I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the world that’s more adorable than a table full of babies in their diapers painting pumpkins.
Before Liv was born, I used to have groups of friends over all the time, at least once a week. I love cooking for others and entertaining, but since Liv has been here, the gatherings have been smaller and usually we’ll just meet up somewhere, like the park, library, mall or a restaurant. I really want to start having friend events at the house more often, especially since so many have kids Liv’s age.
Today, the girls fingerpainted some pumpkins for Halloween:
After taking her first taste of fingerpaint (non-toxic, of course, even though I’m sure I wouldn’t love the ingredients), I finally got her to understand what it was used for.
I used an idea from Young House Love, and we each used painter’s tape to make patterns on the babies’ pumpkins. There was no way an “O” was happening with the tape, so Liv and I did an “L” instead 
After helping her add some more to the bottom (so the “L” shape was more distinct) and peeling the tape off:
Ta da! Baby’s first pumpkin 
Pretty dang cute.
The girls also played in the grass and crawled through the tube before everyone got a bath and we enjoyed lunch together.
Baked sweet potatoes (plus pear, avocado and puffs) for the babies, simple salads for the girls (arugula, raw goat cheddar, beets and basil with balsamic and Meyer lemon olive oil), amazeballs and cookies (thank you, Lis!) to snack on.
Two new amazeballs flavors, just for the occasion
Cranberry Orange
-4 T dry ingredients (can be a mix of protein powder, coconut or oats- I used 2 T vanilla protein powder, 2 T coconut)
-2 T nut butter of choice (I used cashew for today’s)
-2 T dried cranberries
-1 t orange zest, squeeze of fresh orange juice
-2 T maple syrup (or other sweetener- Stevia and water is great, honey is verrryyyyy sweet, so be mindful if you decide to roll with that)
-pinch of sea salt
1. Pulse to combine in the food processor
2. Roll into balls.
3. Devour.
Cashew Butter and Jelly
-4 T dry ingredients (can be a combo of protein powder, oats and/or coconut- I used 2 T vanilla protein powder, 2 T oats)
-2 T nut butter of choice (I rolled with cashew again)
-2 T jelly or jam in any flavor (strawberry is the standard in our house)
-pinch of sea salt
You know the drill: pulse, roll, eat.
Hope you enjoy!
Are you carving a Halloween pumpkin this year? Find anything on Pinterest you love??
Have you tried amazeballs yet? Here are some other flavor variations, too.
xoxo
Gina
Head’s up: For the first time ever, I’m so excited to announce that Zumba products are available on my OpenSky! You can get the Exhilarate set, high tops, or my favorite sneaks for an awesome discounted price.
Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
The new amazeballs look delish! I’ve gotta try em.
2 best recent Pinterest finds:
http://pinterest.com/pin/131589620333622691/ <–Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Muffins-made these for a potluck the other day and have already been asked to bring them to another party! SO good.
and
http://pinterest.com/pin/191332684140522114/ <–Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow. puppy chow with cookie butter in it?! I was sold.
totally forgot to comment on the super cuteness of Liv and her pumpkin! Love it!
What a super cute day with baby and friends! I’ve carved pumpkins over years past, but I’m not sure about this year. I pinned your candy corn popcorn and need to give it a try this week!
I finally made ballz! I didn’t have orange so I did lemon. Oh. my. yum!!!! Thanks!
Livi’s pumpkin is adorable! (And that is such a great idea!) I love carving pumpkins and my husband and I have a contest each year. My favourite one we’ve done is of our dog’s face…so cute!
Thanks for the recipes. I’ll have to pin them and try one out this weekend!
Hm that’s a good idea! Maybe i’ll paint my pumpkin this year instead of carving it!
I love the pumpkin idea! That’s so great!
I can’t wait to have baby playdates someday! I love that pumpkin!!
Great party with healthy food!
Those balls look amazing!! Must make cranberry orange ones pronto.
i’m going to make more tomorrow- they were soooo good
Your new amazeaballs sound…amaze ‘a balls!
Looks like such a fun and cute afternoon!!! Love the pumpkin idea!!
Love those little baby feet on the table! …. + add me to the list of people making the orange cranberry balls today! I got ahold of more mesquite yesterday, so might add a little of that in there too.
Yay for discounted gym wear- my favourite kind
I love that pumpkin idea, and think it’s great that you organised a socialising thing with the bubs and the mums!
