A Trip to Copenhagen

We took a quick trip to Copenhagen during the bank holiday weekend and it has become one of my favorite cities. First of all, it's very baby/kid friendly which is important to us now that we have the little one. There was easy access for strollers everywhere, (nice & clean!) changing tables in almost every bathroom, (clean!) areas for babies to play in plus the coolest high chairs. 

I found every person we encountered to be extremely welcoming and nice in a genuine way, not the "I have to put on a smile and be nice to you because you are a customer way." Not only were people helpful, they just seemed happy and were fantastically dressed. Speaking of the well dressed, the whole aesthetic and general look in Copenhagen was completely my vibe. From the rustic wooden tables to the smooth neutral colored dishware, it was totally me. 

Most importantly, Copenhagen is foodie central. You can find anything and everything here from an authentically good American burger to one of the world's best restaurants. Though I do wish we were able to dine at Noma, I was perfectly content with our food choices. I had a cinnamon bun a day, the perfectly composed hot dog, some very good kung pao chicken noodles and much much more. 

We stayed at an apartment we found on Airbnb and it was super kid friendly. I mean, it had an entire play room with the coolest toys (mainly wooden, food related & musical). Could that not be more perfect? I don't know if Amélie or I had more fun with them. Also, mental note to buy Amélie a pizza with slices velcroed to each other and her own little comfy chair.  

^^Oh the plane ride. I can't imagine flying all the way to America with this one at this age. Thank goodness there was an extra seat in the middle for her to sit between us because it would have been a very long 1.5 hour flight otherwise. 

A few places I recommend:

Airbnb Apartment (centrally located, full of toys and lots of room) 

Dop Hot Dogs (delicious & organic)

Copenhagen Street Food (the best!, food trucks in a giant warehouse with lots of indoor and outdoor seating, I wish I could've tried it all)

Warpigs (the sides are to die for so is the brisket plus the beer according to A)

Tivoli Gardens 

Danish Museum of Art & Design

National Aquarium Denmark

Emmerys (an organic bakery with the best cinnamon buns) 

p.s. How was I able to write this blog post during the day when Amélie is not napping? I'm giving her the "good" Cheerios, not the usual low sugar oat ones I give her. Oh and if you travel with a one year old, bring snacks, lots of snacks. 

p.p.s. Another thing I love about Copenhagen? Hot dogs and ice cream on every corner. And good ones too. 

Amélie's First Birthday Party

At first I wasn't sure about throwing Amélie a first birthday party, but as we thought about it more, we decided she needed a bit of a celebration. I tried not to go too overboard, but wanted to make a few decorations plus have lots of food and drinks. The day ended up being perfect. She played tons with Zia Mima and had a nap just before the party so she was up and happy for the entire rest of the day. In fact she was so excited, she didn't take an afternoon nap, went to bed at 7:30pm and then was up from 1:30-4:30am. 

Here are a few details about the party: 

Theme: Pink and gold with stars. I originally wanted to do the Very Hungry Caterpillar, but thought just going with a simple color though would be easier. 

Place: The community hall in our development just opened last month and it was the perfect setting for the party since our apartment would not be able to fit 30 adults plus 10 babies. 

Time: I debated about this for a while, but ended up choosing 1:30-3:30pm. Her nap time when I booked the hall was about 3pm, but a couple weeks before the party it of course shifted to right about 1:30/2:00. It all worked out in the end because we just got her to nap before. 

Decorations: I cut out a ton of glitter stars, plus the happy birthday sign for the main table, a one sign for her high chair and made the tassel garland. Other decorations including gold star paper platesI bought from various sites online (here, here & here) and used a printable file from Etsy for the invitations. 

Food: Since most people had already eaten lunch, I opted for just a few sandwich trays from M&S, a simple caprese pasta salad, deviled eggs plus chips, chocolate chip cookies, fruit cups and snacks for the babies. I made two 8 inch carrot cakes for the adults and a healthy baby version for the littles. 

