Grammy's Birthday

My mom's birthday is mid-December and I always feel bad that it kind of gets lost in all the holiday chaos. This year we decided to invite my parents and my brother's family over for dinner to celebrate Grammy's special day.

I can't even remember (!) what I cooked for dinner, so it obviously wasn't that special, but I do remember what I made for dessert--gingerbread! I was so obsessed with gingerbread last Christmas, I don't know why, but maybe just because it is so yummy is a good enough reason. And it's also the kind of thing that has to be homemade. I wouldn't get excited about store-bought gingerbread or even some from a box. The comfort and coziness of it comes from being made from scratch. My cousin and I made one using this recipe from Simply Recipes, and it was fabulous! Since I'm the only one in my family who really likes it, I got to eat almost all by myself! (I did give a piece to my mom in lieu of a piece of birthday cake).

I also scored a gingerbread cookie recipe off of the same website (thanks Elise!), and made a bunch for the kids to decorate (again, I think I was more excited about the gingerbread cookies than anyone). Here are some photos of our cookie decorators:

Such a slice of reality...notice me trying to get my son's fingers
out of his mouth while he's handling food

Don't these look lovely?

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!