With an oink and a moo and a cock-a-doodle-do...

With an OINK and a MOO and a COCK-A-DOODLE-DO...EMMELINE TURNED 2!!!!!!!!!!!!

Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park. Perfect setting for Emmeline's special day!

We had a wonderful celebration for our special little 2 year old...down on the farm!  Since Emmeline's favorite song right now is Old Macdonald Had A Farm, it was only fitting that we have her party surrounded by some of Old Macdonald's star animals. **side note, if you think you could never get sick of this song...you probably don't have a 2 year old who sings it ALL. DAY. LONG. ha!  My favorite is when Old Macdonald adds exotic animals to his collection...Emmeline likes to add "goldfish", "lion", "elephant", "zebra", "doggy", etc...That man has every kind of animal on that farm!
  This farm park is one of Emmeline's favorite places to visit.  With its big open fields, trail system and collection of farm animals, it is a great place to stroll around and get some fresh air.  http://redmond.gov/ParksRecreation/Farrel-McWhirterFarmPark

We decided to do a farm brunch.  Grandma and Grandpa Rydecki were in town so they helped us in the kitchen the night before the big party. Thank God for their help, we could have never pulled it off without them.  We stayed up until 2:00 am preparing the food and getting everything organized and ready to go.  We had mimosas, Starbucks coffee, 4 different types of gourmet quiche, cinnamon roll cupcakes, fruit and granola parfait treats, watermelon and a horse cake of course!


Who doesn't want a horse head served on a platter? I may have scared all of the children when I said it was time to cut up the horse. Oops.  (Love that our neighbor friend, Mia, insisted that she get the eyeball. ;-) )

I am so impressed with how this cake turned out!  I found it online awhile back and made the mistake of asking Emmeline if she wanted it for her party...I was so tempted to order a cake but took on the challenge (with the help of my bake team-ha!)...It was so cute! And, it actually looked like a horse!  And, I didn't drop it before it made it to the table.  Such a miracle. ;-)  All of the details made it look so cool. We improvised on a couple of things, but overall it was a huge success. Emmeline loved it so that is all that matters to me!
Here are the directions for creating this at home!  Way easier than it looks: http://www.parenting.com/article/how-to-make-a-horse-cake

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes. Yum.

Sounds heavenly, huh?  They were!  I am still sick from tasting and sampling while we baked.  I cannot believe how much butter and sugar is in baked goods!  Woah.  They were quite interesting.  They were more of a bread texture and harder than a normal cupcake but definitely resembled a cinnamon roll.  My mother in law and I had an interesting time making them...usually I like to bake ahead of time to try out a recipe (since I bake very rarely and I'm not very good) but I didn't have time to do that with these.  I figured, how could they not turn out with all that sugar, butter, cinnamon goodness???  Well, they were sinfully good.  We almost burned out the motor on our mixer because the cupcake mixture was so thick, but in the end they turned out just fine.   Definitely a fun take on a "cupcake" and they fit our brunch theme.

We didn't want to waste any of the sugary, buttery goodness that spilled over the cupcake pan, so we crushed that up and used it as a crumble on the top with a cinnamon sugar dusting too.  Ew. I feel sick just writing about these.  I had one too many! Here is the recipe I used if you would like to indulge: http://bakingdom.com/2011/09/cinnamon-roll-coffee-cupcakes.html


How could we not get Starbucks coffee for the party??...

Parfait, anyone?

 Lemon Yogurt Berry Swirl with Granola (topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles!)

Here is the recipe I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/lemon-yogurt-berry-swirl-with-homemade-granola-recipe/index.html

  So easy and so good...and overall, it's a pretty healthy treat. I'm going to start making these more often!

 I didn't get a chance to take a picture of these before the whipped cream melted...the layers were so pretty though!

The quiche was delicious!  Chef Aaron mixed up all of the gourmet ingredients the night before and him and Mary baked them that morning and they were delivered hot to the party. There was something for everyone!

The Birthday Girl. Isn't she just so darling. I love her.

                                                                                
                       

                                                                       Cake and Song time!

We did it!  She (we) conquered 2 years!

 

Later that day (after a nice, long nap!)...

Emmeline had fun opening her gifts.  Thank you to our friends and family for your generosity and love.

**I knew I wouldn't be able to get a lot of good pictures (I was lucky to get all of these) since it was such a busy day.  Our photographer friend was at the party and got some of his own shots.  Can't wait to see them!  Stay tuned...I know they are way better than the ones we got. ;-)

Thank you friends and family for a great day.  It was so good to see some new and old friends. Aaron and I love celebrating our children and their milestones and also getting a chance to spend time with friends and family!