• Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Fitness
  • Nutrition
  • |
  • About
  • Work With Me
    • Brand partnerships
    • Nutrition Coaching
November 25, 2019

Officially 2

20 comments
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Our little one is officially 2 years old as of yesterday! How time flies. 

We drove up to Sewickley, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) on Saturday to spend a week with Matt’s family for the Thanksgiving holiday, and it was fun to celebrate Riese’s birthday with them yesterday, too!

We hosted a birthday party at Matt’s parents place and invited a bunch of our friends (and their kids) who live in the area (or who were already in town for the holidays like we were).

Matt’s mom came up with this cute turkey craft for the kids:

fun turkey thanksgiving craft for kids

And Matt made this fun “make a paper airplane and try to fly it through the holes” game, which Riese quickly figured out how to work around. 😉

We also had a ton of balloons, which are always a hit among kids of all ages!

For food, Matt’s dad made this awesome veggie turkey:

make veggies look like a turkey

And we ordered pizza, and had two salads (green + fruit), plus some delicious lasagna Matt’s mom made. I ended up going back for more lasagna – it was so good!

For “dessert”, I kept it low key and made Riese’s favorite muffins (Simple Mills banana muffins + pumpkin muffins // affiliate links), and we put a “2” candle in one.

When she saw it she yelled “MUFFINNNN!!!” so I’d say it was a hit. 🙂 

2 year old birthday muffin

It was a fun night, although Riese was a little overwhelmed especially early on since there were suddenly so many people and lots of bigger kids running all over the place. I was a little overwhelmed, too, to be honest. 😉 Maybe I’m more introverted than I realize, ha! 

Anyway, let’s rewind to Saturday!

Before we left DC, I met my friend Karen for an early run to shake out the legs – I was glad to get in some movement before sitting in the car forever! We did a hilly loop in northwest DC near her place – always fun to mix up the routes!

Matt and I decided to leave around 11 so that way we could get a bit of a drive in before stopping for lunch – we hit up a Panera along the way. 

Riese did well in the car – she napped for awhile after lunch, and then was awake for a bit but in relatively good spirits with some snacks. 

We arrived at Matt’s parents house around 5, which was nice so we had some time to relax and hang out before dinner, which was a delicious cedar plank salmon! The salmon was coated in a bit of maple syrup, whole grain mustard, and dill. 

cedar plank salmon

So good. It came out super tender, like my favorite Easy Baked Salmon recipe! 

On Sunday morning, I met a couple friends who live in the area for a hot power yoga class at Salt in Sewickley.

The instructor wasn’t my fave (very monotone instructions and no music), but it was a quite challenging and sweaty class and it felt great to stretch after the long car ride the day before!

salt power yoga

I had some leftover salmon and rice/veggies for lunch, and then we got ready for Riese’s shindig!

Matt is taking the week off work and we have some fun stuff lined up with family and friends. I’m planning to pop back in again on Wednesday with another update, and then on Friday with my Thanksgiving recap. 

Have a great day, friends! And stay tuned for the 2 year toddler/mama update I mentioned – I’ll plan to share that next week when it’s ready. 🙂 

And if you need some last minute inspiration… don’t forget to bookmark my Best Healthy Thanksgiving recipes post! 

- anne
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

you might also like:

Protein Bar, Crossfit & Ghirardelli!

Weekend Fun

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal & How to Clean a Keurig Coffee Machine

