If you’re from the U.S., how was your Fourth of July? It was a hot one here in Pittsburgh. I think it was in the high 80s and then it rained in the evening. Jimmy and Sadie were in a parade with our church and Mordecai and I stayed home because I had a ton of baking to do for my niece’s first birthday party.

Olive is turning one, so the theme was “Olive’s Berry First Birthday” and was strawberry-themed. I started off by making chocolate covered Oreos and was able to paint more chocolate. This time, I made strawberries!

After coating three dozen Oreos in chocolate, it was on to Olive’s smash cake. I kept it simple and made it strawberry with strawberry frosting. I put her name, strawberries, and the number “1” (all in fondant) on it along with sprinkles on top.

Once the cake was finished, I moved on to making four dozen strawberry cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.

Soo, it was a busy day! The day before that, I made six dozen chocolate covered Oreos and six dozen chocolate chip cookies for a wedding. Add in a few Etsy orders and our kitchen is perpetually hot from the oven going 24/7 😂

Remember how I mentioned Sadie was stung be a bee on her foot and toe (a few days apart) in this post? Check out how swollen it was. The poor girl couldn’t walk or put on a shoe for a couple of days. She was such a trooper through it. It was especially itchy for her in the night, so we had to put Benadryl cream on it a couple of times each night.

I’m happy to report she can now wear shoes and is off of oral Benadryl, lol. She’s just still itchy so, Benadryl and cortisone cream to the rescue!

If you’re been reading my blog for a long time, you might remember how much I used to love doing button art. Sadie saw some of my old art at my parents’ house in North Carolina and asked if she could make Hello Kitty button art! My heart! It’s so fun to have a little crafter in the house with me 🥰

Another long-time blog reader story… remember when Jimmy put a skort on Sadie, but he put both of her legs through one hole? I accidentally did the same thing to Mordecai! I put his shorts on and set him on the ground and he kept falling over. Finally, after he fell a few times, I realized my mistake 😆

Let’s see, other things from life lately. The kids think it is endlessly entertaining to sit in double-seater carts. They were so happy! Now that Mordecai is over 1.5 years old, they’re really starting to play together and it is just the sweetest. They both love each other so much.

We went to a local ice cream shop with Niva!

When it’s hot out, Mordecai and Niva don’t last long outside. They come in and snuggle!

I’ve been working behind the scenes with a company that makes advent calendars. They’re going to feature Braid Bakery granola for one day of an advent calendar, along with other businesses from Pennsylvania.

Right now, I’m in the process of sending samples to the company for them to choose which flavor to feature. I’ll be sending samples of peanut butter, cranberry orange, gingerbread, and coconut almond!

Okay, this post has been long enough! I’ll share some photos from my niece’s party in my next post 😊

What flavor of granola would you choose?