Drinks: We did a Costo run and bought lots of mini bottles of orange juice, apple juice, sparkling water plus aranciata. We also bought some beer and a couple bottles of prosecco too. I had a drinks dispenser that I filled with iced cucumber lemon water as well. 

And now for the pictures quickly since I'm almost on baby duty (we're on vacation in Copenhagen and it's the best, but I only have a few more minutes until dinner time). 

^^Here are the invitations and a little map I made in Microsoft Publisher. I did most of the crafting at night when the baby was sleeping. 

^^This was goody bag preparation. I decided on giving the babies a Mr. Men or Little Miss book plus an age appropriate snack and some Ferrero Rochers for the adults. I just used left over brown paper bags tied together with curling ribbon. 

^^The entrance to the Lodge where we had the party. 

^^The main table with all of the food. I think next time I'll go for much larger balloon clusters for a bigger impact. We were a little short of time setting up, which is something else I would change for the next party I plan. Also, the gold balloons ended up looking a little bit more yellow than I wanted. 

^^A little seating area plus an space for gifts and the favor bags. 

 ^^The space from a difference angle. The doors to the right led to a nice outdoor area. 

^^The drinks sections with a bunch of instagram pics attached to the chalkboard with wooden clothespins. 

^^Highchair & smashcake!

 ^^A little area for picnics. 

 ^^Caught one picture before the party. 

 ^^Sandwiches, caprese pasta, and chips or crisps in cones (held up with lots of white rice in a basket)

 ^^Carrot cake, strawberry jam star sandwiches, fruit cups and baby friendly cupcakes.

^^Chocolate chip cookies, low sugar oat cheerios and a selection of snacks. 

 ^^Riding a her new gift from Auntie Tiff. 

 ^^The baby play area. 

 ^^The ball pit was a great idea and kept the babies entertained for a while. 

 ^^I think the smash cake went down very well. 

 ^^The aftermath/mess of a hallway with everything from the party. 

 ^^Off to bed.

^^The next day was full of presents! Clearly she was super excited as you can see!

That's a wrap for her first birthday, happy birthday little one! 

Amélie Twelve Months

My little happy baby turned one last week. She's been all smiles most of the time, smiley at everyone she encounters and waving hello. She really is becoming a little girl and her personality is coming through more each day. She's just recently learned how to give kisses, but usually will only give them to us at night before bed and also cuddles every soft stuffed animal you offer her especially her bunny and pooh bear. It's the cutest how affectionate she is with them. 

The good news is Amélie has been sleeping through the night for the past few weeks, mainly from 8 or 9 until 6ish. She still takes two naps, usually one in the morning around 8 and another in the afternoon after lunch around 2. These last anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours depending on the day. 

Her favorite foods are definitely still strawberries, blueberries, clementines, meatballs and any kind of bread. She's also been liking shrimp and roast chicken lately though vegetables are a different story. Cubed and roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash are okay with her, but anything green is a no go. Usually I'll try to hide some vegetables in her pasta like peas, spinach or kale, but avocado, green beans and broccoli are just swiped off her tray. I've also dropped her middle of the day milk feed and tried replacing it with whole milk, but she's not a fan of it. I just breastfeed her when she wakes up and before she goes to bed, which makes life a little bit simpler. 

Amélie has been cruising all around furniture for the past couple of weeks and is becoming very good a walking around the house with her walker. I'm not sure when she'll take the leap to her first steps, but A has caught her a few times letting go and standing without holding on to anything, We'll see though, I'm not in a huge rush for her to start walking for some reason. She's just growing up too fast. 

More on her first birthday party in the next post, but here are a few pictures from her actual birthday last Saturday. We all had pasta and meatballs (her fav) and carrot cake to celebrate. 

^^Patiently waiting for her dinner while we do a test balloon with the helium tank we bought

^^Nonna feeding her pasta and meatballs

^^Either very excited or a little bit confused by the cake

^^Happy birthday little miss

^^A few presents from mommy and daddy

^^She loves those wooden blocks. 

Happy very first birthday Amélie!