Category Archives: Our Family

Creative Mom and Kid Halloween Costumes

Posted on October 5, 2015 | 11 comments

So, Little Bird and I did something super fun… We joined our friends in a photo shoot for Pottery Barn Kids! They sent us cute Halloween costumes for the kids and challenged us to pair them with creative costumes for the moms. You can see their feature here.

Photographer Chrissy Powers wore her 3-week-old newborn in a wrap and captured the fun. Update: You can see more of the fun on the Small Fry Blog.

I met Cassidy June in a breastfeeding support group when Little Bird (now 4!) and Cassidy’s daughter were brand new. If your child gravitates towards fairies, like this Gold Snow Fairy, an easy costume for mom is “Pixie Dust.” Grab any metallic dress out of your closet, sprinkle a little glitter, and have fun!

Isobel of Bel & Beau reined with both her sons wearing the adorable dragon costumes from PBK. She wore a “Mother of Dragons” T-shirt from A Little Bundle (they also make the cute “Mama Bird” and “Baby Bird” shirts) and a long skirt. If you don’t “get it,” it’s a reference to the female lead in a Game of Thrones. My Little Bird was quite taken with her older son. They played together the whole day and were holding hands in the group shot above.

Here at Baby Birds Farm, we have been all about planting milkweed, Cleveland sage, and other pollinator-friendly plants in our backyard. Both of my girls love playing a game where we take turns playing a butterfly or bee. The other pretends to be a girl trying to entice the pollinator with flowers.

Little Bird had fun dressing up in the Bumblebee Tutu. (This idea would also work for butterflies and lady bugs.) I wore a flower crown and a dress Nikki of Je’Adore decorated with a hot glue gun. Wish I was crafty! It is not one of my strengths.

Little Bird decided herself to style her outfit with her tap shoes after I showed her the “Bee Girl” in the Blind Melon No Rain video.

Speaking of Nikki being crafty, I love the rain cloud she made out of an umbrella to shower her little rainbow. How cute are they?! Colorful rain boots and a rain jacket completed the fun.

Playing dress up was my favorite game as a kid. And back in the day I used to organize photo shoots when I was building my modeling portfolio. It was so fun to laugh and love my daughter, sharing one of my favorite activities.

She has had fun in the past on photo shoots for “Uncle Steve.” I want it to always be fun. I don’t see the need in pushing her to do more work for pay – not unless it is something she is asking for and is 100% enjoying.

I’m grateful to Emily who gave us all glamorous hair and makeup on behalf of 1011MakeUp. As mentioned above, all photos in this post are by Chrissy Powers and creative direction by Cassidy June.

For an idea on how to do Goldilocks and the Three Bears as an easy and inexpensive family costume, click here. Happy Halloween!

Pin the below image or your favorite above to Pinterest!

Share in the comments: which is your favorite mom and kiddo costume combo?

11 Comments

Posted in Family Adventures, How To, Our Family, Parenting

Tagged costumes, halloween, photo shoots, Pottery Barn Kids

7 Ways to Celebrate Strawberry Season

Posted on May 16, 2015 | 10 comments

To celebrate Papa Bird’s birthday this year, the four of us went strawberry picking again. Strawberries are in peak season and are super sweet. We picked a flat of strawberries and enjoyed them every which way in the week that followed. Here is a round-up of ways to celebrate strawberry season.

First: Go strawberry picking!

Susie’s Farm is still our favorite place to pick. The berries are organic and a super sweet variety (Albion.) The above flat was $36. We also met up with some of Little Bird’s friends since she was a little baby. My mama tribe has such a close place in my heart. We are all so busy these days, so it was nice to reconnect with a few.

My heart just about melted seeing Little Bird running with two of her friends… and “Littler Bird” chasing after them.

2. Strawberry, Dark Chocolate and Brie Grilled Cheese

Melt a little butter on a griddle or pan, add bread layered with thick slices of brie cheese, sliced strawberries, and shaved dark chocolate. Top with another piece of bread, flip and enjoy the messy, gooey, tangy warmth.

3. Strawberry Balsamic Pizza

The farm stand at Suzie’s had par-baked flatbread from Sadie Rose, which made me think semi-homemade pizza would be an easy dinner. I didn’t yet have the strawberry jam made, but inspired by the recipe in the link, I cooked down a cup of ripe strawberries, balsamic vinegar and sriracha for the sauce. Yum!

4. Top and fill a cake with strawberries

Little Bird loves baking as much as me. For Papa Bird’s birthday we made a chocolate sponge cake with chocolate orange buttercream frosting. Can you guess how old he turned? The filling was strawberry jam and whipped cream. Other cakes just begging for strawberries: Baby Bird’s Healthy Smash Cake, and Tres Leches.

5. Strawberry Shortcake and (healthier) Chia Strawberry Shortcake Parfait

We took slightly sugared, sliced strawberries up to my sister’s along with shortcakes and cream. It was easy to assemble traditional strawberry shortcakes and a sweet way to celebrate my niece’s birthday.

