  I am hosting a brunch to celebrate the three most important Fathers in my life!  This is a tradition that John and I started after we got married but before we had our own children as a way to celebrate my Dad and my Father In Law!  Now John gets to be celebrated as well!  

Here's What Is On The Menu

1. Sausage Egg and Cheese Casserole

A super simple casserole that you can make the night before and pop in the oven an hour before your scheduled brunch!  This casserole is full of classic flavors!  Click here for the recipe!

2. Belgian Waffles
I make these waffles for our Christmas Morning breakfast every year.  A few weeks ago, I made them for a special breakfast and I don't know why I don't make them more!  They are delicious and really really easy too! Click here for the recipe!

3. Blueberry Coffee Cake
Blueberry season is finally here in New Jersey, and this is my favorite thing to make with the fresh blueberries that we pick!  As long as I can get to the farm today, I will be making this for brunch tomorrow!  Click here for the recipe!

What are you doing to celebrate the Dads in your life?

Mommy Mondays: Lacie Jane is Three and a Half

In the Hilosky House, we always celebrate half birthdays!  We don't go crazy - but just do a little something special for each girl!  It's something that John and I decided to start when Lacie turned 6 months old.  I was so excited to have made it to that milestone, and I really wanted to celebrate.  We had immediate family over and ate cupcakes and took lots of pictures!  Now it is a tradition for John and I to celebrate each of our girl's half birthdays!

Last Thursday, February 19th, was Lacie's half birthday!  The fact that my oldest baby is 3 1/2 is just plain crazy!  I put together a collage of Lacie on each of her half birthdays!  Look at how much she changed from 1 1/2 (top right) to 2 1/2 (bottom left)!  

John had to work late on Thursday, so we celebrated as a family of five on Friday night!  We got pizza (Eggplant Pizza because that is everyone's favorite plus it's Lent).  Then we had yellow cake with my chocolate buttercream icing!  Seriously, this is one of my favorite cake combos and the chocolate icing is amazing and so simple to make!

I normally make a fancy half cake, but things were a little hectic this year so I just made a sheet cake!  Lacie didn't mind!

If you want to look back at Lacie's half birthday celebration from last year, you can check it out here! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

We have a tradition in the Hilosky House...on Saturday Mornings we eat Chocolate Chip Pancakes!  My girls may be a bit too young to fully grasp the calendar or the concept of time, but they do know that Saturday means Daddy is home when they wake up and they get to eat pancakes for breakfast!!!  Saturdays are a happy morning in the Hilosky House!  We almost always have my very favorite whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes, but every once in awhile I change up the pancake option a bit.  So on this Saturday I decided to make:

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes! 

They were such a yummy change that was easily made by adding one extra ingredient to the pancake batter...2 mashed but still lumpy bananas!  

Your Shopping List for the Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes:

• 1 1/4 cups of Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tbsp of Brown Sugar 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 slightly overripe bananas, mashed with a fork but still lumpy
• 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 
• pancake toppings of choice  (we do butter, real maple syrup, and powdered sugar...you could add nuts, fresh fruit, whipped cream, whatever you like!)

Now Let's Make the Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes:

1. Preheat a pancake griddle* and grease with butter
2. Mash up two bananas with a fork and set aside
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
4. In a separate bowl combine milk, egg, and vanilla extract
5. Mix wet mixture into flour mixture - but do not over mix
6. Fold in the mashed bananas and chocolate chips
7. Spoon batter onto the griddle (I like to use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon for a medium size pancake)
8. Allow to cook for a few minutes on the first side (until small bubbles appear)
9. Flip and cook on second side until they are done to your liking (I cook them until they are a medium brownish but I know some people prefer lighter or darker pancakes) 
10. Enjoy with toppings of choice!!! 

*For my many readers who have emailed and asked what type of pancake griddle I use, it's the All-Clad - Nonstick Grande Griddle Pan

I love love love this pan!  I bought it five years ago, as soon as we moved into our townhouse!  It has gotten so much use over the years and it is still in great shape!  It is so easy to clean too (you basically can just wipe the non-stick surface)!

And I had two very happy eaters who wouldn't even stop chewing to smile!

Yankees

In the Hilosky House, we are all Yankee Fans!  In fact, we often live by the motto that in a perfect world, everyone would be a Yankee Fan!  Today marks the opening day of the Yankees 2014 season, and Derek Jeter's last season.  Derek Jeter is the player that John and I will talk to our children about the way my dad always talked about Mickey Mantle.  In fact, Derek Jeter is the player that made my sixth grade self actually start paying attention to all those baseball games my dad watched.  John was even lucky enough to be at the game when Derek Jeter got his 3,000th hit!

So today I felt that I needed to do a little Hilosky Family Yankees Baseball Tribute! 

In 2009, when John and I were getting married, he ordered t-shirts for everyone with a Yankees NY and our names and wedding date!  We still have the shirts!  Luckily, we als have a few small cousins who have passed down their shirts to our girls!

Lacie and Blakely in 2013 wearing the John & Lindsay shirts!  

Lacie and Blakely rocking the shirts again today for opening day! 

John wore that same shirt for the birth of both Lacie and Blakely.  I have no doubt that if we are blessed with any more children, John will again wear that exact Yankees Shirt!  

To celebrate our first wedding anniversary, John and I went to a Yankees Game!  The gift for one year is paper - so we did tickets! It was so cold that day that I had to buy the long sleeve shirt I am wearing about halfway through the game!  

Lacie Jane rocking her first Yankees Tee at only a few weeks old! 

Sweet B in the same shirt at 4 months old! 

Lacie wearing her first pink yankees hat....when she actually kept hats on her head!

A rare picture of me in a hat!  This was last summer, right after July 4th!  

Lots of Yankees Baseball Love in our house! 

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! 

Waffle Breakfast - Our Christmas Morning Tradition

I have always loved Christmas Morning!  The thrill of waking up and running downstairs to see piles of presents under the tree!  Growing up we would open presents while watching Christmas movies or the Christmas parade on television!  We were allowed to eat dessert for breakfast - usually left over cheesecake from Christmas Eve!

When I had Lacie, I knew I wanted to start a Christmas Morning tradition that would last through her childhood!  That is why for her first Christmas (2011) I decided to start a waffle breakfast tradition!

I make the waffles in my round Belgian Waffle Maker!  Then, I set up a toppings bar so that everyone can make their own waffle.  I put out the standard butter and real maple syrup.  Then, I also put out fresh fruit (usually sliced bananas and strawberries), homemade whipped cream, powdered sugar, ice cream, and mini chocolate chips.  If no one in your family has nut allergies, you can also put out nuts like pecans and walnuts!

We enjoyed these waffles so much on Christmas, that the girls have requested them a few times since!  I may be changing up our Saturday morning tradition of Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes from time to time so that we can enjoy these more than once a year!

Here's What You Need to Make the Christmas Morning Belgian Waffles:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• assorted waffle toppings

Now Let's Make the Christmas Morning Belgian Waffles

1. Preheat your waffle maker according to your brand's specific instructions
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt
3. Add the beaten eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract to your dry mixture and whisk until just combined - do not over mix!  The batter will be thick! 
4. Pour the batter in your waffle maker, following your specific maker's instructions

This recipe will make 3 large, round belgian waffles in my specific waffle maker.  My exact waffle maker is no longer available, but this one is the most similar!