Ice Cream Cone Birthday Cakes

Happy Monday - hoping all the dads out there had a wonderful Father's Day. My hubby spent the morning mountain biking and then we got our girls ready and met my parents at a HUGE dairy farm for Sundae on the Farm. We took a tour of the brand new milking barn and saw many many cows. They are huge - but so cute! And, by many cows, here's what the number looks like. This particular farm has over 650 milking Holsteins and 1,600 animals! Some of these cows help brand names like Cabot make their cheese. Speaking of dairy, my daughter went to a very cute birthday party for her friend on Saturday. It was ice cream themed and I had to share the custom cake her mom had made. Don't you just love it?

 Ice Cream Cone Birthday Cake

After seeing this cake - I had to go onto pinterest and look for more ice cream cone birthday cakes :) There are so many ideas - some have used the cones to build castles with - others have made it appear as if the ice cream was melting on the cake with the use of frosting. And, some have the cake covered in rainbow sprinkles. What's you favorite ice cream cone cake design?

Ice cream sprinkle birthday cake | via http://themoonblushbaker.blogspot.com

Melting ice cream cone birthday cake | via http://www.sweetestkitchen.com

Printable Wrapping Paper {can be colored and even personalized}

Etsy is so great for finding unique ideas. How about these printable {and instant downloadable} wrapping paper files from Paper Glitter? Some can even be edited so you can personalize the wrapping paper. I love how it comes with black and white illustrations to allow for fun coloring by either the child giving the gift or by the child receiving the present. Brilliant!!!

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce Your Kids Will Love

It's the season for ice cream and this past weekend, a banana split was calling our names. My husband wanted to get all the fixings for us, but I knew I've never seen a natural hot fudge sauce in our area stores. In particular, one that didn't contain high fructose corn syrup and wasn't made on shared equipment or in a plant with nuts {our older girl has a gluten and nut allergy}. So, I went pinterest searching and made the most delicious and easy hot fudge sauce recipe that my daughter LOVED along with myself and my hubby {thank you Mama Ging}.

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk
- 2 1/2 tbsp butter {I used Land O'Lakes Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil}
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and cocoa. Add milk and butter. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, removed from heat and stir with whisk for 1 minute. Now add vanilla and stir to combine. Let cool a bit before eating {if you can}. Makes approx  1 1/2 cups of sauce. {this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if needed}

Stylish Matching Ties for Father and Sons + a Giveaway

Happy Thursday. I am thrilled to have my first giveaway for you since taking over as the new owner just last week. For the next two weeks, I'm excited to have My Favorite Pal joining us. For those of you that might not be familiar with this shop - it's the easy solution to finding high quality, matching ties for Father and Sons {in sizes from infant to adult}.  My Favorite Pal provides the perfect look to dress up any occasion by adding a special touch to holidays, family pictures, weddings, and more. Starting today, My Favorite Pal is offering one lucky reader of Best Baby Sites the chance to win a matching father and son tie set {valued at $30}. These ties are built with kid tough microfiber, making them easy to clean and ready to be worn time and time again.

Are you ready to enter to win? Simply complete one or all of the possible entries below and the giveaway runs thru Wednesday June 18th at 11:59 pm EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ants Go Marching On : a fun summer themed "just because" party

Have you seen the latest issue of Polka Dot Balloon Magazine? It's available to view online here and Pamela Smerker, who I've worked with many times thru my wedding blog, is the editor-in-chief for this publication. One of the cute party ideas in this issue is The Ants Go Marching On, created by Christie Gutherman. I love the idea of surprising your children with a special little party to kick off summer and celebrate the end of the school year. Sometimes the best little parties with kids are the ones that are totally unexpected.

I couldn't locate the same mini picnic basket as the one featured in this shoot, but a medium size basket with two handles can be found here.

PS: This post contains affiliate links and when clicked I may earn a percentage of the sale which helps me keep the blog going strong and you won't incur any additional cost by clicking :)