My sweet strawberry-blond, blue-eyed, thumb-sucking girl turned TWO this summer!

For her first birthday, I made her a blueberry pie.

In her second year of life, I would have to say that her love of blueberries (though still very strong) has been surpassed by her love of strawberries, which she pronounces “SHTRAWBERRIESSSSS,” with both hands up in the air. Sometimes we eat giant California strawberries together, cut them in half, and eat them with the juice dripping down our faces, just like in one of Pippa’s favorite books. I knew that her second birthday needed to be her strawberry birthday.

I loved getting to use my vintage strawberry pie for this 100% strawberry pie. (I have the apple pie plate, too. One day I’ll make the recipes as written on the dishes and let you all know how they turn out.)

I’ll never forget the first time I made Ken Haedrich’s All-Strawberry Pie. It was 10 summers ago, in upstate New York, a couple nights before my friends Colton and Emily got married. I leaked strawberry juice all over the tiny oven at the family cottage, and we ate pie and danced on the boathouse roof overlooking Cayuga Lake. One for the ages.

I put a little birdie cutout on my Baby Bird’s pie. I knew I would be decorating the birthday breakfast table with some backyard bird figurines that she hadn’t seen before, and that we’d do a Sunday School lesson with her cousins that morning about the parable of the mustard seed, which grows into a tree big enough for the birds of the heavens to rest in.

Top crust sprinkled with sugar and milk, just like the recipe says!

Pippa’s second birthday was a day of delicious treats, including tapioca crepes for breakfast in our own backyard, made by my friend Isabella of @bellas_tapiokery. You may remember reading about her in a previous post, Beet Treats. She’s available for some small, private events…just sayin’, peeps in Ventura/Los Angeles county area!!

Pip Pip Hooray! We’ve used this banner now for Pippa’s Welcome to the World party (age 1 month), her 1st birthday party, and her 2nd birthday party. It’s made of map-printed paper and makes me smile every time, thinking about how big and wonderful of a world she is part of.

A couple more drool-worthy crepe photos. Thanks Bella!

#runnyeggsforpresident

This one was unreal. Dulce de leche (homemade by MOI) with fresh peach and grated coconut on a beet tapioca. Hello.

And, back to the strawberry pie. Pippa was able to share part of her birthday celebrations with her big cousins Fletcher and Fallon, who were turning 13 a few days later. They weren’t quite two themselves when they were the cutest tiny wedding attendants in my wedding. Oh, time. ❤

Dear readers, today I am wishing you sweet summer celebrations, patience, kindness, and enjoyment of simple, good gifts. Talk to you in August.