Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Babies, babies, babies!  Is it me, or is there a sudden abundance of baby bumps these days?!  It's such an exciting time for me - my daughter's friends are having babies, and starting the most exciting times of their lives.  And they don't even realize it!   How could they?  Oh I know - they can imagine what it's like to see their baby for the first time.  To witness baby's first steps.  To hear baby call out "Mama."

  

But what about the things they haven't even imagined yet?  Like when their toddler sees them get dressed up for work, out of their 'mommy clothes' for the first time, and exclaims "You're pretty, Mommy" . . . yes - they will melt.   They don't know the relief that will overcome them when their baby's first high fever breaks.   Or how lonnnng that very first day of school will be for MOMMY ! 

A few words to these young moms and moms-to-be:   Go slowly.   Appreciate every single moment - even the bad ones will teach you more about life and more about yourself than you ever could have imagined. . . When your child was nothing more than a baby bump! 

Congratulations to all our friends having babies.  We can't wait to meet them!

This mom wanted to coordinate her cookie favors with the decorations of her baby shower.  The result - moons and stars and everything magical for this baby girl.  

Congratulations to Kara and Rob from XOXO Cookies!

Yippee Ki Yay Cookies!

One thing you can count on ~ there is always a birthday to be celebrated somewhere!  This extra special birthday party was in honor of my dear friend's cousin.  He turns seventy years young this month, and I'm betting that's no exaggeration.  We've known members of his extended family for many years, and their enthusiasm for life, their devotion to family, and their dedication to their work, is unsurpassed.  I was honored to contribute to this celebration, and it made this project so much fun to work on!

One member of the family owns a ranch with a very cool barn, but the only animals inside this barn are the party-goers.  (I can say that cuz I've been one!)  So the plan for the family is to provide an evening of food, libation, music and celebration in this lovely barn-made-party-place for this birthday boy!  Hence, the western-themed cookies.

Best wishes go out to you, Jerry, for another wonderful year ahead ~ full of fun and happy surprises, and of course, more family parties at the Ranch!  We trust your party was a HUGE success! 

Happy Birthday from XOXO Cookies!

Please Mr. Postman. . .

What a surprise to learn that our cousin had just announced her plans for a wedding within a couple of months!  Heidi is the little sister of our May bride, for whom we created the cupcake tower!   What an exciting/expensive/craze-filled year for the Mom and Dad of these two beautiful girls!  And they couldn't be happier.  Which made it that much more exciting when bride-to-be Heidi asked us to make her some photo cookies for her reception.   The challenge here (and with EVERY batch of cookies, there has to be a challenge...) was that due to scheduling conflicts and work schedules, we weren't going to be able to attend this wedding in Nevada.  That meant we had to ship our hand-decorated cookies.  In boxes made of cardboard.  Through the August summer heat to Fallon, Nevada.  A challenge we were willing to accept.

After several email exchanges of photos, we finally found one with enough resolution and contrast to make a cute photo cookie, worthy of this bride and groom.   Some technical difficulties with our equipment kept me awake a few nights as I realized we had a few more challenges than we anticipated.  Thankfully, the internet is an endless source of information, and a few google searches led us to the solution for our mechanical frustrations.    

The production was now in full gear, but somewhere between cookies number 76 and 142, I lost my cool and just took a big toothy bite!   I couldn't help myself.  Each batch of white chocolate fondant was getting more tempting and the aroma of the almond sugar cookie was intensifying in the warm summer kitchen.  Okay, I suppose I was getting delirious with row after row of smiling faces staring up at me.  Sorry, Heidi.  I lost my head.  Or was it yours?  :-)

Once the cookies were bagged, they were painstakingly packed in layers of bubble wrap and barrels of good wishes, and deposited with the able folks at our trusty post office.   And I learned again how much I really do appreciate a good night's sleep.

Congratulations Heidi and David!  

We were sorry we couldn't join your friends and family to see you on your big day, but we were so happy to learn that the cookies made it without mishap.  

May you and your future family be blessed with years of happy memories together!

from your cousins at XOXO Cookies