For a slightly healthier take, try this parfait version which features vanilla chia pudding. If you are mindful of the sugar you add, it easily doubles as both breakfast and dessert.

6. low-sugar strawberry jam

Sugar helps fruit break down and get softer, but is not necessary for preserving. If you cook the fruit long enough, it will still get soft. You can also use honey, or another sweetener. Pectin isn’t needed, either! Using super sweet berries, all you need is a little lemon juice. This year I overcame my fear of my steam canner, and canned for the first time.

7. green strawberry pickles

If you love the idea of adding home-fermented foods to your diet, green strawberry pickles are an easy way to start. My kids like them, too.

Here’s a bonus way to try them: Strawberry Salmon Salad with Green Strawberry Pickles.

Canning the pickles and jam is a classic way to extend strawberry season. Having produce preserved is a great way to enjoy produce at its peak all year round.

: Littler Bird in a grape vine teepee at Suzie’s Farm

: Tea and crumpets with strawberry jam

: Strawberry season!

How do you like to enjoy strawberry season?

Please share your ideas and link your recipes in the comments!

10 Comments

Posted in Family Adventures, Food, Green Parenting, Our Family, Parenting, Preserving and Canning, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, Seasonal Recipes

Tagged farm to table, seasonal recipes, strawberries

Baby Birds’ Pumpkin Smash Cake with Cinnamon Frosting – Gluten Free and Low Sugar

Posted on October 12, 2014 | 20 comments

I’m very excited to share the recipe I developed for a healthy and delicious pumpkin smash cake! Baby Bird’s Banana Smash Cake is one of my most popular posts on Pinterest and in search engines. It is a healthy cake with no refined sugar or artificial coloring. This year we went pumpkin picking to celebrate both our youngest Baby Bird turning 1 and Little Bird turning 3. So of course we had to have a PUMPKIN smash cake and pumpkin cup cakes. I kept the sugar low by using just half a cup of maple sugar. Although we are not gluten-free, so many of our friends are. To be perfectly honest: these came out BETTER than the traditional cup cakes I made for the guests.

The cinnamon frosting is mostly cream cheese with a little grass-fed butter. I wanted to use maple syrup to sweeten it, but we were out. I ended up using a little organic powdered sugar, but less than a quarter of what most recipes call for. Our pumpkin picking party fell on an unseasonably hot 100° day… the candy pumpkins on top of the smash cakes started melting. But the cake was delicious and I can’t wait to make it again! Maybe as a full-sized layer cake.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Smash Cake Recipe

Prep: Let all ingredients for the pumpkin smash cake sit out at room temperature. Cut a circle of parchment paper to line the bottom of 1 or 2 ramekins. Grease well with butter. Line a muffin tin with a dozen cupcake liners for the rest of the batter. Preheat oven to 350° F.

In the bowl of a good mixer, add:

12 tablespoons of softened butter
½ cup of maple sugar (brown sugar would also be nice)

Beat on high until light and fluffy. Add

3 eggs, ideally at room temperature

Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each until well combined. Add

½ cup of milk
½ cup of yogurt

Mix well. Add

1 cup of Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice blend

Mix on slowest speed until just incorporated, then add

2 cups of pureed, cooked pumpkin OR 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin (follow the instructions here if you want to cook the pumpkin from scratch – but I won’t tell anyone if you use the can…)

Mix until incorporated, then add

1 more cup of Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix

Scoop into the ramekins and any remaining batter into the muffin tin. Bake the muffin/cupcakes for about 15-20 minutes and the ramekins for about 40 minutes. Cool completely or even overnight before frosting with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

: This gluten free version (on the left) came out better than traditional pumpkin cupcakes (on the right)

: Our girls are at the stage where we have to have two of everything! So the 3-year-old got a smash cake, too.

: The pumpkin smash cake is sophisticated enough that a grown up can enjoy it with a cup of espresso

Notes:

If you follow this blog, you will know that I am all about making things from scratch. They only time I have mentioned using a mix for anything was when I made my own pancake mix to take camping! But I have to say, I loved using this gluten-free mix! I have had so many not so great gluten free baked goods, and tend to avoid them. This mix is a household staple as Papa Bird uses it at least weekly for his special pancakes. It was nearly a year before I realized it was gluten-free! I am not affiliated with Pamela’s, although maybe I should be! I am an Amazon Affiliate, though, and do receive advertising fees for qualifying purchases made through links on this site. Thank you for your support!

4.5 from 2 reviews

Save Print

Baby Birds' Pumpkin Smash Cake with Cinnamon Frosting - Gluten Free and Low Sugar

Author: Abby Burd

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Gluten-Free

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 40 mins

A low-sugar, gluten-free pumpkin cake or cup cake recipe, perfect for a healthy 1st birthday party "smash cake."

