Emma's 3rd Birthday Party!

Well, I'm going to make one more attempt blogging...things are so busy around here these days (can you believe that?), but I would really like to keep up with all the happenings, so I can look back on it one day.  After all, this is my "scrapbook" of sorts.  So, here it goes!

We had a great time celebrating Emma's 3rd birthday last Saturday.  I really can't believe she is 3!  We like to make the kids' birthday parties a big deal around here.  Mainly because last year Jared and I decided that Christmas and Birthdays were a little mixed up.  We really desire for our Christmases to be focused on Jesus, and less on presents.  So, we make their birthday all about them, give lots of presents on their birthday like most people do at Christmas, and then less presents on Christmas.  This is a new concept for us, and this is really the first year we are putting it into practice.  I want Christmas to be fun also (and it will be), but I don't want them growing up thinking that Christmas is all about them.  

Last year I was in the hospital for her birthday, so the fun "under the sea" water party we had planned never happened.  We decided to stick with that theme again this year.  So, I might have gone a little overboard...and underestimated the amount of time I had to pull everything together (that doesn't at all sound like me- I am in no way a perfectionist and a procrastinator ;)).  But, it all came together (with some help from my mom and sis) and I think everyone had a great time!

Party Hats:  these were so easy and fun to make!  I had a bought some digital pattern papers on etsy, and just printed them off on cardstock to make all the crafty things.  It was inexpensive, and I think it helps to pull the look together.  I got the pattern for the hats here- http://ohhappyday.com/2011/02/party-hats-diy-template/   I honestly was afraid that none of the kids would even touch the hats (it was a water party, after all), but several of them wanted to wear them!  Emma had been wanting to wear hers all week :)  The fringe is  just crepe paper, trimmed and doubled up.  I thought they would look cute with tissue paper flowers, too..

Cake:  I tried to make a more (ahem), "simple" cake this year.  So, I opted to make a fish cake to match the invitation, instead a multi-tiered detailed cake.  Well, I'm not sure if it saved me much more time, but it turned out well, and Emma loved it.  She talked about chocolate cake for weeks before her party, so that is what we had!

The Dessert/Snack Table:  I love the look of all the dessert tables you see on party blogs these days.  Mine was not very elaborate by any means, but it was fun to put together.  I tried to keep the color theme of pinks, oranges, blues, and greens going.  I found some candy in those colors (a great place to look is the Dollar Store)- peach rings, strawberry whoppers, cotton candy salt water taffy, and bubblegum candy sticks.  I made chocolate covered pretzel rods and marshmallow pops that were decorated with sprinkles (everything is more fun with sprinkles, right?).  Added in some clementines and white grape clusters (I had cantaloupe that was supposed to go out, but never made it- along with white chocolate seashells and super cute labels for everything, oops!  I totally did not bite off more than I could chew...).  There was a "trio" of goldfish- cheese, chocolate, and colors), and orange kissed cookies.  Oh, those cookies.  Yum.  More on those later, with the recipe!

FUN:  we have some friends that very graciously let us borrow their giant blowup water slide.  Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, and the kids had a lot of fun in it.  We also put out the sand/water table (one of Em's birthday presents).  Then we came inside for pizza and cake, and opened presents.  Emma got some wonderful things from our sweet friends.  We feel so blessed to have all of these people in our lives, and we were so happy that they were all there to help us celebrate Emma.  We love you, friends!

Favors:  I found some little buckets with shovels at Target, and filled them with stickers, candy, sunglasses, and party blow-outs.

Orange-Kissed Cookies (aka Creamsicle Cookies):  these little cookies turned out really yummy.  They are soft, almost cake-like, and packed with sweet orange flavor.  Maybe one of the reasons I love them so much is because they remind me of an orange cake that my Me-Me was famous for.  Many times when I went to visit her when I was child she would have made a cake.  And it was always this yellow cake with delicious fresh orange buttercream.  Those memories are near and dear to my heart.  I love the look of these cookies b/c they almost look like cupcakes.  And, I have a feeling that lemon and key lime versions could be made as well! :)

 Orange-Kissed Cookies (from Our Best Bites)

1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1 egg
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. thawed orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest

Frosting:  1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 c.  thawed orange juice concentrate
1/2 c. softened butter
3 c. powdered sugar
2-3 drops orange food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer, combine the white sugar and shortening.  Beat until well-combined.  Add the egg and beat well, then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat for about 1 minute or until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the orange juice concentrate and orange rind and mix well.

Using a cookie scoop, drop the dough/batter (the mixture will be VERY moist–thicker than a cake batter but thinner than traditional cookies) by the tablespoon-ful onto a lined, un-greased baking sheet (I piped mine out using a ziploc bag).  Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are set and just starting to turn golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

For the frosting, combine the frosting ingredients with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Pipe or spread over the cooled cookies.

Yield: Approximately 36 cookies