My little girl turns two years old today! What a true joy and delight she has brought to our family. I am a blessed mommy! Here are some pictures from our birthday party that we had last night.
Karis absolutely loves her new kitchen set!
We found this adorable wooden kitchen set for Karis and I love it (not to mention Karis’ attachment to it now!). It is small, gender neutral and simple. It came with all the food, pots and pans, and utensils. Too fun!
The fun Teddy bear cake I made for her
Continuing on in our family’s tradition of making special cakes for birthdays, I attempted to make a Teddy bear cake for Karis. Karis and I made this together and had a blast. Yum! Want a bite?
My sisters, mom, Titus & I
Titus & Grandma
I am so thankful for the gift of life the Lord has blessed us with in my little lady! She is growing up so fast. She is a wonderful big sister, mommy’s helper, and daddy’s girl, all in one!
Gift from God
I give thanks to You alone
Who sits on the throne
To loan me this precious gift
And to call it my own.
May I always see, Lord
In every waking hour,
Your majesty and grace
In this delicate flower.
Help me, O God,
To guide and preserve,
This wonderful blessing,
To love and to serve.
- Doran Richards, 2001
I love the cake and your website. My son is turning 2 next month and I am in search of an alternative cake/frosting recipe. I was wondering if you made this healthy and/or GF and the frosting without white sugar? I am having a struggle with doing a healthy cake or super yummy so not healthy. I am looking for some great healthy ideas.
Also I love making your soaked whole grain bread but the past 2 times it turned out very crumbly – any suggestions? The first it didn’t?
thanks so much!
I used healthy sugar (sucanat) in my cake but I did use unbleached white flour. I have tried frosting whole wheat cakes in the past and it just hasn’t been too successful. I want to emphasize making it a special cake for honoring birthdays at our home over focusing too much on making it healthy. It is only a once a year special occasion! You could try half and half if you desire. I do have a relatively healthy carrot cake recipe that I need to share sometime in the future. I usually do half and half for this, but it doesn’t frost well for special decorating.
Bread making takes practice! Keep trying! Sounds like you may have added too much flour to your dough. Remember you want it soft and not too dry. Slightly sticky but still able to roll out into loaves. Blessings!
p.s. Happy Birthday to your precious little girl, Karis!
I have just found your website recently and have been reading a lot of your posts. I just want to say what a wonderful special young lady you are. I’m speaking as a mother of a 22 year old son, so I am a lot older than you are. I am so impressed with your knowledge and devotion to all of your passions. I wish that I had known a fraction of what you know when I was your age. I was a teacher for 25 years, and I would have loved to have taught the child of such a caring and knowledgeable young mother like you. You are blessed and so is your family.
Happy Birthday Karis! May the Lord bless your life always and forever! Lindsay, you, your sisters and your mom all have the same beautiful smile! You all look so much alike!!
Karis looks so grown up all of a sudden, maybe it’s the ponytail
Loved the teddy bear cake, and all of the women in your family are so pretty! Your mom looks so young 
Enjoy the time with your family 
I’m new to your blog…and I’m addicted already! It’s amazing to me how much we can have in common with someone we’ve never met sometimes. My little girl turns 2 on May 17th (I think I’ll have to try the “teddy” cake…CUTE)! And the picture of you with your mom and sisters…I can’t tell you how many I have of those in my own home. I have five sisters, all with BIG smiles! I think we’re secretly related.
YEAH!! My baby boy turned two on Sunday too. I had so much fun making and decorating his cake!!
Happy Birthday Karis!
I used to love to play with my “Little” kitchen. I have alot of wonderful memories of cooking with it. She will really enjoy it!
Adorable cake, Lindsay! What talent.
And the kitchen set is cute. Happy Birthday, Karis!
Happy Birthday Karis! How quickly they grow up–my little girl will be two in a month. Karis looks so grown up playing with her little kitchen!
Happy Birthday Karis!!
Happy birthday Karis! What a cutie – we love you guys!
Happy Birthday to Karis! My youngest sister turns 9 one week from today, and it seems just months ago she was 2.
That kitchen set looks adorable – I love the simplicity of it! …And by the way, you and your sisters look SO much alike! You all have the same smile. Your youngest sister looks the most like you, I think. 
Happy Birthday, Karis!
(Great job on the cake, Lindsay!)
The toy kitchen looks fun. “Playing Cooking” is one of the favorite activities at our house, too.
Blessings,
Michele
What a great way to make a bear cake! It’s so cute and doesn’t look complicated:) I’ll have to remember it.
Why does she have 11 candles if she is turning 2? That is a really cute kitchen set!
I thought the same thing!
Okay, so my younger sister put the candles on the cake. I didn’t care too much as it gave her more to blow out.
I was going to ask the exact same question. Love the bear cake.
Wow does she ever look like you Lindsay! Not to mention the fact that you and your sisters all have the same smile. LOL. Happy birthday to Karis … 2 year olds are such a joy.
Should mention good post. Looking forward to seeing your next post!
Awe. Happy birthday, Karis!
What a cutie! Looks like a fun party. Happy birthday Karis!
What a sweet little girl! My daughter just turned 7. They grow up so quickly.
I did a double take when I saw the poem by Doran. She lives near me and several of my friends are good friends with her. Do you actually know her, or did you find that poem on one of her sites or in her Blessing God’s Way book? Just curious.
I actually originally read that quote in “Christian Childbirth Handbook”.
Happy Birthday Karis!
I just ordered that same kitchen for my daughter but we haven’t gotten it yet. I am glad to see that you like it!
Your family is beautiful. What a nice celebration.
Happy Birthday Karis!! That’s a really sweet cake. We got that same kitchen for Christmas and I can’t say enough good about it. It’s nice quality, fits in a small space, and a great deal since it comes with the food and pots and pans. Bryden uses it often and I know that when Bethany is a bit bigger she will love it.
Wow does she ever look like you Lindsay! Not to mention the fact that you and your sisters all have the same smile. LOL. Happy birthday to Karis … 2 year olds are such a joy.
What a wonderful celebration! Karis looks so much like you, especially in pictures when she has a big smile.
And your mom looks more like a sister than a mom. You’re all very pretty.
I agree! I was just going to comment on how much Karis looks like you! Beautiful family! Kids are so great! Mine is 8 months old.
Happy Birthday Karis!
Happy Birthday, Karis! You are looking so grown up today.
Oh, how cute! She really is growing up fast. Our little girl will be 2 on May 10th, so they are just about the same age. I think 2 is a great time of learning and helping.
Congratulations on the celebration of Karis’ birthday and on the recent arrival of Titus. They are both so cute and I’m sure they will continue to be a blessing to you and your family.
By the way, we are hosting a Preschool Activities in a Bag Book Giveaway. The activities are designed for children between the ages of 3 and 5, but we’ve made several that Emahry is able to do independently.
We are also trying to collect healthy main dish salad recipes. If you’d like to join in the fun here’s the link to the A Slew of Summer Salads Carnival.
God Bless!
Allyson
A Heart for Home
My aunt always made us special cakes when we were children. I remember a few in particular, Holly Hobby, Ernie (from Bert and Ernie), and a Cabbage Patch Kid. I’m sure there were others, those are the ones I specifically remember.
My aunt can’t cook, but man she can bake!
Happy Birthday Karis!!
Happy Birthday to Karis!! I hope she has a special day and that your family will continue to be blessed! You are an inspiration to me…
Thanks for your awesome blog!