Ingredients

12 tablespoons of softened butter
½ cup of maple sugar (brown sugar would also be nice)
3 eggs, ideally at room temperature
½ cup of milk
½ cup of yogurt
2 cups of Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice blend
2 cups of pureed, cooked pumpkin OR 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

Instructions

Let all ingredients for the pumpkin smash cake sit out at room temperature. Cut a circle of parchment paper to line the bottom of 1 or 2 ramekins. Grease well with butter. Line a muffin tin with a dozen cupcake liners for the rest of the batter. Preheat oven to 350° F.
In the bowl of a good mixer, add butter and maple sugar. Beat on high until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each until well combined. Add milk and yogurt and mix well.
Add 1 cup of Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix and the pumpkin pie spice blend. Mix on slowest speed until just incorporated, then add the pureed, cooked pumpkin. Mix until incorporated, then add 1 more cup of Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix.
Scoop into the ramekins and any remaining batter into the muffin tin. Bake the muffin/cupcakes for about 15-20 minutes and the ramekins for about 40 minutes. Cool completely or even overnight before frosting with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

20 Comments

Posted in Dessert, Food, Healthy Recipes, Our Family, Parenting, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, Seasonal Recipes

Tagged dessert recipes, easy seasonal cooking, easy seasonal recipes, gluten free baking, naturally gluten free

Updates from the Baby Birds Farm

Posted on July 27, 2014 | 3 comments

Hi friends! It’s been a while since I checked in. We have been busy this summer with Papa Bird growing his artist representation business (Burd and Co.) and me continuing my private practice in peripartum mental health (Abigail Burd, LCSW). Little Bird has been taking dance lessons, Baby Bird is sprouting teeth and eating everything we eat, and both girls are learning to swim (a good skill to have here in San Diego.) Last weekend we snapped a rare family photo at a friend’s wedding.

I wanted to share some recent articles of mine that have been published elsewhere, plus an interview that turned out great.

First: How to Keep Your Relationship Healthy After Baby explores my top 6 tips for healthy relationships on the website for my psychotherapy private practice. Useful not just for postpartum couples, but for any relationship.

Next: I was interviewed by a writer friend. You may remember Gill’s excellent writing from this post. Her website focuses on well-done, in-depth interviews. I was honored she chose me. I guess she has always been curious about what therapy is like from the point of view of a therapist and she raised great questions.

Next up: A fresh salad idea featuring Strawberries, Salmon and Green Pickled Strawberries was featured on the Ergobaby Blog. You might remember the strawberry pickles from this post. I am still an affiliate of Ergobaby and use their carriers daily.

Finally: I launched a monthly newsletter for my private practice. You can read the first edition here. Next month will feature 6 daily habits for staying healthy and balanced. If you have any interest (or just want to support), please subscribe here:

3 Comments

Posted in Food, Healthy Recipes, Our Family, Parenting, Pregnancy

Strawberry Picking and Green Strawberry Pickles

Posted on May 4, 2014 | 4 comments

Strawberry Picking

Last weekend we celebrated Papa Bird’s birthday with a fun family day at Suzie’s Farm. They held their annual “Strawberry Jam” last Saturday and we all had so much fun, picking strawberries and eating yummy food. Little Bird loved apple picking as a tot and felt right at home with the plants and chickens.

We started off picking organic strawberries. Every plant was filled with the most perfectly beautiful, sweet and flavorful berries. (At home, Little Bird tends to pick all of our strawberries while they are still green and small.) I did get some temporary hives from stinging nettles, but they went away.

Next I sampled strawberry chutney, drank a strawberry and basil kombucha, and made green strawberry pickles with Austin from the San Diego Fermenter’s Club. Little Bird loves them. They are mild, slightly crunchy and have a hint of strawberry flavor. You can find the recipe for Green Strawberry Pickles here.

green strawberry pickles

After all that hard work, I was ready for a grass fed burger made with strawberry jam, and a beet and quinoa salad from Green Truck. The cold and windy weather discouraged our plans for eating ice cream from our friends’ Calexico Creamery, but we took home a pint of (what else?) Fresa and a pint of Mexican Cocoa. Little Bird and I hid out from the wind in a teepee and she gathered twigs and sticks to build a play fire.

Check back tomorrow and I will share the best recipe for strawberry jam! It has hardly any sugar in it and no pectin. The only other ingredient is a lemon…

–> Update: Strawberry Jam now posted HERE.

4 Comments

Posted in Family Adventures, Food, Green Parenting, Healthy Recipes, How To, Our Family, Parenting, Preserving and Canning, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Homesteading

Tagged easy farm to table, easy seasonal cooking, easy seasonal recipes, farm to table, vegan, vegetarian

Category Archives: Our Family

Creative Mom and Kid Halloween Costumes

Share in the comments: which is your favorite mom and kiddo costume combo?