Love the cranberry orange combo! Perfect for fall.
What a great idea for a baby’s first pumpkin! We will definitely be carving a pumpkin this year! I don’t really have the talent or the patience to do anything other than a face, but it’s something that I look forward to every year.
Those amazeballs look delicious!!! Your pumpkin party was a great idea I might have to try with my nephew!
Thanks!
OMG! Cranberry Orange Amazeballs look FANTASTIC! I can’t wait to make these
What a FUN playdate
Love the paint all over Olivia’s face (I’m sure you did too, haha)
Cranberry orange sounds delish!
Oh gosh this is the cutest little baby party ever! You have such great ideas for bringing moms together to have fun with their babies! I’ll have to remember this when I have a kid. Making some amazeballs today! I want to try your new pumpkin flavor
That pic of you and Livi painting the pumpkin are too cute for words!
Those pumpkins are such a great idea! I bet the babies had so much fun making them! I love all of your amazeball creations! Cranberry orange sounds fabulous!
where do you get your Meyer Lemon olive oil? In a basic grocery store? Super cute pictures!
Liv’s quite the artist. I wonder what she’ll come up with for next Halloween. My mom’s birthday is tomorrow and she has a thing for cranberry orange bread – I’m thinking cran-orange amazeballs might be a really fun treat for her!
awww this is the cutest thing ever! Liv is an artist
What kind of food processor do you use? Do you like it? I always try to process stuff in the Vita but then there is always alot of good stuff left at the bottom…
it’s a mini cuisinart from target- i love it. vita is great for blending, but for processing, i like the mini better
what a cute idea! sounds like a really fun day – Liv’s a lucky girl to have a mom who takes the time to make things so special for her!
I am loving this idea from Jillian Harris: http://jillianharris.com/blog/post/jillian-harris-diy-design-decorative-pumpkins-for-fall-2012
Such a cute idea! I love it.
Awww, so fun!
This was the cutest thing ever! The baby pumpkin painting party, not the amazeballs, even though they’re sort of cute as well.
My fave find on pinterest is pumpkin french toast bake… i already made perf pro pancakes for the week, but I think this is on the agenda for the weekend: http://minimalistbaker.com/pumpkin-french-toast-bake/
Hey, I’m wondering when you will have a sale on Sun Warrior again, I ran out of vanilla and I replaced it with warrior blend and I DONT like it at all…
should be soon- i’ll shout it out on the blog when it happens
I was wondering, if I don’t have a food processor could I use a magic bullet to pulse the ingredients for the amazeballs?? I really want to try them!
i don’t see why not!
Just finally got round to making the amazeballs- they’re lovely! And they do taste like cookie dough!
Even better, my 4yr old saw me eating one, tried it, loved it and took one to eat himself! Got to better for him than a biscuit or a bar of chocolate!
Thanks
haha i love it!!
Love the idea of painting pumpkins instead of carving! And those cranberry orange amazeballs look soo good! Definitely gonna have to give those a try ASAP.
I made the cranberry version and they were delicious!!
Oh baby pumpkin painting is so cute!
What an amazing playdate! The picture with the baby feet is too precious. Cute idea!!
I have all the ingredients for both amazeball recipes- I think I wanna make my first ever batch tonight, they look so stinkin’ good!
let me know how they turn out!
Hey! Do you have a recipe for pumpkin amazeballs? Seems like a tasty combo to try this time of year and considering your love of pumpkin I thought you might have already created this variety? I’m not a great cook/baker so I’d love to try something with instructions!
Thanks, Jessica
Geez – I found the recipe for the pumpkin amazeballs! Sorry – you just posted it.
And I read that post too- my memory is clearly lacking.
Anyway – I’m up to speed now. Looking forward to trying them! Thanks!
let me know what you think!
So I made the pumpkin amazeballs and can’t wait to make these!!!! I was wondering if you could sub coconut flour for dry ingredients. Honestly, I just bought a bag and am searching for something to do with it! Either way, I can’t want to make these!!!
~Alyssa
I really like the way you’re giving alternative for the ingredient in a recipe.. like the dry ingredient…sometime I need more protein sometime not.. thanks
Do the amazeballs need to be stored in the fridge? I was hoping to send an amazeball care package: )
i do store them in the fridge but don’t think it’s necessary- they should be fine
i prob wouldn’t ship the pumpkin ones without putting in some ice packs, though