Happy Anniversary!

Where it all began... Fall 1998

"I do" Jan 2004

2010 - Happy Anniversary!

Family Hike

Saturday morning we went for a family hike in the woods. It was an overcast day so not many people were on the trails. We encountered some boy scouts who were backpacking. One of them was complaining and as we passed them, the leader said, "Even the baby is having a good time!" We both chuckled as we continued on. Trent seemed to really enjoy being in the woods. He was whipping his head back and forth because there was so much to take in! He liked keeping up with me and when Jesse would slow down, he would rock back and forth on Jesse like a horse, attempting to get him to go faster. He did the same thing when we'd stop. It was funny.

Always a fan of any type of harness

Here we go!

Such handsome men!

So much to see!

Dining Out

Trent has accompanied us on many dining occasions but today he actually ordered his own meal! We were running to Costco after church and opted to put off his nap, rather than go home, have him take a nap and then have to go back out again. The only problem was food. Trent eats lunch at noon every day and we did not have any food with for him to eat. He's been eating everything we eat at home (but in a slightly mushier consistency). We opted for Jason's Deli and ordered his first real kiddie meal! He enjoyed their mac 'n cheese and milk and ate a good portion of it. He loved using a straw!

Mmm... Mac 'n Cheese

So this is what restaurant food is like...

Homemade Tastes Better - Marinara

Another thing we always make from scratch is marinara sauce. My mother is an excellent cook. She showed me how easy this could be! We buy the 6lb 10oz cans of Italian Peeled Tomatoes at Costco (yes, by now you realize that Costco probably thinks we own a small restaurant). These jars normally cost under $4 a can. First, take a head of garlic (usually about 10 cloves) and sautee it in the bottom of a stockpot with some olive oil. Once the garlic is lightly browned, dump in the can of tomatoes. You will have to squeeze/crush the tomatoes with your hands (otherwise, you will have massive chunks of tomato in your sauce). Then add in a 12oz can of tomato paste. Stir and let it simmer on the stove for an hour. This makes A LOT of marinara. I usually freeze it in tupperware ranging in size from 3.5 cups to 5 cups so that I have the perfect amount for making ziti, lasagna, spaghetti, etc. You can add onions, meat, or whatever else you like into the sauce, but I like to have the marinara on hand and then add whatever else later, depending on what I'm cooking.

Supersized Homemade Oreos

I had a major sweet tooth today so homemade oreos came to mind. Last week, I had a major oreo craving and devoured the store bought bag in about two days! So today, I opted to try and make my own. They are really yummy. I have a couple of recipes for homemade oreos but decided to do a conglomeration of them all.

For the cookie:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

10 Tbsp butter, room temperature

1 large egg

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Then beat in the butter and the egg. Mix until dough comes together in a big lump. Place parchment paper on the cookie sheets. Take teaspoons of batter and press down to desired shape. (I used a small, heart shaped cookie cutter.) Bake for 9 minutes at 375 F. Set on a rack to cool. ** These cookies grew a lot more in the oven than I expected so this time around, we have supersized oreos.

For the filling:

Beat half a stick of butter until light and fluffy. Mix together 1.5 Cups of confectioners' sugar and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Gradually add the sugars to the butter. Beat until well blended. Beat in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

These cookies cool quick so by the time you are done making the filling, you should be able to ice the cookies. Obviously, if you want double stuffed, double the filling recipe.

And delicious! I'm really going to have to practice some will power so that Jesse actually has the chance to taste these when he gets home. TJ and I may have to go on a field trip this afternoon or there may be none left to share! Oreos, why are you so tempting!

One of my favorite things

Examining a Leaf

We have had some gorgeous weather lately and yesterday we took full advantage of it. Ever since TJ was born, I've always enjoyed playing outside with him. When he was really little, it was more of him laying on the blanket beside me. Now he's old enough to actually interact and crawl around. It's a lot of fun watching take in his surroundings. He picks at the grass, examines (and sometimes attempts to eat) the leaves, but overall really just enjoys being outside. Even when he's fussy, taking him outside always seems to help his attitude. I hope his love of nature continues to grow. There's no comparison between natural, God made beauty and objects created by man.

Baby Loves Bath

"Say Cheese!"

Waterfall!

So handsome!

Trent loves the water! Good thing since he'll be spending a lot of time in it this summer!

New Favorite - Norwegian Pancakes!

Can't get enough!