This Week’s Eats

leave a comment

Cancel reply

20 comments
  • Ana November 25, 2019 · 8:39AM:
    That veggie turkey platter!! And congrats to Riese on attaining the mighty age of 2! Looks like a fun party for all.
    Reply
  • Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
    November 25, 2019 · 9:30AM:
    Happy birthday to Riese! Gosh she is a cutie. I'm trying to figure out who she looks like. She seems to be a blend of you guys but has her daddy's eyes, I think. I'm glad she had a fun birthday celebration! Enjoy the holiday festivities with your family! My family is coming to Minneapolis this week for Thanksgiving and my parents will spend the night with us on Friday. I can't wait - so nice to finally have a guest room! We moved into our house over the weekend are 100% unpacked! We are hosting my family for a soup dinner (I'm making 3 different soups - figure it will be a good change of pace after a heavy t-giving meal on Thursday!) on Friday so that motivated us to get settled asap.
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 25, 2019 · 2:16PM:
      Definitely has Daddy's eyes, which I'm happy about! :) Everyone always says she's basically Matt's twin, but I'm starting to see a little bit more of me! I'm insanely impressed that you moved over the weekend and are 100% unpacked! We still have a few lingering boxes and we moved in July! LOL. Impending guests are definitely good motivation, though. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving - the soup dinner sounds awesome, too!
      Reply
      • Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
        November 25, 2019 · 4:53PM:
        We rented these green totes for our move and had to return them in the next week or so, so that motivated us to get them empty! And our house doesn't have much storage so there isn't anywhere to stow boxes - esp since our basement is finished! This is kind of how I move, though. I'm always unpacked asap because I have an extremely low tolerance for chaos and messes! I got 25k steps in on Friday. It was intense but it felt really good to be unpacked really fast! I do see some of you in Riese! She does have a lot of Matt in her, though. Our little guy (21m) is just starting to look a bit like me. He's got white blond hair and a fairer complexion whereas I have brown hair and olive skin so he doesn't really look like me in an obvious way!
        Reply
  • The Many Thoughts of a Reader
    November 25, 2019 · 11:19AM:
    Happy Birthday, Riese!!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 25, 2019 · 2:14PM:
      Thanks!
      Reply
  • Jane Lennox November 25, 2019 · 11:25AM:
    Happy Birthday Riese! She is such a cutie! You and Matt are doing a great job parenting. It is not an easy job. Happy Thaksgiving also!
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 25, 2019 · 2:14PM:
      Thanks Jane! :)
      Reply
  • Roadrunner November 25, 2019 · 12:25PM:
    The veggie turkey is awesome - and so were the other ideas. And what a nice photo of the three of you. Congratulations on 2 years!
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 25, 2019 · 2:14PM:
      Thank you!
      Reply
  • Sar November 25, 2019 · 1:59PM:
    Happy Birthday to Riese! When do you think she might get a cake for her birthday?!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 25, 2019 · 2:14PM:
      She's had cake/cupcakes before at friend's parties, but we figured for now she doesn't really know the difference so might as well just keep it easy and do muffins since she loves them! I'm sure next year we'll have a legit cake since she'll be old enough to want/ask for one. :)
      Reply
  • Amber
    November 25, 2019 · 3:44PM:
    It's been so fun following your blog for the last two years as my daughter was born the same day as Riese, so also turned 2 yesterday. How do we have 2 year olds??? So crazy! Looking forward to your mom & toddler update :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 26, 2019 · 2:29PM:
      Awww birthday twins! Time flies!!
      Reply
  • Nicole @ Laughing My Abs Off
    November 25, 2019 · 3:52PM:
    Happy birthday! OMG crazy she's already two! I remember our interview in Pret when you had your pumpkin shirt on and she was still in your belly! :))
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 26, 2019 · 2:29PM:
      Awww that feels like forever ago! <3
      Reply
  • Kori
    November 26, 2019 · 10:42AM:
    Happy birthday, Riese! I cannot believe she is two . She seems like such a spunky, fun little girl. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    Reply
    • Anne
      November 26, 2019 · 2:30PM:
      Thanks Kori! Happy Thanksgiving :)
      Reply
  • Kris S December 1, 2019 · 6:25PM:
    Awww Happy Birthday Riese!!! :D
    Reply
- next post
previous post -

about Anne

anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
Learn more

fannetastic reads

Top Posts
01

My Top 9 Most Popular Recipes + Posts

02

Why I Don’t Recommend Whole30

03

What Causes Sugar Cravings (+ How to Stop Them!)

04

How I Make Money As a Blogger

05

Blog Recipes We Make Again and Again

06

What to Eat Before and After a Long Run

07

What to Eat During Long Runs

08

7 Common Nutrition Myths

09

How to Love Veggies

connect with Anne

Email me
anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

follow anne:

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

back to top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recent Posts
  • Privacy Policy
  • FAQ

© copyright fannetastic food - site by kc - exclusive member of mediavine