"big things poppin', and little things stoppin'..."

yeeeaaah, so i'm way super late on plenty of things. BUT, the important thing is that i'm finally getting around to posting! "better late than never", that's my motto...lol. anywho, we have a lot of "big things poppin'" right now, so prepare for a lot of reading. let's begin with...

WE'RE MOVING OUT!! last Friday, Gee, my parents and i went up to Fayetteville in search of living space and childcare, and got to check *both* of off my list! i did some internet research on both apartments and daycares, so i already had a number one preference for both. and after visiting both the complex and the daycare, i was pleased with both, and put down a deposit on both! so i'll be going back up in mid-July to sign my lease and fill out all of the paperwork for Gee to start daycare! aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ya'll, excited isn't EVEN the word. finally, after 4 years in dorms and a sorority house, and 1 year at home, i get to live in an apartment! with my own room! and me & Gee not living on top of each other anymore! omgee...ya'll have no idea! anyway, enough about that [but did i mention that Gee will have her own ROOM!?]. on to...

1ST YEAR G*DAY!!! my babygirl is a baby, no more! as of today, June 10th, she is officially a ONE year old Toddler! can you believe it? i know i can't... it seems like just days ago that i was waddling into the Dr.'s office and being told that it was baby time! wow. time really does fly, as if i haven't been cliche enough today [lol]. however, i embrace the passage of time. some people mourn the days when their children were immobile and totally dependent on them. um, not me!! while yes, it was tiresome to keep tabs on a little one who loves to bang on the TV and put everything she sees in her mouth [except for the things that are actually meant for her to chew on!], but i don't have to hold her cup now. she can feed herself. when she gets to walking a bit better, i'll be relieved from hauling her heavy little self around [the doctor said she was only 18lbs8oz. but i don't believe it for a second...]. her personality and intuitiveness are amazing to observe; newborns and young infants are pretty boring, if you ask me. pretty to look at, yes. but still boring. so bring on toddlerhood, lil' mama. i'm pretty sure she's giving me sneak peeks of the Terrible Twos already, but as my mother loves to remind me, i'm only getting what i gave her! LOL, oh well! for the last update, let's....

PARTY! rather, partieS. Gee had her first 1st birthday party down here, under a pavilion in the park [basically]. it was a small, intimate affair, attended only by close family and friends [although one of her daycare buddies did stop by for a few minutes, which was nice]. we had my famous rainbow cupcakes [lol], and i made a large rainbow cupcake for Gee to eat/play in, which was hilarious to watch. not so hilarious to clean up, but still totally worth it. she got some great gifts, too. since i'm too lazy to list them or post pics here, check them out on Facebook. if we're not friends, shoot me a message so i can add you. i don't let people add me because there are some strange folks lurking on FB, nah'mean? anyway, we're having Gee's second 1st birthday party tomorrow in Little Rock, so that we can get out of the house, and so that our friends from the northern part of the state don't have to drive as far to celebrate with us. i'll do my best not to let a week pass before i tell ya'll about it. ;) until next time!

-love elle&BIGGIRL!gee-

taste the rainbow!

i'm pretty sure my mom is sick of hearing about rainbow cupcakes. lol. as you *should* know, a certain G*Baby has her 1st MAJOR G*Day coming up in 1 month and 9 days! i've decided to make the "theme" Cupcakes & Rainbows, so i'll be baking rainbow cupcakes for the occasion. after talking about this for the fifth time in three or four days, my mom was finally like, "You know, I'll just buy her a cake and you won't have to go through all that trouble."
"But if I wanted to buy her a cake, I would buy it myself. I want to bake the cupcakes myself! I know I can buy her a cake...I don't want to."
i didn't really mean to put her on shut-mouth, but i low-key did. -sorry mom-. anyway, the point is, i really really want to be one of those moms who has the "to-die-for" home-baked goods. i may not have a floor you can eat off of, but you'll be so busy eating my cupcakes and brownies, you won't even notice....hehe. :D

excuse me, just had to fantasize about the future for a moment. but back to the present. i'm determined to serve these homemade rainbow cupcakes at G's birthday celebration. i found the recipe at tablespoon.com. what i did differently:
-used 5 colors instead of 6. you have no clue how long it takes to mix food coloring into batter inside of a ziploc bag until you actually start doing it. i ended up using a spoon, and it still took plenty of time.
-i didn't make the rainbow toppers. i didn't even frost the cupcakes (making them look like muffins, which is what my little brothers keep calling them. lol.); after all of the work it took to make 5 colors of batter and pour each color, one by one, into the cupcake tin?? pssht, i was tired. i'm just a rookie baker, remember, so i wasn't used to doing all of that! anyway, i know you're just itching to see how they turned out...even if you aren't, you're going to find out anyway!

the main dish!

some mini-cupcakes i made with the leftover batter.

my brother's way of letting me know that they were a hit! :)

they were pretty good; cream cheese frosting would've made them fanTASTIC :)

for a first attempt, they weren't too bad; however, cupcakes need frosting like pizza needs ranch dressing. therefore, on the next attempt, there will be frosting. and M&Ms or something. i may eventually get bold enough to try the rainbow toppers, but i'm aight with them for now. until next time! :)

-love elle&gee-