This weekend we had Norwegian pancakes one morning for breakfast. Trent had already eaten his full bowl of oatmeal, but to entertain him so we could eat, we gave him little pieces of pancake to pick up. The boy loved it! I had left the majority of the pancake on the corner of his high chair tray to break up once he finished the "little bits." Instead, he grabbed the whole pancake and managed to eat the whole thing by himself! Just wait until he realizes what they taste like with syrup - oh my! :)

My Little Mischief

Unimpressed with Lunch

As mentioned in previous posts, Trent is on the move and into everything these days. It is evident that he understands the word "no." Sometimes, he will turn towards you, give a mischievous smile, and then turn back around to what he's doing. Other times; he'll listen the first time. He's also working on his acting skills. The other day, I was in the kitchen and he was in the living room (the rooms are adjacent - I can see him while I'm in the other). He was playing by himself and tired of it, so he crawled into the kitchen, sprawled himself out on the floor in front of the refrigerator and started fake crying until I rescued him from his "fall."

He is a joy, but he is going to be a handful! Here are some pictures of my adorable little troublemaker!

Clearly, the blankets covering the fireplace serve no purpose


Beyond that gate lies dog food, dog water and mom's cookbooks...

This is obviously the easiest way around the couch

I wonder what this handle does?

Really Mom, I'm just looking...

Yea, right...

9 Month Update

Our little man had his nine month checkup today. He is on track developmentally with crawling, picking things up with his fingers, babbling, etc. :) He is 29 inches long and 22.5 pounds in weight. He is in the 75th percentile all around. All the running around he's doing is slimming him up! This is the first visit he's had where he hasn't been above the 90th percentile.

Homemade Tastes Better - Granola

I really like granola. It can be eaten so many ways. It can be a healthy snack during the day, pour milk over it and eat it as cereal, add it to yogurt for a little crunch, add craisins and chocolate chips for trail mix... We always have homemade granola on hand. This too is SUPER easy to make, which is essential at our house.

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. In a large stockpot melt the butter, sugar and water. Stir and let simmer for two minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Remove from the heat and stir well until everything is moistened. Put the granola onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 13 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, break up the granola into pieces. ** Warning - breaking up the granola is the messy part, if you're not careful granola can fly everywhere!**

I got this recipe from here: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/rawsugargranola.htm

We've also made this one: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/honeygranola.htm
and this one: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/peanutbuttergranola.htm

They're all good. They brown sugar recipe is my favorite to eat on its own or as cereal. The honey recipe is my favorite when I make trail mix.

In Captivity

We brought the pack and play out again the other day. Trent is absolutely into EVERYTHING right now. You can not turn your head for a second without him playing in the dog bowl/taking books off the bookshelf/knocking over the garbage/pulling dirt out of the plants/digging in the cabinets/chasing the dogs/opening the oven... Most of the time, I don't mind chasing after him, but making dinner is a challenge. His getting into everything makes it interesting enough, but if I'm not focused on him, he hangs on my legs and attempts to follow me around by holding on to my pant legs. This also makes cooking an adventure. So, out came the pack and play. When it's time for dinner to be made, Trent plays in it. He can amuse himself for some time so if I'm efficient, I can usually wrap things up before he's too upset with his captivity.

(There are some other cute pics from this week at the end of this post as well. )

Trent keeping me company as I make dinner

Playing in the ball pit he got from Aunt Dana

Sleeping during our jog

Homemade Tastes Better - Bread

I've steered away from convenience foods for a while. I enjoy the taste but the fact that something that would normally need to be refrigerated can sit in a box indefinitely has always grossed me out a bit (basically not a big fan of preservatives). After having a baby, this opinion grew even more. Not only do we make all our own baby food, but we buy very few "convenience items." After staying at home for a while, I realized that making homemade can be just as easy as buying them (especially when it comes to planning a trip around naptime, juggling the groceries and baby, etc). Once you get used to homemade, you can definitely tell the difference in taste between store bought and homemade! There are three things that we ALWAYS make homemade. The first is bread. There is a huge difference in taste between the cheap white fluff and real yummy tasting bread. Rather than spend $4 or more per loaf, we started making our own. We buy the big bulk bags of flour at Costco for about what it would cost for one loaf of good bread! I have the Taste of Home Baking Cookbook. It is a great "go-to" cookbook. We just got a breadmaker for Christmas, but up until then, we've been baking bread the old fashioned way. We've tried multiple bread recipes, but this is our standby: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Milk-and-Honey-White-Bread. I'm still playing with my new bread machine. I'll post my favorite bread machine recipe once I've narrowed it down. :)